plainenglish.info
hard topics in plain english
MathematicsPhysicsComputer ScienceMathematicsPhysicsComputer Science
Experimental Physics Thermodynamics Mechanics Electromagnetism Wave mechanics Quantum mechanics . . .
Physics in Plain English

You are here: PhysicsWave mechanics → Wave Mechanics

Wave Mechanics

Waves are everywhere in nature - and I mean everywhere. Light waves. Sound waves. Water waves. Brain waves.
The surprising/astonishing/amazing thing is; all types of waves are almost identical in behaviour. If you truly understand the behaviour of water waves - the way they interact with each other, the exact way the ripples 'curve' around obstacles - then you can have no trouble understanding accoustics, the propagation of light, or even basic quantum mechanics.
When I say 'identical,' I don't mean this metaphorically. All waves in nature really are mathematically identical!

Learn about:



The two classes of waves


Home

Creative Commons Licence
This work by http://plainenglish.info is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You may copy this work, however you must always attribute this work if you do so.