ABSTRACT
The study of low-gravity fluid mechanics and heat transfer evolves from a fundamental understanding of fluid behavior and the consequent transfer of energy from the fluid to its surroundings under terrestrial conditions. In fact, in many cases the effects of low gravity on fluid dynamics can be much better appreciated in terms of nondimensional numbers than in dimensional form. Analytical model building has become possible only recently, due largely to substantial advances made in the areas of the foundations of fluid dynamics and heat transfer. The motion of fluids is governed by the basic conservation principles for Newtonian mechanics in the continuum frame of reference. These laws are the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy. In order for these conservation principles to be useful as predictive tools, they must be translated into equivalent mathematical equations whose solutions provide the required answers.
