Blog

A wave tank is a laboratory setup for observing the behavior of surface waves. The typical wave tank is a box filled with liquid, usually water, leaving open or air-filled space on top. At one end of the tank an actuator generates waves; the other end usually has a wave-absorbing surface.

A ripple tank is a transparent shallow tray of water with a light shining down through it onto a white card below. The light allows you to see the motion of the ripples created on the water's surface more easily. Ripples can be made by hand but to generate regular ripples it is better to use a motor.

Edinburgh Designs commissions the world's largest wave basin for the US Navy: the 216 paddle MASK basin. The first circular wave and current test tank, designed and built by Edinburgh Designs, opens at the University of Edinburgh.

Waves are the forward movement of the ocean's water due to the oscillation of water particles by the frictional drag of wind over the water's surface.Jan 23, 2020

Thomas Young gave 91 lectures at the Royal Institution 1801-03. The musical phenomenon of beats, used to tune instruments, inspired Young to think that beams of light too might interfere. He invented the ripple tank to illustrate double slit interference, because water waves can be simply visualised.

Circular waves can be produced by dropping a single drop of water into the ripple tank. If this is done at the focal point of the "mirror" plane waves will be reflected back.

Wind-driven waves, or surface waves, are created by the friction between wind and surface water. As wind blows across the surface of the ocean or a lake, the continual disturbance creates a wave crest. These types of waves are found globally across the open ocean and along the coast.Feb 26, 2021

amplitude, in physics, the maximum displacement or distance moved by a point on a vibrating body or wave measured from its equilibrium position. ... For a longitudinal wave, such as a sound wave, amplitude is measured by the maximum displacement of a particle from its position of equilibrium.

A wave transports its energy without transporting matter. Waves are seen to move through an ocean or lake; yet the water always returns to its rest position. Energy is transported through the medium, yet the water molecules are not transported.