Paper, 'On the waves produced by a single impulse in water of any depth, or in a dispersive medium' by W [William] Thomson

Description

Thomson writes: 'For brevity and simplicity consider only the case of two-dimensional motion. All that it is necessary to know of the medium is the relation between the wave-velocity and the wave-length of an endless procession of periodic waves. The result of our work will show us that the velocity of progress of a zero, or maximum, or minimum, in any part of a varying group of waves, is equal to the velocity of progress of periodic waves of wave-length equal to a certain length, which may be defined as the wave-length in the neighbourhood of the particular point looked to in the group (a length which will generally be intermediate between the distances from the point considered to its next-neighbour corresponding points on its two sides).'

Annotations in pencil and ink throughout.

Subject: Physics / Fluid dynamics

Received 26 January 1887. Read 3 February 1887.

A version of this paper was published in volume 42 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On the waves produced by a single impulse in water of any depth, or in a dispersive medium'.

Reference number

PP/10/10

Earliest possible date

1887

Physical description

Ink and graphite pencil on paper

Page extent

12 pages

Format

Manuscript