How does the gravitational pull of the moon create waves?
Lunar Tides The gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on the Earth’s oceans is the major force involved in the creation of tides. Because the moon is much closer to the Earth than the sun, it has more gravitational attraction. When the moon is directly over a given point on the Earth’s surface, it exerts a powerful pull on the water there, which consequently rises above its normal level. At the same time, the water covering the part of the Earth that is most distant from the moon bulges outwards as a result of the centrifugal force of the revolving Earth-moon system. This is the same force that pulls a child away from the centre of a revolving merry-go-round. The Earth-moon system revolves around a common centre, which is similar to the centre of a merry-go-round. A child close to the outer edge of a merry-go-round is pulled outwards more than one near the centre. Likewise, as the Earth revolves around the common centre of the Earth-moon system, the area furthest from the moon is
