Wake - Definition and Overview

For other uses, see Wake (disambiguation).

The wake of a slow moving boat

The wakes of two slow-moving boats. The nearer boat has made a striking series of ruler-straight waves. A relection of this boats bow wave, from the (unseen) river bank on the left of the picture, cuts back across the view, "passing over" the top of the mast.

A wake is the region of turbulence immediately to the rear of a solid body caused by the flow of air or water around the body.

In fluid dynamics, a wake is the region of turbulence around a solid body moving relative to the water, caused by the flow of liquid around the body. The wake leading the body is caused by the compression of the liquid medium by the moving body, and is often called a bow wake when observed preceding a watercraft. As with all wave forms, it spreads outward from the source until its energy is overcome or lost, usually by friction or dispersion.

Wakes are occasionally used recreationally. Swimmers, people riding personal watercraft, and aquatic mammals such as dolphins, can ride the leading edge of a wake.

In science fiction the term wake is also used to refer to the residue effect caused by faster than light travel.

External link

• National Science Digital Library - Wake (http://www.nsdl.arm.gov/Library/glossary.shtml#wake)