diameter of the earth. The result of this is that the
centrifugal force overbalances the centripetal force, and the
water tends to fly off, forming an anti-lunar wave crest at
that point approximately equal, and opposite, to the wave crest
at the point nearest to the moon. As the earth revolves, the
crest of high water of the lunar tide remains opposite the
centre of attraction of the sun and moon, so that a point on
the surface will be carried from high water towards and past
the trough of the wave, or low water, then past the crest of
the anti-lunar tide, or high water again, and back to its
original position under the moon. But while the earth is
revolving the moon has traveled 13 degrees along the elliptical
orbit in which she revolves around the earth, from west to
east, once in 27 days 7 hr. 43 min, so that the earth has to
make a fraction over a complete revolution before the same
point is brought under the centre of attraction again This
occupies on an average 52 min, so that, although we are taught
that the tide regularly ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four
hours, it will be seen that the tidal day averages 24 hr. 52
min, the high water of each tide in the Southern Ocean being at
12 hr. 26 min intervals. As a matter of fact, the tidal day
varies from 24 hr. 35 min at new and full moon to 25 hr. 25 min
at the quarters. Although the moon revolves around the earth in
approximately 27-1/3 days, the earth has moved 27 degrees on
its elliptical orbit around the sun, which it completes once in
365+ days, so that the period which elapses before the moon
again occupies the same relative position to the sun is 29 days
12 hr. 43 min, which is the time occupied by the moon in
completing her phases, and is known as a lunar month or a
lunation.