Past exam of the theoretical mechanics course of the University of Oxford 2007 B 5 Solution 2026-10-31
For a material volume, mass conservation is . The transport theorem and arbitrariness of that volume give . Balance of linear momentum includes the pressure traction and body force:Apply transport, the divergence theorem and the mass equation to obtainFor small perturbations of the uniform resting barotropic state, write , . Linearized mass and momentum areTaking the curl shows that initially vanishing vorticity remains zero, so the acoustic velocity has a potential . Integrating momentum, using the additive freedom of a velocity potential to remove the spatially constant integration term, gives . Continuity now yields .
For spherical symmetry, set and . The radial equation is , or . HenceRigid boundaries require radial velocity at both radii. A form automatically satisfying the condition at isAt , the condition becomesTherefore the nonzero oscillatory eigenfrequencies obeyThe undivided sine-cosine form avoids artificial issues from dividing by a cosine. The formal root is the spatially constant zero-frequency potential additive freedom of a velocity potential, not a propagating acoustic oscillation. This is the radial acoustic spectrum between rigid concentric spheres.