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Fluid dynamics

Spinning discs in the lab

What causes gas to be drawn in towards black holes, rather than remain in a stable orbit as planets do around the Sun? A laboratory result indicates that something more than just hydrodynamics must be at work.

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Balbus, S. Spinning discs in the lab. Nature 444, 281–283 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/444281a

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