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Will tsunami waves travel forever if there was no land?


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If there was no land for tsunami waves to collide with, can the waves travel around the globe for forever?






waves water solitons tsunami







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$endgroup$








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    You seem to be asking whether there's such a thing as a perpetual motion machine.
    $endgroup$
    – Dawood ibn Kareem
    3 hours ago
















8












$begingroup$


If there was no land for tsunami waves to collide with, can the waves travel around the globe for forever?






waves water solitons tsunami







share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    You seem to be asking whether there's such a thing as a perpetual motion machine.
    $endgroup$
    – Dawood ibn Kareem
    3 hours ago














8












8








8


1



$begingroup$


If there was no land for tsunami waves to collide with, can the waves travel around the globe for forever?






waves water solitons tsunami







share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$




If there was no land for tsunami waves to collide with, can the waves travel around the globe for forever?






waves water solitons tsunami




waves water solitons tsunami






share|cite|improve this question















share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question








edited 17 hours ago









Qmechanic♦

108k122021255




108k122021255










asked 17 hours ago









BodvarionBodvarion

492




492








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    You seem to be asking whether there's such a thing as a perpetual motion machine.
    $endgroup$
    – Dawood ibn Kareem
    3 hours ago














  • 2




    $begingroup$
    You seem to be asking whether there's such a thing as a perpetual motion machine.
    $endgroup$
    – Dawood ibn Kareem
    3 hours ago








2




2




$begingroup$
You seem to be asking whether there's such a thing as a perpetual motion machine.
$endgroup$
– Dawood ibn Kareem
3 hours ago




$begingroup$
You seem to be asking whether there's such a thing as a perpetual motion machine.
$endgroup$
– Dawood ibn Kareem
3 hours ago










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















15












$begingroup$

To answer this, I would appeal to the general principle which we call the 2nd law of thermodynamics. One way of expressing it is that the entropy of an isolated system cannot decrease. This means that in order to keep going for ever, a wave motion would have to involve no entropy increase. But almost all processes involve some increase of entropy, and in the case of water waves this is certainly going to happen, because of viscosity and turbulence in the water. Therefore the wave will gradually dissipate its energy and eventually die down.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$









  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Maybe I didn't drink enough coffee in order to follow your logic but I feel some information is missing. What is the system you're talking about? Is it really isolated? Why couldn't a wave keep going forever after some entropy increase?
    $endgroup$
    – Eric Duminil
    14 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    The isolated system here is planet Earth including its atmosphere and ocean. The wave could be maintained for a while if the rest of the Earth were feeding energy into it, but there is no natural process doing that. Entropy increase (at finite temperature) means energy moving from a regular to an irregular form; hence loss of energy in the wave motion itself.
    $endgroup$
    – Andrew Steane
    13 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    If your {Earth + Atmosphere + Ocean} system really were isolated, there would be no wave to begin with, would it?
    $endgroup$
    – Eric Duminil
    13 hours ago






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    @EricDuminil The waves going on "forever" (my comment under the OP notwithstanding) because earth is not an isolated system are called tides ;-).
    $endgroup$
    – Peter A. Schneider
    13 hours ago








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    I will say the one reason I could think this might not be true would be if the thermal energy from the sun were somehow keeping this going. I don't know if it would be possible, but the tsunami might have some way of reaching a sort of resonance with the heating and cooling cycles to keep it's energy. That seems unlikely enough that it's probably more confusing to add it to the answer (perhaps even physically impossible still, but that would take some simulations).
    $endgroup$
    – JMac
    12 hours ago



















11












$begingroup$

The waves will not travel forever.



Water particles moving against and around each other will have friction, and the friction will cause motion energy to be converted to heat (which will dissipate throughout the water and air). The wave will eventually cease to exist unless energy is added.






share|cite|improve this answer








New contributor




Michael Teter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






$endgroup$





















    6












    $begingroup$

    Of course, no. Tsunamis are a series of waves, with much higher wavelengths, speed, and period than the normal ones. Normal ocean waves only involve motion of the uppermost layer of the water, but Tsunami waves involve the movement of the entire water column from surface to seafloor.



    However, they are still akin to normal waves when it comes to dissipative forces such as friction between layers (or viscosity), just that it takes longer due to the sheer amount of energy density they carry. The mass of water getting displaced is particularly high, and due to high inertia, they tend to keep moving until resistance offered by the shape of the shoreline and other dissipative forces take over. Conservation of energy ensures the dissipation through heat, sound (which ultimately decays to thermal energy of the medium).



