Big whirls have little whirls,That feed on their velocity;And little whirls have lesser whirls,And so on to viscosity.

Summary

This quote, attributed to Lewis F. Richardson, highlights the concept of turbulence in fluid dynamics. It suggests that larger turbulent motions (big whirls) give rise to smaller ones (little whirls) which sustain themselves through the energy provided by the larger motions. It implies that the intricate patterns and movements observed in fluids, such as airflow or water currents, are interconnected and dependent on each other. The reference to viscosity emphasizes that these interactions continue at smaller scales until the viscosity of the fluid dampens the turbulence.

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