William Irvine, Ph.D., University of Chicago
Quiet Within, Chaos Without: Harnessing Turbulence for Function Across Scales
Turbulence is synonymous with chaos, yet its velocity fluctuations are structured by the universal nonequilibrium Richardson energy cascade. Unlike molecular gases, this cascade is not constrained by equilibrium theorems, leaving open the possibility that its fluctuations can be harnessed functionally. I will discuss experiments that reveal avenues for doing so, using turbulence to drive function, with applications in sorting, filtration, selective delivery and work extraction, as well as providing a new probe of turbulent dynamics.