Elastohydrodynamic penetration length (${\ell }_{\omega }=(B/(c_{\perp }\omega ){)}^{1/4}$)

The elastohydrodynamic penetration length balances the transverse viscous force $c_{\perp }\omega y$ against the bending force $By/{\ell }_{\omega }^4$ in a periodically driven filament. The sperm number $L/{\ell }_{\omega }$ distinguishes nearly rigid, weakly deformed filaments from long filaments whose response is localized near the actuator.