Skip to main content Skip to Search Box
Definition: vortex (plural vortices) from The Penguin Dictionary of Science

A region of a fluid with high ➤vorticity; a swirl of fluid rotating about a line. Vortices are generated by, for example, aircraft wings.

vortex

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(vôr'tĕks), mass of fluid in whirling or rotary motion. To simplify the analysis, vortex motion usually describes motions in a frictionless fluid. In such cases the absence of friction would make it impossible to create or to destroy vortex motion. Motion in such a fluid would be a permanent flow pattern; the velocity of the fluid element instantaneously passing through a given point in space would be constant in time. Lines drawn so that their direction is that of the axis of rotation of the fluid are called vortex lines, and if these lines close on themselves they are called vortex rings. Hermann von Helmholtz was probably the first to investigate the properties of vortex motion; Lord Kelvin developed a theory of the material atom as a vortex ring; and J. C. Maxwell worked out a theory of electromagnetism, assuming that every magnetic tube of force was a vortex with an axis of rotation coinciding with the direction of the force. Many properties have been mathematically proved for the…
484 results

Full text Article vortex

From The Macquarie Dictionary
vortexes, vortices /'vct7siz/, /'vawtuhseez/ a whirling movement or mass of water, as a whirlpool. vortices, vortexes vortexes, vortices /'vct7siz/, /'vawtuhseez/ a whirling movement or mass of air, as a whirlwind. vortices, vortexes vortexes, vortices…
| 165 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article vortex

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(vôr'tĕks), mass of fluid in whirling or rotary motion. To simplify the analysis, vortex motion usually describes motions in a frictionless fluid. In such cases the absence of friction would make it impossible to create or to destroy vortex motion. Motion in such a fluid would be a permanent flow…
| 313 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article vortex

From An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation
Vortex streamline flow.
i. In meteorology, any rotary flow in the atmosphere. ii. As used in aerodynamics, circular patterns of air created by the movement of an airfoil through the air when generating lift. As an airfoil moves through the atmosphere in sustained flight, an area of low pressure is created above it. The air…
| 200 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article vortex

From The Chambers Dictionary
( pl vor'tices /-ti-sēz/ or vor'texes ) a whirling motion of a liquid, gas or fire forming a cavity in the centre, a whirlpool, an eddy, a whirlwind; a pursuit, way of life, situation, etc, that engulfs one irresistibly or remorselessly, taking up all one's attention or energies; according to a…
| 219 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article What exactly is the polar vortex? (Feb. 2021)

From The Conversation: An Independent Source of Analysis from Academic Researchers
At the start of February 2021, a major snowstorm hit the northeast United States, with some areas receiving well over two feet of snow. Just a few weeks earlier, Spain experienced a historic and deadly snowstorm and dangerously low temperatures. Northern Siberia is no stranger to cold, but in…
| 944 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article plasma vortex

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
A suggested cause of crop circles. Plasma is the scientific term for a very hot, highly conductive form of ionized gas. This is formed in the earth’s atmosphere by electrical discharge, such as that found in lightning. One explanation for the apparently overnight formation of crop circles is that…
| 192 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article engine air-inlet vortex destroyer

From An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation
Jetstream from the leading edge of the engine is...
A small jetstream directed downward from the leading edge of the nose cowl to the ground to destroy the swirling vortex base. When gas turbine engines are operating on the ground, an engine air-inlet vortex can sometimes form between the engine air inlet and the ground. This vortex can cause a…
| 114 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article vortex

From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary
pronunciation (1652) 1 :  something that resembles a whirlpool 〈the hellish ⁓ of battle — Time 〉 2 a :  a mass of fluid (as a liquid) with a whirling or circular motion that tends to form a cavity or vacuum in the center of the circle and to draw toward this cavity or vacuum bodies subject…
| 105 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article vortex

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
vortex Getty Images GI Photo: Yamada Taro
| 75 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article vortex

From The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary
vortex
| 37 words , 1 image
Mind Map

Stack overflow
More Library Resources