Author: Kern E. Kenyon
During reflection from a solid vertical wall, surface gravity waves produce a steady force on the wall, which was calculated earlier by the momentum method. Recently the linear momentum of these waves has been estimated to be twice as large as deduced from the classical Stokes drift formula. Therefore, the magnitude of the reflected wave force has been doubled here and the algebraic form of the equation is converted to be more understandable physically. Wave force equals fluid density times the square of the particle’s orbital speed and a numerical constant. Observations are welcomed to compare with the theory.
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