On the Shock Front Thickness in Water and other Molecular Liquids

Theoretical explanations are presented for the deviation of the shock front thickness from linear hydrodynamics, as observed by W. Eisenmenger (1964) in water and several molecular liquids for large driving pressure differences. Two mechanisms are proposed, which are based on generalizations of the Maxwell relaxation equation for the friction pressure tensor. One is due to the spatial inhomogeneity and linked with piezo-electric or piezo-tetradic effects. The other is caused by nonlinearities which account for shear thickening