Fluid Dynamics: An Introduction

This book is dedicated to readers who want to learn fluid dynamics from the beginning. It assumes a basic level of mathematics knowledge that would correspond to that of most second-year undergraduate physics students and examines fluid dynamics from a physicist’s perspective. As such, the examples used primarily come from our environment on Earth and, where possible, from astrophysics. 

The text is arranged in a progressive and educational format, aimed at leading readers from the simplest basics to more complex matters like turbulence and magnetohydrodynamics. Exercises at the end of each chapter help readers to test their understanding of the subject (solutions are provided at the end of the book), and a special chapter is devoted to introducing selected aspects of mathematics that beginners may not be familiar with, so as to make the book self-contained.

Michel Rieutord was a student at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Saint-Cloud from 1980 to 1985. He studied theoretical physics and achieved his PhD thesis on “Tidal heating in close low mass binaries” at Paris-Meudon observatory (1987). Rieutord's research subject is Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics. More specifically he is interested in the effects of rotation, turbulence and magnetic fields in stars (including the Sun), planets and accretion discs. He has been the author or co-author of more than 130 papers in international journals and conference books. Rieutord has been teaching physics for undergraduates, fluid mechanics and astrophysics at all levels for a number of years.