PHY 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 14: Wave, Standing Wave, Decibel
16 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Wave: a disturbance that propagates from one place to another. Waves propagate with well-defined speeds determined by the properties of the material through which they travel. It is important to distinguish between the motion of the wave itself and the motion of the particles that make up the wave. Harmonic wave: a wave having the shape of a sine or cosine. Transverse wave: a wave in which the displacement of individual particles is at right angles to the direction of propagation of the wave. Longitudinal wave: a wave in which the displacement of individual particles is parallel to the direction of propagation of the wave. Sound waves are longitudinal waves; a particle in a longitudinal wave moves back and forth horizontally (or in the same direction as the propagation of the wave) The particle does not travel with the wave, each particle simply oscillates about a given position in space.
