For two-dimensional periodic water waves or sound waves, the
kinetic energy per wavelength is
½mdc2, and the
momentum per
wavelength is ±mdc, where
c is the
wave velocity, and md is the drift mass per
wavelength. These results also hold for three-dimensional periodic
waves, for which the kinetic energy, momentum, and drift mass are all
for one wave cell, the area of which is the product of the wavelengths
in two perpendicular directions.The results obtained are rigorous, and not restricted to linear
waves or even to nonlinear symmetric waves. For linear water waves, in
particular, the kinetic energy can be shown to be equal to the sum of
the potential energy and the surface energy (due to surface tension),
so that the total energy E is twice the kinetic energy, andformula hereMcIntyre's (1981) contention that wave momentum is a myth is
discussed at length for both water waves and sound waves.