Waves and wave motion

What are waves? They can be described briefly as disturbances in a medium which transfer energy and information from point A to point B.^* The key fact is that no physical object actually travels from point A to point B --- and yet both energy and information make the trip.

^* Yes, yes, light waves require no medium and can travel through a vacuum. They are a special case.

• Why study waves?
• Notes on wave motion
• Seismic waves and the earth's interior

As we will see, the mathematical description of waves should look very familiar to you, now that you have been studying simple harmonic motion.

• Waves and SHM

Now, one very common type of wave occurs when a long, thin wire or cord is stretched under some tension, and then jiggled, or plucked, or perturbed.

• Waves travelling on a string
• Challenge: Waves racing up and down a hanging rope

In case we have time ...

• A couple of wave-motion problems

You can create some simulated waves and measure their properties ...

• Use physlets to create and characterize waves

Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.