Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Theory
The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (after Lord Kelvin and Hermann von Helmholtz) typically occurs when there's velocity shear during a single continuous fluid, or additionally where there's a velocity difference across the interface between two fluids. A common example is seen with wind blowing over water, the instability constant is able to manifest itself through waves on a water surface. The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is not only restricted to a water surface as clouds, but is evident through other natural
phenomena as the ocean, Saturn's bands, Jupiter's Red Spot, and the sun's corona. The theory predicts the onset of instability and transition to turbulent flow within fluids of different densities moving at various speeds. Helmholtz studied the dynamics of two fluids of various densities when alittle disturbance, like a wave, was introduced at the boundary connecting the fluids. Kelvin-Helmholtz instability can thus be characterized as unstable small scale motions occurring vertically and laterally. At times, the small scale instabilities can be limited through the prescience of a boundary. The boundaries are evident in the vertical direction, through an upper and lower boundary. The upper boundary can be seen as through examples as the free surface of an ocean and lower boundary as a wave breaking on a coast. On a lateral scale,
diffusion and viscosity are the main factors of considerations as both affect small-scale instabilities. Through the aforementioned definition of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, the excellence between Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and little scale
turbulence are often difficult. Although the two are not inherently inseparable, Kelvin-Helmholtz is viewed as a two dimensional
phenomena compared to
turbulence occurring in three dimensions.
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