![]() ![]() In the case of the solar wind it was hoped that the density of the wind is passive, allowing researchers to use a relatively simple set of mathematical tools to model the turbulence. In the case of a stream a passive scalar might be a leaf floating downstream. A trick often used to study this is to follow a "passive scalar" - an element of the flow that follows the flow but does not cause or suffer significant change. A familiar example of turbulence is a stream flowing over a weir. The solar wind also effects how cosmic rays reach the earth, which may have important consequences for earth weather and climate change. ![]() The solar system is filled by the sun's expanding atmosphere - the solar wind, we see its effects directly here on earth as "space weather" (the northern lights). ![]() A very large experiment is needed, and so researchers have turned to space to use the whole solar system as a turbulence laboratory. It is technically very challenging to study turbulence on earth, either in the laboratory or on even the largest computers that are available. Turbulent systems fluctuate wildly and understanding this will also help us understand (and put a number on the likelihood of) extreme events in other systems that look the same in terms of the mathematics, such as the weather, and stock market prices. Turbulence is one of the main unsolved problems in physics. ![]()
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