Wake 223993 223274825 2008-07-03T10:40:23Z 158.39.25.27 Generalised introduction paragraph to account for more than water. {{otheruses}} [[Image:wake.avon.gorge.arp.750pix.jpg|right|thumb|The '''wake''' of a slow moving boat]] [[Image:070107-Konigssee-dramaticwake.jpg|thumb|right|Wake of the first boat crossing an alpine lake.]] A '''wake''' is the region of [[turbulence]] immediately to the rear of a solid body caused by the flow of [[air]] or [[water]] around the body. In [[fluid dynamics]], a '''wake''' is the region of separated flow (usually [[turbulent]])downstream of a solid body moving relative to the fluid, caused by the flow of [[liquid]] around the body. In incompressible mediums such as water, a [[Boat|bow]] wake is created when a watercraft moves through the medium; as the medium cannot be compressed, it must be displaced instead, resulting in a wave. As with all [[wave form]]s, it spreads outward from the source until its [[energy]] is overcome or lost, usually by [[friction]] or [[dispersion]]. <!--The angle of the wake of a body moving steady in a deep fluid is 2arcsin(1/3) <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/undergrad/|title=Undergraduate Mathematics at the University of Cambridge |date=2007-09-19}}</ref> (approximately 39 degrees). :: No. The angle varies with speed. I have seen plenty of boat and ship and swimming bird wakes. See talk page.--> Wakes are occasionally used recreationally. Swimmers, people riding personal watercraft, and aquatic mammals such as dolphins, can ride the leading edge of a wake. In the sport of [[water polo]], the ball carrier can swim while advancing the ball, propelled ahead with the wake created by alternating armstrokes, a technique known as [[dribbling]]. <gallery> Image:wake.avon.gorge.2boats.arp.750pix.jpg|The wakes of two slow-moving boats. The nearer boat has made a striking series of ruler-straight waves Image:Sunseeker_Wake.JPG|[[Sunseeker]] Wake on the [[Indian River]] looking at the [[17th street bridge]]: [[scully]] 2/2008 Image:Wake (Kilwater) behind a ferry.jpg|Wake behind a [[ferry]] in the [[Baltic Sea]] Image:Wave cloud.jpg|Wave cloud pattern in the wake of the [[Île Amsterdam]] (lower left, at the "tip" of the triangular formation of clouds) in the southern [[Indian Ocean]] </gallery> ==References== {{reflist|2}} == See also == *[[Wake turbulence]] *[[Wakeboarding]] *[[Slipstream]] ==External links== *[http://www.wikiwaves.org/index.php/Ship_Kelvin_Wake Water Waves Wiki] *[http://BoatWakes.info Erosion caused by boat wakes] {{commonscat}} [[Category:Fluid dynamics]] [[Category:Water waves]] [[bg:Килватер]] [[cs:Úplav]] [[de:Kielwasser]] [[he:גלי הסירה של קלווין]] [[it:Scia]] [[nl:Kielzog]] [[pl:Kilwater]] [[ru:Корабельные волны]]