Curious Kids: how do ripples form and why do they spread out across the water?
Simon Cox, Professor of Mathematics, Aberystwyth University
When I was playing “splash rocks”, I noticed that when I threw the rock into the river it made a circle shape, which got bigger. How does it make the ripple? Why do the circles spread out further and further? Why do they stop? – Rowan, aged six, UK.
Hi Rowan, these are good questions, and a fun experiment to do.
When you throw a rock into a river, it pushes water out of the way, making a ripple that moves away from where it landed. As the rock falls deeper into the river, the water near the...