An Exact Solution of the Unsteady Navier-Stokes Equations Resulting From a Stretching Surface

When a stretching surface is moved quickly, for a short period of time, a pulse is transmitted to the surrounding fluid. Here we describe an exact solution in terms of a similarity variable for the Navier-Stokes equations which represents the effect of this pulse for two-dimensional flow. The unusual feature is that this solution is only valid for a limited range of the Reynolds number; outside this domain unbounded velocities result.