    Tsunami waves have much longer periods ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours, wavelengths of 100-500 km, and travel at speeds of 800-1000 km per hour[1]. Near the shore, the killer waves slow to between 10 to 20 mph (16 to 32 km/h) and gain height. In reality, Tsunamis can travel as far as 10 miles (16 km) inland, depending on the shape and slope of the shoreline [2].






    share|cite|improve this answer









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      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes








      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      15












      $begingroup$

      To answer this, I would appeal to the general principle which we call the 2nd law of thermodynamics. One way of expressing it is that the entropy of an isolated system cannot decrease. This means that in order to keep going for ever, a wave motion would have to involve no entropy increase. But almost all processes involve some increase of entropy, and in the case of water waves this is certainly going to happen, because of viscosity and turbulence in the water. Therefore the wave will gradually dissipate its energy and eventually die down.






      share|cite|improve this answer









      $endgroup$









      • 4




        $begingroup$
        Maybe I didn't drink enough coffee in order to follow your logic but I feel some information is missing. What is the system you're talking about? Is it really isolated? Why couldn't a wave keep going forever after some entropy increase?
        $endgroup$
        – Eric Duminil
        14 hours ago






      • 1




        $begingroup$
        The isolated system here is planet Earth including its atmosphere and ocean. The wave could be maintained for a while if the rest of the Earth were feeding energy into it, but there is no natural process doing that. Entropy increase (at finite temperature) means energy moving from a regular to an irregular form; hence loss of energy in the wave motion itself.
        $endgroup$
        – Andrew Steane
        13 hours ago






      • 1




        $begingroup$
        If your {Earth + Atmosphere + Ocean} system really were isolated, there would be no wave to begin with, would it?
        $endgroup$
        – Eric Duminil
        13 hours ago






      • 4




        $begingroup$
        @EricDuminil The waves going on "forever" (my comment under the OP notwithstanding) because earth is not an isolated system are called tides ;-).
        $endgroup$
        – Peter A. Schneider
        13 hours ago








      • 3




        $begingroup$
        I will say the one reason I could think this might not be true would be if the thermal energy from the sun were somehow keeping this going. I don't know if it would be possible, but the tsunami might have some way of reaching a sort of resonance with the heating and cooling cycles to keep it's energy. That seems unlikely enough that it's probably more confusing to add it to the answer (perhaps even physically impossible still, but that would take some simulations).
        $endgroup$
        – JMac
        12 hours ago
















      15












      $begingroup$

      To answer this, I would appeal to the general principle which we call the 2nd law of thermodynamics. One way of expressing it is that the entropy of an isolated system cannot decrease. This means that in order to keep going for ever, a wave motion would have to involve no entropy increase. But almost all processes involve some increase of entropy, and in the case of water waves this is certainly going to happen, because of viscosity and turbulence in the water. Therefore the wave will gradually dissipate its energy and eventually die down.






      share|cite|improve this answer









      $endgroup$









      • 4




        $begingroup$
        Maybe I didn't drink enough coffee in order to follow your logic but I feel some information is missing. What is the system you're talking about? Is it really isolated? Why couldn't a wave keep going forever after some entropy increase?
        $endgroup$
        – Eric Duminil
        14 hours ago






      • 1




        $begingroup$
        The isolated system here is planet Earth including its atmosphere and ocean. The wave could be maintained for a while if the rest of the Earth were feeding energy into it, but there is no natural process doing that. Entropy increase (at finite temperature) means energy moving from a regular to an irregular form; hence loss of energy in the wave motion itself.
        $endgroup$
        – Andrew Steane
        13 hours ago






      • 1




        $begingroup$
        If your {Earth + Atmosphere + Ocean} system really were isolated, there would be no wave to begin with, would it?
        $endgroup$
        – Eric Duminil
        13 hours ago






      • 4




        $begingroup$
        @EricDuminil The waves going on "forever" (my comment under the OP notwithstanding) because earth is not an isolated system are called tides ;-).
        $endgroup$
        – Peter A. Schneider
        13 hours ago








      • 3




        $begingroup$
        I will say the one reason I could think this might not be true would be if the thermal energy from the sun were somehow keeping this going. I don't know if it would be possible, but the tsunami might have some way of reaching a sort of resonance with the heating and cooling cycles to keep it's energy. That seems unlikely enough that it's probably more confusing to add it to the answer (perhaps even physically impossible still, but that would take some simulations).
        $endgroup$
        – JMac
        12 hours ago














