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A Century of Fluid Mechanics in The Netherlands
In October 1918, Jan Burgers, 23 years old, started as professor of ‘aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, and their applications’ at the Technical University...
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RESEARCH IN FLUID MECHANICS: APPROACHES
As in many other fields of physics and engineering, the theoretical approach is often a tough one and the number of real breakthrough results is...
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RESEARCH IN FLUID MECHANICS: FLOWS
The flows in this category have been subdivided among seven subcategories, for reasons of convenience and clarity. For each category examples of...
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The Well-Ordered Newtonian Mechanics
Just like many scientific giants, Issac Newton (1643–1727) was also a weirdo. He was anti-social and aggressive, unique in thinking as well as...
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Plasma Science
This chapter covers the basic theory and modeling of the state of matter known as plasma, in which nuclear fusion can take place. It begins with an...
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EPILOGUE
What will fluid mechanics look like one hundred years from now, in 2118? History has taught us that such predictions are hard to make. Very few in...
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INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
In this book we look back on developments in fluid mechanics in the Netherlands. Burgers’ observation, quoted above, raises at least one intriguing...
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DEVELOPMENTS AFTER 1955
By 1955 The Netherlands had two professors for fluid mechanics: Jan Burgers and Bert Broer (1916–1991). Both were trained as physicists and were able...
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Physics
The name of physics comes from the Greek, but the real history of physics begins with the publication of Isaac Newton’s masterpiece Philosophiae...
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Continuum Mechanics
The basic tool of scientific theory was, and still is, Newton’s differential calculus. Gone forever was the Greeks’ inability to comprehend...
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The Speculative Universe
The final chapter deals with topics that are, at present, still highly hypothetical. As well as controversial. There is not enough observational or...
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Orbital Hop**
This chapter tells the story of orbital tugs and upper stage concepts that would have allowed for a smooth movement of people and hardware from orbit...
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Unflown On-Orbit Servicing Capabilities
The Space Shuttle played an indispensable role in servicing and rescuing satellites and telescopes. This chapter is dedicated to satellite servicing...
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The Pillars of Physics
In the following, we will take a closer look at the confirmed theories of physics, i.e. those theories whose validity within a certain area – their...
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Two Centuries Of Astronomical Discovery
The word “horizon” descends from Ancient Greek, its root, horos, meaning “boundary or limitation.” The Greek phrase horizon (kyklos) or “bounding...
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MODULE MISSIONS
In this chapter, the authors review the background and activities of the Level-IV team in supporting the 13 Spacelab Long Module missions flown in...
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Human Spaceflight
Human spaceflight inevitably became the most high-profile part of Japan’s space programme. Following an early American invitation to join the...
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Gravitational Waves and Their Detectors: Into the Future—And Beyond
At the start of 2021, there were between 2,500 and 3,500 people in the world who could each easily afford their own interferometric gravitational...
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Diminishing Returns
IfDiminishing returns evolutionEvolution is so ongoing and everywhere, why do so many things look as if they are stuck in time? The cat and the dog,...
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Seeing What We Want to See: The Psychology of the Ashen Light
The fabled “canals” of Mars (Chap. 1 ), the claim for whose existence is traditionally ascribed to a single...