Richard Manasseh School of Mathematics - Oceanography Group University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
A talk given to Year 12 High School students for the Mathematical
Association of New South Wales, 22 July 1992.
Abstract:
Fluids, unlike solids, can accelerate in complicated ways
when a force is
applied to them. The equation for fluid acceleration is
solved by neglecting
the complicated `nonlinear' terms, which are often
unimportant. This approach
allows calculations to be made predicting, for example,
the dynamics of long
ocean waves. However, the nonlinear terms do sometimes
take over and the
simplest mathematical solutions are then no longer valid.
This leads to the
breaking of the ocean waves and ultimately, to surf.
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