Airy Wave Theory - Surface Tension Effects

Surface Tension Effects

Due to surface tension, the dispersion relation changes to:

with γ the surface tension, with SI units in N/m. All above equations for linear waves remain the same, if the gravitational acceleration g is replaced by

As a result of surface tension, the waves propagate faster. Surface tension only has influence for short waves, with wavelengths less than a few decimeters in case of a water–air interface. For very short wavelengths – two millimeter in case of the interface between air and water – gravity effects are negligible.

Read more about this topic:  Airy Wave Theory

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