Why Do All Boats Make This Shape?

Go to to get access to CuriosityStream AND Nebula (where you can watch the extended version of this video), plus you’ll get a 26% discount on an annual subscription. This video is about the “Kelvin wake“ shape of water wakes behind boats - we talk about mach angle, dispersion, superposition of many waves, and how these all lead to the pattern of a wake. We don’t get into Froude number though... REFERENCES Boat Wake Wikipedia Page: Interactive Boat Wake Simulation: @rreusser/dispersion-in-water-surface-waves Feynman Lectures on Water Waves: #Ch51-S4 Building up a Boat Wake from V-Shaped Wakes: Wave Dispersion: Mach angle shock waves: