Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Uncoupling Coriolis Force and Rotating Buoyancy Effects on Full-Field Heat Transfer Properties of a Rotating Channel
Published on: October 5, 2018
Angular momentum transport in turbulent flow between independently rotating cylinders
1Departments of Physics and Geology, Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
Abstract:
We present measurements of the angular momentum flux (torque) in Taylor-Couette flow of water between independently rotating cylinders for all regions of the (Ω1, Ω2) parameter space at high Reynolds numbers, where Ω1 (Ω2) is the inner (outer) cylinder angular velocity. We find that the Rossby number Ro = (Ω1 - Ω2)/Ω2 fully determines the state and torque G as compared to G(Ro = ∞) ≡ G∞. The ratio G/G∞ is a linear function of Ro(-1) in four sections of the parameter space. For flows with radially increasing angular momentum, our measured torques greatly exceed those of previous experiments [Ji et al., Nature (London), 444, 343 (2006)], but agree with the analysis of Richard and Zahn [Astron. Astrophys. 347, 734 (1999)].
Related Concept Videos
Angular Momentum about an Arbitrary Axis
The velocity of a mass element comprises its translational velocity and the relative velocity instigated by the body's rotation. Substituting the velocity equation into the angular...
Angular Momentum and Principle Axes of Inertia
To put this equation into simpler terms, it can be reconfigured using rectangular coordinates. This involves choosing an alternative set of XYZ axes that are arbitrarily inclined with respect to the reference frame. The process of deriving the rectangular...
Angular Momentum: Rigid Body
This calculation can get complicated when tiny particles within the rigid body are not rotating in the same plane but have...
Principle of Angular Impulse and Momentum
Euler Equations of Motion
Angular Momentum: Single Particle
The...

