Where would twisting waves be encountered (if you can’t see them in water)?

Where would twisting waves be encountered (if you can’t see them in water)?

They appear in rigid systems, such as beams or bridges. The Tacoma Narrows bridge failed because of a torsional (twisting) motion of its deck, driven by the wind. Before it failed, it was carrying torsional waves back and forth along its length. Torsional waves also appear in less spectacular engineering situations. When you lean on a loose tabletop, you actually send a torsional wave through it. However, it’s so rigid that the wave is tiny and travels too quickly for you to see.

Why do waves get “choppy” when it is windy outside (a lot of consecutive chopp…

Why do waves get “choppy” when it is windy outside (a lot of consecutive choppy-whitewash waves)?

The wind pushes on wave crests. If the wind is relatively weak, it may add or subtract energy from the wave by doing work or negative work on it. But if the wind is too strong, it can blow the top off a crest. Choppy seas occur when the wind is so strong that it blows the surface water right out of wave crests and turns them white with foam.

What causes undertows?

What causes undertows?

When a wave breaks and then rushes up the beach, it leaves the water on the beach with excess gravitational potential energy. That’s what’s left of the wave’s energy. The water accelerates back down the beach and returns to the sea. This returning flow of water tends to go under the sea’s surface, probably because of the water’s circular motion in waves. Remember that the water in a wave travels in a circle, always moving forward (in the direction of the wave’s motion) when it’s at its highest point and backward (away from the direction of the wave’s motion) when it’s at its lowest point. I suspect that the returning flow of water from the beach joins this backward moving low water. When this low-lying returning water flows past you, it tends to sweep you along with it, hence the name undertow.