There was Granite Creek at the Gurley Street Bridge, partially filled with water (tho it was still and there were a few sand bars upstream.) And there was the granddaughter, tempted. So, whatever she found on the bridge suitable for tossing into the stream, she tossed. Mainly very small sticks -- we weren't aware of any gravel or stones. Every toss produced not just an expanding central ring, but all sorts of auxiliary rings, usually more or less in a line. These smaller rings started almost immediately after impact. GD's mother & I are asking any engineers out there "how come?"BTW, do take note that the creek, along with my yard and the whole town, is pleasantly wet. Thus far, we're having a proper rainy season.
Further Note: Today (Thursday) has turned into a really wet, wet one and the Natl. Weather Service radar isn't even showing most of the storms -- flash floods in Sedona, frinstance. All of which is a good reason to read this official article about the AZ monsoon.
A beautiful image. Rippling out through the blog ether.
ReplyDeleteVery cool photo.
ReplyDeleteThat is good news.
ReplyDeleteMy theory is bugs, itty bitty water bugs. A video would show why; the auxilliary ripplies would arc out in a swift line from the main circular ripple from the twig...
ReplyDeletehnb -- I was amazed that I caught the moment!
ReplyDeleteqd & steve -- As much as I'm pleased with the photo, I'm even more pleased with the rain (slightly over 4" for the month thus far, says the Courier.)
Dotter -- Originally, I figured it was little bits of sand, etc., sticking to the missles; then I opted for tiny drops that bounced when the object hit the water, but that didn't account for the pattern. So I'm stumped.
I think the explanation for your secondary ripples is pretty simple:
ReplyDeleteSPLASH!
Each object dropped in the water made a small splash and the extra ripples are from the tiny water droplets falling back into the water.
The pattern of the secondary ripples is the result of the splash pattern produced by the shape of whatever was thrown into the creek.
Welcome, jessel, and thanks for your input. I suppose that because the GD's missile was a stick explains the pattern of the drops going out in a more or less straight line from the center...
ReplyDelete