So if i say drop a giant iceberg big enough to make a visible difference in the water level of the ocean, would all the levels around the earth rise simultaneously? or would a wave of heightened water level travel across the ocean to the other side, suggesting tides dont exist ofcourse.
​
In: Physics
Yes there is a speed, it’s called a wave. Waves are the energy from the displacement being carried through the medium. The speed can vary based on the conditions involved.
Tsunamis are a perfect example for your question.
https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/tsunamis/tsunami-propagation
Yes displacement has a speed. The force the moves the water is transmitted at the material specific speed of sound, and the final position of the movement can be even slower
So here’s the thing. *Nothing* occurs simultaneously (except perhaps for some weird quantum entanglement on a sub-atomic level).
No “thing” can move, under any circumstances, beyond the speed limit of light speed. Everything, literally everything, propagates through a medium at some speed or another and that speed is never higher than “c”.
So yes, a wave of water would propagate through the world’s oceans, either above or below sea level.
Latest Answers