Whether or not you realize it, as a surfer you’re a master of complicated physics.
不管你是否意识到, 身为冲浪者,你实际是 一位精通复杂物理学的大师。
The science of surfing begins as soon as you and your board first hit the water. The board’s size and light construction help it displace a lot of water. In turn, a buoyant force equal to the weight of the displaced water pushes up, counteracting you and your board’s weight. This lets you stay afloat while you wait to paddle for a wave.
冲浪的科学始于 你和冲浪板触碰到水的一瞬间。 冲浪板的面积和较轻的材质 能够使大量的水产生位移。 产生一股向上推起的浮力, 与发生位移的水重量均等, 可以抵消掉你与冲浪板的重量。 这使你在等待海浪的时候能够一直浮于海面。
And what exactly are you waiting for? The perfect wave, of course. Like other waves in physics, ocean waves represent a transfer of energy. Wind blowing across the ocean accelerates water particles near the surface, leading to the growth of ripples that become waves. These deviations from the flat surface are acted upon by gravity, which tries to restore the surface to its original flat state. As the waves then move through the water, particles push and pull on their neighbors through the wave induced pressure, and this motion propagates energy through the water in unison with the wave motion. The motion of these particles is much more limited than the overall motion of the waves. Near the shore, the shallower seafloor constrains the motion of the waves to occur in a more limited region than out at sea, concentrating the wave energy near the surface. If the topography of the shoreline is even and smooth, this will refract the waves to become more parallel to the shore as they approach.
那么你等待的究竟是什么呢? 当然是完美的海浪。 与物理学中其他的波浪一样, 海洋的波浪代表能量的转移。 海风加速了水表的移动, 产生波纹,最终形成海浪。 不再平静的海面会受到重力作用, 重力试图让海面恢复到原本的水平状态。 当海浪在不断移动, 水粒子互相挤压引起海浪内部的压力, 而这种运动通过水与波浪的同步运动传递能量。 水粒子的运动, 相比波浪的整体运动是很受限的。 靠近岸边, 相较于广阔的大海, 浅海区域海浪的运动在一定范围内受限, 将波浪的能量集中在表面。 如果海岸线的地形平整光滑, 海浪会发生折射, 在靠近海岸时与海岸线更平行。
This is the crucial moment. As the wave gets near, you quickly pivot your board in the same direction as the wave and paddle to match its speed. Your board forms an angle with the water, and this creates a dynamic pressure on the bottom of it, forcing you and your board out of the water, to skim along the surface. At the same time, your increased forward momentum makes you more stable, allowing you to stand up and surf along the wave.
关键的时刻来了。 当海浪逐渐靠近, 你朝着与海浪相同的方向调转冲浪板, 尽力划动,赶上海浪的速度。 你的冲浪板与水形成一个角度, 在底部产生压力, 使得你和冲浪板离开水面, 在表面飞快行进。 同时, 不断增强的前进动力使你更稳定, 让你能够站起,随波逐浪滑行。
Now you’ve caught the wave, and are riding along its front face parallel to the shoreline. Fins on the surfboard allow you to alter your speed and direction by repositioning your weight. Above you is the wave’s crest, where the water particles are undergoing their greatest acceleration. That forces them to move faster than the underlying wave, so they shoot ahead before falling under gravity’s influence. This forms the waves’ characteristic curls, or jets, as they break along the shore. Sometimes, the curl might completely enclose part of the wave, forming a moving tube of water known as the barrel. Because of irregularities in the seafloor and the swell itself, few barrels last as long as the legendary 27-second ride off the coast of Namibia. But many who manage to get barreled have said they feel time passing differently inside, making it one of the most magical experiences a surfer can have.
现在你已追到了浪, 开始沿着与海岸线平行的方向前行。 冲浪板的舵通过重置你的着力点, 让你可以改变速度和方向。 在你的上方,是波峰, 波峰处的水粒子在以它们最大速度运动, 迫使它们比下方的海浪移动得更快, 在受到重力影响掉落之前,它们飞速向前。 这形成了海浪的特征,卷浪,或称喷浪, 因为它们会沿着海岸溃散。 有时,这种卷浪会完全围住一些海浪, 使水形成运动中的管道,形状像桶一样, 由于海底的不规则构造和高低起伏, 几乎没有比纳米比亚海岸 那次传奇的27秒更持久的卷浪。 但有不少驾驭过卷浪的人, 他们描述到,身处于浪之中, 感觉时间流逝的速度都发生了变化, 这是冲浪者专属的最神奇的体验之一。
Of course, not all beaches are created equal. Offshore underwater canyons or rock formations in certain locations like Nazare, Portugal or Mavericks, California refract the incoming wave energy into a single spot, creating massive waves sought by surfers worldwide. And some of these waves travel for more than a week, with swells originating more than 10,000 kilometers away from shore. Waves surfed in sunny California may have originated in the stormy seas near New Zealand.
当然, 海滩不尽相同。 一些地方的沿岸海底的岩石和峡谷地形构造, 比如葡萄牙的纳扎尔、加利福尼亚州的半月湾, 能够将海浪的能量折射到一个单点上, 造就全世界冲浪者心向往之的巨大海浪。 有些海浪的旅程长达一星期, 到达一万公里以外的地方。 在加州的阳光海岸冲的浪, 可能来自于新西兰海域的汹涌波涛。
So while you may not be thinking about weather patterns in the South Pacific, tectonic geology, or fluid mechanics, the art of catching the perfect wave relies on all these things and more. And the waves we surf, created by wind, are just one visible part of the continuous oscillation of energy that has shaped our universe since its very beginning.
你可能根本不会关心南太平洋的天气状况、 构造地质学或流体力学, 但完美的冲浪艺术 确实依赖于这些及其他的因素。 风造就了使我们冲浪的海浪, 仅仅是能量的其中一个可见部分而已, 能量振动持续塑造着我们的宇宙,从开始到现在。