amplitude

(noun)

The maximum value of the variable reached in either direction.

Related Terms

  • interference
  • diffraction
  • wave
  • wavelength
  • frequency

(noun)

The maximum absolute value of some quantity that varies, especially a wave.

Related Terms

  • interference
  • diffraction
  • wave
  • wavelength
  • frequency

Examples of amplitude in the following topics:

  • The de Broglie Wavelength

    • That same year, Max Born published his now-standard interpretation that the square of the amplitude of a matter wave gives the probability of finding a particle at a given place.
    • De Broglie's key realization was that in a one-electron atom, for a wave to have a stable amplitude and not decay over time, an integer number (n) of wavelengths must fit into a single circumference drawn by the Bohr orbit.
    • Propagation of de Broglie waves in 1 dimension (the real part of the complex amplitude is blue and the imaginary part is green; top: plane wave, bottom: wave packet.).
    • As the amplitude increases above zero the curvature decreases, so the amplitude decreases again, and vice versa – the result is an alternating amplitude: a wave.
  • Interference and Diffraction

    • Interference and diffraction are terms that describe a wave interacting with something that changes its amplitude, such as another wave.
    • In physics, interference is a phenomenon in which two waves superimpose to form a resultant wave of greater or lower amplitude.
  • Particle in a Box

    • The size or amplitude of the wave function at any point determines the probability of finding the particle at that location, as given by the equation:
    • Furthermore, the amplitude of the wavefunction also may not "jump" abruptly from one point to the next.
    • Note that just like a guitar string, the solutions to the particle in a box problem are constrained to those wavefunctions that anchor the amplitude at the walls of the box as zero.
  • Properties of Waves and Light

    • There are three measurable properties of wave motion: amplitude, wavelength, and frequency (the number of vibrations per second).
    • This image shows the anatomy of a sine curve: the crest is the peak of each wave, and the trough is the valley; the amplitude is the distance between the crest and the x-axis; and the wavelength is the distance between two crests (or two troughs).
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