Final answer:
Deep water waves feature orbital paths of water particles that are circular due to minimal interaction with the ocean bottom, while shallow water waves have elliptical and flattened orbits because of significant interaction with the seabed. These differences are key to understanding behaviors like wave refraction, where waves bend and change as they move between different depths.
Step-by-step explanation:
The differences between deep and shallow water waves primarily involve the wave's interaction with the ocean bottom. Deep water waves occur when the water depth is greater than half the wavelength of the wave. In these waves, the water particles move in orbital paths that decrease in size with depth below the surface. Conversely, shallow water waves are observed when the depth is less than one-twentieth of the wave's wavelength and the wave feels the bottom of the body of water. These waves cause the water particles to move in more elliptical orbits, which become increasingly flattened as the depth decreases.
This is due to the wave's energy reaching the sea bed, which affects the shape and movement of the water particles' paths. The particle paths of a deep water wave are circular because there is no interaction with the sea bed, while shallow water waves exhibit compressed ellipses due to interaction with the seabed. As waves move from deep to shallow water, such as approaching a beach, they start to change behavior: They slow down, increase in height, and the wave lengths become shorter - a process known as wave refraction.
Differentiating wave types is also important when understanding other phenomena, such as wave refraction, which occurs when waves pass from one depth to another, bending towards the shallower region and altering wave characteristics. Similarly, the concept of waves is pivotal in many areas of physics, including understanding atomic structures and wave-particle duality.