The Sea

The Science Behind Surfing

And how it works

You’re sitting on your board, looking behind you, and seeing an incoming wave. Your eyes and brain and body have learned to judge the timing so you can catch that wave and ride it. You’re pushing very hard, and then you can feel the acceleration as the rushing force of water increases your speed. Then you stand in balance on the board and savor the forces you feel as you crank off some turns. When you end your ride, you step back on your board to drop the tail into the water, putting on the brakes.

The Science Behind It

Gravity pulls on every atom in you and in your board—yet it behaves as if it were acting just at your center of mass. In most people, if they stand up straight, their center of mass is perfectly placed behind the navel in the middle of their body. The point at which you are on balance is your center of mass. You place a support under your center of gravity, you can stand in balance.

How To Balance

Balance is one of the most important things for a beginner surfer to know. If the downward force of gravity and the upward force of buoyancy are equal, it adds up to zero and it’s stable. Slide backward on your board, though, and the downward force of gravity moves behind the upward buoyant force. The board will have a torque, or twisting force as soon as the two opposing forces are out of line. The torque pinches the board in order for the nose to rise and the tail to fall as you turn back. This will change the position of the water displaced by the board and also the position of the buoyant force. The board is rotated to bring the buoyancy and gravity back in line. By shifting your weight relative to the center of mass of the board, you can tip your board nose down, nose up, right-side down, or left-side down.

https://magazine.scienceconnected.org/2021/05/waves-physics-science-surfing/

https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/stem-in-context/physics-surfing

https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/the-physics-of-surfing

https://www.surfskatescience.com/post/manage-your-blog-from-your-live-site

Take Action

https://www.surfrider.org/