Phenomena

Shaking on Impact

A poster with several images of the cavity formed by the water impact of a harmonic oscillator.

When objects impact water with enough speed, they create a smooth-walled, air-filled cavity around and behind them. Here, the impacting object is one with some give, like a spring. The initial impact squishes the object, setting it to oscillating along its length. The result is a wavy cavity. The stiffer the object, the more frequent the waves. (Image credit: J. Antolik et al.)

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