wave: Quick Facts

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Three graphs illustrate types of light wave interference. The top shows constructive interference with two waves combining to form a larger wave. The middle shows partial destructive interference, where the waves partially cancel, resulting in a smaller combined wave. The bottom shows complete destructive interference, where two waves of equal amplitude and opposite phase cancel each other out, resulting in a flat line.

Diagram illustrating the Doppler shift in astronomy, showing how absorption lines in a color spectrum move toward violet for approaching objects and toward red for receding objects, with labeled comparison spectra.

Figure 18: Progression of elliptically polarized wave (see text).

A simple diagram showing two blue waves: the wave on the left has a shorter wavelength with closely spaced peaks, while the wave on the right has a longer wavelength with peaks spaced farther apart.

$How does refraction affect the direction of a wave?$

$What is diffraction?$

View an animation explaining how small things like electrons and protons can behave like particles and sometimes like waves

Understand the uncertainty principle as defined by the properties of waves

Understanding Heisenberg's uncertainty principle in subatomic particles

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Topics

radiation electromagnetic radiation sound wave Gravitational wave wave motion vibration seismic wave phase longitudinal wave chemical bonding chemical element subatomic particle atom electricity liquid chemical compound time electromagnetism gas

Key People

Hermann von Helmholtz

Hermann von Helmholtz

German scientist and philosopher

John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh

Lord Rayleigh

British scientist

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Kip Thorne

American physicist

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Ernst Mach

Austrian physicist

Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.

Physics and Natural Law