      15












      15








      15





      $begingroup$

      To answer this, I would appeal to the general principle which we call the 2nd law of thermodynamics. One way of expressing it is that the entropy of an isolated system cannot decrease. This means that in order to keep going for ever, a wave motion would have to involve no entropy increase. But almost all processes involve some increase of entropy, and in the case of water waves this is certainly going to happen, because of viscosity and turbulence in the water. Therefore the wave will gradually dissipate its energy and eventually die down.






      share|cite|improve this answer









      $endgroup$



      To answer this, I would appeal to the general principle which we call the 2nd law of thermodynamics. One way of expressing it is that the entropy of an isolated system cannot decrease. This means that in order to keep going for ever, a wave motion would have to involve no entropy increase. But almost all processes involve some increase of entropy, and in the case of water waves this is certainly going to happen, because of viscosity and turbulence in the water. Therefore the wave will gradually dissipate its energy and eventually die down.







      share|cite|improve this answer












      share|cite|improve this answer



      share|cite|improve this answer










      answered 16 hours ago









      Andrew SteaneAndrew Steane

      5,8941737




      5,8941737








      • 4




        $begingroup$
        Maybe I didn't drink enough coffee in order to follow your logic but I feel some information is missing. What is the system you're talking about? Is it really isolated? Why couldn't a wave keep going forever after some entropy increase?
        $endgroup$
        – Eric Duminil
        14 hours ago






      • 1




        $begingroup$
        The isolated system here is planet Earth including its atmosphere and ocean. The wave could be maintained for a while if the rest of the Earth were feeding energy into it, but there is no natural process doing that. Entropy increase (at finite temperature) means energy moving from a regular to an irregular form; hence loss of energy in the wave motion itself.
        $endgroup$
        – Andrew Steane
        13 hours ago






      • 1




        $begingroup$
        If your {Earth + Atmosphere + Ocean} system really were isolated, there would be no wave to begin with, would it?
        $endgroup$
        – Eric Duminil
        13 hours ago






      • 4




        $begingroup$
        @EricDuminil The waves going on "forever" (my comment under the OP notwithstanding) because earth is not an isolated system are called tides ;-).
        $endgroup$
        – Peter A. Schneider
        13 hours ago








      • 3




        $begingroup$
        I will say the one reason I could think this might not be true would be if the thermal energy from the sun were somehow keeping this going. I don't know if it would be possible, but the tsunami might have some way of reaching a sort of resonance with the heating and cooling cycles to keep it's energy. That seems unlikely enough that it's probably more confusing to add it to the answer (perhaps even physically impossible still, but that would take some simulations).
        $endgroup$
        – JMac
        12 hours ago














      • 4




        $begingroup$
        Maybe I didn't drink enough coffee in order to follow your logic but I feel some information is missing. What is the system you're talking about? Is it really isolated? Why couldn't a wave keep going forever after some entropy increase?
        $endgroup$
        – Eric Duminil
        14 hours ago






      • 1




        $begingroup$
        The isolated system here is planet Earth including its atmosphere and ocean. The wave could be maintained for a while if the rest of the Earth were feeding energy into it, but there is no natural process doing that. Entropy increase (at finite temperature) means energy moving from a regular to an irregular form; hence loss of energy in the wave motion itself.
        $endgroup$
        – Andrew Steane
        13 hours ago






      • 1




        $begingroup$
        If your {Earth + Atmosphere + Ocean} system really were isolated, there would be no wave to begin with, would it?
        $endgroup$
        – Eric Duminil
        13 hours ago






      • 4




        $begingroup$
        @EricDuminil The waves going on "forever" (my comment under the OP notwithstanding) because earth is not an isolated system are called tides ;-).
        $endgroup$
        – Peter A. Schneider
        13 hours ago








      • 3




        $begingroup$
        I will say the one reason I could think this might not be true would be if the thermal energy from the sun were somehow keeping this going. I don't know if it would be possible, but the tsunami might have some way of reaching a sort of resonance with the heating and cooling cycles to keep it's energy. That seems unlikely enough that it's probably more confusing to add it to the answer (perhaps even physically impossible still, but that would take some simulations).
        $endgroup$
        – JMac
        12 hours ago








