KANAD VIDYUT JOURNAL

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1

April 5, 2024
Steady Solution of Laplace Tidal Equation with
Special Explanation of an Equatorial
Singularity
By

Vishwas V. Gokhale
402 Ratchada 17 Place, 368 Soi Inthamara 47, Dindaeng, Bangkok 10400, Thailand

1
Page
 P
𝝑

𝝀 D

l west hour angle of P

h west hour angle of

luminary

Trigonometric identity

𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝝑 = 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝝀 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜹 + 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝝀 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜹 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝒉 − 𝒍)

𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝒉 − 𝒍) = 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝒉 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝒍 + 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒉 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒍

2
Page
In a moon attached cage coordinate system with featureless earth all time
derivatives are 0 and the equations are:

𝝏(𝒖𝑳) 𝝏(𝒗𝑳𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀)
+ =𝟎
𝝏𝒍 𝝏𝝀
𝟏 𝝏(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻)
−𝒗(𝟐𝛀𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀) + =𝟎
𝒓𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 𝝏𝒍
𝟏 𝝏(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻)
𝒖(𝟐𝛀𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀) + =𝟎
𝒓 𝝏𝝀

Here 𝒖 and 𝒗 are the speeds in the direction of the latitude and longitude
respectively. 𝑳 is the depth of a uniform ocean covering earth. 𝒍 is longitude
or hour angle and 𝝀 is the latitude. 𝜻 is the deviation of the surface ocean
and 𝑻 is the tidal potential arising from the non-zero radius of the earth 𝒓
and the specific form of the force of gravitation.

𝟑 𝒓𝟐 𝟏
𝑻 = − 𝑮𝑴 𝟑 (𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝝑 − )
𝟐 𝑫 𝟑

Here 𝝑 is the geocentric zenith angle of the luminary at the point P on earth.
𝑮 is the gravitational constant, 𝑴 is the mass of the luminary ( 𝑴𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏 or 𝑴𝒔𝒖𝒏
) viz. sun or moon whose effect on 𝜻 is to be estimated and 𝑫 is the distance
of the luminary.

If magnetic or electric potentials leading to tidal influences are to be

𝒓𝟑
accommodated, they may vary as because of magnetic dipoles aligned at
𝑫𝟒
the water surface or electrical double layers present. Both would be subject
to influence from the luminaries (sun or moon) as can be demonstrated in
simple experiments.

𝒈 ≅ 𝑮𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 ⁄𝒓𝟐 is the acceleration due to gravity at the earth’s equilibrium

surface 𝐒𝟎 . In the event other types of potentials such as electric or
magnetic have to be taken into account then

𝟏
𝛛 (𝜳 − 𝟐 𝛀𝟐 𝝕𝟐 )
𝒈 ≅ 𝑮𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 ⁄𝒓𝟐 = [ ]
𝛛𝐳
𝐒𝟎
3
Page
Here 𝜳 is the total potential of earth’s surface and 𝝕 = 𝜻
̅+𝜻 gives the
̅ .
position of the deviated surface with equilibrium position being 𝝕 = 𝜻

𝝏𝝋 𝟏 𝝏𝝋
Let 𝒖 = and 𝒗 =
𝝏𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 𝝏𝝀

𝝏(𝒖𝑳) 𝜕2 𝜑
=𝑳 2
𝝏𝒍 𝜕𝑙
𝝏(𝒗𝑳𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀) 𝝏𝒗 𝟏 𝜕2 𝜑 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜆 𝝏𝝋 𝝏𝝋
= 𝑳 [𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 − 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀𝒗] = 𝑳 [𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 ( 2 + 2
) − 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝝀 ]
𝝏𝝀 𝝏𝝀 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 𝜕𝜆 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜆 𝝏𝝀 𝝏𝝀

𝜕2 𝜑 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜆 𝝏𝝋 𝝏𝝋
=𝑳 2+ [𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 ( 2 ) − 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝝀 ]
𝜕𝜆 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜆 𝝏𝝀 𝝏𝝀

𝜕2 𝜑
=𝑳
𝜕𝜆2

Assuming 𝑳 is independent of 𝝀 and 𝒍 .

