Wave

This article is about waves in the scientic sense. For

waves on the surface of the ocean or lakes, see Wind
wave. For other uses, see Wave (disambiguation).

In physics, a wave is an oscillation accompanied by a

transfer of energy that travels through a medium (space
or mass). Frequency refers to the addition of time. Wave
motion transfers energy from one point to another, which
displace particles of the transmission mediumthat is,
with little or no associated mass transport. Waves con-
sist, instead, of oscillations or vibrations (of a physical
quantity), around almost xed locations.
There are two main types of waves. Mechanical waves Surface waves in water showing water ripples
propagate through a medium, and the substance of this
medium is deformed. Restoring forces then reverse the
deformation. For example, sound waves propagate via the necessary and sucient characteristics that qualify a
air molecules colliding with their neighbors. When the phenomenon to be called a wave results in a fuzzy border
molecules collide, they also bounce away from each other line.
(a restoring force). This keeps the molecules from con- The term wave is often intuitively understood as refer-
tinuing to travel in the direction of the wave. ring to a transport of spatial disturbances that are gen-
The second main type, electromagnetic waves, do not re- erally not accompanied by a motion of the medium oc-
quire a medium. Instead, they consist of periodic oscil- cupying this space as a whole. In a wave, the energy
lations of electrical and magnetic elds originally gener- of a vibration is moving away from the source in the
ated by charged particles, and can therefore travel through form of a disturbance within the surrounding medium
a vacuum. These types vary in wavelength, and include (Hall 1980, p. 8). However, this motion is problematic
radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, for a standing wave (for example, a wave on a string),
ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays. where energy is moving in both directions equally, or for
electromagnetic (e.g., light) waves in a vacuum, where
Waves are described by a wave equation which sets out
the concept of medium does not apply and interaction
how the disturbance proceeds over time. The mathemat-
with a target is the key to wave detection and practical
ical form of this equation varies depending on the type of
applications. There are water waves on the ocean sur-
wave. Further, the behavior of particles in quantum me-
face; gamma waves and light waves emitted by the Sun;
chanics are described by waves. In addition, gravitational
microwaves used in microwave ovens and in radar equip-
waves also travel through space, which are a result of a
ment; radio waves broadcast by radio stations; and sound
vibration or movement in gravitational elds.
waves generated by radio receivers, telephone handsets
A wave can be transverse, where a disturbance creates os- and living creatures (as voices), to mention only a few
cillations that are perpendicular to the propagation of en- wave phenomena.
ergy transfer, or longitudinal: the oscillations are parallel
It may appear that the description of waves is closely re-
to the direction of energy propagation. While mechanical
lated to their physical origin for each specic instance
waves can be both transverse and longitudinal, all electro-
of a wave process. For example, acoustics is distin-
magnetic waves are transverse in free space.
guished from optics in that sound waves are related to a
mechanical rather than an electromagnetic wave transfer
caused by vibration. Concepts such as mass, momentum,
1 General features inertia, or elasticity, become therefore crucial in describ-
ing acoustic (as distinct from optic) wave processes. This
A single, all-encompassing denition for the term wave is dierence in origin introduces certain wave characteris-
not straightforward. A vibration can be dened as a back- tics particular to the properties of the medium involved.
and-forth motion around a reference value. However, a For example, in the case of air: vortices, radiation pres-
vibration is not necessarily a wave. An attempt to dene sure, shock waves etc.; in the case of solids: Rayleigh

1
2 2 MATHEMATICAL DESCRIPTION OF ONE-DIMENSIONAL WAVES

waves, dispersion; and so on....

Other properties, however, although usually described in
terms of origin, may be generalized to all waves. For such
reasons, wave theory represents a particular branch of
physics that is concerned with the properties of wave pro-
cesses independently of their physical origin.[1] For ex-
ample, based on the mechanical origin of acoustic waves,
a moving disturbance in spacetime can exist if and only
if the medium involved is neither innitely sti nor in-
nitely pliable. If all the parts making up a medium were
Animation of two waves, the green wave moves to the right while
rigidly bound, then they would all vibrate as one, with
blue wave moves to the left, the net red wave amplitude at each
no delay in the transmission of the vibration and there-
point is the sum of the amplitudes of the individual waves. Note
fore no wave motion. On the other hand, if all the parts that f(x,t) + g(x,t) = u(x,t)
were independent, then there would not be any transmis-
sion of the vibration and again, no wave motion. Al-
though the above statements are meaningless in the case independent of wavelength (no dispersion)
of waves that do not require a medium, they reveal a char- independent of amplitude (linear media, not
acteristic that is relevant to all waves regardless of origin: nonlinear).[2]
within a wave, the phase of a vibration (that is, its posi-
tion within the vibration cycle) is dierent for adjacent with constant waveform, or shape
points in space because the vibration reaches these points
at dierent times. This wave can then be described by the two-dimensional
functions