      4




      4




      $begingroup$
      Maybe I didn't drink enough coffee in order to follow your logic but I feel some information is missing. What is the system you're talking about? Is it really isolated? Why couldn't a wave keep going forever after some entropy increase?
      $endgroup$
      – Eric Duminil
      14 hours ago




      $begingroup$
      Maybe I didn't drink enough coffee in order to follow your logic but I feel some information is missing. What is the system you're talking about? Is it really isolated? Why couldn't a wave keep going forever after some entropy increase?
      $endgroup$
      – Eric Duminil
      14 hours ago




      1




      1




      $begingroup$
      The isolated system here is planet Earth including its atmosphere and ocean. The wave could be maintained for a while if the rest of the Earth were feeding energy into it, but there is no natural process doing that. Entropy increase (at finite temperature) means energy moving from a regular to an irregular form; hence loss of energy in the wave motion itself.
      $endgroup$
      – Andrew Steane
      13 hours ago




      $begingroup$
      The isolated system here is planet Earth including its atmosphere and ocean. The wave could be maintained for a while if the rest of the Earth were feeding energy into it, but there is no natural process doing that. Entropy increase (at finite temperature) means energy moving from a regular to an irregular form; hence loss of energy in the wave motion itself.
      $endgroup$
      – Andrew Steane
      13 hours ago




      1




      1




      $begingroup$
      If your {Earth + Atmosphere + Ocean} system really were isolated, there would be no wave to begin with, would it?
      $endgroup$
      – Eric Duminil
      13 hours ago




      $begingroup$
      If your {Earth + Atmosphere + Ocean} system really were isolated, there would be no wave to begin with, would it?
      $endgroup$
      – Eric Duminil
      13 hours ago




      4




      4




      $begingroup$
      @EricDuminil The waves going on "forever" (my comment under the OP notwithstanding) because earth is not an isolated system are called tides ;-).
      $endgroup$
      – Peter A. Schneider
      13 hours ago






      $begingroup$
      @EricDuminil The waves going on "forever" (my comment under the OP notwithstanding) because earth is not an isolated system are called tides ;-).
      $endgroup$
      – Peter A. Schneider
      13 hours ago






      3




      3




      $begingroup$
      I will say the one reason I could think this might not be true would be if the thermal energy from the sun were somehow keeping this going. I don't know if it would be possible, but the tsunami might have some way of reaching a sort of resonance with the heating and cooling cycles to keep it's energy. That seems unlikely enough that it's probably more confusing to add it to the answer (perhaps even physically impossible still, but that would take some simulations).
      $endgroup$
      – JMac
      12 hours ago




      $begingroup$
      I will say the one reason I could think this might not be true would be if the thermal energy from the sun were somehow keeping this going. I don't know if it would be possible, but the tsunami might have some way of reaching a sort of resonance with the heating and cooling cycles to keep it's energy. That seems unlikely enough that it's probably more confusing to add it to the answer (perhaps even physically impossible still, but that would take some simulations).
      $endgroup$
      – JMac
      12 hours ago











      11












      $begingroup$

      The waves will not travel forever.



      Water particles moving against and around each other will have friction, and the friction will cause motion energy to be converted to heat (which will dissipate throughout the water and air). The wave will eventually cease to exist unless energy is added.






      share|cite|improve this answer








      New contributor




      Michael Teter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.






      $endgroup$


















        11












        $begingroup$

        The waves will not travel forever.



        Water particles moving against and around each other will have friction, and the friction will cause motion energy to be converted to heat (which will dissipate throughout the water and air). The wave will eventually cease to exist unless energy is added.






        share|cite|improve this answer








        New contributor




        Michael Teter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.






        $endgroup$
















          11












          11








          11





          $begingroup$

          The waves will not travel forever.



          Water particles moving against and around each other will have friction, and the friction will cause motion energy to be converted to heat (which will dissipate throughout the water and air). The wave will eventually cease to exist unless energy is added.






          share|cite|improve this answer








          New contributor




          Michael Teter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.






          $endgroup$



          The waves will not travel forever.



          Water particles moving against and around each other will have friction, and the friction will cause motion energy to be converted to heat (which will dissipate throughout the water and air). The wave will eventually cease to exist unless energy is added.







          share|cite|improve this answer








          New contributor




          Michael Teter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.









          share|cite|improve this answer



          share|cite|improve this answer






          New contributor




          Michael Teter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.









          answered 14 hours ago









          Michael TeterMichael Teter

          1112




          1112




          New contributor




          Michael Teter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.





