A doctorate is by definition an individual project, but it would be hard to argue it is done on one's own. It's been four years of ups and downs and there are many people who supported me directly or indirectly: partner, friends, co-workers. Having moved into a new country with no one but my partner, these people have played an important role. Too important for the brief words I dedicate to them here. Most important of all I'd like to thank my partner, Luciana, for her support throughout this period. This experience would not have been as good if not for her being around to support me, especially when things seemed like they would fall apart. And when I had no confidence in myself, she did. Thank you for everything. Thank you to my parents, Dolores and Paulo, and my sister, Mariana, who supported me from across the world and were patient and understanding of mine coming here. Particularly my father, who I know was hit hardest by the distance. Thank you for supporting me through this career choice. Thank you to my supervisors, Ingo Jahn, Vince Wheatley and Tim McIntyre for the support and guidance over these years, and for the opportunity. Thank you to the new friends I made here in Australia for the fun times you made sure I had. Some moved on already to pastures new, some are still around. You know who you are. I hope we can keep in touch as our lives take us to different places. I'd like to thank Andreas, Juan and Pierpaolo, closest and constant over these years, those "hyperfools". They'll get it. Thank you to the T4 crew: Eric, Jens, Keith, Ryan, the other Ryan, Sam, Tristan, Will, Zac. Some of you operated the tunnel for me, all of you taught me something and helped me when I needed. You made my experiments possible, in both small and big ways. Thank you for the support. Many thanks to Wilson Chan and Michael Smart. Your help was the most invaluable when I was in the tunnel and helped me successfully concluded my experiments. Not enough can be said about your support. Lastly, but certainly not least, thank you to Nicholas Gibbons for his support with the simulations, particularly the LES. You've always been extremely supportive and never denied help, even towards the end when I was annoying you daily with small problems. Thank you very much for all the help. ix Financial support This thesis was completed with financial support from the Brazilian National Council of Scientific and Technological Development-CNPq.
