And it's important factors in the ocean that will really impact how waves break. This leads us neatly into wave refraction. It's probably a term you've heard over the course of your surfing life.

Negative refraction of elastic waves has been studied and experimentally demonstrated in three- and two-dimensional phononic crystals, but Bragg scattering is impractical for low-frequency wave ...

A Physics definition of refraction involves a change in the direction of waves as they pass from one medium to another. This is due to energy conservation when a wave changes its wavelength, and ...

Scientists have created a new class of laser beam that appears to violate long-held laws of light physics. Known as “spacetime wave packets,” these lasers follow different rules of refraction ...

Higher Physics Particles and waves learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers. ... Refraction of light. The speed of light changes as it moves between media.

Save guides, add subjects and pick up where you left off with your BBC account. Waves cause a disturbance of the medium through which they travel. This allows them to carry energy. The quantity of ...

Negative refraction of light using atoms instead of metamaterials. Lancaster University. Journal Nature Communications DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-56250-w ...

Discover how wave refraction works, why it happens and how it affects surfing in this easy-to-understand guide.

This is refraction, and the way a wave breaks can also be impacted by what's going on under the surface on the ocean floor. So every surf spot in the world has its own unique footprint.