2 Mathematical description of one- u(x, t) = F (x v t) (waveform F traveling

to the right)
dimensional waves
u(x, t) = G(x + v t) (waveform G traveling
to the left)
2.1 Wave equation
or, more generally, by d'Alemberts formula:[3]
Main articles: Wave equation and D'Alemberts formula

Consider a traveling transverse wave (which may be a u(x, t) = F (x vt) + G(x + vt).
pulse) on a string (the medium). Consider the string to
have a single spatial dimension. Consider this wave as representing two component waveforms F and G travel-
traveling ing through the medium in opposite directions. A gen-
eralized representation of this wave can be obtained[4] as
the partial dierential equation

Amplitude

1 2u 2u
2 2
= .
v t x2
General solutions are based upon Duhamels principle.[5]

Space 2.2 Wave forms
Main article: Waveform
Wavelength , can be measured between any two corresponding
The form or shape of F in d'Alemberts formula involves
points on a waveform
the argument x vt. Constant values of this argument
correspond to constant values of F, and these constant val-
in the x direction in space. E.g., let the positive x ues occur if x increases at the same rate that vt increases.
direction be to the right, and the negative x direction That is, the wave shaped like the function F will move in
be to the left. the positive x-direction at velocity v (and G will propagate
at the same speed in the negative x-direction).[6]
with constant amplitude u
In the case of a periodic function F with period , that
with constant velocity v , where v is is, F(x + vt) = F(x vt), the periodicity of F in
2.4 Phase velocity and group velocity 3

Sine

Square

Triangle

Sawtooth

Illustration of the envelope (the slowly varying red curve) of an

amplitude-modulated wave. The fast varying blue curve is the
carrier wave, which is being modulated.
Sine, square, triangle and sawtooth waveforms.

where A(x, t) is the amplitude envelope of the wave, k is

space means that a snapshot of the wave at a given time the wavenumber and is the phase. If the group velocity
t nds the wave varying periodically in space with period vg (see below) is wavelength-independent, this equation
(the wavelength of the wave). In a similar fashion, this can be simplied as:[11]
periodicity of F implies a periodicity in time as well: F(x
v(t + T)) = F(x vt) provided vT = , so an observation
of the wave at a xed location x nds the wave undulating u(x, t) = A(x vg t) sin(kx t + ) ,
periodically in time with period T = /v.[7]
showing that the envelope moves with the group veloc-
ity and retains its shape. Otherwise, in cases where the
2.3 Amplitude and modulation group velocity varies with wavelength, the pulse shape
changes in a manner often described using an envelope
equation.[11][12]

2.4 Phase velocity and group velocity

Main articles: Phase velocity and Group velocity
See also: Envelope (waves) Phase and group velocity
There are two velocities that are associated with waves,

Amplitude modulation can be achieved through Frequency dispersion in groups of gravity waves on the surface
f(x,t) = 1.00*sin(2*pi/0.10*(x-1.00*t)) and g(x,t) = of deep water. The red dot moves with the phase velocity, and
1.00*sin(2*pi/0.11*(x-1.00*t))only the resultant is visible the green dots propagate with the group velocity.
to improve clarity of waveform.
the phase velocity and the group velocity. To understand
Main article: Amplitude modulation them, one must consider several types of waveform. For
See also: Frequency modulation and Phase modulation simplication, examination is restricted to one dimension.
The most basic wave (a form of plane wave) may be ex-
The amplitude of a wave may be constant (in which case pressed in the form:
the wave is a c.w. or continuous wave), or may be modu-
lated so as to vary with time and/or position. The outline i(kxt)
of the variation in amplitude is called the envelope of the (x, t) = Ae ,
wave. Mathematically, the modulated wave can be writ- which can be related to the usual sine and cosine forms us-
ten in the form:[8][9][10] formula. Rewriting the argument, kx t =
(ing Eulers
)
2
(x vt) , makes clear that this expression describes
a vibration of wavelength = 2 k traveling in the x-
u(x, t) = A(x, t) sin(kx t + ) , direction with a constant phase velocity vp = k .[13]
4 3 SINUSOIDAL WAVES

d
vg = .
dk
The group velocity therefore depends upon the dispersion
relation connecting and k. For example, in quantum
mechanics the energy of a particle represented as a wave
packet is E = = (k)2 /(2m). Consequently, for that
wave situation, the group velocity is

k
This shows a wave with the Group velocity and Phase velocity vg = ,
m
going in dierent directions.
showing that the velocity of a localized particle in quan-
tum mechanics is its group velocity.[13] Because the group
The other type of wave to be considered is one with lo- velocity varies with k, the shape of the wave packet broad-
calized structure described by an envelope, which may be ens with time, and the particle becomes less localized.[16]
expressed mathematically as, for example: In other words, the velocity of the constituent waves of
the wave packet travel at a rate that varies with their wave-
length, so some move faster than others, and they cannot
(x, t) = dk1 A(k1 ) ei(k1 xt) , maintain the same interference pattern as the wave prop-
agates.
where now A(k1 ) (the integral is the inverse Fourier trans-
form of A(k1)) is a function exhibiting a sharp peak in a
region of wave vectors k surrounding the point k1 = k. 3 Sinusoidal waves
In exponential form:
Main article: Sinusoidal wave
Mathematically, the most basic wave is the (spatially)
A = Ao (k1 )ei(k1 ) ,

with A the magnitude of A. For example, a common

choice for A is a Gaussian wave packet:[14]

