wave
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Copy Citation
Share to social media
Give Feedback
External Websites
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
- The Physics Classroom — What is a Wave?
- Physics LibreText — Waves
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
print Print
Please select which sections you would like to print:
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Copy Citation
Share to social media
External Websites
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
- The Physics Classroom — What is a Wave?
- Physics LibreText — Waves
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica’s editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: Nov 7, 2023 • Article History
Table of Contents
key people: Hermann von Helmholtz Kip Thorne Lord Rayleigh Ernst Mach (Show more)
related topics: radiation electromagnetic radiation sound wave gravitational wave (Show more)
wave, propagation of disturbances from place to place in a regular and organized way. Most familiar are surface waves that travel on water, but sound, light, and the motion of subatomic particles all exhibit wavelike properties. In the simplest waves, the disturbance oscillates periodically (see periodic motion) with a fixed frequency and wavelength. Mechanical waves, such as sound, require a medium through which to travel, while electromagnetic waves (see electromagnetic radiation) do not require a medium and can be propagated through a vacuum. Propagation of a wave through a medium depends on the medium’s properties. See also seismic wave.
Types and features of waves
Waves come in two kinds, longitudinal and transverse. Transverse waves are like those on water, with the surface going up and down, and longitudinal waves are like of those of sound, consisting of alternating compressions and rarefactions in a medium. The high point of a transverse wave is a called the crest, and the low point is called the trough. For longitudinal waves, the compressions and rarefactions are analogous to the crests and troughs of transverse waves. The distance between successive crests or troughs is called the wavelength. The height of a wave is the amplitude. How many crests or troughs pass a specific point during a unit of time is called the frequency. The velocity of a wave can be expressed as the wavelength multiplied by the frequency.
Britannica Quiz
Physics and Natural Law
Waves can travel immense distances even though the oscillation at one point is very small. For example, a thunderclap can be heard kilometres away, yet the sound carried manifests itself at any point only as minute compressions and rarefactions of the air.
Wave behaviour
Waves display several basic phenomena. In reflection, a wave encounters an obstacle and is reflected back. In refraction, a wave bends when it enters a medium through which it has a different speed. In diffraction, waves bend when they pass around small obstacles and spread out when they pass through small openings. In interference, when two waves meet, they can interfere constructively, creating a wave with larger amplitude than the original waves, or destructively, creating a wave with a smaller (or even zero) amplitude.
Reflection
When waves hit a boundary and are reflected, the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. The angle of incidence is the angle between the direction of motion of the wave and a line drawn perpendicular to the reflecting boundary.
Refraction

The speed of a wave depends on the properties of the medium through which it travels. For example, sound travels much faster through water than through air. When a wave enters at an angle a medium through which its speed would be slower, the wave is bent toward the perpendicular. When a wave enters at an angle a medium in which its speed would be increased, the opposite effect happens. With light, this change can be expressed by using Snell’s law of refraction.

Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.
Diffraction

When a wave encounters a small obstacle or a small opening (that is, small compared with the wavelength of the wave), the wave can bend around the obstacle or pass through the opening and then spread out. This bending or spreading out is called diffraction.
Interference

The waves from two or more centres of disturbance may reinforce each other in some directions and cancel in others. This phenomenon is called the interference of waves. It is easy to see how this may happen. Consider two sources producing waves of the same wavelength and in phase; that is, at their origin the crests of the waves occur at the same time. If a point P is equidistant from both sources, the crests arrive at P simultaneously and reinforce each other. Similarly, the troughs arrive simultaneously and become deeper. The same situation occurs if the distances to point P are unequal but differ by one or more full wavelengths. If, however, the distances differ by half a wavelength or by an odd number of half wavelengths, then the crests of one wave will coincide with the troughs of the other and the intensity of the resultant wave is decreased. When two such waves are of equal intensity, they will cancel each other completely. Intermediate situations arise in those directions in which the distances traveled by the two waves differ by some other fraction of a wavelength, the waves tending either to reinforce or to cancel each other.
Doppler effect

