Whether or not you realize it, as a surfer you’re a master of complicated physics.
不論你是否知道, 身為衝浪者,你其實是個 精通複雜物理的大師。
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.
在你和你的衝浪板一接觸到水時, 衝浪的科學就開始了。 衝浪板的大小以及很輕的結構, 協助它能排開很多水。 這會產生一股浮力向上推, 力量大小等同於 被排開的水的重量, 可以抵銷你和你的衝浪板的重量。 這就讓你能夠一直浮在海面, 等著為下一波浪開始划水。
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.
你在等的到底是什麼? 當然是在等完美的浪。 和物理的其他波一樣, 海浪(波)代表的是能量的傳遞。 風吹撫過海洋表面, 讓靠近表面的水粒子加速, 導致漣漪變大,成為海浪。 這些從平坦表面偏離的 現象會受到重力影響, 重力會試圖將表面 恢復成原本的平坦狀態。 海浪接著會在海上移動, 粒子會透過海浪推拉它們 附近的鄰居,導致壓力產生, 這種運動會配合海浪的運動, 透過水來傳播能量。 這些粒子的運動 相對於海浪的整體運動, 是更受限許多的。 在靠近岸邊處,比較淺的 海底會限制海浪的運動, 只能在比較受限的區域中 產生海浪,不像大海那麼廣, 因此會把海浪能量 集中在靠近表面處。 如果海岸線的地形是平坦平順的, 就會將海浪折射, 在它們靠近海岸時, 變得與海岸更平行。 這是關鍵時刻。
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.
當海浪靠近時, 你很快地轉動你的衝浪板, 和海浪同方向, 並划水以配合上它的速度。 你的衝浪板和水之間 會形成一個角度, 這就會在衝浪板底下 產生出動態壓力, 迫使你和你的衝浪板浮在水面上, 沿著表面掠過。 同時, 你向前的動能會增加, 讓你更穩定, 你便可以站起來,順著海浪衝浪。 現在,你追到海浪了,
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.
正和海岸線平行的 海浪前緣乘著浪。 衝浪板的舵讓你 可以改變速度和方向, 做法是重擺你重量的位置。 浪峰在你上方, 浪峰的粒子有最快的加速度。 因此它們的移動速度 會比下方的海浪更快, 所以在受到重力影響落下之前, 它們會飛快向前移動。 這就形成了海浪 很著名的特徵:拱波, 會在海浪沿著海岸被破壞時產生。 有時,拱波可能會 將海浪的一部分完全包起來, 形成一個移動式的水管, 也就是波捲狀海浪。 因為海底和湧浪本身是不規則的, 很少有波捲狀海浪能維持超過 納米比亞海岸的 傳奇性記錄:27 秒。 但許多能夠在波捲狀 海浪中衝浪的人 都說他們覺得在浪中的 時間是不同步的, 讓它成為衝浪者所能享受到 最神奇經驗之一。
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.
當然,海灘並非生而平等。 近岸的水底峽谷或岩石形成, 比如在葡萄牙納扎雷 或加州麥沃瑞克斯這些地方, 會把進入的海浪能量 折射到單一點上, 創造出全世界衝浪者 都在尋求的大浪。 有些海浪能持續超過一個星期, 湧浪源自距離海岸 超過一萬公里以外的地方。 在陽光加州所衝的浪, 可能源自紐西蘭 附近的暴風雨海洋。 你可能不會去想 南太平洋的天氣模式、
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.
構造地質學,或流體力學, 但追上完美海浪的藝術 卻要仰賴上述這些及其他的東西。 我們衝的浪是由風造成的, 它們只是能量持續振盪的 可見部分而已, 從宇宙最初,這種能量持續振盪 就一直在形塑我們的宇宙。