The steady Bernoulli equation is
At the regular sonic point, part a gives
Define
The isentropic flow relation and mass conservation between the stellar surface and the sonic point give
Equating the surface and sonic values of the Bernoulli function therefore yields the required relation
An outflow reaching infinity with positive terminal kinetic energy requires , hence
At the terminal state is marginal with ; larger cannot support the stipulated wind to infinity.
Let denote the inward speed. Steady spherical mass conservation and the radial momentum equation for an isothermal gas give
Eliminating produces the Isothermal Bondi equation
A smooth flow can cross Mach number one only where both sides vanish. Its Bondi sonic point is therefore
The integrated Bernoulli equation which approaches rest and density at infinity is
At the sonic point this gives , and hence the unique regular transonic branch has
The steady Euler equations for an inviscid fluid are
Taking the scalar product with and using
gives
Thus
The Bernoulli function is constant along each streamline: fluid particles in steady flow exchange pressure, kinetic, and potential energy without changing their total mechanical energy density.
Let be the downward displacement of the free surface from its initial level, and let be the speed in the tube. Conservation of volume gives
The free surface and the outlet are both at atmospheric pressure, and their vertical separation is . Applying the Bernoulli equation between them, while retaining the small free-surface speed, gives
Therefore
The surface reaches the upper tube end when . Hence the draining time of a uniform tank through a siphon is
Define the indoor-to-outdoor reduced gravity
Because the whole opening lies above the interface, its indoor side contains upper-layer fluid of density . Under hydrostatic pressure, the pressure difference varies linearly about a neutral pressure level. Equal opening geometry and equal discharge coefficients for inflow and outflow put that level at the vent midpoint. At vertical distance from it, the ideal Bernoulli equation gives speed .
Writing for either one-way volumetric flow rate, integration over one half of the opening gives
The total unsigned exchange is . The ideal sharp-edged inviscid model has ; an empirical represents contraction and losses.
Potential flow around a circular cylinder Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Uniform irrotational flow of speed past a circular cylinder of radius , with zero circulation, has velocity potential
On the cylinder, the tangential speed is , so the Bernoulli equation gives
For steady spherical isentropic flow with around a point mass, put and . Eliminating the mass density gives . With , , and , the Bernoulli equation reduces to , where . Since has its unique minimum at , a regular sonic point requires and . One transonic branch is , which has , and . The decreasing branch has inner free fall and an outer nearly static reservoir, giving Bondi accretion for inward fluid flow. A nonradiative stationary shock wave keeps fixed but raises , so increases by the factor . The inward transonic solution is the spherical , specialization of transonic accretion in a power-law tube.
Consider steady isentropic flow toward a Newtonian gravitational potential through a tube of cross-sectional area . Write for the inward speed and use a polytropic equation of state with specific-heat ratio . Mass conservation and the Euler equations for an inviscid fluid give
where is the adiabatic sound speed. A regular sonic point therefore has and . The Bernoulli equation, matched to a nearly stationary reservoir with sound speed , gives
For , a finite positive sonic point requires . Differentiating the flow equation at that point, with , gives
Its discriminant is , so the same bound permits real regular slopes. The branch on which the Mach number rises inward selects the negative sign in
For a spherical tube , this recovers the threshold of Bondi accretion; for a dipolar flux-tube area, gives . The tube approximation must remain valid between the reservoir matching region and the accretor.