太陽の曇り空と流体スピンダウン

Precession can be demonstrated effectively through a spinning top. If a spinning top is placed on a flat surface near the surface of the Earth at a vertical angle and is not spinning, it will fall over due to the force of gravity producing a torque acting on its center of mass. However, if the top is spinning on its axis, it precesses about the vertical direction, rather than topple over due to this torque. Precessional motion is a combination of a steady circular motion of the axis and the...

A system's total angular momentum remains constant if the net external torque acting on the system is zero. Examples of such systems include a freely spinning bicycle tire that slows over time due to torque arising from friction, or the slowing of Earth's rotation over millions of years due to frictional forces exerted on tidal deformations. However in the absence of a net external torque, the angular momentum remains conserved. The conservation of angular momentum principle requires a change...

The Moon orbits around the Earth. In turn, the Earth (and other planets) orbit the Sun. The space directly above our atmosphere is filled with artificial satellites in orbit. One can examine the circular orbit, the simplest kind of orbit, to understand the relationship between the speed and the period of planets and satellites with respect to their positions and the bodies that they orbit.
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) first suggested that the Earth and all other planets orbit the Sun in...

An accelerating particle experiences a force equal to the mass multiplied by the acceleration in an inertial frame of reference. Consider a particle in a non-inertial frame of reference, such as a sliding ball on a rotating table. The acceleration of the ball in this rotating reference frame is different than in the intertial frame, which modifies its equation of motion. The fictitious forces acting additionally on a rotating frame of reference alter Newton's Second Law expression. Centripetal...

Newton's law of gravitation describes the gravitational force between any two point masses. However, for extended spherical objects like the Earth, the Moon, and other planets, the law holds with an assumption that masses of spherical objects are concentrated at their respective centers.
This assumption can be proved easily by showing that the expression for gravitational potential energy between a hollow sphere of mass (M) and a point mass (m) is the same as it would be for a pair of extended...

Newtonian fluids exhibit a constant viscosity, meaning their shear stress and shear strain rate are directly proportional. This property ensures a predictable and stable response to applied forces, maintaining a linear relationship between force and flow. Examples include water, air, and light oils, consistently demonstrating this proportional behavior regardless of external conditions.
A velocity gradient forms within the fluid when a Newtonian fluid is placed between two parallel plates, with...