Physicists discover “hidden turbulence” throughout van Gogh’s Starry Night

Vincent van Gogh's "The Starry Night" painting has fascinated physicists due to its accurate depiction of turbulence in nature. A new study found that the painting's swirling patterns match Kolmogorov scaling, a mathematical concept describing energy transfer in turbulent flows. Researchers also discovered that the microscale brush strokes align with Batchelor scaling, a related phenomenon. This combination of two types of scaling is rare in atmospheric systems, suggesting van Gogh had an exceptional intuitive understanding of natural turbulence. The findings may lead to a broader definition of turbulence in fluid dynamics.