Learn · TED

Talk6 min

Why are there two tides a day?

Elise Cutts · TED

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About

In the 17th century, Isaac Newton offered the first gravitational explanation of tides. As he correctly identified, tides are choreographed by the motions of celestial objects, and Earth’s tides in particular are mostly driven by the Moon. But the precise nature of this relationship is actually quite nuanced. Elise Cutts explains how the Sun and Moon are responsible for the tides. [Directed by Rémi Cans, Atypicalist, narrated by Alexandra Panzer, music by Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio].

The talk

  1. Why are there two tides a day? 6 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TED-Ed
Speaker
Elise Cutts
Year
2025
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Astronomy and space, Teaching and learning
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Tweens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed