What happens to surface waves when they encounter a curved surface?

When surface waves encounter a curved surface, they experience a phenomenon where they are not reflected in a simple manner. This means that instead of reflecting back uniformly as they would on a flat surface, the waves can scatter or change direction due to the curvature. This scattering effect occurs because the curvature of the surface alters the path of the waves.

In contrast, when surface waves encounter different surfaces, they can exhibit various behaviors. For instance, if they were lost, it would indicate that the waves completely dissipate without any influence, which is not the case when encountering a curved surface. Similarly, while waves can be absorbed if the material is designed to do so, this does not specifically apply to the behavior of surface waves on curved surfaces. Furthermore, reflecting uniformly would imply that the waves maintain their original path and amplitude, which is also not typical behavior for waves interacting with curves.

Thus, the correct understanding is that when surface waves interact with a curved surface, they do not simply reflect back; instead, they can scatter, change direction, or exhibit more complex behavior due to the geometry of the surface they encounter.