When you look at a beach, the waves are always coming in the direction of the shore. On the other side of the shore, the waves are also coming in the direction of the land that’s opposite the one you’re on. Is there a middle ground in-between these wave directions where the waves are just flat and not going in either direction? Im from poland looking at the beach rn. Sweden is 170km away on the other side of the sea. the waves are coming in the direction of both shores. HOW? what happens in between the two shores, how do they just change directions. please help
In: Planetary Science
Waves can go any direction.
Think about the shore – how would waves go away from shore? Where would the waves come from?
As for the rest, think about being in a pool, or the tub. What happens if you bounce up and down in the middle? Waves will form. They’ll radiate out from you toward every edge (shore). They’ll bounce back, and the waves in the middle will get a bit crazy. They’ll interact with each other. But no matter which way the waves go, they’re always headed towards shore because there’s an edge on every side.
So if you have a sea with land on both sides, what happens if you are on one shore and make a big wave going away from your side? Well now that’s a wave going towards the other shore. And once it hits shore, it will rebound and come back to your side. Anyone making waves on the other side is making them come towards you. It’s just a never ending cycle!
Test it out! Grab a container and fill it a bit with water. Watch closely and drop something in the water at one side. The ripple will go out from that side, but after it hits, the entire surface will have ripples or turbulence. Try it with bigger things, or push a wave with your hand.
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