[1] At low velocities, the fluid tends to flow without lateral mixing, and adjacent layers slide past one another smoothly.
The threshold velocity is determined by a dimensionless parameter characterizing the flow called the Reynolds number, which also depends on the viscosity and density of the fluid and dimensions of the channel.
In that case, the velocity of flow varies from zero at the walls to a maximum along the cross-sectional centre of the vessel.
As the wing moves forward through the air, the boundary layer at first flows smoothly over the streamlined shape of the airfoil.
Laminar airflow is used to separate volumes of air, or prevent airborne contaminants from entering an area.
Laminar flow hoods are used to exclude contaminants from sensitive processes in science, electronics and medicine.
A laminar flow design for animal husbandry of rats for disease management was developed by Beall et al. 1971 and became a standard around the world[9] including in the then-Eastern Bloc.