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In the physical sciences, the wavenumber (or wave number), also known as repetency, [1] is the spatial frequency of a wave. Ordinary wavenumber is defined as the number of wave cycles divided by length; it is a physical quantity with dimension of reciprocal length , expressed in SI units of cycles per metre or reciprocal metre (m -1 ).
Position of a point in space, not necessarily a point on the wave profile or any line of propagation d, r: m [L] Wave profile displacement Along propagation direction, distance travelled (path length) by one wave from the source point r 0 to any point in space d (for longitudinal or transverse waves) L, d, r
As with other waves, there are a number of characteristics used to describe a gravitational wave: Amplitude: Usually denoted h, this is the size of the wave – the fraction of stretching or squeezing in the animation. The amplitude shown here is roughly h = 0.5 (or 50%).
The term is also used, even more specifically, to mean a "monochromatic" or sinusoidal plane wave: a travelling plane wave whose profile () is a sinusoidal function. That is, (,) = (() +) The parameter , which may be a scalar or a vector, is called the amplitude of the wave; the scalar coefficient is its "spatial frequency"; and the scalar is its "phase shift".
A Kelvin wave is a wave in the ocean, a large lake or the atmosphere that balances the Earth's Coriolis force against a topographic boundary such as a coastline, or a waveguide such as the equator. A feature of a Kelvin wave is that it is non-dispersive , i.e., the phase speed of the wave crests is equal to the group speed of the wave energy ...
The wave vector is always perpendicular to surfaces of constant phase. For example, when a wave travels through an anisotropic medium, such as light waves through an asymmetric crystal or sound waves through a sedimentary rock, the wave vector may not point exactly in the direction of wave propagation. [4] [5]
Mathematically, the simplest wave is a sinusoidal plane wave in which at any point the field experiences simple harmonic motion at one frequency. In linear media, complicated waves can generally be decomposed as the sum of many sinusoidal plane waves having different directions of propagation and/or different frequencies .
Atmospheric waves, associated with a small dust storm of north western Africa on 23 September 2011. An atmospheric wave is a periodic disturbance in the fields of atmospheric variables (like surface pressure or geopotential height, temperature, or wind velocity) which may either propagate (traveling wave) or be stationary (standing wave).