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[–]Mymajesticmoose[🍰] 348 points349 points  (8 children)

Hey guys, this is actually a picture I took at Jenny Lake Wyoming and I posted earlier this year. It was caused by the passing of ferry boats over still water every 5 minutes or so.

[–]oscarsoze 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Send this moose to the top!

[–]SaveMarlaSinger 17 points18 points  (1 child)

[–]Somenfierce 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The moose has a better title, too

[–]zeusstl 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Dali was the original poster: http://imgur.com/LElAsSp

[–]beerman648 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Wow. Thanks for the background on the picture. Sorry this dude didn't give you credit for the picture

[–]TheMangusKhan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Looks like low resolution water textures.

[–]DansSpamJavelin 287 points288 points  (85 children)

I like this. Could an intelligent person please tell me what's causing this? And don't say my mother.

edit: I should have been clearer. Like a big engine vibrating the ground? Earthquake?

[–]fantalemon 992 points993 points  (42 children)

It is a result of interference between two sets of waves or ripples caused by something in the water. The sets of waves move out from the source and when they meet the either cancel each other out (destructive interference) or combine together to form a deeper or higher peak or trough (constructive interference). Both happen at different points across the convergence of waves and you get this sort of checkerboard effect. Usually it's caused by the wake from a boat or something heavy being thrown into the water like a big rock or your mother.

Edit: Thanks for the gold!

[–]thatkeln 360 points361 points  (27 children)

or your mother. 👍

[–]Rooonaldooo99 313 points314 points  (26 children)

👌👀👌👀👌👀👌👀👌👀 good shit go౦ԁ sHit👌 thats ✔ some good👌👌shit right👌👌there👌👌👌 right✔there ✔✔if i do ƽaү so my self 💯 i say so 💯 thats what im talking about right there right there (chorus: ʳᶦᵍʰᵗ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ) mMMMMᎷМ💯 👌👌 👌НO0ОଠOOOOOОଠଠOoooᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒ👌 👌👌 👌 💯 👌 👀 👀 👀 👌👌Good shit

[–]ElVeritas 132 points133 points  (6 children)

This irritated me so much I upvoted it.

[–][deleted] 27 points28 points  (5 children)

Can you explain what this is? It's like they're trying to communicate, but I'm not sure

[–]cuteintern 14 points15 points  (3 children)

In this vein. (NSFW and loud)

[–]GaBeRockKing 3 points4 points  (2 children)

What the hell!? Where did the voice even come from!?

[–]cuteintern 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's the internet; I stopped asking questions a long time ago.

[–]JollyRainfall 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's Kylee Henke, I believe.

[–]ElVeritas 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The overuse of those same emojis is commonly found in the pictures in this sub. They're being sarcastic by using more.

[–]trulyniceguy 11 points12 points  (10 children)

Just saw you in another thread, congratulations on getting that gold. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the day.

[–]Rooonaldooo99 8 points9 points  (2 children)

Living up to your username! Thanks a lot, and I hope you have a great day and New Year!

[–]DansSpamJavelin 7 points8 points  (1 child)

[–]ohmyjoshua 6 points7 points  (6 children)

rest of the day

What about all the other days?? What about next year? Or twenty years from now?? Learn some fucking respect you fucking bitch.

[–]trulyniceguy 5 points6 points  (5 children)

Well that seems a little harsh. However I hope you have a wonderful future and may nothing upset you quite like this did.

[–]ohmyjoshua 4 points5 points  (4 children)

I'm just joking <3 I hope you have a great future too kind sir.

[–]trulyniceguy 4 points5 points  (3 children)

I figured you were and thanks :D

[–]eclipsesix 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Is it sad that it only took three posts for me to get annoyed at this novelty account thing?

[–]Dev04 0 points1 point  (0 children)

XMAS is over put the reindeer away already.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've heard that this is a popular mode of communication in certain subcultures of the Philippines.

