Waves, Fredric Raichlen
Waves, Fredric Raichlen
List: $24.98 | Sale: $17.49
Club: $12.49

Waves

Author: Fredric Raichlen

Narrator: Tim Andres Pabon

Unabridged: 4 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 10/01/2015


Synopsis

Sitting on the beach on a sunny summer day, we enjoy the steady advance and retreat of the waves. In the water, enthusiastic waders jump and shriek with pleasure when a wave hits them. But where do these waves come from? How are they formed and why do they break on the shore? In Waves, Fredric Raichlen traces the evolution of waves, from their generation in the deep ocean to their effects on the coast. He explains, in a way that is readily understandable to nonscientists, both the science of waves themselves and the technology that can be used to protect us against their more extreme forms, including hurricanes and tsunamis. After offering a basic definition of waves and explaining the mechanics of wind-wave generation, Raichlen describes how waves travel, how they shoal (rise), how they break, and how they transform in other ways. He goes on to describe, among other things, the complicated sun-Earth-moon combinations that create astronomical tides (the high and low tides that occur daily and predictably); the effects of waves on the beach, including rip currents and beach erosion, and on harbors and shipping; and the building of breakwaters to protect harbors and bays. He discusses hurricanes, storm surges, and hurricane-generated waves. He offers a brief history of tsunamis, including Sumatra's in 2004 and Japan's in 2011, and explains the mechanisms that generate them (including earthquakes, landslides, and volcanoes). Waves can be little ripples that lap peacefully at the shore or monstrous tsunamis that destroy everything in their paths. Describing the science underlying this astonishing variety, Waves offers a different kind of beach reading.

Reviews

If you are looking for a textbook on waves, you have come to the right place. However, I do believe that there are likely authors of textbooks who are more relatable than this author. In the beginning of the book, he writes about how his young children pester him with questions about waves that are......more

Goodreads review by Chris

This book is very specifically an introductory overview of waves applied to the fluid dynamics of water and the engineering and science used to mitigate severe weather events on coasts via the construction of sea-walls. Topics covered include definitions of waves, celerity, wavelength, amplitude, typ......more

Goodreads review by Ben

🌊🌊🌊 It was a good read. I found it pretty interesting. Learned a lot about waves. It was, however (and ironically), fairly dry content-wise. I still did enjoy it. 3.0/5......more