Introduction to Fluid Dynamics and Its Biological and Medical Applications

Figure 12.1 Many fluids are flowing in this scene. Water from the hose and smoke from the fire are visible flows. Less visible are the flow of air and the flow of fluids on the ground and within the people fighting the fire. (credit: Andrew Magill, Flickr)

Chapter Outline

12.1 Flow Rate and Its Relation to Velocity

12.2 Bernoulli’s Equation

12.3 The Most General Applications of Bernoulli’s Equation

12.4 Viscosity and Laminar Flow; Poiseuille’s Law

12.5 The Onset of Turbulence

12.6 Motion of an Object in a Viscous Fluid

12.7 Molecular Transport Phenomena: Diffusion, Osmosis, and Related Processes

We have dealt with many situations in which fluids are static. But by their very definition, fluids flow. Examples come easily—a column of smoke rises from a camp fire, water streams from a fire hose, blood courses through your veins. Why does rising smoke curl and twist? How does a nozzle increase the speed of water emerging from a hose? How does the body regulate blood flow? The physics of fluids in motion—fluid dynamics—allows us to answer these and many other questions.