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Stream function
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<p>In <a href="/facts/Fluid_dynamics/y7uzSCfg">fluid dynamics</a>, two types of stream function (or streamfunction) are defined: </p> <ul><li>The two-dimensional (or Lagrange) stream function, introduced by <a href="/facts/Joseph_Louis_Lagrange/bTQUaSTv">Joseph Louis Lagrange</a> in 1781, is defined for <a href="/facts/Incompressible_flow/1CwmhTPf">incompressible</a> (<a href="/facts/Divergence-free/9ohQ6clr">divergence-free</a>), two-dimensional <a href="/facts/Fluid_flow/y7uzSCfg">flows</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/facts/Stokes_stream_function/t7WT8SHt">Stokes stream function</a>, named after <a href="/facts/George_Gabriel_Stokes/7RHJJ5Lj">George Gabriel Stokes</a>, is defined for incompressible, three-dimensional flows with <a href="/facts/Axisymmetry/bpvJqcnS">axisymmetry</a>.</li></ul> <p>The properties of stream functions make them useful for analyzing and graphically illustrating flows. </p><p>The remainder of this article describes the two-dimensional stream function. </p>