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1: Waves

  • Page ID
    94015
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    • 1.1: Wave Mathematics
      We start our examination of waves with an examination of how to treat them mathematically.
    • 1.2: Wave Properties
      There are many varieties of waves, characterized by the number of dimensions through which they propagate, and the relative directions of propagation and medium displacement. But all waves have some common characteristics and general features.
    • 1.3: Energy Transmission
      All waves carry energy from one point in space to another. We will look at some general features of how this is accomplished, defining the concept of intensity along the way.
    • 1.4: Superposition and Interference
      The basis of all important and interesting wave phenomena is the fact that two similar waves in the same region of space within the same medium will interfere with each other.
    • 1.5: Standing Waves
      Wave interference takes many forms. Here we examine wave reflections and how they can lead to a particularly ubiquitous interference phenomenon.
    • 1.6: Some Important Math Tricks
      We take a short time-out to review some observations from mathematics that we will find very useful in the topics that follow.
    • 1.7: Fourier Analysis
      We learn how "recipes" of superposed harmonic waves of different frequencies can be used to construct more general periodic waves.


    This page titled 1: Waves is shared under a CC BY-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Tom Weideman.

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