Why are there two high tides and two low tides in a 24 hour period?
Tydes are caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun,acting upon the oceans.The sun has much less effects on the tides than the moon because of the distance. So, the moon’s gravitational force is the main influence in creating tidal bulges on the earth.This force of attraction causes the oceans, to bulge along an axis.It creates two types of tides, high and low. The bulge is really a large wave (facing the moon) which moves across the earth.On the opposite side of the earth, there is a second bulge.These bulges are high tides.Between these two high tides, two low tides are there.One low tide will be on one side of the earth and the other in the opposite side. Usually ,in a time period of 24 hours and 50 minutes, two high tides and two low tides occur.Because,this is the time taken by the moon to rotate around the earth once.
