Thirty years of fluid dynamics

Interest in fluid dynamics as a separate field of physics with its own set of problems came about largely as a result of experiences during World War II. Until that time, the various events occurring in fluids were usually thought of as problems in mathematics or engineering. During the war years, however, the relations among phenomena such as turbulence, explosions, shock waves and supersonic aerodynamics were recognized, and physicists began to consider them again from the point of view of their own science. In 1947, the Division of Fluid Dynamics was established within The American Physical Society.