𝝏𝟐 𝝋 𝝏𝟐 𝝋 𝝏𝝋 𝝏𝝋
𝟐
+ 𝟐 + 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝝀 − 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝝀 =𝟎
𝝏𝒍 𝝏𝝀 𝝏𝝀 𝝏𝝀

𝝏𝟐 𝝋 𝝏𝟐 𝝋
+ =𝟎
𝝏𝒍𝟐 𝝏𝝀𝟐

Which is the usual Laplace equation.

𝝅 𝝅
−𝟐 < 𝜆 < and −𝝅 < 𝒍 < 𝜋
𝟐

Boundary conditions

𝝏𝝋 𝑲
𝒗 = 𝟎 at 𝝀 = 𝟎 and 𝒖 = tends to 𝒔𝒓𝜴 as 𝝀 → 𝟎 . Here 𝒔 = 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀 and 𝑲 is a
𝝏𝒍
parameter of the model. This is necessary because the condition has to be
applicable at any 𝝀 and generate the same solution.

𝝋 = ∑ 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒏(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒉 (𝒒𝒏 𝝀)

𝒒𝒏

𝒒𝒏 = ∓(𝒏), 𝒏 = 𝟎, 𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑, … …
4
Page
 ∑ 𝒒𝒏 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍) = 𝟎
𝒒𝒏

For 𝒏 ≥ 𝟏 as shown in the Appendix,

𝒒𝒏 𝑪𝟏𝒏 = 𝒂𝒏 or 𝑪𝟏𝒏 = 𝒂𝒏 ⁄𝒒𝒏 for 𝒏 ≥ 𝟏 .

𝒂𝟒 𝒂𝟓
𝑪𝟏𝟒 = 𝟒
= 𝟎 , 𝑪𝟏𝟓 = 𝟓
= −𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟖𝟓𝒔𝒓𝛀

𝑪𝟏𝟎 = 𝟎

𝑪𝟏𝟏 = −𝟎. 𝟐𝟏𝟐𝒔𝒓𝛀 , 𝑪𝟏𝟐 = 𝟎 , 𝑪𝟏𝟑 =

𝟎.𝟎𝟕𝟎𝟕
𝒔𝒓𝛀 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟐𝟑𝒔𝒓𝛀 .
𝟑

𝟏 𝝏𝝋
𝒗=
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 𝝏𝝀

𝝋 = ∑ 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒏(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒉 (𝒒𝒏 𝝀)

𝒒𝒏

𝟏 𝝏𝝋
𝒗=
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 𝝏𝝀

𝟏
= ∑ 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒒𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒏(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒𝒏 𝝀)
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀
𝒒𝒏

At 𝝀 = 𝟎 ,

𝝏𝝋
𝒖= = 𝒔𝒓𝜴
𝝏𝒍

∑ 𝒒𝒏 {𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒉(𝒒𝒏 𝝀)} = 𝒔𝒓𝜴

𝒒𝒏

∑ 𝒒𝒏 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍) = 𝒔𝒓𝜴

𝒒𝒏

𝟏 𝝏(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻)
−𝒗(𝟐𝛀𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀) + =𝟎
5

𝒓𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 𝝏𝒍
Page
 𝟏 𝟏 𝝏(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻)
− ∑ 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒒𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒏(𝒒𝒏𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒𝒏 𝝀) (𝟐𝜴𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀) + =𝟎
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 𝒓𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 𝝏𝒍
𝒒𝒏

𝝏(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻) 𝝏(𝟐𝒂𝜴𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀) ∑𝒒𝒏 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒𝒏 𝝀)

+ =𝟎
𝝏𝒍 𝝏𝒍

(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻) + (𝟐𝒓𝜴𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀)(∑𝒒𝒏 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒𝒏 𝝀)) = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 (1)

̅ 𝟏𝒏 𝒔
𝑪𝟏𝒏 = 𝑪

̅ 𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒𝒏 𝝀)) = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕

(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻) + (𝟐𝒓𝜴𝑲)(∑𝒒𝒏 𝑪 (2)

From the equation for 𝒖

𝟏 𝝏(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻)
𝒖(𝟐𝛀𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀) + =𝟎
𝒓 𝝏𝝀
𝝏𝝋
𝒖= = ∑ 𝒒𝒏 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒉 (𝒒𝒏 𝝀)
𝝏𝒍
𝒒𝒏