When the source of a wave moves relative to an observer, the observer notices a change in the frequency of the wave. This change is called the Doppler effect, after its discoverer, Austrian physicist Christian Doppler.
Consider a source emitting a wave such as light or sound of frequency ν moving away from an observer at velocity v. The successive crests of the light waves will reach the observer at longer intervals than if the observer were at rest, and calculation shows that the observer will receive them with a frequency ν(1−v/c), where c is the velocity of the wave. The frequency of the wave will appear to the observer slightly lower than it would if the source were at rest. If the source is approaching, the frequency will be higher.
In sound this effect is an everyday experience; when a blowing horn is passed on the highway, the observer may notice that the pitch of the note seems to change. The Doppler effect for light waves is evident in spectroscopy. A shift to higher frequencies is called a blueshift, and a shift to lower frequencies is called a redshift. The redshifted light from other galaxies is evidence of the expansion of the universe.
Standing waves
If a wave is confined to a closed space, it undergoes both reflection and interference. For example, consider a tube of length l. A disturbance anywhere in the air in the tube will be reflected from both ends and produce in general a series of waves traveling in both directions along the tube. From the geometry of the situation and the finite constant value of acoustic velocity, these must be periodic waves with frequencies fixed by the boundary conditions at the end of the tube. The allowed frequencies of the waves in the tube satisfy sin kl = 0; i.e., the allowed frequencies are ν = nv/2l, where n is any integer and v is the acoustic velocity in the tube. These are the frequencies of harmonic waves that can exist in the tube and still satisfy the boundary conditions at the ends. They are called the characteristic frequencies or normal modes of vibration of the air column. The fundamental frequency (n = 1) is ν = v/2l.
The higher frequencies, called harmonics or overtones, are multiples of the fundamental. It is customary to refer to the fundamental as the first harmonic; n = 2 gives the second harmonic or first overtone, and so on. Approximately the same set of characteristic frequencies hold for a cylindrical tube open at both ends, though the boundary conditions are different.
There are positions in the tube at which the displacement of the air is zero at all times. This cannot take place in a progressive wave; thus, the wave disturbance corresponding to a normal mode is known as a standing wave. The positions of continuous zero displacement are known as nodes, while the positions for which there is maximum displacement are called antinodes. The distance between successive nodes is equal to a half wavelength of the particular mode.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.
Waves complete как установить в Фл Студио 20-21
Пошаговая инструкция: как добавить плагины waves complete в fl studio
Вот пошаговая инструкция, которая поможет вам установить Waves Complete в FL Studio:
Шаг 1: Проверьте, что у вас есть необходимые системные требования
Перед установкой Waves Complete убедитесь, что ваш компьютер соответствует требованиям системы, указанным на официальном сайте Waves. Требования могут отличаться в зависимости от версии Waves Complete.
Шаг 2: Загрузите установщик с официального сайта Waves
Перейдите на официальный сайт Waves и загрузите установщик Waves Central. Этот установщик позволит вам установить Waves Complete и управлять вашими плагинами Waves.
Шаг 3: Запустите установщик и войдите в свой аккаунт
Запустите Waves Central и войдите в свой аккаунт на сайте Waves. Если у вас еще нет аккаунта, создайте его на сайте Waves.
Шаг 4: Выберите пакет Waves Complete
Выберите пакет Waves Complete из списка доступных продуктов. Затем выберите желаемую версию Waves Complete и нажмите «Install».
Шаг 5: Выберите место установки и установите Waves Complete
Выберите место установки Waves Complete на вашем компьютере и нажмите «Install». Установка может занять несколько минут, в зависимости от скорости вашего компьютера.
Шаг 6: Загрузите плагины Waves в FL Studio
Откройте FL Studio и перейдите в меню «Options» -> «Manage plugins». Затем выберите «Find plugins» и выберите путь, в котором установлены ваши плагины Waves. После того, как FL Studio найдет плагины Waves, они будут доступны для использования в вашем проекте.
Советы:
- Убедитесь, что вы загружаете правильную версию Waves Complete, совместимую с вашей операционной системой и версией FL Studio.
- Если у вас возникают проблемы с установкой, проверьте, что у вас есть достаточно свободного места на жестком диске и что ваша операционная система и версия FL Studio обновлены до последней версии.
- Если вы используете плагины Waves на профессиональном уровне, рекомендуется настроить их настройки в соответствии с вашими потребностями и опытом работы.
- Помните, что Waves Complete — это большой пакет плагинов, и не все плагины могут подходить для каждого проекта.
Wave
A wave is a disturbance in a medium that carries energy without a net movement of particles. It may take the form of elastic deformation, a variation of pressure, electric or magnetic intensity, electric potential, or temperature.
Table of Content
- Introduction of Waves
- Types of Waves
- Transverse Waves
- Longitudinal Wave
- Mechanical waves
- Matter Waves
- Electromagnetic Waves
Introduction of Waves
- Transfers energy.
- Usually involves a periodic, repetitive movement.
- Does not result in a net movement of the medium or particles in the medium (mechanical wave).

