This book presents five sets of pedagogical lectures by internationally respected researchers on nonlinear instabilities and the transition to turbulence in hydrodynamics. The book begins with a general introduction to hydrodynamics covering fluid properties, flow measurement, dimensional analysis and turbulence. Chapter two reviews the special characteristics of instabilities in open flows. Chapter three presents mathematical tools for multiscale analysis and asymptotic matching applied to the dynamics of fronts and localized nonlinear states. Chapter four gives a detailed review of pattern forming instabilities. The final chapter provides a detailed and comprehensive introduction to the instability of flames, shocks and detonations. Together, these lectures provide a thought-provoking overview of current research in this important area.

‘ … important reading for students embarking on a research career in hydrodynamics … In summary, I very much enjoyed reading this book, and learned much from it … I expect that it will find a wide readership among theoretical hydrodynamicists, and will still be useful well into the next century.’

M. R. E. Proctor Source: European Journal of Mechanics