Bob Myers wrote: > On 1/22/07, Dave Kruger wrote: >> Aren't the water particles moving _up_ on the _face_ of the wave and down >> on the backside? If they were moving down on the face of the wave, >> wouldn't the water level on the face be falling instead of rising? > No... circular pattern, not just up and down. At the top of the > wave, they move faster than the wave, forwards, and then down the > face. Think about what happens when a wave breaks! The top of the > wave is going too fast and can't complete the circle. Bob, I think Craig's reference was to the _face_ of the wave, not the breaking crest, which does indeed topple after the broken crest moves ahead of the rest of the wave. In swell, sure, circular motion, shifting to elliptical as the wave reaches shallower water. But the issue is whether there is an upward component or a downward component on the face of the wave. Don't have my Waves and Beaches at hand, but ... Check out this animation and you'll see that the water motion on the face of the wave is _upward_ and rearward just as the trough passes, shifting to _upward_ and forward as the crest approaches; it runs too fast to see -- you'll have to stop it in mid-stroke: http://tinyurl.com/5vawv -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Jan 22 2007 - 14:04:03 PST
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