There are some basic descriptors of a wave. Wavelength is the distance between two successive identical parts of the wave. Amplitude is the maximum displacement from the neutral position. This represents the energy of the wave. Greater amplitude carries greater energy. Displacement is the position of a particular point in the medium as it moves as the wave passes. Maximum displacement is the amplitude of the wave
Frequency (ƒ) is the number of repetitions per second in Hz, Period (T) is the time for one wavelength to pass a point.
The velocity (v) of the wave is the speed at which a specific part of the wave passes a point. The speed of a light wave is c.
Types of Waves:
The types of waves are given below.
Transverse Waves
Waves in which the medium moves at right angles to the direction of the wave.
Examples of transverse waves:
- Water waves (ripples of gravity waves, not sound through water)
- Light waves
- S-wave earthquake waves
- Stringed instruments
- Torsion wave
The high point of a transverse wave is a crest. The low part is a trough.
Longitudinal Wave:
A longitudinal wave has the movement of the particles in the medium in the same dimension as the direction of movement of the wave.
Examples of longitudinal waves:
- Sound waves
- P-type earthquake waves
- Compression wave
Parts of longitudinal waves:
Compression: where the particles are close together.
Rarefaction: where the particles are spread apart.
Now that we know the types of waves, let’s see the below video to understand how exactly the particles move in these wave types:

Mechanical waves:
A wave which needs a medium in order to propagate itself. Sound waves, waves in a slinky, and water waves are all examples of this.
Matter Waves:
Any moving object can be described as a wave When a stone is dropped into a pond, the water is disturbed from its equilibrium positions as the wave passes; it returns to its equilibrium position after the wave has passed.
Electromagnetic Waves:
These waves are disturbance that does not need any object medium for propagation and can easily travel through the vacuum. They are produced due to various magnetic and electric fields. The periodic changes that take place in magnetic and electric fields and therefore known as electromagnetic waves.

Electromagnetic wave
Wave Speed Formula
It is the total distance covered by the wave in a given time period. The formula for wave speed is given as,
Wave Speed = Distance Covered/Time taken
Properties of Waves
The prime properties of waves are as follows:
Amplitude – Wave is an energy transport phenomenon. Amplitude is the height of the wave, usually measured in metres. It is directly related to the amount of energy carried by a wave.
Wavelength – The distance between identical points in the adjacent cycles of crests of a wave is called a wavelength. It is also measured in metres.
Period – The period of a wave is the time for a particle on a medium to make one complete vibrational cycle. As the period is time, hence is measured in units of time such as seconds or minutes.
Frequency – Frequency of a wave is the number of waves passing a point in a certain time. The unit of frequency is hertz (Hz) which is equal to one wave per second.
The period is the reciprocal of the frequency and vice versa.
\(\begin
Period = \frac\end \)
\(\beginFrequency= \frac\end \) Speed – The speed of an object means how fast an object moves and is usually expressed as the distance travelled per time of travel. The speed of a wave refers to the distance travelled by a given point on the wave (crest) in a given interval of time. That is –
\(\begin
Speed= \frac\end \) Speed of a wave is thus measured in metre/second i.e. m/s.
Watch the video and study Heat, Waves * Optics JEE PY Questions

Frequently Asked Questions
What is a wave?
A wave is a disturbance in a medium that carries energy without a net movement of particles. It may take the form of elastic deformation, a variation of pressure, electric or magnetic intensity, electric potential, or temperature.
Define frequency of a wave.
Frequency of a wave is the number of waves passing a point in a certain time. The unit of frequency is hertz (Hz) which is equal to one wave per second.
Define amplitude of a wave.
Amplitude is the maximum displacement from the neutral position. This represents the energy of the wave. Greater amplitude carries greater energy.
What are electromagnetic waves?
Electromagnetic waves are the disturbance that does not need any object medium for propagation and can easily travel through the vacuum. They are produced due to various magnetic and electric fields.
Give some examples of electromagnetic waves.
Radio signals, light rays, x-rays, and cosmic rays are some of the examples of
electromagnetic waves.Stay tuned with BYJU’S to learn more about wave and other related concepts with interesting video lectures.
Test Your Knowledge On Waves!
Waves: Definition, Characteristics, and Types
Waves: What happens when you drop a tiny pebble in a pond of still water? The surface of water gets disturbed. The disturbance does not remain confined to one place but propagates outward along a circle. Suppose multiple pebbles are dropped one after the other in the pond. In that case, we will see circles rapidly moving outward from the point where pebbles hit the water surface, thereby disturbing it. It gives a feeling as if the water is moving outward from the point of disturbance.
Waves transport energy and the pattern of disturbance has information that propagates from one point to another. Most of the communication systems are essentially dependent on the transmission of signals through waves. For example, speech means producing sound waves in the air and hearing these sound waves fall under the category of detection. Often, communication involves different kinds of waves. Although, not all waves require a medium for their propagation. For example, light waves can travel through a vacuum.

