Tidal Acceleration: What & Why + Formula

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on tidal acceleration and deceleration, exploring the underlying concepts and formulas associated with these phenomena. Participants seek clarification on the topic, particularly in relation to its complexity as presented in external sources.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant requests a simpler explanation of tidal acceleration and its formula, expressing difficulty with existing resources.
  • Another participant summarizes the process, explaining how the moon causes tidal bulges and how friction leads to the Earth pushing the bulge ahead of the moon, resulting in changes to the moon's and Earth's velocities.
  • A metaphor involving swinging a ball on a string is used to illustrate the relationship between the tidal bulge and the gravitational forces at play.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants appear to agree on the basic mechanics of tidal acceleration as described, but there is no consensus on the clarity of the explanation or the complexity of the topic.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express that external sources, such as Wikipedia, may present the information in a complex manner, indicating a potential limitation in understanding without simpler explanations.

Ankit Mehta
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What is TIDAL ACCELERATION or TIDAL DECELERAION? Also, could some one please explain me it's forumlae?
 
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Thank you for the link Mr. Simon. That was the first link which I visited when I started searching on the above topic. The reason why I posted this question here is that I found the wiki content too complex and if someone could explain it to me in a simpler way, that would be great.
 
In short..

The moon causes tidal bulges.
Friction between the ocean and the land causes the Earth to push the tidal bulge ahead of the moon.
Gravitational force between the tidal bulge and the moon causes the moon to speed up and the Earth to slow down.

It's a bit like swinging a ball around on a string. Your arm has to lead the ball. The tension in the string speeds up the ball and at the same time tries to slow down your arm.
 
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