The physics of surfing - Nick Pizzo
520,751 Views
11,317 Questions Answered
Let’s Begin…
Whether or not you realize it, surfers are masters of complicated physics. The science of surfing begins as soon as a board first hits the water. Surfers may not be thinking about weather patterns in the Pacific, tectonic geology or fluid mechanics, but the art of catching the perfect wave relies on all these things and more. Nick Pizzo dives into the gnarly physics that make surfing possible.
Create and share a new lesson based on this one.
About TED-Ed Animations
TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »
Meet The Creators
- Educator Nick Pizzo
- Director Ryan Rumbolt
- Narrator Addison Anderson
- Illustrator Miguel Ángel Camprubí
- Animator Ryan Rumbolt, Christine Le, Juan Pontaroli, Jose Moreno
- Storyboard Artist Christine Le
- Compositor Ryan Rumbolt
- Music Wes Slover
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
- Associate Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
- Script Editor Alex Gendler
- Fact-Checker Brian Gutierrez
by TED-Ed
As the climate changes, so will the waves. Will the waves become bigger or smaller? Why? How might this impact coastal communities, particularly during hurricanes and typhoons? Why should we all care about this, regardless of whether or not we live by the sea?
Comments are closed on this discussion.
Azeyl Booth
Lesson completed
As the climate changes the sea level rises also making it more likely to flood places but since climate change is happening it is putting more animals in risk of losing their homes and then there will be more animals extinct
dalia alkaisi
Lesson completed
Because the wind is the most crucial aspect of surfing, the waves will be small if the sun is shining and there is no breeze. People can't surf without the wind since it creates the large waves. Because of the huge rise in water due to the increase in temperature and melting of the ice caps, it appears that waves will grow in size. Because of hurricanes and typhoons, this could have a harmful influence on coastal towns.
Chadarious Andrews
Lesson completed
The waves will become bigger or smaller because the climate is changing.
Because the ocean is something on our planet just like the other things so we should take care of it as we wood our other stuff.
Harry Connerty
Lesson completed
The waves will become smaller because of climate change. This might impact coastal communities particularly during hurricanes and typhoons by damaging homes. We should all care about this regardless of weather or not we live by the sea because we need to do what has to be done to save our homes.
Grace D'Esposito
Lesson completed
As the climate becomes warmer the waves in the ocean will become larger and will last for a longer amount of time. This could have a negative impact on coastal communities.
Delilah Marshall
Lesson completed
Waves would become smaller due to the fact that there will be less winds. It will become hotter outside for any winds to form. This would impact coastal communities because they wouldn't know what to do when they see water pouring in from the ocean onto their streets and homes. We should all care about this because we live by the coast and we all love the beach. The beach wouldn't be the same without waves in the water. At this point we wouldn't go to the beach anymore.
Cristina Fernandez
Lesson completed
It seems as though waves will increase in size because there will be a significant increase in water with the increase in temperature and the ice caps melting. The extra water will either increase the amplitude, or the frequency of waves. This will also make natural disasters like hurricanes and typhoons particularly worse. We should care about this because it is part of the earth and can harm several species crucial to our existence.
Ivan Rios
Lesson in progress
Wave go big.
Hannah Orloff
Lesson completed
As temperature rise, so will waves and the height of the ocean floor. This is due to the melting of icebergs occurring at the poles, these glaciers release water into the oceans which then rise ocean tides and can damage coastal regions. The change in temperature also allows ocean particles to stir faster, creating more energy from wind and therefore, larger waves.
Olivia Dec
Olivia Dec
Lesson completed
The waves will change size depending on the wind. The more wind pushing at the waves the more likely the waves will become bigger in the process. This might impact coastal communities negatively because the hurricanes and typhoons cause dangerous waves that can destroy houses and buildings. We should care about this because many people have been and will be killed or injured by this and communities could be destroyed and people can lose homes.
