Physics 312 Lecture: "Wave Motion II." Apr 3, 1998

Sinusoidal waves have equations like

         y(x, t) = A sin(k*x - omega*t)

The speed of a wave may be expressed as

          v = wavelength/period = wavelength*frequency

If one holds time fixed, a sinosoidal wave has a repeating, sinusoidal shape as a function of position
If one looks at a fixed position, a sinosoidal wave moves in a repeating, sinusoidal fashion as a function of time

The angular wave number k is defined as

                     k = 2*pi/wavelength

Partial derivatives involve holding all but a single variable fixed, and then looking at the effect of small changes in that one variable
Taking the partial derivative of a sinusoidal wave equation with respect to time yields simple harmonic motion
The power transmitted to a medium of linear mass density "mu" as a wave passes through it is
```
            Power = 0.5 * mu * omega^2 * A^2 * velocity
```

This lecture discusses material in Chapter 16 of Serway.