Ao (k1 ) = N e (k1 k)2 /2

2
,

where determines the spread of k1 -values about k, and

N is the amplitude of the wave.
The exponential function inside the integral for os- Sinusoidal waves correspond to simple harmonic motion.
cillates rapidly with its argument, say (k1 ), and where
it varies rapidly, the exponentials cancel each other out, one-dimensional sine wave (or harmonic wave or sinu-
interfere destructively, contributing little to .[13] How- soid) with an amplitude u described by the equation:
ever, an exception occurs at the location where the argu-
ment of the exponential varies slowly. (This observa-
tion is the basis for the method of stationary phase for
u(x, t) = A sin(kx t + ) ,
evaluation of such integrals.[15] ) The condition for to
vary slowly is that its rate of change with k1 be small; this where
rate of variation is:[13]
A is the maximum amplitude of the wave, maxi-
   mum distance from the highest point of the distur-
d  d  d 
= x t + , bance in the medium (the crest) to the equilibrium
dk1 k1 =k dk1 k1 =k dk1 k1 =k point during one wave cycle. In the illustration to the
where the evaluation is made at k1 = k because A(k1 ) is right, this is the maximum vertical distance between
centered there. This result shows that the position x where the baseline and the wave.
the phase changes slowly, the position where is appre- x is the space coordinate
ciable, moves with time at a speed called the group veloc-
ity: t is the time coordinate
 5

k is the wavenumber Although arbitrary wave shapes will propagate unchanged

in lossless linear time-invariant systems, in the presence
is the angular frequency of dispersion the sine wave is the unique shape that will
propagate unchanged but for phase and amplitude, mak-
is the phase constant.
ing it easy to analyze.[19] Due to the KramersKronig re-
lations, a linear medium with dispersion also exhibits loss,
The units of the amplitude depend on the type of wave. so the sine wave propagating in a dispersive medium is
Transverse mechanical waves (e.g., a wave on a string) attenuated in certain frequency ranges that depend upon
have an amplitude expressed as a distance (e.g., me- the medium.[20] The sine function is periodic, so the sine
ters), longitudinal mechanical waves (e.g., sound waves) wave or sinusoid has a wavelength in space and a period
use units of pressure (e.g., pascals), and electromagnetic in time.[21][22]
waves (a form of transverse vacuum wave) express the
The sinusoid is dened for all times and distances,
amplitude in terms of its electric eld (e.g., volts/meter).
whereas in physical situations we usually deal with waves
The wavelength is the distance between two sequential that exist for a limited span in space and duration in
crests or troughs (or other equivalent points), generally is time. Fortunately, an arbitrary wave shape can be decom-
measured in meters. A wavenumber k , the spatial fre- posed into an innite set of sinusoidal waves by the use of
quency of the wave in radians per unit distance (typically Fourier analysis. As a result, the simple case of a single si-
per meter), can be associated with the wavelength by the nusoidal wave can be applied to more general cases.[23][24]
relation In particular, many media are linear, or nearly so, so the
calculation of arbitrary wave behavior can be found by
adding up responses to individual sinusoidal waves us-
2 ing the superposition principle to nd the solution for a
k= .
general waveform.[25] When a medium is nonlinear, the
response to complex waves cannot be determined from a
The period T is the time for one complete cycle of an
sine-wave decomposition.
oscillation of a wave. The frequency f is the number of
periods per unit time (per second) and is typically mea-
sured in hertz denoted as Hz. These are related by:
4 Plane waves
1 Main article: Plane wave
f= .
T
In other words, the frequency and period of a wave are
reciprocals.
5 Standing waves
The angular frequency represents the frequency in ra-
dians per second. It is related to the frequency or period
by Main articles: Standing wave, Acoustic resonance,
Helmholtz resonator, and Organ pipe
A standing wave, also known as a stationary wave, is
2
= 2f = .
T
The wavelength of a sinusoidal waveform traveling at
constant speed v is given by:[17]

