NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Collections About News Help Login
Back to Results
The Statistical Mechanics of Ideal MHD TurbulenceTurbulence is a universal, nonlinear phenomenon found in all energetic fluid and plasma motion. In particular. understanding magneto hydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence and incorporating its effects in the computation and prediction of the flow of ionized gases in space, for example, are great challenges that must be met if such computations and predictions are to be meaningful. Although a general solution to the "problem of turbulence" does not exist in closed form, numerical integrations allow us to explore the phase space of solutions for both ideal and dissipative flows. For homogeneous, incompressible turbulence, Fourier methods are appropriate, and phase space is defined by the Fourier coefficients of the physical fields. In the case of ideal MHD flows, a fairly robust statistical mechanics has been developed, in which the symmetry and ergodic properties of phase space is understood. A discussion of these properties will illuminate our principal discovery: Coherent structure and randomness co-exist in ideal MHD turbulence. For dissipative flows, as opposed to ideal flows, progress beyond the dimensional analysis of Kolmogorov has been difficult. Here, some possible future directions that draw on the ideal results will also be discussed. Our conclusion will be that while ideal turbulence is now well understood, real turbulence still presents great challenges.
Document ID
20110002689
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Shebalin, John V. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
February 8, 2003
Subject Category
Fluid Mechanics And Thermodynamics
Report/Patent Number
TP-2002-210783
JSC-CN-7721
Meeting Information
Meeting: Second Annual International Astrophysics Conference
Location: Palm Springs, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: February 8, 2003
End Date: February 12, 2003
Sponsors: California Univ.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Related Records

There are no records associated with this record.
No Preview Available