Qfwfq Posted December 4, 2007 Report Posted December 4, 2007 ...and it moved towards the fleets.Actually Becca it might not have moved closer. As Modest already said, the longer waves on water surface travel faster, at a large distance they'll arrive sooner. This kind of difference can occur with other kinds of wave propagation too and it must be the reason for what I once described about an earthquake I felt.
LaurieAG Posted December 7, 2007 Report Posted December 7, 2007 turns out i was sort of right in the first place. it was almost a trick question. there was a storm (i wouldn't worry about the historical accuracy too much) and it moved towards the fleets. by the morning of the battle it was close enough for the ships to be hit by the short frequency waves. tut. Hi Becca, Teachers should make questions more relevant to history than what was contained in the question you describe, especially science teachers. BTW, the short frequency waves didn't sink any ships (apart from HMS Eurydice as I referred to before) or win the battle, the fleet on the weather guage (not a barometer) could come to the attack quite easily with a following wind while the other fleet couldn't do it as easily against the wind as identified in the Battle of Trafalgar website. It's not surprising that after Trafalgar this tactic became almost standard for naval warfare.
modest Posted December 7, 2007 Report Posted December 7, 2007 Teachers should make questions more relevant to history than what was contained in the question you describe, especially science teachers. I can't think of a better historical example of this physics problem (especially for someone in the UK) Granted, I'm not a historian. What example were you thinking of? -modest
LaurieAG Posted December 7, 2007 Report Posted December 7, 2007 I can't think of a better historical example of this physics problem (especially for someone in the UK) Granted, I'm not a historian. What example were you thinking of? -modest Hi Modest, I've asked a few people who know quite a bit about practical sailing, navigation (including lecturers of Celestial Navigation) and the battle of Trafalgar and not one of those people gave me that type of answer. It just seems to me that (after the fact) somebody took the 'weather gage' tactic in naval warfare under sail, that was brought to the fore at Trafalgar, and in a very superficial way, mistook 'weather guage' for a barometer.
modest Posted December 7, 2007 Report Posted December 7, 2007 It just seems to me that (after the fact) somebody took the 'weather gage' tactic in naval warfare under sail, that was brought to the fore at Trafalgar, and in a very superficial way, mistook 'weather guage' for a barometer. I'm not asking you about weather gauge. I'm asking about this question: The day before the battle a heavy swell was running (ships experienced waves of large amplitude and wavelength). The next day, heavy seas struck the fleet. I have to explain this series of events. This question has nothing whatsoever to do with weather gauge or naval tactics or who won the battle or how. Teachers should make questions more relevant to history than what was contained in the question you describe What historical example of wave dispersion do you suggest? Notice that it doesn't have to be a naval example. Acceptable suggestions could be the chicxulub impact or a tsunami. Instead of telling the teachers out there this is a bad example, give us a better one. Put it in the form of a physics question with a historical frame where the answer is dispersion. I think this could be helpful and I honestly cannot think of a better historical example than Becca's. -modest
Qfwfq Posted December 7, 2007 Report Posted December 7, 2007 Laurie that's enough with this pointless troll, Becca asked for help and it had nothing to do with the things you've been bringing into the matter. Thread closed.
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