A New Equation of Mean Velocity in Flow, Its Verification and Consequences: H.B. Fischer’s Experiment in the Caltech Canal

The Chezy-Manning equation has long been the macroscopic description of flow in real channels, and its foundation is the balance of Newtonian mechanical forces. This Article presents the development and verification of a new equation of average velocity in the flow, defined this time in terms of electric forces (Van der Waals), having the same structure as the classical equation. Its application can be very broad, since in addition to having a new and powerful theoretical tool, in engineering practice it allows reducing the degree of uncertainty in the measurement of natural channels. The validity of the Elder equation, which links hydraulics and Dispersion, is analyzed here and an adjustment to its application is proposed, considering the Longitudinal Transport Coefficient as a function of time.