"Wind Tunnel Experiments Disrupt Turbulence Theory in Physics"

Wind tunnel experiments conducted by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization challenge current theoretical models of turbulence. The study focused on the distribution of kinetic energy among scales of the flow and found that the power-law prediction, which assumes universal behavior, is not correct. Instead, the data showed a clear logarithmic dependence on separation distance, indicating that something fundamental is missing in current theories of turbulence. These findings have implications for parameterizations of turbulent flows used in atmospheric models and suggest a need for a better understanding of large-scale effects and viscous effects in turbulence.