What are tides and how are they caused?
Tides are the alternate rises and falls of large bodies of water. They are caused by the gravitational interaction between the Earth and the Moon.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, thanks
That's the way I understand it.
Thank you :-)
You're correct! Tides are indeed caused by the gravitational interaction between the Earth and the Moon, as well as the Sun to a lesser extent. Let me break it down further for you to understand the process of how tides are formed.
The Moon's gravitational force affects the Earth's oceans, causing them to bulge outward towards the Moon. This creates a high tide on the side of the Earth closest to the Moon, known as the "lunar tide bulge." At the same time, on the opposite side of the Earth, there is another high tide occurring due to the centrifugal force caused by the Earth-Moon system's rotation.
As the Earth rotates on its axis, different locations on its surface pass through these tidal bulges, resulting in the rise and fall of ocean levels. These periodic changes in sea level are what we observe as tides.
Besides the Moon, the Sun also exerts a gravitational pull on the Earth, but it is about half as strong as the Moon's pull. When the Sun, Moon, and Earth align during certain phases of the Moon, such as during a new or full Moon, the gravitational forces combine and result in higher high tides, known as "spring tides." Conversely, when the Moon and Sun are at right angles to each other, such as during the first and third quarters of the Moon, the gravitational forces partially cancel each other out, resulting in lower high tides, known as "neap tides."
So, in summary, tides are caused primarily by the gravitational pull of the Moon on Earth's oceans, coupled with the gravitational influence of the Sun.