I understand that the conservation of energy essentially says that "energy can neither be destroyed or created but that it is transferred from one form to another." Given that, on the ocean, wind energy gets transferred to the sea where it then takes the form of a wave. Ocean waves travel sometimes a thousand kilometers or more. When a wave reaches the shore or a reef it breaks. My question is where does that ocean wave energy go after it breaks, I know it creates sound which is sound energy but that does not seem like enough. Where does the energy go when the sound dies out? Where does the energy go?
[Physics] What happens to the energy in an ocean wave after it breaks on a reef or the shore
dissipationenergy-conservationeveryday-lifeoceanographywaves
Related Solutions
We usually say that the ultimate source of energy for earth is the Sun. So this means that sun creates energy but according to the law of the conservation of energy, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, so how does the energy come into the sun?
The ultimate source of energy in our present universe is the Big Bang. Here is a history of the universe from the interpretation of astrophysical data.
All the energy was created at the beginning of time as we know it, and as the universe expanded various stages of particulate matter appeared, created from that energy. By the time of the Modern Universe at the right of the figure, the energy was apportioned either into mass (nuclear energy is there), or kinetic energy or chemical energy in lumps of matter, or radiant energy. The masses are organized into galaxies and stars within them. The sun is one of those stars and got the energy from the primordial Big Bang.
That is just an example. We know that energy is transformed from one form to another but is not created and destroyed. But that is confusing because there must be an ultimate source of energy.
Astrophysicists have observed and documented the appearance of this energy that is presently locked into nuclear energy and chemical energy, at the beginning of the universe as we know it.
How is energy created in this source?
How all that energy appeared around time=zero is a matter of theoretical speculations.
The fact is that we have a model where once the energy appeared at the beginning of the universe we can explain the whole progress to our present day energy sources.
Law of conservation of energy states that, Energy in the isolated system remains constant.
Now, for the conversions you have provided, light energy is nothing but collection of electromagnetic waves. These waves carry energy proportional to their frequency. Light gets reflected, transmitted or absorbed. In case of absorption there is conversion of energy. The constituting atoms or molecules vibrate, translate or rotate with greater energy which they get from incident light. This increased energy in object can be stored or given out in some form.
Heat transfer occurs by convection, conduction or radiation. For radiation, same as light. Similarly, transfer of heat energy by convection or conduction is microscopic and depends on object receiving, whether to store or give out this energy in different form.
Best Answer
This is an interesting article with some numbers for the energy in waves
How it will be dissipated will depend on the approach to the coast.
A wave as seen above will start losing energy by transferring it to kinetic and rotational energy at the shallow bottom including sand transfers, which finally will become heat (extra kinetic energy). As there will be conservation of momentum also, part of it will be absorbed by the impact on the earth, as vibrations which will also end up as heat, and also any dissipation in air as you observe. In the picture above sand will be continually deposited on the shore changing the shore line.
A wave hitting a rocky precipice will be transferring vibrations (finally heat) but also will erode part of the rock.
In the end all energy will end up as a higher temperature in the region and ground than if the ocean were calm.