Crow Instability

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Crow instability is responsible for the shape of this contrail
Crow instability is responsible for the shape of this contrail

In aerodynamics, the Crow instability is an inviscid line-vortex instability, named after its discoverer S. C. Crow. It is observed when the vortices caused by aircraft are being whirled from being otherwise straight contrails into spirals then donut-shaped rings.

[edit] See also

[edit] references

  • Crow, S. C., Stability theory for a pair of trailing vortices, AIAA J., 8, 2172-2179 (1970).
  • Saffman, P. G., Vortex Dynamics, Cambridge Uni. Press, New York (1992).