Why do ripples on water appear circular?

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SUMMARY

Ripples on water appear circular due to the nature of wave propagation and diffraction effects. When an object disturbs the water, the ripples initially reflect the shape of the object but become circular as the distance from the disturbance increases. This phenomenon occurs because, at larger distances, the object behaves like a point source, leading to a circular diffraction pattern. Surface tension does not significantly influence the circularity of ripples, which is fundamentally linked to the distribution of force in wave mechanics.

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Why are ripples on water only circular in shape? Why arent they of the shape of the object dropped in them? Like triangular or square?
 
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The ripples are not circular - right near the disturbance! They only become approximately circular in the far field where the distance from the disturbance and the dominant wavelengths are large compared with the size of the disturbing object.
 
Does surface tension play any part in the process of ripple formation?
 
the circular shape is the most fundamental shape in the universe, because it can distribute the force evenly...
 
zhen said:
the circular shape is the most fundamental shape in the universe
Or is it the sphere?
 
Last edited:
Diffraction effects tend to 'iron out' small features one might find in a wavefront. As the distance from the object becomes large, the object looks increasingly like a point object, and thus at large enough distances, the diffraction pattern becomes circular.

Claude.
 

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