Capillary wave

Capillary are transverse waves with a small wavelength on the surface of a liquid whose properties are mainly dependent on the surface tension of the liquid. The propagation velocity is determined up to a wavelength of approximately one centimeter almost exclusively by the surface tension. With increasing wavelength capillary waves go in gravity waves, because then outweighs the influence of gravity on the propagation speed.

Physical Description

At the highest point of a wave crest of the capillary pressure acts

Wherein the radius of curvature of the surface and corresponds to approximately. In this case, the function returns to the shape of the surface and corresponds to the wave equation

Is the phase velocity of capillary waves

The liquid density, the wavelength and the surface tension. Capillary waves have an anomalous dispersion, ie their propagation velocities take with decreasing wavelength to.