Abstract
A force acting on a cylinder with a uniform temperature in a semi-infinite expanse of gas bounded by an infinite plane wall with a different temperature (thus, the temperature of the gas is the same as that of the wall) is investigated for highly rarefied gas on the basis of the linearized BOLTZMANN-KROOK-WELANDER equation. First, the free molecular limit is considered for a cylinder with an arbitrary convex cross section. It is shown that the behavior of the gas is not affected by the wall and that the cylinder is not subject to any force. Next, the effect of molecular collision is taken into account for a circular cylinder. When the temperature of the cylinder is higher than that of the wall, the cylinder is subject to a force of the order of (ln Kn)/Kn toward the wall, where Kn is the KNUDSEN number. In the opposite case the force is reversed.
