1. If the storm that caused the waves didn't impart enough energy or create enough waves, then friction may take all the energy, and the waves will flatten out and dissipate before they get very far.
2. Tension and friction affect how much energy a wave has as it moves through the water.
3. Winds push waves into each other, causing the waves to combine their energy and get larger and faster.
4. There are three factors that contribute to the formation of good surfing swells: how fast the wind is blowing, the surface area of ocean that's affected by the storm, and the amount of time those winds blow over a given spot on the ocean.
5. Favorable surfing swells are created by a lot of energetic waves.
6. If you watch closely, you'll see that the water stays mostly in the same area; it's the disturbance caused by your breath that's moving across the water.
7. These waves will merge and become bigger still, as long as they have distance to cover and a way to sustain the energy that keeps them moving.
8. A wave is motion moving through a body of water.

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