WaveMotion-UniversityofColoradoBoulder.docVIP

Wave Motion A wave is a self-propagating disturbance in a medium. Waves carry energy, momentum, information, but not matter. Examples: Sound waves (pressure waves) in air (or in any gas or solid or liquid) Waves on a stretched string Waves on the surface of water The Wave at the ballpark stadium. The medium is the people. Electromagnetic waves (light) – this is the only kind of wave which does not require a medium. EM waves can travel in vacuum. This was quite a surprise to 19th century physicists who had trouble imagining a wave without a medium. The thing that is waving in an EM wave