v
= ,
f Standing wave in stationary medium. The red dots represent the
wave nodes
where v is called the phase speed (magnitude of the phase
velocity) of the wave and f is the waves frequency. a wave that remains in a constant position. This phe-
Wavelength can be a useful concept even if the wave is nomenon can occur because the medium is moving in the
not periodic in space. For example, in an ocean wave opposite direction to the wave, or it can arise in a station-
approaching shore, the incoming wave undulates with a ary medium as a result of interference between two waves
varying local wavelength that depends in part on the depth traveling in opposite directions.
of the sea oor compared to the wave height. The analysis The sum of two counter-propagating waves (of equal am-
of the wave can be based upon comparison of the local plitude and frequency) creates a standing wave. Standing
wavelength with the local water depth.[18] waves commonly arise when a boundary blocks further
6 6 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

propagation of the wave, thus causing wave reection,

and therefore introducing a counter-propagating wave.
For example, when a violin string is displaced, transverse
waves propagate out to where the string is held in place
at the bridge and the nut, where the waves are reected
back. At the bridge and nut, the two opposed waves are
in antiphase and cancel each other, producing a node.
Halfway between two nodes there is an antinode, where
the two counter-propagating waves enhance each other
maximally. There is no net propagation of energy over
time.

One-dimensional standing
waves; the fundamental mode and the rst 5
overtones.

Light beam exhibiting reection, refraction, transmission and

dispersion when encountering a prism

A two-dimensional standing A uniform medium or homogeneous medium if its

wave on a disk; this is the fundamental mode. physical properties are unchanged at dierent loca-
tions in space

An anisotropic medium if one or more of its physical

properties dier in one or more directions
A standing wave on a disk An isotropic medium if its physical properties are the
with two nodal lines crossing at the center; this is same in all directions
an overtone.

6.2 Absorption
6 Physical properties Main articles: Absorption (acoustics) and Absorption
(electromagnetic radiation)
Waves exhibit common behaviors under a number of
standard situations, e. g. Absorption of waves means, if a kind of wave strikes a
matter, it will be absorbed by the matter. When a wave
with that same natural frequency impinges upon an atom,
6.1 Transmission and media
then the electrons of that atom will be set into vibrational
motion. If a wave of a given frequency strikes a material
Main articles: Rectilinear propagation, Transmittance,
with electrons having the same vibrational frequencies,
and Transmission medium
then those electrons will absorb the energy of the wave
and transform it into vibrational motion.
Waves normally move in a straight line (i.e. rectilinearly)
through a transmission medium. Such media can be clas-
sied into one or more of the following categories: 6.3 Reection
A bounded medium if it is nite in extent, otherwise Main article: Reection (physics)
an unbounded medium
A linear medium if the amplitudes of dierent waves When a wave strikes a reective surface, it changes direc-
at any particular point in the medium can be added tion, such that the angle made by the incident wave and
6.7 Polarization 7

line normal to the surface equals the angle made by the 6.7 Polarization
reected wave and the same normal line.
Main article: Polarization (waves)
The phenomenon of polarization arises when wave mo-

6.4 Interference Circu Left-h

larly and
pola ed
rized
ligh t
Line
arly
pola
Main article: Interference (wave propagation) rized
Ligh
t
Unpo
larize
d ligh
t

Waves that encounter each other combine through

plate
ave
superposition to create a new wave called an interference Qua
rter-w
r
larize
pattern. Important interference patterns occur for waves Line
ar po

that are in phase.

tion can occur simultaneously in two orthogonal direc-

tions. Transverse waves can be polarized, for instance.
6.5 Refraction When polarization is used as a descriptor without quali-
cation, it usually refers to the special, simple case of linear
Main article: Refraction polarization. A transverse wave is linearly polarized if it
Refraction is the phenomenon of a wave changing its oscillates in only one direction or plane. In the case of
linear polarization. it is often useful to add the relative
orientation of that plane, perpendicular to the direction
of travel, in which the oscillation occurs, such as hori-
zontal for instance, if the plane of polarization is parallel
to the ground. Electromagnetic waves propagating in free
space, for instance, are transverse; they can be polarized
by the use of a polarizing lter.
Longitudinal waves, such as sound waves, do not exhibit
polarization. For these waves there is only one direction
of oscillation, that is, along the direction of travel.

6.8 Dispersion

Sinusoidal traveling plane wave entering a region of lower wave

velocity at an angle, illustrating the decrease in wavelength and
change of direction (refraction) that results.

speed. Mathematically, this means that the size of the

phase velocity changes. Typically, refraction occurs
when a wave passes from one medium into another. The
amount by which a wave is refracted by a material is given
by the refractive index of the material. The directions of
incidence and refraction are related to the refractive in-
dices of the two materials by Snells law.

