Wind is the great maker of waves. There are exceptions (例外), such as the tidal (潮汐的) waves sometimes caused by earthquakes under the sea. But the waves most of us know are caused by winds blowing over the sea . Now let’s learn some physical (自然地理学的) things about it. A wave has height, from low point to high point . It has length (长度)--the distance from this high point to that of the following wave. The period of the wave means the time it takes for succeeding high points to pass a fixed point. None of these things stays the same--for all depend upon (依靠)the wind, upon the depth (深度) of the water and many other matters. The water that makes up a wave does not advance with it across the sea. Each drop of water turns around in a little circle with the passing of the wave, but returns very nearly to its original position (原先的位置). And it is lucky that this is so. For if the huge groups of water that make up a wave really moved across the sea, sailing would be impossible. If we want to find the speed of a wave, we may use the following way : Speed =" wavelength" × frequency (频率). Here, wavelength is the distance between two high points , frequency means the number of cycles per second 小题1:What causes waves?
|