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New equation helps unravel behavior of turbulence

To most people, turbulence is the jolt felt by jet passengers moving through a rough pocket of air. But to scientists, turbulence is the chaotic flow of a gas or liquid, in which parts of the current curl into irregular, ever smaller, tight eddies. It's a very common phenomenon that can affect weather conditions, greatly alter the movement of pollutants, dampen a vehicle's speed, or play a role in the way chemicals mix and combustion engines perform. Yet the phenomenon is difficult to understand, and scientists cannot easily predict how a turbulent flow will behave.