  The flow of fluids in channels, pipes or ducts, as in any other wall-bounded
flow (like water along the hulls of ships or air on airplanes) is hindered by a
drag, which increases many-folds when the fluid flow turns from laminar to
turbulent. A major technological problem is how to reduce this drag in order to
minimize the expense of transporting fluids like oil in pipelines, or to move
ships in the ocean. It was discovered in the mid-twentieth century that minute
concentrations of polymers can reduce the drag in turbulent flows by up to 80%.
While experimental knowledge had accumulated over the years, the fundamental
theory of drag reduction by polymers remained elusive for a long time, with
arguments raging whether this is a "skin" or a "bulk" effect. In this
colloquium review we first summarize the phenomenology of drag reduction by
polymers, stressing both its universal and non-universal aspects, and then
proceed to review a recent theory that provides a quantitative explanation of
all the known phenomenology. We treat both flexible and rod-like polymers,
explaining the existence of universal properties like the Maximum Drag
Reduction (MDR) asymptote, as well as non-universal cross-over phenomena that
depend on the Reynolds number, on the nature of the polymer and on its
concentration. Finally we also discuss other agents for drag reduction with a
stress on the important example of bubbles.