          New contributor





          Michael Teter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.






          Michael Teter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.























              6












              $begingroup$

              Of course, no. Tsunamis are a series of waves, with much higher wavelengths, speed, and period than the normal ones. Normal ocean waves only involve motion of the uppermost layer of the water, but Tsunami waves involve the movement of the entire water column from surface to seafloor.



              However, they are still akin to normal waves when it comes to dissipative forces such as friction between layers (or viscosity), just that it takes longer due to the sheer amount of energy density they carry. The mass of water getting displaced is particularly high, and due to high inertia, they tend to keep moving until resistance offered by the shape of the shoreline and other dissipative forces take over. Conservation of energy ensures the dissipation through heat, sound (which ultimately decays to thermal energy of the medium).



              Tsunami waves have much longer periods ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours, wavelengths of 100-500 km, and travel at speeds of 800-1000 km per hour[1]. Near the shore, the killer waves slow to between 10 to 20 mph (16 to 32 km/h) and gain height. In reality, Tsunamis can travel as far as 10 miles (16 km) inland, depending on the shape and slope of the shoreline [2].






              share|cite|improve this answer









              $endgroup$


















                6












                $begingroup$

                Of course, no. Tsunamis are a series of waves, with much higher wavelengths, speed, and period than the normal ones. Normal ocean waves only involve motion of the uppermost layer of the water, but Tsunami waves involve the movement of the entire water column from surface to seafloor.



                However, they are still akin to normal waves when it comes to dissipative forces such as friction between layers (or viscosity), just that it takes longer due to the sheer amount of energy density they carry. The mass of water getting displaced is particularly high, and due to high inertia, they tend to keep moving until resistance offered by the shape of the shoreline and other dissipative forces take over. Conservation of energy ensures the dissipation through heat, sound (which ultimately decays to thermal energy of the medium).



                Tsunami waves have much longer periods ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours, wavelengths of 100-500 km, and travel at speeds of 800-1000 km per hour[1]. Near the shore, the killer waves slow to between 10 to 20 mph (16 to 32 km/h) and gain height. In reality, Tsunamis can travel as far as 10 miles (16 km) inland, depending on the shape and slope of the shoreline [2].






                share|cite|improve this answer









                $endgroup$
















                  6












                  6








                  6





                  $begingroup$

                  Of course, no. Tsunamis are a series of waves, with much higher wavelengths, speed, and period than the normal ones. Normal ocean waves only involve motion of the uppermost layer of the water, but Tsunami waves involve the movement of the entire water column from surface to seafloor.



                  However, they are still akin to normal waves when it comes to dissipative forces such as friction between layers (or viscosity), just that it takes longer due to the sheer amount of energy density they carry. The mass of water getting displaced is particularly high, and due to high inertia, they tend to keep moving until resistance offered by the shape of the shoreline and other dissipative forces take over. Conservation of energy ensures the dissipation through heat, sound (which ultimately decays to thermal energy of the medium).



                  Tsunami waves have much longer periods ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours, wavelengths of 100-500 km, and travel at speeds of 800-1000 km per hour[1]. Near the shore, the killer waves slow to between 10 to 20 mph (16 to 32 km/h) and gain height. In reality, Tsunamis can travel as far as 10 miles (16 km) inland, depending on the shape and slope of the shoreline [2].






                  share|cite|improve this answer









                  $endgroup$



                  Of course, no. Tsunamis are a series of waves, with much higher wavelengths, speed, and period than the normal ones. Normal ocean waves only involve motion of the uppermost layer of the water, but Tsunami waves involve the movement of the entire water column from surface to seafloor.



                  However, they are still akin to normal waves when it comes to dissipative forces such as friction between layers (or viscosity), just that it takes longer due to the sheer amount of energy density they carry. The mass of water getting displaced is particularly high, and due to high inertia, they tend to keep moving until resistance offered by the shape of the shoreline and other dissipative forces take over. Conservation of energy ensures the dissipation through heat, sound (which ultimately decays to thermal energy of the medium).



                  Tsunami waves have much longer periods ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours, wavelengths of 100-500 km, and travel at speeds of 800-1000 km per hour[1]. Near the shore, the killer waves slow to between 10 to 20 mph (16 to 32 km/h) and gain height. In reality, Tsunamis can travel as far as 10 miles (16 km) inland, depending on the shape and slope of the shoreline [2].







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                  answered 13 hours ago









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