6.6 Diraction Schematic of light being dispersed by a prism. Click to see ani-
mation.
Main article: Diraction
Main articles: Dispersion relation, Dispersion (optics),
A wave exhibits diraction when it encounters an obsta- and Dispersion (water waves)
cle that bends the wave or when it spreads after emerg-
ing from an opening. Diraction eects are more pro- A wave undergoes dispersion when either the phase ve-
nounced when the size of the obstacle or opening is com- locity or the group velocity depends on the wave fre-
parable to the wavelength of the wave. quency. Dispersion is most easily seen by letting white
8 8 ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

light pass through a prism, the result of which is to pro- Inertial waves, which occur in rotating uids and are
duce the spectrum of colours of the rainbow. Isaac New- restored by the Coriolis eect;
ton performed experiments with light and prisms, pre-
senting his ndings in the Opticks (1704) that white light Ocean surface waves, which are perturbations that
consists of several colours and that these colours cannot propagate through water.
be decomposed any further.[26]
7.4 Seismic waves
7 Mechanical waves Main article: Seismic waves

Main article: Mechanical wave

7.5 Shock waves

7.1 Waves on strings
Overlapping Shock Cone
Main article: Vibrating string

The speed of a transverse wave traveling along a vibrating

string ( v ) is directly proportional to the square root of
the tension of the string ( T ) over the linear mass density
( ):
Wavefronts
Subsonic Mach Supersonic
speed One speed
T
v= ,

Formation of a shock wave by a plane.
where the linear density is the mass per unit length of
the string. Main article: Shock wave
See also: Sonic boom and Cherenkov radiation

7.2 Acoustic waves

Acoustic or sound waves travel at speed given by 7.6 Other

Waves of trac, that is, propagation of dierent

B densities of motor vehicles, and so forth, which can
v= , be modeled as kinematic waves[27]
0

or the square root of the adiabatic bulk modulus divided Metachronal wave refers to the appearance of a trav-
by the ambient uid density (see speed of sound). eling wave produced by coordinated sequential ac-
tions.
7.3 Water waves It is worth noting that the mass-energy equivalence
e
equation can be solved for this form: c = m .

8 Electromagnetic waves
Main article: Water waves Main articles: Electromagnetic radiation and
Electromagnetic spectrum

Ripples on the surface of a pond are actually a com-

bination of transverse and longitudinal waves; there- An electromagnetic wave consists of two waves that are
fore, the points on the surface follow orbital paths. oscillations of the electric and magnetic elds. An elec-
tromagnetic wave travels in a direction that is at right an-
Sounda mechanical wave that propagates through gles to the oscillation direction of both elds. In the 19th
gases, liquids, solids and plasmas; century, James Clerk Maxwell showed that, in vacuum,
9.3 de Broglie waves 9

A propagating wave packet; in general, the envelope of the wave

packet moves at a dierent speed than the constituent waves.[28]

the electric and magnetic elds satisfy the wave equa-

tion both with speed equal to that of the speed of light.
From this emerged the idea that light is an electromag- h
= ,
netic wave. Electromagnetic waves can have dierent p
frequencies (and thus wavelengths), giving rise to vari-
ous types of radiation such as radio waves, microwaves, where h is Plancks constant, and p is the magnitude of
infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and Gamma the momentum of the particle. This hypothesis was at
rays. the basis of quantum mechanics. Nowadays, this wave-
length is called the de Broglie wavelength. For example,
the electrons in a CRT display have a de Broglie wave-
length of about 1013 m.
9 Quantum mechanical waves
A wave representing such a particle traveling in the k-
direction is expressed by the wave function as follows:
Main article: Schrdinger equation
See also: Wave function

(r, t = 0) = A eikr ,

9.1 Schrdinger equation where the wavelength is determined by the wave vector k
as:
The Schrdinger equation describes the wave-like behav-
ior of particles in quantum mechanics. Solutions of this
equation are wave functions which can be used to de- = 2 ,
scribe the probability density of a particle. k
and the momentum by:
9.2 Dirac equation
The Dirac equation is a relativistic wave equation detail- p = k .
ing electromagnetic interactions. Dirac waves accounted However, a wave like this with denite wavelength is not
for the ne details of the hydrogen spectrum in a com- localized in space, and so cannot represent a particle lo-
pletely rigorous way. The wave equation also implied the calized in space. To localize a particle, de Broglie pro-
existence of a new form of matter, antimatter, previously posed a superposition of dierent wavelengths ranging
unsuspected and unobserved and which was experimen- around a central value in a wave packet,[29] a waveform
tally conrmed. In the context of quantum eld theory, often used in quantum mechanics to describe the wave
the Dirac equation is reinterpreted to describe quantum function of a particle. In a wave packet, the wavelength
elds corresponding to spin- particles. of the particle is not precise, and the local wavelength de-
viates on either side of the main wavelength value.
9.3 de Broglie waves In representing the wave function of a localized particle,
the wave packet is often taken to have a Gaussian shape
Main articles: Wave packet and Matter wave and is called a Gaussian wave packet.[30] Gaussian wave
packets also are used to analyze water waves.[31]
Louis de Broglie postulated that all particles with For example, a Gaussian wavefunction might take the
momentum have a wavelength form:[32]
10 13 SEE ALSO

