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Article

Von Kármán: Fluid Dynamics and Other Things

JAN 01, 1986
He was one of the pioneers of aerodynamics, contributing the concepts of vortex streets and explaining the sand ripples in the desert, and he practically invented consulting.
William R. Sears

It is a pleasure to write about Theodore von Kármán. I am somewhat concerned, however, as I consider the audience for this article, many of whom are also fluid dynamicists: I can imagine quite a few old friends who knew von Kármán—perhaps as well as I—saying, “Oh, that isn’t the way it really was.” Well, I can only say that what I am going to write about is the way I remember it. (There must be some kind of “statute of limitations” that says that when you get to a certain age—and I suppose I have—you’re entitled to tell it the way you remember it, and let the chips fall where they may.)

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More about the authors

William R. Sears, University of Arizona, Tucson.

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This Content Appeared In
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Volume 39, Number 1

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