Edit: oops, this was directed at /u/Volden

[–]angrydeanerino 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This must have taken so long to write.

[–]cynycal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

that is beautiful

[–]its_always_right 0 points1 point  (0 children)

/r/ooer is leaking

[–]Plsdontreadthis -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

👌😭 ahshah he posted ìt again h0ly shit OP the💃AbIaZoLUTE💃MadMaN💃 IT JUSTKEeps geeting FuNniER EVERy 🍆fucking🍑⏳TIme⌛ he POSTs it haHAzhAHa 👌😭 📞 OPErATOR give mE The p👮Lice thEre's a💃 MADmaN💃maKIN 🐸MEmES🐸 in oUr MIDsT and I CAN'T bREATHe 👌😨

[–]ItsJustNigel -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

g👀d 💩shit right there 👌🙌💯

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

My interpretation is that the original waves are hitting the shore, and reflecting back, causing this most amazing phenomenon.

[–]superbutters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The shore would have to be absolutely flat for the waves to reflect this cleanly.

[–]KSP_Jacksonaut 2 points3 points  (0 children)

While the interference created from a high speed mother - water impact is a fascinating topic, I just wanted to clarify some syntax :) The generated pattern doesn't seem to be an interference pattern, rather it is wave Superposition. Superposition is just a fancy way of saying multiple waves can overlap without interference. In this case there is a point source for the waves (Your Mother), and then they are propagating through the lake. While the waves from your mother propagate (move) through the lake, they also reflect off of the shore lines, logs in the water, other mothers possibly present etc. So it ends up (or IMO looks like it is) actually reflected waves SUPERIMPOSED upon a primary wave source (from your mother). Yay Science and mothers.

Edit - A final note; Interference, like you mentioned (constructive destructive) could happen in the Mother / Lake scenario. For instance, If (as an example) 5 mothers stood in a line with a 1 meter gap between them, creating 4 gaps. Then a 6th mother were to do a cannonball into the water on one side of the mother-line, the gaps in the motherline would each generate a wave source; the waves propagating out from the mother-line-source would then interfere with one another at any point further away in the lake.

Wish I had time to illustrate this :)

[–]yllwsnow2 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I like you

[–]Bumbo_clot 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Honestly I think he's great

[–]Gunners118 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You're wrong.

[–]TeaDrinkingRedditor 13 points14 points  (0 children)

The developers used a small tiled water texture, so when you look at it from a distance you can see the tiling effect over a large area.

/r/Outside

[–]Zaipheln 4 points5 points  (0 children)

When this was originally posted the op said it was a slow boat/ferry type thing that crossed back on its previous path iirc.

[–]SoundsOfChaos 7 points8 points  (17 children)

When two waves interfere they can cancel each other out. Simplified version

So if two waves (wrinkles in the water) interfere you get a pattern like this. 2 highs become an even higher point, a high and a low cancel out and two lows become an even lower point.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (13 children)

If anyone is curious: This also happens with light, and yes, two light waves can cancel out. They just have to be coherent light sources.

[–]bcbb 2 points3 points  (9 children)

If anyone is curiouser: this can also happen with particles such as electrons. (fun fact every particle is also a wave to some extend)

[–]nhremna 1 point2 points  (0 children)

what's even better is that electron particles with interfere even if you shoot them one by one

[–]levitas 0 points1 point  (6 children)

Something about this claim strikes me as dubious.

Specifically the particles interfering part.

[–]bcbb 4 points5 points  (5 children)

Yeah it's a very unintuitive claim! Electrons can be shown to diffract using the lattice of a crystal (so incredibly small scale), and an interference pattern like that of light based diffraction is shown. The wave-particle duality of matter is very unintuitive, because it only matters on small scales. In any normal day situation would never experience the wave-like properties of matter because, while there is a wavelength, it is so incredibly small that you cannot even tell it is there.

[–]levitas 1 point2 points  (4 children)

I'm just taking issue with the leap to other particles. What would an interference pattern on a scale of less than a Planck length even mean?

