Introduction to Vorticity

A fluid vortices text, even one replete with experimental and computational results, must, of necessity, include information on the mathematical and physical underpinnings of vorticity. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with this information. Some advanced graduate level fluid mechanics courses cover the material in this chapter, but readers without this background would be well-advised to read the chapter carefully. Without this foundation of fluid vorticity understanding, subsequent chapters will be more abstruse.