Waves and ripples

Ripples are the instant effect of wind on water and they die down as quickly as they form, as the surface tension of the water dampens their efforts. If a wind blows steadily across a large enough patch of water for a few hours then the ripples become waves and these will not be dampened so easily.

The Natural Navigator

“Sharp waves and ripples are oscillatory patterns in the mammalian brain hippocampus seen on an EEG during immobility and sleep. They are shown to be involved in memory consolidation and the replay of wakefulness-acquired memory. These network oscillations are the most synchronous patterns in the brain, making them susceptible to pathological patterns such as epilepsy.”

Wikipedia | Sharp waves and ripples

Long ago, deep in space, two massive black holes slowly drew together. The stellar ghosts spiraled ever closer, until, about 1.3 billion years ago, they whirled about each other at half the speed of light and finally merged. The collision sent a shudder through the universe: ripples in the fabric of space and time called gravitational waves. In 2015, they washed past Earth. And, for the first time, physicists detected the waves, fulfilling a 4-decade quest and opening new eyes on the heavens.

Adrian Cho, Science Magazine

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