Waves: Definition
A wave is a form of disturbance that travels through a material medium due to the repeated motion of the particles of the medium about their mean positions without any actual transportation of matter. Simply put, a wave can be thought of as a periodic oscillation that travels through space-time, accompanied by a transfer of energy.

Wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, often with no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium —that is, with little or no associated mass transport. They consist, instead, of oscillations or vibrations of the particles of the medium around almost fixed locations. A wave spreads across the region without any clear-cut boundaries. Hence, it can not be said to be localized at a particular place.
Characteristics of a Wave
The features of waves are as follows:
(i) The particles of the medium traversed by a wave execute relatively small vibrations about their mean positions. Still, the particles are not permanently displaced in the direction of propagation of the wave.
(ii) Each successive particle of the medium executes a motion quite similar to its predecessors along/perpendicular to the line of travel of the wave.
(iii) During wave motion, only transfer of energy occurs but not that of a portion of the medium.
(iv) Two properties for the propagation of a wave in a medium are
Types of Waves
Based on the medium through which waves travel, propagation of energy along with a wave motion, dimensions in which a wave is travelling, and the direction of vibration of the particles of a wave, the waves can be classified as:

Classification of Wave Based on Medium
a. Mechanical (Elastic) Waves: Mechanical waves can be produced or propagated only in a material medium. Newton’s laws of motion govern these waves. These waves require a medium for propagation; they cannot propagate through a vacuum. They involve oscillations of constituent particles and depend on the elastic properties of the medium. These are the most familiar waves, such as waves on a string, water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves.

b. Electromagnetic Waves: These are the waves that require no material medium for their production and propagation, i.e., they can pass through a vacuum and any other material medium. All electromagnetic waves have the same speed in a vacuum, \(c\), whose value is: \(c = 299,792,458\;>/>\). Common examples of electromagnetic waves are visible light, ultra-violet light, radio waves, and microwaves.

Classification of Wave Based on the Propagation of Energy

a. Stationary waves or standing waves: These are the waves that possess vertical oscillating movement but do not undergo forward motion in a horizontal direction. It results from the superposition of two identical waves of the same amplitude and frequency, propagating in the opposite direction. Stationary wave generates vibration pattern within the medium. Thus, energy is confined within it. It never appears to get travelled as the nearby points of the wave are of similar phase, and so the energy is not transferred from one point to another
b. Progressive waves: These waves are the ones that allow the propagation of energy through the medium as the wave continuously travels in one direction where the amplitude is kept constant. The molecules in the progressive wave transfer their oscillating energy in the forward direction. It leads to the propagation of energy from one point to another through the medium.

Classification of Wave Based on the Dimension
a. Waves in one-dimension: These waves travel along a line, i.e., along with one-dimensional space. These waves are only a function of one space variable. A wave on a string is an example of a one-dimensional wave
b. Waves in two-dimension: The two-dimensional wave travels along any two dimensions; it can have either \(x\) and \(y\) or \(y\) and \(z\) or \(z\) and \(x\) components. Waves can also travel on a surface that is a two-dimensional space, such as the surface of water or in a layer of clouds
c. Waves in three-dimension: The three-dimensional waves have the \(x\) component, \(y\) component, and \(z\) component. Many significant waves propagate in a three-dimensional space. These include sound waves, radio waves, light, and other electromagnetic waves.
Classification of Wave Based on Vibration of Particles of Wave

a. Transverse Wave: In transverse waves, the particles of the medium vibrate at right angles to the direction in which the wave propagates. Waves on strings, surface water waves, and electromagnetic waves are transverse waves. In electromagnetic waves (which include light waves), the disturbance that travels is not a result of vibrations of particles; it is due to the oscillation of electric and magnetic fields at right angles to the direction in which the wave travels.
b. Longitudinal wave: In these types of waves, particles of the medium vibrate to and fro about their mean position along the direction of energy propagation. These are also called pressure waves. Sound waves are longitudinal mechanical waves.
Further, we have:
a. Matter waves: They are associated with constituents of matter: electrons, protons, neutrons, atoms, and molecules. They arise in the quantum mechanical description of nature. Though conceptually more abstract than mechanical or electromagnetic waves, they have already found applications in several devices essential to modern technology; matter waves associated with electrons are employed in electron microscopes.

b. Gravitational waves: These waves propagate through the gravitational field that is present throughout space. Similar to electromagnetic waves, gravitational waves can propagate through matter or space. Gravitational waves are a consequence of Einstein’s theory of general relativity and should not be confused with gravity waves, which is a name for the kind of waves found in deep water (a.k.a. ocean waves). Gravitational waves were predicted to exist in \(1916\) (or \(1918\)) but were not confirmed with direct observation until \(2015\).

