ELI5: What is turbulence?

Turbulence is when air or water moves in a chaotic, swirling, and unpredictable way.

Imagine you're stirring a cup of tea really fast. At first, the tea moves smoothly, but if you stir harder, it starts to swirl and splash around in a messy way – that's kind of like turbulence.

• Think of air or water like a collection of tiny marbles all moving together. When they all move in the same direction at the same speed, it's a smooth flow, like a calm river.
• But when some marbles start bumping into each other, changing direction suddenly, and spinning around, that's when turbulence starts.

• Turbulence can also happen when air flows over mountains or buildings. The air has to go around these obstacles, which can cause it to become unstable and swirly.

• Think of it like a river flowing over rocks. The water flows smoothly before the rocks, but after the rocks, it gets choppy and turbulent.