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Physics vocabulary · Waves, Oscillations and Sound

Wave

Meaning in physics, with examples

/weɪv/nounCore term

In physics, wave means: A disturbance that travels through a medium or through space and carries energy from one place to another without carrying matter with it.

In Turkish: dalga

How it is used

Waves are described as transverse (like light) or longitudinal (like sound), and as mechanical or electromagnetic. A wave travels, propagates, is reflected, refracted and absorbed. Its key quantities are speed, frequency, wavelength and amplitude, linked by v = fλ.

Example sentences

  1. Sound is a longitudinal wave, but light is a transverse wave.

  2. The waves in the ripple tank slow down when they move into shallower water.

Common collocations

  • transverse wave
  • longitudinal wave
  • wave speed
  • wave equation
  • wavefront
  • frequencyThe number of complete waves or oscillations that pass a point, or happen, each second. It is measured in hertz (Hz), where 1 Hz means one cycle per second.
  • wavelengthThe distance between two neighbouring points on a wave that are at the same stage of their cycle, such as two crests. It is shown by the Greek letter lambda (λ).
  • amplitudeThe maximum distance that a point on a wave or an oscillating object moves away from its rest position. A larger amplitude means the wave carries more energy.
  • longitudinal waveA wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate back and forth along the direction the wave travels, forming compressions and rarefactions. Sound is the main example.
  • interferenceThe effect produced when two or more waves meet and their displacements add together. They can reinforce each other (constructive) or cancel each other out (destructive).

More terms: Waves, Oscillations and Sound

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