10 Gravity waves
( )
x2
(x, t = 0) = A exp + ik0 x , Gravity waves are waves generated in a uid medium or at
2 2
the interface between two media when the force of gravity
at some initial time t = 0, where the central wavelength is or buoyancy tries to restore equilibrium. A ripple on a
related to the central wave vector k0 as 0 = 2 / k0 . It pond is one example.
is well known from the theory of Fourier analysis,[33] or
from the Heisenberg uncertainty principle (in the case of
quantum mechanics) that a narrow range of wavelengths
is necessary to produce a localized wave packet, and the
11 Gravitational waves
more localized the envelope, the larger the spread in re-
quired wavelengths. The Fourier transform of a Gaussian Main article: Gravitational wave
is itself a Gaussian.[34] Given the Gaussian:
Gravitational waves also travel through space. The rst
observation of gravitational waves was announced on 11
f (x) = ex
2
/(2 2 )
, February 2016.[35] Gravitational waves are disturbances
in the curvature of spacetime, predicted by Einsteins the-
the Fourier transform is: ory of general relativity.

f(k) = e k /2 .
2 2

12 WKB method
The Gaussian in space therefore is made up of waves:
Main article: WKB method
See also: Slowly varying envelope approximation

1
f (x) = f(k)eikx dk ;
2 In a nonuniform medium, in which the wavenumber k can
depend on the location as well as the frequency, the phase
that is, a number of waves of wavelengths such that k term kx is typically replaced by the integral of k(x)dx, ac-
= 2 . cording to the WKB method. Such nonuniform traveling
The parameter decides the spatial spread of the Gaus- waves are common in many physical problems, including
sian along the x-axis, while the Fourier transform shows the mechanics of the cochlea and waves on hanging ropes.
a spread in wave vector k determined by 1/. That is, the
smaller the extent in space, the larger the extent in k, and
hence in = 2/k.
13 See also

Index of wave articles

13.1 Waves in general

Wave equation, general

Wave propagation, any of the ways in which waves

travel

Interference (wave propagation), a phenomenon in

which two waves superpose to form a resultant wave

Mechanical wave, in media transmission

Wave Motion (journal), a scientic journal

Animation showing the eect of a cross-polarized gravitational
wave on a ring of test particles Wavefront, an advancing surface of wave propaga-
tion
13.4 In quantum mechanics 11

13.1.1 Parameters 13.4 In quantum mechanics

Phase (waves), oset or angle of a sinusoidal wave Bloch wave
function at its origin
Matter wave
Standing wave ratio, in telecommunications
Pilot wave, in Bohmian mechanics
Wavelength
Wave function
Wavenumber
Wave period Wave packet

Wave-particle duality
13.1.2 Waveforms

Creeping wave, a wave diracted around a sphere 13.5 In relativity

Evanescent wave Gravitational wave, in relativity theory
Longitudinal wave Relativistic wave equations, wave equations that
Periodic travelling wave consider special relativity

Sine wave pp-wave spacetime, a set of exact solutions to Ein-

steins eld equation
Square wave
Standing wave
13.6 Other specic types of waves
Transverse wave
Alfvn wave, in particle science

13.2 Electromagnetic waves Atmospheric wave, a periodic disturbance in the

elds of atmospheric variables
Electromagnetic wave
Fir wave, a forest conguration
Electromagnetic wave equation, describes electro-
magnetic wave propagation Lamb waves, in solid materials
Earth-Ionosphere waveguide, in radio transmission Rayleigh waves, surface acoustic waves that travel on
Microwave, a form of electromagnetic radiation solids

Spin wave, in magnetism

13.3 In uids Spin-density wave, in solid materials
Airy wave theory, in uid dynamics Trojan wave packet, in particle science
Capillary wave, in uid dynamics Waves in plasmas, in particle science
Cnoidal wave, in uid dynamics
Edge wave, a surface gravity wave xed by refraction 13.7 Related topics
against a rigid boundary
Beat (acoustics)
Faraday wave, a type of wave in liquids
Cymatics
Gravity wave, in uid dynamics
Sound wave, a wave of sound through a medium Doppler eect
such as air or water Envelope detector
Shock wave, in aerodynamics
Group velocity
Internal wave, a wave within a uid medium
Harmonic
Tidal wave, a scientically incorrect name for a
tsunami Index of wave articles

