Local isotropy of turbulence means that joint small-scale velocity increment statistics are approximately unchanged by rotations, even when the large-scale flow is anisotropic. The universal equilibrium range contains separations much smaller than the integral scale of turbulence: their adjustment times are short compared with the outer eddy turnover time, and their normalized statistics are assumed independent of the detailed large-scale forcing. It includes the inertial range and the dissipation range.
The Kolmogorov first similarity hypothesis says that these locally isotropic statistics depend only on , mean viscous dissipation and kinematic viscosity . Dimensional analysis therefore expresses the second-order longitudinal structure function in terms of the Kolmogorov microscales:
The universality of is an assumption of the theory, not a consequence of dimensional analysis alone.
The Kolmogorov second similarity hypothesis removes dependence on kinematic viscosity when . Only and remain, so the Kolmogorov two-thirds law is
The same reasoning gives the predicted order- longitudinal structure function:
These are signed moments for integer ; for noninteger orders, use . In particular, the signed third-order coefficient is negative, , in the Kolmogorov four-fifths law.