Prompt Cast
The Science Behind Tides: How the Moon and Sun Influence the Ocean
TLDR Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on the Earth's oceans. The moon's gravity creates two high tides and two low tides each day, while the sun's gravity augments the lunar tides. Tides can vary in size and can even be a potential source of clean energy.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The tides have two high tides and two low tides every day, and for thousands of years, people didn't know why they occurred, but most cultures recognized that the moon played a role.
01:43
The moon's gravity attracts the water and causes the tides to go up and down, but this is a simplistic explanation.
03:17
The moon and the Earth both revolve around the center of mass of the Earth-Moon system, which is what causes the high tide.
04:55
There are two high tides due to the imbalanced effect of the center of mass of the Earth-Moon system pulling water to the opposite side from the moon, resulting in a high high tide facing the moon and a lower high tide away from the moon.
06:29
The sun also affects tides, but its gravitational influence is smaller than the moon's, resulting in solar tides that are about half as strong as lunar tides, with the main solar tides augmenting the lunar tides and causing variations in tide size throughout the lunar month.
08:12
The orbit of the moon and the earth around the sun, along with variations in distance and gravitational attraction, can create supertides and result in massive differences in the actual level of tides, with the Bay of Fundy in Canada experiencing daily tides that can rise and fall by as much as 16 meters or 52 feet.
09:51
Tide tables are difficult to compute due to various factors such as localized conditions, different cycles within cycles, and the influence of other planets, but tides also have the potential to be a significant source of clean energy.
