The Generation of Wind Velocity via Scale Invariant Gibbs Free Energy: Turbulence Drives the General Circulation

The mechanism for the upscale deposition of energy into the atmosphere from molecules and photons up to organized wind systems is examined. This analysis rests on the statistical multifractal analysis of airborne observations. The results show that the persistence of molecular velocity after collisi...

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Main Author: Adrian F. Tuck
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Entropy
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27/7/740
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author Adrian F. Tuck
author_facet Adrian F. Tuck
author_sort Adrian F. Tuck
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description The mechanism for the upscale deposition of energy into the atmosphere from molecules and photons up to organized wind systems is examined. This analysis rests on the statistical multifractal analysis of airborne observations. The results show that the persistence of molecular velocity after collision in breaking the continuous translational symmetry of an equilibrated gas is causative. The symmetry breaking may be caused by excited photofragments with the associated persistence of molecular velocity after collision, interaction with condensed phase surfaces (solid or liquid), or, in a scaling environment, an adjacent scale having a different velocity and temperature. The relationship of these factors for the solution to the Navier–Stokes equation in an atmospheric context is considered. The scale invariant version of Gibbs free energy, carried by the most energetic molecules, enables the acceleration of organized flow (winds) from the smallest planetary scales by virtue of the nonlinearity of the mechanism, subject to dissipation by the more numerous average molecules maintaining an operational temperature via infrared radiation to the cold sink of space. The fastest moving molecules also affect the transfer of infrared radiation because their higher kinetic energy and the associated more-energetic collisions contribute more to the far wings of the spectral lines, where the collisional displacement from the central energy level gap is greatest and the lines are less self-absorbed. The relationship of events at these scales to macroscopic variables such as the thermal wind equation and its components will be considered in the Discussion section. An attempt is made to synthesize the mechanisms by which winds are generated and sustained, on all scales, by appealing to published works since 2003. This synthesis produces a view of the general circulation that includes thermodynamics and the defining role of turbulence in driving it.
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spelling doaj-art-0a1f0a5d6de647cf8a9cc40e9006f4f32025-08-20T03:58:26ZengMDPI AGEntropy1099-43002025-07-0127774010.3390/e27070740The Generation of Wind Velocity via Scale Invariant Gibbs Free Energy: Turbulence Drives the General CirculationAdrian F. Tuck0Independent Researcher, Boulder, CO 80303, USAThe mechanism for the upscale deposition of energy into the atmosphere from molecules and photons up to organized wind systems is examined. This analysis rests on the statistical multifractal analysis of airborne observations. The results show that the persistence of molecular velocity after collision in breaking the continuous translational symmetry of an equilibrated gas is causative. The symmetry breaking may be caused by excited photofragments with the associated persistence of molecular velocity after collision, interaction with condensed phase surfaces (solid or liquid), or, in a scaling environment, an adjacent scale having a different velocity and temperature. The relationship of these factors for the solution to the Navier–Stokes equation in an atmospheric context is considered. The scale invariant version of Gibbs free energy, carried by the most energetic molecules, enables the acceleration of organized flow (winds) from the smallest planetary scales by virtue of the nonlinearity of the mechanism, subject to dissipation by the more numerous average molecules maintaining an operational temperature via infrared radiation to the cold sink of space. The fastest moving molecules also affect the transfer of infrared radiation because their higher kinetic energy and the associated more-energetic collisions contribute more to the far wings of the spectral lines, where the collisional displacement from the central energy level gap is greatest and the lines are less self-absorbed. The relationship of events at these scales to macroscopic variables such as the thermal wind equation and its components will be considered in the Discussion section. An attempt is made to synthesize the mechanisms by which winds are generated and sustained, on all scales, by appealing to published works since 2003. This synthesis produces a view of the general circulation that includes thermodynamics and the defining role of turbulence in driving it.https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27/7/740airborne observationsstatistical multifractalsmolecular collisionswind velocities
spellingShingle Adrian F. Tuck
The Generation of Wind Velocity via Scale Invariant Gibbs Free Energy: Turbulence Drives the General Circulation
Entropy
airborne observations
statistical multifractals
molecular collisions
wind velocities
title The Generation of Wind Velocity via Scale Invariant Gibbs Free Energy: Turbulence Drives the General Circulation
title_full The Generation of Wind Velocity via Scale Invariant Gibbs Free Energy: Turbulence Drives the General Circulation
title_fullStr The Generation of Wind Velocity via Scale Invariant Gibbs Free Energy: Turbulence Drives the General Circulation
title_full_unstemmed The Generation of Wind Velocity via Scale Invariant Gibbs Free Energy: Turbulence Drives the General Circulation
title_short The Generation of Wind Velocity via Scale Invariant Gibbs Free Energy: Turbulence Drives the General Circulation
title_sort generation of wind velocity via scale invariant gibbs free energy turbulence drives the general circulation
topic airborne observations
statistical multifractals
molecular collisions
wind velocities
url https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27/7/740
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