[Permonic]

They are not tsunami or tidal waves, they could be as high as 100 ft, they appear from nowhere and they are devastating. So called "freak waves".

Sorry for many links, but I found this topic fascinating so I searched more....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2450407.stm

There was a documentary on BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon...reakwave.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon...avetrans.shtml (full text verison)

A mathematical solution of the problem:

http://www.math.uio.no/~karstent/waves/index_en.html

It might be seen via satellites:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3917539.stm

But as you can read, similar superposition of a waves generated by a high-speed ferry could be damaging even in a small scale.

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/...mg16322013.100

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Uh how is one big wave more horrible then a tsunami heh.

Biggie.

 

[fyrfytrhoges]

how could anyone say forget tsunamis? i dont remember the last "freak waves" that killed hundreds of thousands.....

at least not in my lifetime have so many people been wiped out like the last tsunami.

i guess id ask you to tell the survivors of this latest disaster to forget it, so they could worry about something even worse that could come along....

 

[rickcr42]

the recent tsunami was a disaster of biblical proportions,a thing not matched in my lifetime on the destruction or misery scale.

these folks may be forgotten in a year but the sheer carnage will just begin to be corrected in that time

just my opinion

 

[aeriyn]

Man, you guys are so ridiculously sensitive. He was not suggesting that you forget the dead of the tragedy in Asia. It was a manner of speaking, such as, "Forget that opamp, this one's ten times better!"

He was not referring to the tsunami that killed so many people and destroyed so much property. He was comparing the size/mass of a typical tsunami to that of a freak wave, and I see his argument as completely sound.

Sheesh.

[size=xx-small]DISCLAIMER: If he really was suggesting that the recent tragedy in Asia is unimportant, then I take back all the things I said to defend him.[/size]

 

[Permonic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fyrfytrhoges how could anyone say forget tsunamis? i dont remember the last "freak waves" that killed hundreds of thousands..... at least not in my lifetime have so many people been wiped out like the last tsunami. i guess id ask you to tell the survivors of this latest disaster to forget it, so they could worry about something even worse that could come along....

I recommend you to read the links I posted, not only the thread title, anyway the expression "forget tsunami" is meaned literally to compare very high tsunami waves (30 ft) to even higher "freak waves" (up to 100 ft). I was shocked when I found out that there are waves which could be even higher then tsunami or tidal waves and moreover they are much more frequent (10x in 3 weeks around the globe).

 

[Permonic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aeriyn He was not referring to the tsunami that killed so many people and destroyed so much property. He was comparing the size/mass of a typical tsunami to that of a freak wave, and I see his argument as completely sound.

Aeriyn, you beat me by 1 min, but thanks for your support. The meaning of the title is as you wrote.

Please mods (Rick...) feel free to change the thread title to more appropriate one in order to avoid further confusion. Thanks.

 

[wali]

those freak waves happen in deep water far out in the sea and can only sink ships --- not hit a dozen countries and kill ~200,000.

 

[fyrfytrhoges]

i read the links and all they speak of are large waves that could be claimed to have sunk ships without warning, or without explanation for that matter. i guess what i was saying is that comparing these "freak waves" to the tsunami that recently struck that region of the world is a real stretch, and a real injustice to what the people there have faced in the aftermath. no further explanation needed for me or by me.....

 

[PinkFloyd]

Natural disasters are in the hands of mother nature and thank god they are few and far between. The Tsunami took 200,000 people, very tragic and sad but relatively small compared to the havok so called "civilised mankind" can wreak.... There were 55 Million (yes 55 MILLION) people killed in WW2. Let us not forget.

A few interesting stats: http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm

 

[aerius]

There is something that can make the Tsunami deathtoll look like a hiccup, and that something is Avian Flu getting loose in the human population. At best we'll be looking at millions of deaths, much like the last flu pandemic in 1918, except it'll spread much faster this time around with modern jet travel. In a worst case scenario, we could be looking at hundreds of millions of deaths, especially if it hits the AIDS infected population in sub-Saharan Africa. There have already been cases reported of human to human transmission, once the virus mutates a bit more and breaks loose, we're in a world of doo-doo.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Is Avian man made or nature borne?

 

[fyrfytrhoges]

nature born, iirc, but i could be wrong

 

[wali]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinkFloyd Is Avian man made or nature borne?

Nature.

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aeriyn Man, you guys are so ridiculously sensitive.

Sensitive or sensible? Sensible.
The thread title says "more horrible". An apparently nearly mythological giant wave that might be responsible for the loss of some ships at sea. That doesn't seem so horrible to me.
I guess I'm just insensitive.