Hydraulic Head - Analogs To Other Fields

Analogs To Other Fields

Hydraulic head is a measure of energy, and has many analogs in physics and chemistry, where the same mathematical principles and rules apply:

• Hydraulic head is analogous to:
  • magnetic monopole
  • electric charge
  • heat (i.e., temperature)
  • concentration
• A continuous "field" of hydraulic heads is analogous to:
  • an electric field
  • a magnetic field
• Similar differential operators can be applied to the fields, to find:
  • the gradient, or the direction of flow
  • the divergence of flow
  • the curl, or if the field is rotating