Vortex Tubes Get Thinner and Spin Faster: Strogatz on Vorticity
stevenstrogatz · x · 2026-09-09
Strogatz offers an intuitive picture of vorticity concentration: picture a vortex tube—a tiny tornado inside the fluid. Stretch it lengthwise; since water is essentially incompressible, the tube gets thinner, and as it thins its vorticity intensifies. This explains how a flow can concentrate vorticity into ever smaller regions, growing stronger and stronger—a physical picture behind possible finite-time Navier–Stokes singularities.
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