Question

Distinguish between ripples and gravity wave

Answer 1

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Answer 2

Answer:

For a wave of any kind there needs to be a restoring force that tries to bring the medium back to its resting state. For example, that could be the tension on a string, or air pressure (for sound waves). For waves on the surface of water there are actually two restoring forces: gravity and surface tension. On long length scales, like a boat wake, the surface tension plays an insignificant role. The behavior of these water waves is completely described by gravity and the density of water. But when the wavelength is shorter than a few millimeters, then the surface tension dominates. The surface tension is a force that makes the surface of a liquid behave like a rubber sheet.

So “ripples” on water could have contributions from both gravity and surface tension, depending on how small they are.

As an extreme example, here is my finger interrupting the flow of a stream of water from a faucet. The ripples in this case are definitely dominated by surface tension, not gravity.

Explanation: