Eli5 how do the ocean’s waves work? What makes them move?
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Most of the waves are wind driven. As the wind blows across the ocean it pushes against the surface. This creates a small hump. Which presents a larger area for the wind to hit, imparting more energy and growing the wave.
The waves move because thats the direction the initial force that created the wave was moving. The wave is a transfer of energy. Water has very little internal friction, so these waves will continue long after the wind that created them stops. The do spread out as they travel though. This spreads the energy over a wider area resulting in the wave becoming smaller.
Along with wind, tides shifting gives a steady momentum to the water body, which contributes a lot – moving water will eventually hit *something*.
Tides come from tidal force, which comes from the gravitational pull (on earth) of the sun and moon. Tides track those two, so they move smoothly and perpetually, taking momentum with them.
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