Harnessing Turbulence for Function

Turbulence is known for its chaotic nature, with the flow composed of seemingly random swirling motions, yet it retains some statistical properties that appear deterministic. Here, we explore how such a flow can interact with a specifically designed mechanical object. We generate a turbulent von Kármán flow within a closed box and introduce a mechanical assembly that can be actuated by the turbulent flow. Our design demonstrates that turbulent fluctuations can be harnessed deterministically to achieve desired function and we examine the scaling and general principles that underlie this discovery.