Vortex stretching vs viscosity: the battle inside Navier-Stokes that could breed a singularity
stevenstrogatz · x · 2026-09-09
In thread entry 7, Strogatz explains the mechanism behind possible singularities: the fluid's own vortex stretching intensifies vorticity, alters the flow, and can produce more stretching, while viscosity acts as internal friction smoothing sharp velocity variations. The battle—nonlinear stretching concentrating vorticity versus viscosity diffusing it away—is the core tension of the problem.
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