Parabolic Free Surface
Imagine a still pond at the edge of a forest. Make it a beautiful autumn day because that’s a nice thought. The surface is like smooth glass despite the rugged shape of the ground beneath it. This is because the surface of a fluid defines a zero potential height. Essentially the only forces acting on it are gravity and gravity is acting perpendicular to the surface. But what if you could include another force on the pond? How would the…