The origin of turbulence and the accompanying transition from laminar to turbulent flow is of fundamental importance for the whole science of fluid mechanics.
The increasing power of workstations has made it possible for science to gain
new insight:
1) To theoretically and computationally determine the critical Reynolds number
for the Hagen-Poiseuille flow.
2) To develop new understandings of the relation between the Navier-Stokes
equations and other foundamental physical equations.