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In physics, a wave vector (or wavevector) is a vector used in describing a wave, with a typical unit being cycle per metre. It has a magnitude and direction . Its magnitude is the wavenumber of the wave (inversely proportional to the wavelength ), and its direction is perpendicular to the wavefront.
Cartesian y-axis basis unit vector unitless kinetic energy: joule (J) wave vector: radian per meter (m −1) Boltzmann constant: joule per kelvin (J/K) wavenumber: radian per meter (m −1) stiffness: newton per meter (N⋅m −1) ^ Cartesian z-axis basis unit vector
In multidimensional systems, the wavenumber is the magnitude of the wave vector. The space of wave vectors is called reciprocal space. Wave numbers and wave vectors play an essential role in optics and the physics of wave scattering, such as X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, electron diffraction, and elementary particle physics.
By comparison with vector wave equations, the scalar wave equation can be seen as a special case of the vector wave equations; in the Cartesian coordinate system, the scalar wave equation is the equation to be satisfied by each component (for each coordinate axis, such as the x component for the x axis) of a vector wave without sources of waves ...
The wavelength (or alternatively wavenumber or wave vector) is a characterization of the wave in space, that is functionally related to its frequency, as constrained by the physics of the system. Sinusoids are the simplest traveling wave solutions, and more complex solutions can be built up by superposition .
A Bloch wave function (bottom) can be broken up into the product of a periodic function (top) and a plane-wave (center). The left side and right side represent the same Bloch state broken up in two different ways, involving the wave vector k 1 (left) or k 2 (right). The difference (k 1 − k 2) is a reciprocal lattice vector. In all plots, blue ...
The wave envelope is the profile of the wave amplitudes; all transverse displacements are bound by the envelope profile. Intuitively the wave envelope is the "global profile" of the wave, which "contains" changing "local profiles inside the global profile".
A plane wave is classified as a transverse wave if the field disturbance at each point is described by a vector perpendicular to the direction of propagation (also the direction of energy transfer); or longitudinal wave if those vectors are aligned with the propagation direction. Mechanical waves include both transverse and longitudinal waves ...