TollmienSchlichting wave, in uid dynamics Inertial wave

12 14 REFERENCES

List of waves named after people [11] Chin-Lin Chen (2006). "13.7.3 Pulse envelope in
nondispersive media. Foundations for guided-wave op-
Phase velocity tics. Wiley. p. 363. ISBN 0-471-75687-3.
Reactiondiusion system [12] Stefano Longhi; Davide Janner (2008). Localization and
Wannier wave packets in photonic crystals. In Hugo E.
Resonance Hernndez-Figueroa; Michel Zamboni-Rached; Erasmo
Ripple tank Recami. Localized Waves. Wiley-Interscience. p. 329.
ISBN 0-470-10885-1.
Rogue wave
[13] Albert Messiah (1999). Quantum Mechanics (Reprint of
Shallow water equations two-volume Wiley 1958 ed.). Courier Dover. pp. 5052.
ISBN 978-0-486-40924-5.
Shive wave machine
[14] See, for example, Eq. 2(a) in Walter Greiner; D. Allan
Sound Bromley (2007). Quantum Mechanics: An introduction
(2nd ed.). Springer. pp. 6061. ISBN 3-540-67458-6.
Standing wave
[15] John W. Negele; Henri Orland (1998). Quantum many-
Transmission medium particle systems (Reprint in Advanced Book Classics ed.).
Westview Press. p. 121. ISBN 0-7382-0052-2.
Wave turbulence
[16] Donald D. Fitts (1999). Principles of quantum mechanics:
Wind wave
as applied to chemistry and chemical physics. Cambridge
University Press. pp. 15 . ISBN 0-521-65841-1.

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Rutherford (2002). Understanding physics. Birkhuser.
pp. 339 . ISBN 0-387-98756-8.
[1] Lev A. Ostrovsky & Alexander I. Potapov (2002).
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University Press. ISBN 0-8018-7325-8. 7.
[2] Michael A. Slawinski (2003). Wave equations. Seismic
[19] Mischa Schwartz; William R. Bennett & Seymour Stein
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(1995). Communication Systems and Techniques. John
ISBN 0-08-043930-6.
Wiley and Sons. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-7803-4715-1.
[3] Karl F Graaf (1991). Wave motion in elastic solids
(Reprint of Oxford 1975 ed.). Dover. pp. 1314. ISBN [20] See Eq. 5.10 and discussion in A. G. G. M. Tielens
978-0-486-66745-4. (2005). The physics and chemistry of the interstellar
medium. Cambridge University Press. pp. 119 . ISBN
[4] For an example derivation, see the steps leading up to eq. 0-521-82634-9.; Eq. 6.36 and associated discussion in
(17) in Francis Redfern. Kinematic Derivation of the Otfried Madelung (1996). Introduction to solid-state the-
Wave Equation. Physics Journal. ory (3rd ed.). Springer. pp. 261 . ISBN 3-540-
60443-X.; and Eq. 3.5 in F Mainardi (1996). Transient
[5] Jalal M. Ihsan Shatah; Michael Struwe (2000). The lin- waves in linear viscoelastic media. In Ardshir Guran;
ear wave equation. Geometric wave equations. Ameri- A. Bostrom; Herbert berall; O. Leroy. Acoustic Inter-
can Mathematical Society Bookstore. pp. 37 . ISBN actions with Submerged Elastic Structures: Nondestructive
0-8218-2749-9. testing, acoustic wave propagation and scattering. World
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[6] Louis Lyons (1998). All you wanted to know about mathe-
matics but were afraid to ask. Cambridge University Press. [21] Aleksandr Tikhonovich Filippov (2000). The versatile
pp. 128 . ISBN 0-521-43601-X. soliton. Springer. p. 106. ISBN 0-8176-3635-8.
[7] Alexander McPherson (2009). Waves and their proper-
[22] Seth Stein, Michael E. Wysession (2003). An introduction
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to seismology, earthquakes, and earth structure. Wiley-
ed.). Wiley. p. 77. ISBN 0-470-18590-2.
Blackwell. p. 31. ISBN 0-86542-078-5.
[8] Christian Jirauschek (2005). FEW-cycle Laser Dynamics
[23] Seth Stein, Michael E. Wysession (2003). op. cit.. p. 32.
and Carrier-envelope Phase Detection. Cuvillier Verlag.
ISBN 0-86542-078-5.
p. 9. ISBN 3-86537-419-0.

[9] Fritz Kurt Kneubhl (1997). Oscillations and waves. [24] Kimball A. Milton; Julian Seymour Schwinger (2006).
Springer. p. 365. ISBN 3-540-62001-X. Electromagnetic Radiation: Variational Methods, Waveg-
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[10] Mark Lundstrom (2000). Fundamentals of carrier trans- 29304-3. Thus, an arbitrary function f(r, t) can be syn-
port. Cambridge University Press. p. 33. ISBN 0-521- thesized by a proper superposition of the functions exp[i
63134-3. (krt)]...
 13