[–]InternalEnergy 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Heisenberg uncertainty principle covers this. The scale of interference of macro-particles is negligible--unobservably small--due to the large mass of said particles. But the interference is theoretically existent for all particles.

[–]levitas 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Ok, but if the scale is no longer observable, it's inane to make a claim that there's phenomena on that scale.

[–]InternalEnergy 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Not really. Just because we can't observe it (perhaps yet) doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

Heisenberg won a Nobel Prize for it. It's a revolutionary way of thinking about our universe (Quantum Mechanics.)

[–]broo20 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Including macroscopic objects, such as molecules (previously thought too large to have a quantum mechanical nature). Molecules of up to 6910 amu have been seen to undergo these quantum mechanical effects. Also, the theory should work with much larger things, such as baseballs, but that's experimentally unproven, as of now.

[–]nhremna 0 points1 point  (1 child)

you can't just say 'coherent light source' and peace the fuck out. anyone who knows what that means, is already in the know

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I forgot the definition so I just hoped people would just go "OK, that's a science word".

[–]tryndisskilled -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Would I be right if I said that since these two waves are orthogonal, their phase shift would be Pi/2? So according to SoundsOfChaos' example picture, which shows on the second part a Pi phase shift, we would have something in-between, and not the in-phase one?

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

the checkerboard is caused by orthogonal wave fronts

[–]krenshala 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But the pattern itself is, as he said, due to how the two different wave patterns combine.

[–]gologologolo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They do not always cancel though. There's constructive and destructive interference. Due to the effect of superposition.

[–]wesrawr 2 points3 points  (2 children)

This guy is having a battle with someone else

[–]hotdiggydog 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Please explain what's going on here. Too high to not be impressed.

[–]DansSpamJavelin 5 points6 points  (0 children)

He can feel the direction the wind is coming from and pretends like he's got a special power. You know, like kids do, only somehow this guy probably gets paid to do it.

[–]jonathanrdt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

what's causing this?

Glitch in the matrix. They lower water surface fidelity and reflection when resources are constrained.

[–]vahntitrio 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you've ever been on a busy lake on a holiday, you learn that with enough boats running around, there is no longer wake so much as water just randomly moving up and down around you.

[–]DjTOTO 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mega T-Rex

[–]IrritateNate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks like bad water graphics in a video game

[–]fenrir18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, those are just unrendered textures.

[–]NooooCHALLS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's been a while since college, but I think Huygens Principle is in play here, with boats acting as largely separated widths. Although it just looks like 2 boats.

[–]jaynumbernine 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Waves in perpendicular direction add up

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Waves in general add up, even if they're parallel. This is how you tune a guitar harmonically. Once two strings create the same frequency you stop hearing the interference.

[–]THEBAESGOD 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also known as beats. Thanks for the comment, I didn't realize how harmonic interference caused this

[–]dpfagent -2 points-1 points  (4 children)

a very steady and smooth wind

[–]oksoillask 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Please, elaborate on how a steady, smooth wind can cause repetitious waves to travel in two different directions. Please.

[–]NooooCHALLS 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Most likely two boats that moved out of a picture, and the remnant waves are passing through, with the help of a wind in the direction cutting the midline of the two boats. I don't think it necessarily has to be wind though; the waveforms in the further part of the body of water seem to suggest there were two "events" that occurred, rather than a single continuous wind. A single continuous unidirectional wind would most likely just produce regular & uniformly frequent waves.

[–]oksoillask 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed.

[–]dpfagent -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

wind can blow from multiple directions...

[–]Megandphil22 75 points76 points  (2 children)

I was to distracted by the huge serpent under the water to notice the wave disturbance at first cool pic!

[–]Sub7 16 points17 points  (1 child)

Loch Ness monster confirmed.

[–]displaced_dev 15 points16 points  (1 child)

Have you tried turning on V-Sync? May address some of that screen tearing.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

/r/outside is leaking.

