Lunar Influence – Tides (12)

Introduction

Much has been said about the influence of the Moon on the Earth. This post looks at the influence the moon has on the waters of the Earth, in the form of the tides.

The Tides

This influence of the moon is definitely the first thing that is thought of when the Moon and the Earth are mentioned together. Basically because of the Moon and also the Sun we have the low and high tides.

The Moon draws the waters of the Earth up towards it and on the other side the Sun draws the Earth toward it away from the waters being drawn up towards the Moon.

This action creates the tides. It has been noted that the Chinese were to first ones to understand or least document that the Moon was the cause of the high and low tides.

The Bulge – High Tide

So when the Moon pulls on the water directly below it a bulge is created and that bulge produces a high tide in the area directly under the Moon. On the opposite side of the Earth another bulge is produced as well, this is due to the centrifugal force.

The Other Bulge

What happens with the centrifugal force producing that extra bulge, is that imagine you are the Earth and you are swinging a heavy rock (the Moon) on a string around above head. There will be the centripetal force acting on you, which is the force keeping the rock close to you and then there is the centrifugal force that would send the rock flying away from you. To counter the centrifugal force you will find yourself leaning away from the rock, your centre of mass will have shifted away from the rock to counteract the centrifugal force using your own weight.

This is exactly what happens with the other bulge, because the Earth’s centre of mass changes due to having to counteract the centrifugal force that would see the Moon flying away from it, the Earth’s centre of mass changes and that is reflected by a bulge in water moving the centre of mass away from the Moon.

A Second Tide – Thanks to the Sun

We actually have two tides, one due to the Moon and one due to the Sun. The cause of the tides produced by the Sun is exactly the same as that caused by the Moon. The same mechanisms are at play.

Birth, Death and the Tides

There is a certain superstition that says death tends to be more prevalent in a low tide and less prevalent during a high tide. This was a belief in Old England from North Umberland to Kent.

It has also been said that births are more prevalent during a high tide and less prevalent during a low tide.

Conclusion

The tides are the most tangible of the Moon’s influence on the Earth and they are essentially caused due to the gravitational pull of the Moon on the Earth. It seems that the Moon has a special tendency to pull on the waters of the Earth and that includes the water inside the human being.

The bulge in the Earth’s waters is caused by the pull of the Moon and where that bulge is on the Earth is where there is high tide and everywhere else except on the opposite side of the Earth there will be low tide.

End (12).