The hidden science swirling in ‘The Starry Night’

Two decades ago, a pair of physicists stood in a museum in Madrid contemplating the work of the post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. One word kept popping up to describe the artist’s work and life: turbulent.Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. One physicist turned to the other to ask: Can the turbulence in Van Gogh’s paintings be quantified? A new controversy in physics was born. Turbulence is all around us. It is