Terms Related to Waves

1. Wavelength
The distance travelled by the disturbance during one vibration by a medium particle is called the wavelength \((\lambda )\). In a transverse wave, the wavelength may also be defined as the distance between two successive crests or troughs. In a longitudinal wave, the wavelength \((\lambda )\) is equal to the distance from the centre of one compression (or refraction) to another.2. Amplitude
The amplitude of a wave is the maximum displacement of the particles of the medium from their mean position.3. Frequency
The number of vibrations made by a particle in one second is called frequency. It is represented by \(v\). Its unit is hertz \((>),\nu = \frac\).4. Time-Period
The time taken by a particle to complete one vibration is called the time period.
\(T = \frac\), it is expressed in seconds.5. Wave Velocity
Wave velocity is the time rate of propagation of wave motion in the given medium. It is different from particle velocity. Wave velocity depends upon the nature of the medium.Applications of Waves

A variety of waves surrounds us. Sound is a type of wave that moves through matter and then vibrates our eardrums so we can hear. Light is a special kind of wave that is made up of photons. We even use waves (microwaves) for cooking our food fast. Radio waves are used in communication technology.
In X-Ray imaging: In nature, a wave is an essential kind of motion. Wave behaviours such as diffraction, refraction, and reflection make them useful in the medical industry for non-intrusive imaging, producing minimal damage to objects.
MRI scans: Resonance is a wave property used in MRI scans to find tumours. Resonance is a kind of oscillation, which presents maximum vibrating amplitude at a particular frequency. MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging. It is a technology that transmits radio waves and uses a magnetic field to create images of organs and tissues inside the body.
Ultrasound: Ultrasounds are used for both medical applications and industrial applications to produce images using harmless sound waves
To study seismic activity: In the petroleum industry, detecting where oil is can be a challenge. Because of the particular properties of waves, they can be identified and used for specific purposes, such as using the speed of waves through Earth to determine the interior composition
As a cleanser: The higher the frequency is, the stronger the penetration ability of a wave will be. Vibrating sound waves can be used to clean industrial objects such as jewellery or medical cleaning of teeth.
Information Transmission: Movie images are reflected off movie screens. When polarized wave images are used, movies can be transmitted in 3D. Radio waves are reflected from satellites for GPS.
Telecommunication: Space agencies send space shuttles to outer space and communicate with astronauts through electromagnetic waves, which travel hundreds of thousands of miles in space.
Waves Formula
The motion of a transverse sinusoidal wave through a medium is in the form of crests and troughs. The crests represent particles position having maximum displacement, while troughs represent particles position having minimum displacement. The distance between two consecutive crests or the distance between two consecutive troughs is known as the wavelength. The wavelength of a given wave can be measured using the speed and frequency of the wave as follows:
Where,
\(\lambda \) is the wavelength of the wave.
\(v\) is the velocity of the wave.
\(f\) is the frequency of the wave.
FAQs on Wave
Let’s look at some commonly asked questions about wave:
Q.1. What are the three types of waves?
Ans: Three types of waves are Mechanical, Electromagnetic, and Matter waves.Q.2. What is a Wave?
Ans: In physics, a wave is a disturbance that travels through space and matter, transferring energy from one place to another.Q.3. Why can transverse waves not occur in fluids?
Ans: Fluids have no shape of their own – they yield no shearing stress. This is why transverse waves are possible in solids and strings (under tension) but not in fluids.Q.4. Explosions on other planets are not heard on Earth. Why?
Ans: Due to the absence of a material medium over a long distance between Earth and planets and in the absence of a material medium for propagation, sound waves cannot travel. Hence the explosions on other planets cannot be heard on Earth.Q.5. Why sound wave is a longitudinal wave?
Ans: A sound wave is called a longitudinal wave because compressions and rarefactions in the air produce it. When the sound wave travels through the air, its particles vibrate parallel to the direction of propagation. The waves in which particles of the medium move in a direction parallel to the direction of the wave are called longitudinal waves.Q.6. What is the amplitude of a wave?
Ans: The wave amplitude can be defined as the maximum displacement of the constituent medium particles from their mean positions.We hope this article on Waves is helpful to you. If you have any queries on this page or related to this topic, ping us through the comment box below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
