"A wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities."
The study of how waves move through various mediums.
Introduction to Waves: A brief introduction to the concept of waves, wave motion, and classification of waves.
Properties of Waves: This topic covers the fundamental properties of waves, such as amplitude, wavelength, frequency, phase angle, and wave speed.
Wave Equation: The wave equation is a mathematical tool that describes the behavior of waves. It covers partial differential equations, boundary conditions, and general solutions.
Waves in One Dimension: This topic discusses the behavior of waves that travel in one dimension, including particle displacements, energy transmission, and wave interactions.
Waves in Two and Three Dimensions: Waves in two and three dimensions behave differently than they do in one dimension. In this topic, you will learn how waves propagate and interact with obstacles, and the concept of wavefronts.
Reflection and Refraction: The reflection and refraction of waves occur when waves encounter a boundary separating two media with different properties. This topic covers the mechanism behind reflection and refraction, Snell's law, and critical angle.
Interference and Superposition: The interference and superposition of waves create complex wave patterns. This topic covers constructive and destructive interference, phase difference, and the concept of standing waves.
Resonance: Resonance occurs when the frequency of an external force matches the natural frequency of a system. This topic covers the resonance phenomenon and its applications.
Doppler Effect: The Doppler effect is a shift in frequency caused by the relative motion of a wave source and an observer. This topic covers the Doppler effect in light and sound waves and its applications.
Electromagnetic Waves: Classical physics includes electrodynamics, which deals with the properties and behavior of electromagnetic waves. This topic covers the Maxwell's equation, the electromagnetic spectrum, and the applications of electromagnetic waves in communication.
Wave Optics: This topic covers the wave nature of light, including diffraction, interference, and polarization.
Acoustics: Acoustics is the study of sound waves and their behavior. This topic covers basic properties of sound waves, such as amplitude, frequency, and speed, the human perception of sound, and the propagation of sound in different media.
Waveguides and Resonators: Waveguides are structures that guide electromagnetic waves and allow them to propagate with minimal loss. This topic covers the basic properties of waveguides and resonators, including cavity resonators, optical resonators, and waveguide discontinuities.
Wave Mechanics: Wave mechanics or Quantum Mechanics (in the classical sense) is the study of waves and their particle behavior. This topic covers the basic principles of wave mechanics, such as wave-particle duality and Schrodinger's equation, and the applications in the study of atomic and subatomic particles.
Geometric Optics: Geometrical optics deals with the behavior of light rays in different media. This topic covers the laws of reflection and refraction, the image formation by lenses and mirrors, and the applications of geometrical optics in the design of optical systems.
Nonlinear Waves: This topic covers waves that behave nonlinearly, such as solitons, shockwaves, and rogue waves. These waves have complicated behavior compared to traditional waves, and their study requires advanced mathematical tools.
Seismic Waves: Seismic waves are waves generated by the movement of tectonic plates, earthquakes, or explosion. This topic covers the types of seismic waves, their propagation, and detection, and the applications in the study of the Earth's structure.
Surface Waves: Surface waves are waves that propagate along the surface separating two media. This topic covers the basic properties of surface waves, their dispersion, and the applications in the study of the ocean and the atmosphere.
Optical Fiber: Optical fiber is an important application of wave physics in communication. This topic covers the basic properties of optical fiber, such as total internal reflection and modal dispersion, and the applications in telecommunication and sensing.
Ultrasonic Waves: Ultrasonic waves are used in many industrial and medical applications, such as sonar, imaging, and material testing. This topic covers the basic properties of ultrasonic waves, their generation and detection, and the applications in different fields.
Mechanical Waves: They are waves that require a medium to travel, such as sound waves, ocean waves, and seismic waves.
Electromagnetic Waves: They are waves that do not require a medium to travel, such as radio waves, microwaves, light waves, X-rays, and gamma rays.
Longitudinal Waves: They are waves in which the particles of the medium oscillate parallel to the direction of wave propagation, such as sound waves.
Transverse Waves: They are waves in which the particles of the medium oscillate perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation, such as light waves and ocean waves.
Surface Waves: They are waves that propagate along the surface of a medium, such as water waves.
Standing Waves: They are waves that appear to be standing still because the wave is oscillating between two points that are out of phase with each other.
Rayleigh Waves: They are surface waves that cause the ground to move in an elliptical motion, and are responsible for the damage caused by earthquakes.
Love Waves: They are surface waves that cause the ground to move in a horizontal motion, and are responsible for the localized damage caused by earthquakes.
Compression Waves: They are waves in which the pressure of the medium oscillates in the same direction as the wave propagation, such as sound waves.
Rarefaction Waves: They are waves in which the pressure of the medium oscillates in the opposite direction as the wave propagation, such as sound waves.
Thermal Waves: They are waves that are generated by thermal gradients in a medium, such as heat waves.
Gravitational Waves: They are waves that are predicted by the theory of general relativity, and are generated by the acceleration of massive objects, such as the collision of two black holes.
"Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (resting) value at some frequency."
"When the entire waveform moves in one direction, it is said to be a traveling wave; by contrast, a pair of superimposed periodic waves traveling in opposite directions makes a standing wave."
"In a standing wave, the amplitude of vibration has nulls at some positions where the wave amplitude appears smaller or even zero."
"Waves are often described by a wave equation (standing wave field of two opposite waves) or a one-way wave equation for single wave propagation in a defined direction."
"In a mechanical wave, stress and strain fields oscillate about a mechanical equilibrium." "In an electromagnetic wave (such as light), coupling between the electric and magnetic fields sustains propagation of waves involving these fields according to Maxwell's equations."
"Examples of mechanical waves are sound waves, seismic waves, gravity waves, surface waves, and string vibrations."
"Electromagnetic waves can travel through a vacuum and through some dielectric media (at wavelengths where they are considered transparent)."
"Electromagnetic waves, as determined by their frequencies (or wavelengths), have more specific designations including radio waves, infrared radiation, terahertz waves, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays."
"Other types of waves include gravitational waves, heat diffusion waves, plasma waves, reaction-diffusion waves, and more."
"Mechanical and electromagnetic waves transfer energy, momentum, and information, but they do not transfer particles in the medium."
"In mathematics and electronics, waves are studied as signals."
"Some waves have envelopes which do not move at all such as standing waves (which are fundamental to music) and hydraulic jumps."
"Waves with infinite domain, that extend over the whole space, are commonly studied in mathematics, and are very valuable tools for understanding physical waves in finite domains."
"A plane wave is an important mathematical idealization where the disturbance is identical along any (infinite) plane normal to a specific direction of travel."
"In linear media, complicated waves can generally be decomposed as the sum of many sinusoidal plane waves having different directions of propagation and/or different frequencies."
"A plane wave is classified as a transverse wave if the field disturbance at each point is described by a vector perpendicular to the direction of propagation." "Sound waves in fluids (such as air) can only be longitudinal."
"That physical direction of an oscillating field relative to the propagation direction is also referred to as the wave's polarization, which can be an important attribute."
"A mechanical wave is a local deformation (strain) in some physical medium that propagates from particle to particle by creating local stresses that cause strain in neighboring particles too."
"The seismic waves generated by earthquakes are significant only in the interior and surface of the planet, so they can be ignored outside it."