𝟏 𝝏(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻)
∑ 𝟐(𝛀𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀)𝒒𝒏 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒉 (𝒒𝒏 𝝀) + =𝟎
𝒓 𝝏𝝀
𝒒𝒏

𝝏(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻)
∑ 𝟐𝒓(𝛀𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀)𝒒𝒏 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒉 (𝒒𝒏 𝝀) + =𝟎
𝝏𝝀
𝒒𝒏

̅ 𝟏𝒏 𝒔
𝑪𝟏𝒏 = 𝑪

̅ 𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍) ∫ 𝐬(𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀)𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒉(𝒒𝒏 𝝀)𝒅𝝀] 𝝏(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻)

𝛛[∑𝒒𝒏 𝒒𝒏 𝑪
𝟐𝒓𝛀 + =𝟎
𝛛𝛌 𝝏𝝀
̅ 𝟏𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒𝒏 𝝀)𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)]}
𝝏{(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻) + 𝟐𝒓𝜴𝑲[∑𝒒𝒏 𝑪
=𝟎
𝝏𝝀
̅ 𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒 𝝀)] = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕
(𝒈𝜻 + 𝑻) + 𝟐𝒓𝜴𝑲[∑𝒒𝒏 𝑪 𝒏 (3)

(2) and (3) are identical and can be used for calculations.

𝟑 𝒓𝟐 𝟏
𝑻 = − 𝑮𝑴 𝟑 (𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝝑 − )
6

𝟐 𝑫 𝟑
Page
 𝟏
𝛛 (𝜳 − 𝟐 𝛀𝟐 𝝕𝟐 )
𝒈 ≅ 𝑮𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 ⁄𝒓𝟐 = [ ]
𝛛𝐳
𝐒𝟎

𝟑 𝒓𝟐 𝟏 𝒓𝟐 𝒓𝟐
Hence 𝜻 = 𝑮𝑴 𝟑 (𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝝑 − 𝟑) 𝑮𝑴 − 𝟐𝒓𝜴 ( ̅ 𝟏𝒏 𝑲𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍) 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒 𝝀))
) (∑𝒒𝒏 𝑪 𝒏
𝟐 𝑫 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝑮𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉

𝟐𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝑴 𝜴
̅ 𝟏𝒏 𝒔(𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀)𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍) 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒 𝝀))
𝜻 = 𝑫𝟑 (𝟑𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝝑 − 𝟏) − 𝟒 (𝒓𝑮) 𝐊 (∑𝒒𝒏 𝑪
𝒓𝟒 𝒏

𝒔(𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀) = 𝑲
So
𝟐𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝑴 𝜴
̅ 𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍) 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒 𝝀))
𝜻 = 𝑫𝟑 (𝟑𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝝑 − 𝟏) − 𝟒𝑲 (𝒓𝑮) (∑𝒒𝒏 𝑪
𝒓𝟒 𝒏

𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝑 = 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝝀 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝜹 + 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝀 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝜹 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒉 − 𝒍)

𝑴𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝟕. 𝟑𝟓𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟐𝟐
= = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟖𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐
𝑫𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝟑 (𝟑. 𝟖𝟓𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟖 )𝟑

𝟐𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉
= 𝟎. 𝟕𝟐𝟒𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐
𝒓𝟒

−𝟐 𝜴
𝟎. 𝟕𝟐𝟒𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐 𝜻 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟖𝒙𝟏𝟎 (𝟑𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝝑 − 𝟏) − 𝟒𝑲 ( ̅ 𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒 𝒍) 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒𝒏 𝝀))
) (∑ 𝑪
𝒓𝑮 𝒏
𝒒𝒏

𝒂𝒏
̅ 𝟏𝒏 =
𝑪
𝒒𝒏 𝒔

̅ 𝟏𝟏 = −𝟎. 𝟐𝟏𝟐𝒓𝜴 , 𝑪
𝑪 ̅ 𝟏𝟑 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟐𝟑𝒓𝜴

𝟎. 𝟕𝟐𝟒𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐 𝜻 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟖𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐 (𝟑𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝝑 − 𝟏)

𝜴𝟐
− 𝟒𝑲 ( ) (−𝟎. 𝟐𝟏𝟐𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝝀) + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟐𝟑𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟑𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝟑𝝀))
𝐆

𝜴𝟐 (𝟎. 𝟕𝟑𝐱𝟏𝟎−𝟒 )𝟐
𝟒 =𝟒 = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟐𝐱𝟏𝟎𝟑
𝐆 𝟔. 𝟔𝟕𝐱𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟏

