Sunny and 75

After months of cold, bone chilling weather, the sun finally came back out. To celebrate this beautiful day, we took a quick trip to the beach. As we walked the pier, we noticed how the waves flowed back and forth toward the shore. Although the sunset and waves created a pretty view, we cannot ignore the physics behind the beauty.

A wave can be described as a disturbance that travels through medium from one location to another location. But what causes the disturbance? The winds in the air cause waves on the surface of the ocean and on lakes, or any other large (or small) body of water. The wind will then transfer bits of its energy to the water. Then, because of the friction between the air molecules and the water molecules, waves begin to form. The more wind there is, the larger the wave will be.