Rayleigh friction

Weinstock, J., Nonlinear theory of gravity waves Momentum deposition, generalized Rayleigh friction, and diffusion. J Atmos Set 39, 1698, 1982. 

Experience shows that objects in motion tend to slow down and stop. This is attributed to the force of friction. Ultimately, this force results from the collisions between molecules however, friction is usually manifested in the atmosphere by the turbulence resulting from large wind shears on very small spatial scales. There are common mathematical expressions for the frictional force in terms of the gradient of the wind and coefficients of viscosity, but often it suffices to refer to friction by a dissipative time scale (Rayleigh friction) or to neglect it entirely. 

Figure 3.2. Breakup regimes of round liquid jets in quiescent air. I Rayleigh Jet Breakup (Varicose Breakup) II First Wind-Induced Breakup (Sinuous Wave Breakup) III Second Wind-Induced Breakup (Wave-like Breakup with Air Friction) IV Atomization.

These include the Rayleigh quotient method" and variational transition state theory (VTST).46 9 xhg 0 called PGH turnover theory and its semiclassical analog/ which presents an explicit expression for the rate of reaction for almost arbitrary values of the friction function is reviewed in Section IV. Quantum rate theories are discussed in Section V and the review ends with a Discussion of some open questions and problems. 

For natural convection, a correlation was established between the Nusselt criterion, which compares convective and conductive resistances to heat transfer and the Rayleigh criterion, which compares buoyancy forces with viscous friction ... 

Considering the ratio of inertia forces to friction forces, a parameter is obtained called the Reynolds number, or Reynolds law, in honor of Osborne Reynolds, who presented it in a publication of his experimental work in 1882. However, it was Lord Rayleigh 10 years later who developed the theory of dynamic similarity. 

In adhesion studies, the first demonstration of this effect was by Lord Rayleigh, who showed in 1899 that a single layer of fatty acid at a surface could reduce surface tension, adhesion, and friction. Since that time there has been enormous effort to study the structure of surfaces and interfaces to understand these substantial phenomena. It has become clear over the past 50 years that clean solid surfaces have a different structure from the bulk, and that this difference in structure must depend on any impurities or adhering bodies brought down onto the surface. Several examples are described in Somorjai s book. ... 

---