The Aerodynamics of Reacting Substances

Abstract

Speaking broadly, the subject of aerodynamics is concerned not only with the forces exerted by a single fluid on solid bodies but also with the behavior of mixtures such as those which occur in the gasoline engine and in the atmosphere. In a complete study of the motion of a fluid attention must be paid to reactions between its constituents, evaporation, conduction and radiation of heat, diffusion, viscosity and other phenomena. It is uncertain to what extent equations governing the various processes can be derived from a single variational principle as some of the phenomena mentioned are known to present difficulties, but the situation may be clarified a little by an examination of the equations derived from a variational principle of a very general type.