Ocean waves are one of the most primal forces of nature. To this day, they still pose many mysteries to researchers. Monster waves form out of nowhere, huge walls of water that capsize ships. Quarks shows how they form and how dangerous they can be. We also clarify whether a tsunami could also occur in the North Sea. 00:00 Monster waves: How dangerous are they really? Encountering the monster wave 00:26 For a long time, they were dismissed as mere sailor's yarn: reports of gigantic monster waves that tower up out of nowhere on the high seas and swallow ships. But then an event occurs that changes everything. The secret of monster waves 06:30 Monster waves are two to three times as high as the highest waves in their vicinity. They appear to emerge from nowhere and disappear again shortly afterwards. Quarks explains the physics behind them and sends a ship into the storm. The disaster of the "Alfried Krupp" 12:08 On January 1, 1995, one of the worst disasters in the history of sea rescue occurred - due to an encounter with an extraordinary force of nature. Can there be tsunamis in the North Sea? 19:12 For a long time, the accepted opinion was that there could be no tsunamis in the North Sea. But when scientists found references to strange wave events in historical sources from the 19th century, all of which dated to the same day, they investigated the matter and came to the conclusion: In June 1858, there was a tsunami - in some places up to six meters high. The physics of the wave 25:23 What does a surfer need? The ideal wave! Physics teacher Andreas Heger explains how ideal waves are created, what they are made of and how best to ride them. The engineers' dream: Using ocean energy 32:02 Whether it's the current of the tides or the rise and fall of the waves: our ocean contains a lot of energy. But the rough sea makes it difficult for engineers to use this energy. But they don't give up and keep developing new ideas! Nazaré: Riding the giant wave 37:01 No other beach in the world has bigger waves than the "Praia do Norte" in Nazaré. For big wave surfers from all over the world, the "Beast of Nazaré" has become the measure of all things. Quarks explains how the giant waves are created. Authors: Jakob Kneser, Ulrich Grünewald, Jens Hahne, Carsten Linder, Alexandra Hostert Source image thumbnail: [Kelly Headrick]/stock.adobe.com / [Wirestock]/stock.adobe.com --- Thanks for watching! Did you like the video? Then subscribe now to the only official Quarks channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/Quarks?sub_co... Quarks on Facebook: / quarks.de Visit also: https://www.quarks.de #Quarks on Instagram: / quarks.de / beautyquarks Quarks on Twitter: / quarkswdr Here you can find the clip in the WDR media library: https://www.ardmediathek.de/wdr/video... #Quarks #Monsterwellen #Tsunami