The massive security operation surrounding Barack Obama's inauguration showed that he will be the most protected president in the history of the United States. Photo: REUTERS.
The physics of a tsunami. Tsunamis can have wavelengths ranging from 10 to 500 km and wave periods of up to an hour. As a result of their long wavelengths, tsunamis act as shallow-water waves. A wave becomes a shallow-water wave when the wavelength is very large compared to the water depth. where g is the acceleration due to gravity (= 9.8 m/s2) and H is the depth of water.
â¢ A tsunami is not a single wave but a series of waves, also known as a wave train. The first wave in a tsunami is not necessarily the most destructive. Tsunamis are not tidal waves. â¢ Tsunami waves can be very long (as much as 60 miles, or 100 kilometers) and be as far as one hour apart.