Waves

• Wave is a disturbance of energy that travels through a medium from one location to another location.
• A medium is a substance or material that carries the wave.
• The highest point on the wave is called crest or peak.
• The lowest point is called trough.
• The peak of a wave and trough of a wave are always twice the wave's amplitude apart from each other.
• Wave motions transfer energy from one place to another.

Wave properties

• Reflection
• Interference
• Absorption
• Refraction
• Diffraction
• Polarization
• Dispersion

Types of waves

Mechanical waves

• A mechanical wave is a wave that is an oscillation of matter, and therefore transfers energy through a medium.

Transverse waves

• It is occur when a disturbance creates oscillation perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer.
• There are always two directions that are independent of each other that can be used as the direction of wave.
• The electromagnetic radiations are transverse waves which also include light waves.

Ex. Water wave, S-wave, ultraviolet wave

Longitudinal waves

• It is occur when oscillations are parallel to the direction of propagation.

Ex. Sound waves, tsunami waves, earthquake ,P-waves, ultra sounds, vibrations in gas etc.

Electromagnetic waves

• It does not require a medium for travelling wave.
• These waves can be polarized and are transverse in nature.
• Electromagnetic waves are caused because of varying magnetic and electric fields.

Ex. Radio waves, light waves, thermal radiation, X-ray etc.

Matter waves

• These are also called De Broglie waves.
• They depict the wave nature or wave like nature of all matter, everything that makes up our body, the atoms etc.
• The frequency of these waves is directly depends on their kinetic energy, momentum is not directly proportional to the wavelength of the particle and not inversely proportional.

My notes