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Ripples are waves. When waves encounter something the result can include reflection, refraction or diffraction.

A rock is a very different medium from a ripple and so there is no transmission of the water wave into the rock, so no refraction.

Waves will be reflected are at the rock surface and 'bounce' back. The reflected ripples will exhibit interference with the oncoming ripples.

The last thing that happens is diffraction. In the process of bouncing off the rock, wave will also go around the rock. If the rock is not too big, the ripples will actually reform after the rock. (This is particularly obvious if the size of the rock is only a few times greater than the wavelength of the ripples.) One will observe both the reflected waves (which are also called scattered waves in this context) and the original wave.

Of course, the ripple has to last long enough to clearly see this to happen, so the number of wavelengths in the ripple should add up to be a good deal larger than the rock size. Otherwise, if the rock is really large, the reflection is about all that will be observed.

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What are the differences between water formed ripples and wind formed ripples?

Water-formed ripples are typically created by the movement of water due to gravity, such as from a drop or disturbance, resulting in circular wave patterns that expand outward. In contrast, wind-formed ripples occur when wind blows across a water surface, creating elongated, parallel patterns that align with the wind direction. Additionally, water ripples tend to be more uniform and smaller, while wind ripples can vary in size and shape depending on wind speed and duration. Overall, the mechanisms and resulting patterns differ significantly between these two types of ripples.


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