Kármán vortex street

/ ˈkɑːmən /

noun

1. a regular stream of vortices shed from a body placed in a fluid stream: investigated by Kármán who advanced a formula for the frequency of the shed vortices in terms of the stream velocity and the dimensions of the body See also vortex street

Word History and Origins

Origin of Kármán vortex street¹

named after Theodore Von Kármán (1881–1963), Hungarian-born engineer

Example Sentences

The Washington Post speculates that incident may have been the result of a Kármán vortex street — a pattern of swirling vortices that could have resulted from Gibraltar's unique geography — although no official explanation from British Airways has been provided.

Read more on Salon

This pattern is known rather grandly as a von Karman vortex street.

Read more on Scientific American