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Definition: tide from Dictionary of Energy

Earth Science. the regular cyclical rise and fall of the water level in the oceans and other large bodies of water, caused by the interaction of the rotating earth with various forces, principally the gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun.


tide

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
alternate and regular rise and fall of sea level in oceans and other large bodies of water. These changes are caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and, to a lesser extent, of the sun on the earth. More generally, tides are the deformations of celestial bodies from a perfectly spherical shape that result from stresses created by their mutual gravitational attraction (see gravitation ). Another way of viewing the tide is as the longest possible ocean wave, one which stretches all the way around the earth. The tide regarded as a wave is sometimes referred to as a tidal wave , although this term has been commonly applied to the shock wave propagated by an underwater earthquake. (To avoid confusion, such shock waves are now called tsunamis , their Japanese name, or seismic sea waves.) Numerous schemes have been proposed to harness the earth's tides, especially in various estuaries, as a practical source of power, but none as yet have proved economically or technologically…
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Full text Article tide

From Philip's Encyclopedia
The daily rise and fall of the ocean's tides are...
Periodic rise and fall of the surface level of the oceans caused by the gravitational attraction of the Moon and Sun. Tides follow the Moon's cycle of 28 days, so they arrive at a given spot 50 minutes later each day. When the Sun and Moon are in conjunction or opposition, the greatest tidal range…
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Full text Article tide

From Word Origins
Tide originally meant ‘time’ - as in the tautologous ‘time and tide wait for no man’. Like the related German zeit , Dutch tijd , and Swedish and Danish tid , all of which mean ‘time’, it comes from a prehistoric Germanic *tīdiz . This was derived from the base *tī - (source also of English time ), …
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Full text Article tide

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
alternate and regular rise and fall of sea level in oceans and other large bodies of water. These changes are caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and, to a lesser extent, of the sun on the earth. More generally, tides are the deformations of celestial bodies from a perfectly spherical…
| 944 words
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Full text Article tides

From Science Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia of Marine Science
Vertical and horizontal movements of water caused by the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun acting on the Earth make up the tide. The first written records on tides are credited to Herodotus of Halicarnassus (484 B.C. –425 B.C. ), the father of history. Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) …
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Cotidal charts—global map of lines joining...
Abstract Tides on planet Earth are generated by the gravitational attraction of the Moon and Sun. In the global ocean the observed tides are strongly controlled by the responses of the oceans basins to the direct tidal forcing. Analysis of tidal measurements, and the prediction of future tidal…
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Full text Article tide

From The Macquarie Dictionary
the periodic rise and fall of the waters of the ocean and its inlets, about every 12 hours and 26 minutes, due to the attraction of the moon and sun. Plural: tides the inflow, outflow, or current of water at any given place resulting from the tidal changes. Plural: tides a stream or current. Plural: …
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Full text Article TIDE

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
No biographical data available The great Master of Philosophy drowned himself because he could not apprehend the Cause of Tydes; but his Example cannot be so prevalent with all, as to put a Period to other Mens Inquiries into the Subject. A Draught of the Streights of Gibraltar Publisher…
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The ebb and flow of the tides may be something we take for granted, but without gravity, the tides wouldn’t exist. In a 24-hour period, there are two high tides and two low tides. These occur every day, although the times vary due to something called slack—the period of time in between tides when…
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Full text Article tide

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Regular, periodic rise and fall of the surface of the sea, occurring in most places twice a day. Tides result from differences in the gravitational forces exerted at different points on the Earth’s surface by another body (such as the Moon). Although any celestial body (e.g., Jupiter) produces…
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Full text Article Tide

From The Encyclopedia of Tourism and Recreation in Marine Environments
Around the world, sea levels rise and fall regularly, influenced by the gravitational pull of the moon and, to a lesser extent, the sun, creating high and low tides. When the sun and moon are aligned, either opposite each other or in line on the same side of the earth, the tide is about 20% higher…
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