Description
Return horizontal slowness, transmitted sine, and its principal arcsine.
Wave calculations relate angle, speed, distance, frequency, or attenuation under a specified propagation model. A local ray or amplitude term assumes the relevant geometry and medium rather than deriving them from observations.
Return horizontal slowness, transmitted sine, and its principal arcsine.
When to use this tool
Use Snell Ray Horizontal Slowness Term when you need a local wave-propagation term with explicit parameters.
How to use the tool and how it works
- Enter incidentRadians, firstVelocity, secondVelocity. Use the units and conventions below.
- Run the tool. Correct any format, range, or cross-field input error before interpreting the output.
- Read horizontalSlowness, transmittedSine, transmittedRadians. Use the output convention below.
Require positive velocities, incidentRadians within ±π/2, and absolute secondVelocity × sin(incident)/firstVelocity no greater than one. Return horizontal slowness, transmitted sine, and its principal arcsine.1
| Input field | Meaning and units | Accepted input |
|---|---|---|
| incidentRadians | Incident angle in radians from the interface normal. | Required. Finite number. |
| firstVelocity | First Velocity | Required. Finite number; strictly above 0. |
| secondVelocity | Second Velocity | Required. Finite number; strictly above 0. |
| Output field | Interpretation | Returned shape |
|---|---|---|
| horizontalSlowness | Sine incident angle divided by first velocity, in inverse-velocity units. | Required. Finite number. |
| transmittedSine | Transmitted Sine | Required. Finite number. |
| transmittedRadians | Transmitted Radians Unit: rad. | Required. Finite number. |
{
"input": {
"incidentRadians": 0.5235987755982988,
"firstVelocity": 2,
"secondVelocity": 2
},
"output": {
"horizontalSlowness": 0.24999999999999997,
"transmittedSine": 0.49999999999999994,
"transmittedRadians": 0.5235987755982988
}
}Limitations and assumptions
- Angles are measured from the interface normal and velocities share units; beyond-critical inputs are rejected. This isotropic one-interface ray term omits reflection amplitudes, anisotropy, layer tracing, and model validation.
- Inputs must satisfy both the field types and the cross-field conditions above. Invalid input causes an error; a successful false flag or documented placeholder is a different result.
- Numeric calculations use binary floating point unless exact decimal-integer arithmetic is explicitly stated. No hidden measurement tolerance or decimal rounding is added; nonfinite or out-of-contract results are rejected. Numeric signed-zero results are exported as zero.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Use a full forward model or inversion when the medium, interfaces, or travel paths are unknown. Verify angular convention, physical units, and amplitude-versus-energy interpretation.
References
Similar or alternative tools
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