𝟎. 𝟕𝟐𝟒𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐 𝜻 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟖𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐 (𝟑𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝝑 − 𝟏)

− 𝟎. 𝟑𝟐𝐱𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝐊(−𝟎. 𝟐𝟏𝟐𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝝀) + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟐𝟑𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟑𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝟑𝝀))
With 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝐊 = 𝟐 or 𝐾 = 𝟏. 𝟖𝐱𝟏𝟎−𝟑 , the lunar component is about 10 meters. For
a given 𝒉 , 𝜹 and 𝝀 calculate
𝟐𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉
𝒂𝟒
𝜻 as a function of 𝒍 to find new position of
7

hump due to earths rotation. This result is new and due to using the Laplace
Page

tidal equation instead of the equilibrium theory. All angles in radians. The
parameter 𝑲 = 𝟏. 𝟖𝐱𝟏𝟎−𝟑 is assigned the value 𝟏. 𝟖𝐱𝟏𝟎−𝟑 based on the ability of
the model to predict reasonable tidal heights. It is fitted from the data on
tide heights.
𝒉 = 𝟏𝟐𝟎 𝒅𝒆𝒈 = 𝟐. 𝟎𝟗𝟒 , 𝜹 = 𝟐𝟎 𝒅𝒆𝒈 = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟒𝟗 , 𝝀 = 𝟏𝟎 𝒅𝒆𝒈 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟕𝟓 .
𝜻𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 𝟗. 𝟓 meter .
Effect of the sun:
𝟐𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝑴 𝜴
̅ 𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍) 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒 𝝀))
𝜻 = 𝑫𝟑 (𝟑𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝝑 − 𝟏) − 𝟒𝑲 (𝒓𝑮) (∑𝒒𝒏 𝑪
𝒓𝟒 𝒏
𝑴𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝟏. 𝟗𝟗𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟑𝟎 𝟏. 𝟗𝟗𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟑𝟎
== = = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟓𝟗𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐
𝑫𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝟑 (𝟏𝟒𝟗. 𝟖𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟗 )𝟑 𝟑. 𝟑𝟔𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟐𝟕

−𝟐 −𝟐
𝟎. 𝟕𝟐𝟒𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐 𝜻 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟓𝟗𝒙𝟏𝟎 𝒙𝟏𝟎 (𝟑𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝝑 − 𝟏)
𝟑
− 𝟎. 𝟑𝟐𝐱𝟏𝟎 𝐊(−𝟎. 𝟐𝟏𝟐𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝝀) + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟐𝟑𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟑𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝟑𝝀))
𝒉 = 𝟏𝟐𝟎 𝒅𝒆𝒈 = 𝟐. 𝟎𝟗𝟒 , 𝜹 = 𝟐𝟎 𝒅𝒆𝒈 = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟒𝟗 , 𝝀 = 𝟏𝟎 𝒅𝒆𝒈 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟕𝟓 .
𝜻𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 𝟏𝟎 meter .
The solar component is also about 10 meter.
A peculiarity of the solution is that a singularity exists at 𝝀 = 𝟎 . The solution
is not valid in the region 𝝀 < 1.8𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟑 radian or within 1/10 th of a degree or 6
minutes of the equator because the slip parameter 𝒔 will become greater
than 1. Approximately within 6 miles of the equator this tidal solution is not
valid.

𝟏 𝝏𝝋 𝟏
𝒗= = ∑ 𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒒𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒏(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒉(𝒒𝒏 𝝀)
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 𝝏𝝀 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀
𝒒𝒏

𝝏𝝋
𝒖= = ∑ 𝒒𝒏 {𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝑪𝟏𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒉(𝒒𝒏 𝝀)}
𝝏𝒍
𝒒𝒏

𝝅
Both 𝒖 , 𝒗 are singular and will go to infinity at 𝝀 = . So the solution has
𝟐
a singularity both at the equator and the poles.

