Waves are fun! Photo by Brenton Savikko
Waves and the Tides
Now that you've learned why boats float, lets talk about waves and the tides.
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Waves are fun! Photo by Brenton Savikko |
Lets look at a diagram for the general properties of water waves.
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Diagram by Brenton Savikko
The wave height is the vertical distance, usually in feet, between the the trough and the crests. The wavelength is the length in feet between adjacent crests. This is one way to measure the size of waves. Another good way to measure the size of waves is by how many people get sick. More than two people means the waves are big.
Enough with waves, lets move on to tides!
"Tides are the longest water waves which occur and have a fundamental period of approximately 12hr 25min arising from the gravitational attraction of the moon heaping up a bulge of water in its direction and a bulge of water on the side of the earth away from the moon." (The Science of Yachts p. 237) Translation: The tides are caused by the gravitational attraction between the earth and moon. There are two low tides and two high tides each day. Low tide is when you smell dead fish. High tide is when the smell is somewhat less stinky.