wave

Examples of wave in the following topics:

• Spherical and Plane Waves

  • Constructive interference occurs when waves are completely in phase with each other and amplifies the waves.
  • Since the waves all come from one point source, the waves happen in a spherical pattern.
  • It is not possible in practice to have a true plane wave; only a plane wave of infinite extent will propagate as a plane wave.
  • However, many waves are approximately plane waves in a localized region of space.
  • When waves are produced from a point source, they are spherical waves.

• Longitudinal Waves

  • An example of a longitudinal wave is a sound wave.
  • Some longitudinal waves are also called compressional waves or compression waves.
  • Like transverse waves, longitudinal waves do not displace mass.
  • Longitudinal waves can sometimes also be conceptualized as pressure waves.
  • The most common pressure wave is the sound wave.

• Water Waves

  • Water waves can be commonly observed in daily life, and comprise both transverse and longitudinal wave motion.
  • The uniqueness of water waves is found in the observation that they comprise both transverse and longitudinal wave motion.
  • As long as the waves propagate slower than the wind speed just above the waves, there is an energy transfer from the wind to the waves.
  • Since water waves transport energy, attempts to generate power from them have been made by utilizing the physical motion of such waves.
  • Although larger waves are more powerful, wave power is also determined by wave speed, wavelength, and water density.

• Standing Waves on a String

  • Standing wave occurs due to the interference when transverse waves in strings are reflected and the incident and reflected waves meet.
  • When a transverse wave meets a fixed end, the wave is reflected, but inverted.
  • When either of the two scenarios of wave reflection occurs, the incident wave meets the reflected wave.
  • When the incident wave and reflected wave first meet, both waves have an amplitude is zero.
  • When a transverse wave meets a fixed end, the wave is reflected, but inverted.

• Reflections

  • When transverse waves in strings meet one end, they are reflected, and when the incident wave meets the reflected wave, interference occurs.
  • The wave that occurs due to this motion is called a transverse wave.
  • When a transverse wave meets a fixed end, the wave is reflected, but inverted.
  • When either of the two scenarios of wave reflection occurs, the incident wave meets the reflected wave.
  • To understand how standing waves occur, we can analyze them further: When the incident wave and reflected wave first meet, both waves have an amplitude is zero.

• Waves

  • A sea wave is an example of a wave in which water molecules are moving up and down as waves propagate towards the shore.
  • Waves transfer energy not mass.
  • While mechanical waves can be both transverse and longitudinal, all electromagnetic waves are transverse.
  • The description of waves is closely related to their physical origin for each specific instance of a wave process.
  • A brief introduction to the wave equation, discussing wave velocity, frequency, wavelength, and period.

• Transverse Waves

  • Light is an example of a transverse wave.
  • For transverse waves in matter, the displacement of the medium is perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the wave.
  • A ripple on a pond and a wave on a string are easily visualized transverse waves.
  • Transverse waves are waves that are oscillating perpendicularly to the direction of propagation.
  • Therefore an electromagnetic wave consists of two transverse waves, visible light being an example of an electromagnetic wave.

• Conditions for Wave Interference: Reflection due to Phase Change

  • Interference is a phenomenon in which two waves superimpose to form a resultant wave of greater or lesser amplitude.
  • Interference is a phenomenon in which two waves superimpose to form a resultant wave of greater or lesser amplitude.
  • Its effects can be observed in all types of waves (for example, light, acoustic waves and water waves).
  • Destructive interference occurs when the crest of one wave meets a trough of another wave.
  • A simple form of wave interference is observed when two waves of the same frequency (also called a plane wave) intersect at an angle , as shown in .

• Superposition and Interference

  • A wave may have a complicated shape that can result from superposition and interference of several waves.
  • Most waves do not look very simple.
  • Most waves appear complex because they result from several simple waves adding together.
  • Luckily, the rules for adding waves are quite simple.
  • These waves result from the superposition of several waves from different sources, producing a complex pattern.

• Superposition

  • Superposition occurs when two waves occupy the same point (the wave at this point is found by adding the two amplitudes of the waves).
  • Waves are most commonly described by variations in some parameter through space and time—height in a water wave, pressure in a sound wave, or the electromagnetic field in a light wave.
  • A stereo has at least two speakers creating sound waves, and waves can reflect from walls.
  • All these waves superimpose.
  • In this figure, the two waves add together and cancel out leaving no wave.