laminar: a standalone construct

In fluid dynamics, laminar describes a flow regime in which fluid moves in smooth, orderly, parallel layers (laminae) that slide past one another without mixing, the opposite of turbulent flow. Reynolds's 1883 An experimental investigation of the circumstances which determine whether the motion of water shall be direct or sinuous showed that this orderly state gives way to turbulence once the ratio of inertial to viscous forces (now the Reynolds number) crosses a threshold. The referent is a flow state defined by layered, non-mixing motion, and it shares only the Latin root for ‘layer’ with the layered architecture of the brain's cortex.[1]

Unit

A flow regime of smooth, non-mixing parallel layers below a critical Reynolds number

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Identified by a low Reynolds number, steady streamlines, and the absence of turbulent mixing