- Characteristics of wave motion
- Power transmission
- Propagation medium
- Spread function
- Standing waves
- Undulating periodicity
- Properties
- References
The wave motion is the propagation of a wave in a medium that does not contain resistance in the path and which is subject to a uniform gravitational field.
Wave motion does not transfer matter by means of electromagnetic or mechanical waves. The waves disturb some type of property of a medium through density, the electromagnetic field, pressure, among others.
This type of movement can also be analyzed as the constitution of two rectilinear movements, one uniform horizontal and one uniform vertical.
A clear example of this type of movement is sound. It propagates through longitudinal elastic waves through a fluid that is generating a vibratory movement.
Characteristics of wave motion
A process as fundamental but at the same time as complex as the wave movement, consists of many characteristics that define its nature and explain the reason for its origin. Some of them are:
Power transmission
Wave motion is the path traveled by a wave that carries energy and not matter. This process is done through a material or non-material means.
Propagation medium
The wave motion transmits waves through various media and we can divide them into: material medium and non-material medium.
The waves transmitted by a material medium (mechanical waves) are those in which there is no net transport of matter in the medium through which it passes. An example of this is the wave that passes through a whip.
One end of it shakes and, although it does not move, a wave propagates through it. In this type of movement we find sound waves, elastic waves and gravity waves.
The waves transmitted by a non-material medium (non-mechanical waves) do not need a medium, they simply propagate and perform a wave motion in a vacuum. An example of this would be the movement made by electromagnetic waves.
Spread function
There are longitudinal waves and transverse waves. The longitudinal ones are those where the movement of the wave is parallel to the direction of its propagation.
On the other hand, in the transversal ones the movement is perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the wave.
Standing waves
Wave diffraction is a property in which the waves surround an obstacle and make it a source of emission for said wave.
Undulating periodicity
Waves can also be characterized by their periodicity. Periodic waves are those that propagate in repetitive cycles. On the other hand, non-periodic waves are those that originate in isolation and are called pulses.
Properties
Waves are characterized by having various properties that make it possible to clarify and demonstrate how the phenomenon of wave motion occurs.
Some of these properties include reflection (rebound of the wave as with echoes) and refraction (change of direction when changing material medium), among others.
References
- Categories of waves. Retrieved on December 8, 2017, from The Physics Classroom: physicsclassroom.com
- Motion. Retrieved on December 8, 2017, from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org
- Wave. Retrieved on December 8, 2017, from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org
- Waves. Retrieved on December 8, 2017, from Tutor Vista: physics.tutorvista.com
- What is a wave? Retrieved on December 8, 2017, from The Physics Classroom: physicsclassroom.com.