A dimensionless number used in fluid mechanics to indicate whether fluid flow past a body or in a duct is steady or turbulent.
This is evaluated as ρυd/μ, where d is a diameter or other characteristic length of the system, υ is a typical speed, ρ is the fluid density, and μ is the viscosity of the fluid. The magnetic Reynolds number is an analogous number used in the description of the dynamic behaviour of a magnetized plasma
Example sentencesExamples
- He spoke on boundary layer theory, in particular flows at high Reynolds numbers, in his inaugural lecture in London.
- The Reynolds number equation states that turbulent flow is created by higher gas velocity, gas density, and tube radius and lower gas viscosity.
- The higher Reynolds number for the tadpole indicates that it is ‘faster and better at overcoming the viscous drag that typically confronts small aquatic organisms,’ the biologists report in Nature.
- For the purpose of biological fluid dynamics, scale is represented by the dimensionless Reynolds number, a ratio that reflects the influence of inertial relative to viscous forces.
- Small objects have lower Reynolds numbers - a dimensionless quantity proportional to the ratio of the product of the size and flow speed to viscosity.