The goal of this research project is to determine the fractal nature, if any, which
surface water waves exhibit when viewed on a microscopic scale. Due to the
relatively recent development of this area of mathematics, a brief introduction to the
study of fractal geometry, as well as several examples of fractals, are included in
this paper. From that point, this paper addresses the specific situation of a surface
wave as it nears the breaking point and attempts to detect the fractal structure of a
wave at this given point when viewed on a microscopic scale. This is done from
both a physical standpoint based on observations at the Hinsdale Wave Facility at
Oregon State University and at Cape Perpetua, Oregon on the Pacific Coast, and
from a theoretical standpoint based on a spring model. / Graduation date: 1992
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/37013 |
| Date | 05 December 1991 |
| Creators | Gilliland, Crystal L. |
| Contributors | Guenther, Ronald B. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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