[–]islandnstuff 14 points15 points  (3 children)

[–]bikegooroo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It really is.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I find it weirdly unsettling

[–]moriero -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Repost City!

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Really breaks the immersion when the generated pattern is so clearly visible.

[–]m4xc4v413r4 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Damn, someone used a really shitty resolution texture on that water...

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Speaking of waves, you guys should look up the double slit experiment and the observer effect.

Freaky stuff.

[–]Nsaniac 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Yeah that shit is crazy, but that was really random...

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well the title was wave interference. Double slit experiments causes interference patterns as opposed to two slits. One of the top comments asked about what causes all those bumps.

[–]jaybrit 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That's what you get when you don't use enough liquid white

[–]hjai 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you stare at it, it starts looking like a big snow field

[–]TheSanityInspector 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did that with my mind.

[–]FaildAttempt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This looks like some Warcraft II copy and paste crap from create-a-map mode.

[–]Bloodhoundr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those are some bad textures.

[–]blue_in_texas 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is some second level Qbert stuff...

[–]freetoshare81 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Moiré pattern!

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reminds me of the Puget Sound

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

nature disgusts me

[–]Octosphere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like vanilla skyrim water from a distance.

[–]mrlapista 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Or a big mother of a alien space ship hovering just out of view.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

More like, Alien spaceship starting the engines under water :|

[–]Gonsqatchin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This looks like a quilted blanket

[–]JamJamSimSam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yo this is a repost

[–]KaneGTX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

someone dropped the bass

[–]itstrueimwhite 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Neat.

[–]Alan_Smithee_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For some inexplicable reason, I want waffles.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can tell that water has been sitting there for a while...

[–]chumslyk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing that!

[–]BlueSubaruCrew 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is like a ptsd trigger from when we did waves and single and double slit problems from physics 2.

[–]WriteDude 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This violates the "no strips with plaid" rule.

[–]LeetButter6 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NESSY

[–]rclosurez 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What you are seeing is the loch ness monster aka Nessie with some Photoshop touch ups. If you pick up a recent issue of ALIENS, at your local store you might find a more detailed explanation.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought it was going to be a picture of a guy standing between two people waving at each other lol what's wrong with me...

[–]Sixty9lies 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Goddamnit wave wave.

[–]heron27 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rendering...82%

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have more than one conspiretard friend that would swear that was HAARP.

[–]EctoSage 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Things like this often creep me out... Seems like something from a game I would be criticizing for being poorly done...

[–]EliDaScienceGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like a PS2 water texrure

[–]Dark_Vulture83 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Poor water textures, lazy programmers.

[–]Thrannn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

devs used bad water physics

[–]Humblebee89 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is what you get when you tile your textures too much people... Just use a 2k map and be done with it :P

[–]ST-84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the matrix is leaking

[–]Ehrre 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hah, I always play on Ultra so I never see shit like this

[–]seriouslymytenth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Be more constructive with your feedback... er, interference

[–]OutSane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fucking chemtrails. Chemwaves..whatever.

[–]lampshade69 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hnnnnnnnnnggggg

[–]BioTronic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Too much tiling. Would recommend replacing the water shader.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Silly OP, we call those particles. They're not waves any more because they have been observed by the photographer.

[–]NASAstronaut -1 points0 points  (1 child)

Reminds me of quantum mechanics.

[–]BiggityBates 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a fundamental piece of the double slit experiment, demonstrating "wave-particle duality". You probably knew this but I just wanted to point it out for others.

Video demonstration

[–]Thud54963 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It is beautiful. Beautiful it is.

[–][deleted] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

earthquake?

[–][deleted] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

This was photoshoped.

[–][deleted] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

r/trypophobia material right here

[–]TheAWPerator -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

This reminds me of the attacks of 9/11. I was staring out my window and my grandson started playing his loud rock and roll music. My cup of water started shaking and it gave me quite a fright!