How to go Faster than “Mach 1” on a Surfboard

I'm an avid surfer, and have been wanting to make a video about the physics of surfing for a long time! There's an art to catching a big wave without crashing, and in this video I explain the physical principles that enable all of it! A surfer harvests energy from a wave, effectively by positioning themselves on a moving ramp with very little friction - or really sort of directional friction, as I'll explain in the video. Once standing on a wave, you can play a lot of games with the angle of the board to change direction and accelerate, sometimes actually going faster across the water than the wave you're riding! The footage showing angled motion on a wave comes courtesy of my brand new quadcopter which will surely be appearing in many videos in the future!
shareable GIFs:
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Music and stuff:
I Dunno by grapes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...) ccmixter.org/fi...
Pink Lemonade by Silent Partner is licensed under a Creative Commons license
Image credits:
Still from Mythbusters Clip "Riding a Shockwave"
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Bell X-1 rocket-powered experimental aircraft - public domain
en.wikipedia.o...
Wingsuit jump by Wingsuiting
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Fin hat from Margaritaville Caribbean Shop
margaritaville...
#physics #surfing #waves