# University of Pittsburgh Team Reverses the Direction of Turbulent Energy, Overturning an 80-Year-Old Law

*2026-06-03 22:01 UTC · Science · 1 min read*

> Pitt and Turin engineers used tensor geometry to reverse the direction of energy flow in turbulence, overturning an 80-year-old principle from Kolmogorov.

Engineers at the University of Pittsburgh, working with collaborators at the University of Turin, have shown that the direction energy travels through turbulence can be deliberately reversed — challenging a principle laid down by Andrey Kolmogorov in 1941. Until now, scientists held that in 3D flows like oceans and the atmosphere energy always cascades from large structures down to small ones, while only thin 2D flows run the other way.

The team, led by assistant professor Lei Fang with PhD student Xinyu Si, used tensor geometry — a framework describing how stress and deformation tensors align — to steer the flow. By tuning that alignment against an external force, they produced turbulent flows showing either forward or inverse energy flux on demand. "Our framework extends to the 3D scale as well," Fang said.

The work, published in Science Advances, could let engineers shape turbulence rather than just endure it — with potential uses in coastal management and wastewater dispersal, medical microfluidic mixing, and sharper climate modeling.

## Sources

- [sciencedaily.com](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260602021655.htm)
- [scitechdaily.com](https://scitechdaily.com/new-discovery-challenges-80-year-old-theory-about-turbulence/)

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TechTools News · https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/1767-university-of-pittsburgh-team-reverses-the-direction-of-turbulent-energy
Česká verze: https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/1840-tym-z-university-of-pittsburgh-obratil-smer-toku-energie-v-turbulenci-a