Catch up TV

Series 2: 24. You Surfed without Water

If the beach is too far to go but you still want to spend some time surfing waves, then why not surf on land instead? Well, there are some very good reasons people don’t surf on land. To surf, you need waves which are steep enough that you can literally slide down them – that’s how surfing works. You slide down the face whilst the wave continuously picks you up so you can just keep sliding. \n\nFinding waves the right shape on land is quite a challenge. There are naturally occurring waves on land, but they are created as a result of dramatic seismic events like an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. And even if you were standing by a volcano when it went off, the waves it produces aren’t very steep and they’re not very tall. So you really couldn’t surf them. Which leaves you with two alternatives: \n\nA. Melt the ground so it becomes a liquid. But then the ground would be over 600 degrees centigrade and destroy your surf board. \n\nOr B. Fluidise the ground. Fluidising involves blowing air through the soil particles so that they can move freely, which causes the ground to behave more like water. \n\nBut you still need that volcano – a big lava bomb is just the ticket for setting off a big wave in the fluidised ground! Dangerous sport, land surfing…

Source: CBBC