Nobel laureates and fluid dynamics research

Do Nobel laureates do research in fluid dynamics? As far as I can tell, the Nobel Prize has been awarded specifically for achievements in fluid dynamics exactly once, to Hannes Alfven (Physics, 1970) “for fundamental work and discoveries in magnetohydro-dynamics with fruitful applications in different parts of plasma physics.” An argument could be made for Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (Physics, 1991) who was awarded for his work on liquid crystals, and Ilya Prigogine (Chemistry, 1977) who was awarded for his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics and dissipative structures. These fields are at least adjacent to fluid dynamics, with considerable overlap. However, other Nobel laureates, who won the award for other achievements, have often either dabbled or even made substantial contributions to fluid dynamics research.

Perhaps the most accomplished was Lord Rayleigh (Physics, 1904), who won the prize for studies of the densities of gases, as well as for the discovery of Argon. He made immense contributions to the theories of fluid dynamics and acoustics, particularly in the field of hydrodynamic instabilities. In the latter field we find his name attached to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, the Plateau-Rayleigh instability, and Rayleigh-Benard convection (not to mention the Rayleigh number). Rayleigh's monograph on the Theory of Sound is a landmark publication in the history of acoustics. Another Nobel laureate, astrophysicist Subramanyan Chandrasekhar (Physics, 1983), also contributed to the theory of hydrodynamic instability, authoring the similarly landmark monograph, Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic Stability. As far as I know, Chandraskehar is the only Nobel laureate to have served on the executive committee of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics (1954-1957, as chair in 1955; long before he won the Nobel Prize).

The theory of turbulence is said to concern the greatest unsolved problem of classical physics. Werner Heisenberg (Physics, 1932) and Lars Onsager (Chemistry, 1968), both developed turbulence theories analogous to the famous Kolmogorov-Obukhov -5/3 law. Heisenberg, whose doctoral dissertation was in fluid dynamics, developed his theory while detained at Farm Hall after WWII, with Karl von Weizsacker. Lev Landau (Physics, 1962) had his own theory of turbulence, and his monograph with E. M. Lifshitz on Fluid Mechanics is one of the best known volumes of their Course of Theoretical Physics.

Other Nobel Laureates dabbled in hydrodynamic research. Edward M. Purcell (Physics, 1952) wrote a famous paper, “Life at Low Reynolds Number” (1977), and T. D. Lee (Physics, 1957) wrote “On some statistical properties of hydrodynamical and magneto-hydrodynamical fields” (1952). Albert Einstein proposed a new airfoil design in 1916, although it was not successful. Richard Feynman lectured eloquently about fluid dynamics in two chapters of the Feynman Lectures, but as far as I know he did not pursue research in the field.

The above musings were prompted by an article in last week's issue of Science, co-authored by Ahmed H. Zewail (Chemistry, 1999). The paper (Lorenz and Zewail, 2014) concerns measurements of the motion of molten lead in a single zinc oxide nanotube, using electron microscopy. The work is a contribution to the young and growing field of nanofluidics.

Readers, do you know of other Nobel laureates who have contributed to fluid dynamics or related fields? Please leave your comments if you do.

Reference

Ulrich J. Lorenz and Ahmed H. Zewail, 2014:  Observing liquid flow in nanotubes by 4D electron microscopy.  Science, 344:  1496-1500.