[25] Raymond A. Serway & John W. Jewett (2005). "14.1 Campbell, Murray; Greated, Clive (2001). The mu-
The Principle of Superposition. Principles of physics (4th sicians guide to acoustics (Repr. ed.). Oxford: Ox-
ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 433. ISBN 0-534-49143-X. ford University Press. ISBN 978-0198165057.
[26] Newton, Isaac (1704). Prop VII Theor V. Opticks: Or, French, A.P. (1971). Vibrations and Waves (M.I.T.
A treatise of the Reections, Refractions, Inexions and Introductory physics series). Nelson Thornes. ISBN
Colours of Light. Also Two treatises of the Species and 0-393-09936-9. OCLC 163810889.
Magnitude of Curvilinear Figures. 1. London. p. 118. All
the Colours in the Universe which are made by Light... are Hall, D. E. (1980). Musical Acoustics: An Introduc-
either the Colours of homogeneal Lights, or compounded tion. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing
of these... Company. ISBN 0-534-00758-9..
[27] M. J. Lighthill; G. B. Whitham (1955). On kinematic Hunt, Frederick Vinton (1978). Origins in acous-
waves. II. A theory of trac ow on long crowded tics. Woodbury, NY: Published for the Acoustical
roads. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Se-
Society of America through the American Institute
ries A. 229: 281345. Bibcode:1955RSPSA.229..281L.
doi:10.1098/rspa.1955.0088. And: P. I. Richards (1956).
of Physics. ISBN 978-0300022209.
Shockwaves on the highway. Operations Research. 4 Ostrovsky, L. A.; Potapov, A. S. (1999). Modu-
(1): 4251. doi:10.1287/opre.4.1.42.
lated Waves, Theory and Applications. Baltimore:
[28] A. T. Fromhold (1991). Wave packet solutions. The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-
Quantum Mechanics for Applied Physics and Engineering 5870-4..
(Reprint of Academic Press 1981 ed.). Courier Dover
Publications. pp. 59 . ISBN 0-486-66741-3. (p. 61) Griths, G.; Schiesser, W. E. (2010). Travel-
...the individual waves move more slowly than the packet ing Wave Analysis of Partial Dierential Equations:
and therefore pass back through the packet as it advances Numerical and Analytical Methods with Matlab and
Maple. Academic Press. ISBN 9780123846532.
[29] Ming Chiang Li (1980). Electron Interference. In L.
Marton; Claire Marton. Advances in Electronics and Elec-
tron Physics. 53. Academic Press. p. 271. ISBN 0-12-
014653-3. 16 External links
[30] See for example Walter Greiner; D. Allan Bromley Interactive Visual Representation of Waves
(2007). Quantum Mechanics (2 ed.). Springer. p. 60.
ISBN 3-540-67458-6. and John Joseph Gilman (2003). Linear and nonlinear waves
Electronic basis of the strength of materials. Cambridge
University Press. p. 57. ISBN 0-521-62005-8.,Donald Science Aid: Wave propertiesConcise guide
D. Fitts (1999). Principles of quantum mechanics. Cam- aimed at teens
bridge University Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-521-65841-1..
Easy JavaScript Simulation Model of One Dimen-
[31] Chiang C. Mei (1989). The applied dynamics of ocean sional Wave Interference
surface waves (2nd ed.). World Scientic. p. 47. ISBN
9971-5-0789-7. Simulation of diraction of water wave passing
through a gap
[32] Walter Greiner; D. Allan Bromley (2007). Quantum Me-
chanics (2nd ed.). Springer. p. 60. ISBN 3-540-67458-6. Simulation of interference of water waves

[33] Siegmund Brandt; Hans Dieter Dahmen (2001). The pic- Simulation of longitudinal traveling wave
ture book of quantum mechanics (3rd ed.). Springer. p.
23. ISBN 0-387-95141-5. Simulation of stationary wave on a string

[34] Cyrus D. Cantrell (2000). Modern mathematical methods

Simulation of transverse traveling wave
for physicists and engineers. Cambridge University Press. Sounds AmazingAS and A-Level learning re-
p. 677. ISBN 0-521-59827-3.
source for sound and waves
[35] Gravitational waves detected for 1st time, 'opens a brand
chapter from an online textbook
new window on the universe'". CBC. 11 February 2016.
Simulation of waves on a string

of longitudinal and transverse mechanical wave

15 Sources
MIT OpenCourseWare 8.03: Vibrations and Waves
Fleisch, D.; Kinnaman, L. (2015). A students guide Free, independent study course with video lectures,
to waves. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University assignments, lecture notes and exams.
Press. ISBN 978-1107643260.
14 17 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

17 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

17.1 Text
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Bcrowell, Skysmith, Dgrant, Looxix~enwiki, Ahoerstemeier, Stevenj, Theresa knott, Jebba, Glenn, AugPi, Mxn, Hashar, Zimbres, Charles
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17.2 Images 15

17.2 Images
File:2006-01-14_Surface_waves.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/2006-01-14_Surface_waves.jpg
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