Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • By the Numbers
  • Published:

Getting the (dimensionless) numbers right

Gareth McKinley discusses the physical interpretation that lies behind the dimensionless parameters that are so widely used by engineers.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Rayleigh, L. Nature 95, 66–68 (1915).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Santiago, J. G. A First Course in Dimensional Analysis (MIT Press, 2019).

  3. Bridgman, P. W. Dimensional Analysis (Yale Univ. Press, 1931).

  4. White, F. M. Fluid Mechanics 8th edn (McGraw Hill, 2015).

  5. Deen, W. M. Introduction to Chemical Engineering (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2016).

  6. McMahon, T. A. On Size and Life (Scientific American Press, 2011).

  7. Catchpole, J. P. & Fulford, G. Ind. Eng. Chem. 58, 46 (1966).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. McKinley, G. H. & Renardy, M. Phys. Fluids 23, 127101 (2011).

  9. Fardin, M. A., Hautefeuille, M. & Sharma, V. Soft Matter 18, 3291–3303 (2022).

  10. Lineweaver, C. H. & Patel, V. M. Am. J. Phys. 91, 819–825 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gareth H. McKinley.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

McKinley, G.H. Getting the (dimensionless) numbers right. Nat Chem Eng 1, 116 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-023-00015-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-023-00015-z

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing