Abstract
The second‐order force produced by a sound beam directed normally at a plane target is calculated. Previous theories on acoustic radiation pressures associated with plane acoustic waves are examined critically, and erroneous results, where they exist, are noted and rectified. A number of general relations are established using a new approach which avoids the necessity of dealing with detailed solutions of the governing nonlinear equations. Some of the concepts inferred from known solutions obtained by previous authors require drastic revision in the light of the present study. Specifically, the notion that Rayleigh radiation pressure depends on the nonlinearity of the medium (while Langevian radiation pressure does not) is not true in the case where the medium is bounded by a partially reflecting wall. Again, the concept that the Rayleigh radiation pressure depends on the acoustic field only through the energy density of the field is shown to be false. An example is given showing that it depends also on how the field is maintained. [Work supported by Physics Program, ONR.]
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