Here though, unlike their human counterparts, it is not gravity which impels the microscopic surfers, but the force due to their electrical charge. Each electron has a negative charge, and just as opposites attract, like charges repel. Unfortunately, the number of particles moving quickly enough to catch the wave is small. To get round this limitation, the physicists cheat by firing moderately fast moving electrons into one end of the plasma. Because they already have a significant speed, these particles easily hook up with the wave which then accelerates them to even greater velocity, close to the speed of light in some cases.
Surfers face a similar problem too.
When the waves are approaching faster than they can paddle it is not uncommon for them to be towed behind a jet-ski, getting dropped off when they are travelling quickly enough to catch their wave. Surfing into the future It is obvious why the pilgrims who travel to the beaches of Hawaii do so. Surfing a big wave is clearly an incredible adrenaline rush. One reason is that electrons which travel at very high speeds are used in many other areas of physics, especially those which investigate the fundamental properties of matter. Currently, the only way to produce these energetic electrons is to use a conventional particle accelerator, a huge and costly device often hundreds of metres in length.