Sea waves - the illusion of human vision

In our time it is difficult to imagine that once on Earth there were no people and cities in which they live now, as well as roads and plowlands. But the fact is that in all geological periods there was an ocean, and just like today, the sea waves rolled between him and the banks. Indeed, the most ancient landscape on our planet is the kind of a disturbing water surface covering it by two-thirds. How many poets were inspired by the waves of the sea! But does their description reflect the real essence of this phenomenon?

We are looking at pictures: the waves of the sea seem to us sliding on them in the thickness of the water. But it turns out that this is not so. If we look at a piece of wood or any other object on the water (for example, a boat), we notice that the incoming sea waves do not push it, but only then raise it or lower it. Similarly, in the gusts of the wind, the yellowing field in the fields worries up and down. Its ears and stems do not change their location and do not roll from one site to another. They just lay a little forward, and then return to their original position. But we do not see this, because we observe "waves" running one after the other, and all the ears remain in the same place.

A similar phenomenon is reflected in oral folk art. Let's remember the proverb, which compares human rumor and sea waves. How quickly spread messages around the city. But no one runs from one end to the other, proclaiming them. Just messages are transmitted by waves from mouth to mouth and cover the entire territory.

But back to our topic. What is the cause of these beautiful, fast and strong sea waves, photos of which can shake our imagination and even one of its kind to catch up with fear? It is known even to children: "Wind, wind, you are mighty!". His impulses hit the water and "bend" its surface. As a result, part of it bends down, and a part soars up. At the same time, excitement is transmitted to other points and captures vast areas. And now we are already seeing a horizontal effect, transmitted with great speed. Very quickly spread and the waves caused by the earthquake. In this case, they are observed not only on the water, but also on the surface of the earth.

The illusions of our vision affect the perception of the height of waves on the sea or the ocean. Legends about waves of a height of a whole mountain proved to be unsubstantiated after scientists measured them in reality. The point here is that during the storm the observers are on the deck of the ship, which, together with the water column, then descends sharply downwards, then it rises on the crest of the wave upwards. With such pitching, even low waves seem to be huge shafts. This is because the passenger on the deck watches them not vertically, but on a diagonal equal to the length of the slope. In the open sea, the strength of the wind is always more powerful. But salt water has a high density and does not allow it to create huge waves. For seafarers, this phenomenon is often associated with a natural disaster. But for living creatures inhabiting the water depths, the sea waves (both large and small) serve for good. They saturate their habitat with oxygen.