"...but where do these waves come from? "

 "...but where do these waves come from? And why do they come till the start of the beach sometimes and not all the time?..."

...asked my little one last Friday when we were standing in the water at the beach. The ominous waves from far were ending up as cute little ripples at our feet. First splashing against us and then stealing the sand from beneath our feet, as they retreated back towards their mighty mother.

"It's because of the moon's gravity. Just like your teacher told you about earth's gravity last month, the moon also has a gravitational force which acts on the oceans and pulls water towards it, causing waves. The water travels farther at high tide time and retreats back when there is a low tide." I told her. There was no cross questioning and the topic ended there.

On the walk back to the car I quickly googled, as she had piqued my curiosity too. Turns out the waves are primarily caused by wind force. The moon also causes tidal waves, which end in high tides and low tides.

Even though the moon is much smaller in mass and size, since it's so close to us, it has enough gravity to move things around. The moon's gravity even pulls on the land, but not enough for anyone to tell.When the moon's gravity pulls on the water in the oceans, however, it's easier to notice. Water has a much easier time moving around, and the water wants to bulge in the direction of the moon. The ocean also bulges out on the side of Earth opposite the moon. Infact, the Sun also causes tides just like the moon does, although they are somewhat smaller. [Source: scijinks. gov]

- The moon's primary identity is that of a satellite of the earth. It has 1/100th mass, 1/4th size & 1/6th gravity as compared to the planet it is so crazy about, yet in a way, it continuously changes the shape of the planet it goes around.
One doesn't need to be a match in terms of size/mass/capacity to cause a continuous and huge impact on the bigger one that it looks up to.


- The moon and the sun are thousands and millions of kilometers away, yet they cause formation of monstrous tidal waves.
One doesn't necessarily need to be close or in contact with the other to make a frequent mammoth impact on the other. One can have a strong influence on the other irrespective of the distance.

- The ocean being fluid, moves around, going through daily highs & lows, yet has a daily adventure while it explores the world. The land being rigid, barely moves, yet acts as a base for other magnificent things to rise upon.
Perhaps being fluid helps, but not everyone likes to keep moving around all the time, going through mighty highs & lows in the process. Some might be fine staying put, being stable. It would be unfair to judge either.

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