Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
There are two types of waves that are most commonly studied in classical physics: mechanical waves and electromagnetic waves. In a mechanical wave, stress and strain fields oscillate about a mechanical equilibrium.
The electromagnetic waves in each of these bands have different characteristics, such as how they are produced, how they interact with matter, and their practical applications. Radio waves, at the low-frequency end of the spectrum, have the lowest photon energy and the longest wavelengths—thousands of kilometers, or more.
The Sommerfeld–Zenneck wave or Zenneck wave is a non-radiative guided electromagnetic wave that is supported by a planar or spherical interface between two homogeneous media having different dielectric constants. This surface wave propagates parallel to the interface and decays exponentially vertical to it, a property known as evanescence.
Two types of particle motion result in two types of body waves: Primary and Secondary waves. This distinction was recognized in 1830 by the French mathematician Siméon Denis Poisson. [5] Patterns of seismic wave travel through Earth's mantle and core. S waves can not travel through the liquid outer core, so they leave a shadow on Earth's far side.
A P wave (primary wave or pressure wave) is one of the two main types of elastic body waves, called seismic waves in seismology. P waves travel faster than other seismic waves and hence are the first signal from an earthquake to arrive at any affected location or at a seismograph. P waves may be transmitted through gases, liquids, or solids.
There are two types of surface waves, namely Rayleigh waves and Love waves. Rayleigh waves, also known as ground roll, are waves that travel as ripples with motion similar to those of waves on the surface of water. Such waves are much slower than body waves, at roughly 90% of the velocity of bulk waves [clarify] for a typical homogeneous ...
The theory is based on two postulates: (1) that the mathematical forms of the laws of physics are invariant in all inertial systems; and (2) that the speed of light in vacuum is constant and independent of the source or observer. Reconciling the two postulates requires a unification of space and time into the frame-dependent concept of spacetime.
For an incident wave traveling from one medium (where the wave speed is c 1) to another medium (where the wave speed is c 2), one part of the wave will transmit into the second medium, while another part reflects back into the other direction and stays in the first medium. The amplitude of the transmitted wave and the reflected wave can be ...