The behavior of fluids — gases and liquids — is described by equations developed in the nineteenth century by Claude-Louis Navier and George Stokes. Despite their wide practical use in weather modeling, aerodynamics, and oceanography, basic questions about whether these equations always have well-behaved solutions remain unsolved. The Clay Mathematics Institute includes the existence-and-smoothness problem for the Navier-Stokes equations among its million-dollar Millennium Prize Problems.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
- A
Fluid dynamics is no longer studied.
- Bcheck_circle
Despite the practical importance of the Navier-Stokes equations, basic mathematical questions about them remain unresolved.
- C
The Navier-Stokes equations have been fully solved.
- D
The Millennium Prizes have all been awarded.
Explanation
The passage's central point is the gap between practical use and unresolved mathematics — B. A, C, and D contradict.