W. Wright
R. Budak
S. Putterman
Phys. Dept., UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024
The attenuation of light propagating through a slab of water (containing a dilute concentration of polyballs) is approximately proportional to its thickness. Application of this insight to the local elevation of a fluid surface has enabled us to use photography to determine the instantaneous global topography of the surface of a fluid in motion. Use of diffusing light enables us to obtain images that are free of the caustics which plague shadowgraphs. Applications include breather solitons and wave turbulence which results from the nonlinear interaction of a broadband spectrum of high amplitude surface ripples. Measurements indicate that as the amplitude of excitation of the surface of water is increased the wave number of the capillary motion displays a transition to a broadband spectrum. The temporal response of a single pixel yields the power spectrum of the surface height as a function of frequency ``f.'' The numerous harmonics which can be seen at low amplitude merge at high amplitude into a broadband spectrum which goes as 1/f[sup 3]. This technique should permit the measurement of turbulent parameters which go beyond the purported range of current theories. [Work supported by US DOE Division of Engineering and Geophysics and NASA Microgravity.]