Wave Group velocity

Working in the lab can be a refreshing break from wrestling with OpenFOAM at a desk. Watching waves in a flume offers a direct view into their behavior while leaving room to dig into the theory behind them.
In this video, I’m sharing a regular wave moving through a wave tank. It shows the distinction between phase velocity (wave celerity, C) and group velocity (C_g). The waveform travels at celerity, but the energy moves at group velocity. In deep water, the group velocity is roughly half the celerity (n ≈ 0.5), so the front wave crest fades as energy lags behind. You see the same in open seas—front waves diminish, and new crests form as the group propagates.
This hands-on work sharpens your grasp of water wave mechanics. Linear wave theory is the foundation here, and deriving it from scratch at least once is a must for anyone studying waves. It’s a practice that ties theory to observation.

hashtag#WaveMechanics hashtag#FluidDynamics hashtag#CoastalEngineering hashtag#Oceanography hashtag#EngineeringInsights hashtag#HydraulicLab

Видео Wave Group velocity канала Ali Rahmani