Reflection, Refraction, and Diffraction
Previously in Lesson 3, the behavior of waves traveling along a rope from a more dense medium to a less dense medium (and vice versa) was discussed. The wave doesn't just stop when it reaches the…
Behavior of Waves
Boundary Behavior As a wave travels through a medium, it will often reach the end of the medium and encounter an obstacle or perhaps another medium through which it could travel.…
July 29, 2021
As was discussed in Lesson 1, a wave is produced when a vibrating source periodically disturbs the first particle of a medium. This creates a wave pattern that begins to travel…
The Speed of a Wave
A wave is a disturbance that moves along a medium from one end to the other. If one watches an ocean wave moving along the medium (the ocean water), one can observe…
Energy Transport and the Amplitude of a Wave
As mentioned earlier, a wave is an energy transport phenomenon that transports energy along a medium without transporting matter. A pulse or a wave is introduced into a slinky when a person…
Frequency and Period of a Wave
The nature of a wave was discussed in Lesson 1 of this unit. In that lesson, it was mentioned that a wave is created in a slinky by the periodic and repeating…
Properties of a Wave
The Anatomy of a Wave A transverse wave is a wave in which the particles of the medium are displaced in a direction perpendicular to the direction of energy transport. A transverse…
Categories of Waves
Waves come in many shapes and forms. While all waves share some basic characteristic properties and behaviors, some waves can be distinguished from others based on some observable (and some non-observable)…
What is a Wave?
So waves are everywhere. But what makes a wave a wave? What characteristics, properties, or behaviors are shared by the phenomena that we typically characterize as being a wave? How can waves be…
The Nature of a Wave
Waves and Wavelike Motion Waves are everywhere. Whether we recognize it or not, we encounter waves on a daily basis. Soundwaves, visible light waves, radio waves, microwaves, water waves, sine…