8
Page
APPENDIX

l
-3π -3π/2 3π/2 3π3π

𝒒𝒏 = ∓𝒏, 𝒏 = 𝟎, 𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑, … …
∑ 𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍) = 𝒚 = 𝟏
𝑻⁄𝟐 𝑻⁄ 𝟒 𝑻⁄ 𝟐
∫ ∑ 𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍) 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒎 𝒍)𝒅𝒍 = ∫ 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒎 𝒍)𝒅𝒍 + ∫ (𝟎)𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒎 𝒍)𝒅𝒍
𝟎 𝟎 𝑻⁄ 𝟒
𝑻⁄ 𝟐 𝑻⁄ 𝟒
∫ ∑ 𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍) 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒎 𝒍)𝒅𝒍 = ∫ 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒎 𝒍)𝒅𝒍
𝟎 𝟎

𝑻⁄ 𝟐 𝑻⁄ 𝟒
For 𝒎 = 𝒏 , ∫𝟎 𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 (𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒅𝒍 = ∫𝟎 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒅𝒍
𝑻⁄ 𝟒 𝑻⁄ 𝟒
𝟏 𝟐
𝒂𝒏 =
𝑻⁄ 𝟐
∫ 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒅𝒍 = 𝑻⁄𝟐 ∫ 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒅𝒍
∫𝟎 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 (𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒅𝒍 𝟎 ∫𝟎 (𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟐𝒒𝒏 𝒍) + 𝟏)𝒅𝒍 𝟎

Since 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 (𝒒𝒏 𝒍) = 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟐𝒒𝒏 𝒍) + 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝟐 (𝒒𝒏 𝒍) = 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟐𝒒𝒏 𝒍) + 𝟏 − 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 (𝒒𝒏 𝒍)

𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟐𝒒𝒏 𝒍)+𝟏
So 2𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 (𝒒𝒏 𝒍) = 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟐𝒒𝒏 𝒍) + 𝟏 or 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 (𝒒𝒏 𝒍) =
𝟐
𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟐𝒒𝒏 𝒍) + 𝟏
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 (𝒒𝒏 𝒍) =
𝟐
𝑻⁄ 𝟒
𝟐 𝟒 𝑻⁄𝟒
𝒂𝒏 = 𝑻⁄ 𝟐
∫ 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒅𝒍 = ∫ 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒅𝒍
∫𝟎 (𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟐𝒒𝒏 𝒍) + 𝟏) 𝒅𝒍 𝟎 𝑻 𝟎

𝑻 = 𝟔𝝅
𝟑𝝅
𝟐 𝟐
𝒂𝟎 = ∫ 𝒅𝒍 = 𝟏
𝟑𝝅 𝟎
𝟑𝝅
𝟑𝝅
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
𝒂𝒏 = ∫ 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒒𝒏 𝒍)𝒅𝒍 = [𝒔𝒊𝒏(𝒏𝒍)]𝟎𝟐
𝟑𝝅 𝟎 𝟑𝒏𝝅
𝟐 𝟑𝒏𝝅
𝒂𝒏 = 𝒔𝒊𝒏 ( )
𝟑𝒏𝝅 𝟐
𝟐 𝟐 𝟏 𝟐
𝒂𝟏 = − , 𝒂𝟐 = 𝟎 , 𝒂𝟑 = , 𝒂𝟒 = 𝟎 , 𝒂𝟓 = − , 𝒂𝟔 = 𝟎 , 𝒂𝟕 = …….
𝟑𝝅 𝟗𝝅 𝟏𝟓𝝅 𝟐𝟏𝝅
𝒂𝟎 = 𝟏 , 𝒂𝟏 = −𝟎. 𝟐𝟏𝟐 , 𝒂𝟑 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟕𝟎𝟕 , 𝒂𝟓 = −𝟎. 𝟎𝟒𝟐𝟒 , 𝒂𝟕 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟑𝟎𝟑 ,

At 𝒍 = 𝟎 , 𝒚 = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟒𝟔𝟔 at 𝒍 = 𝝅 , 𝒚 = 𝟏 + 𝟎. 𝟐𝟏𝟐 − 𝟎, 𝟎𝟕𝟎𝟕 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟒𝟐𝟒 − 𝟎. 𝟎𝟑𝟎𝟑 = 𝟏. 𝟏𝟓𝟑𝟒

References:
1. Chandrasekhar, S. Newton’s Principia for thr Common Reader, Oxford
University Presss (1995). This reference is for most of the notation
used here and the form of the tidal potential.
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_tides#:~:text=The%20theory%20
of%20tides%20is,especially%20the%20Moon%20and%20Sun).
Accessed March 28, 2024. This reference is for the Laplace tidal
equations.
9
Page