Waves Flashcards
Wave
A disturbance in a different medium from one place to the other
Medium
Overall this refers to something that exists or grows which can move or travel
Mechanical Wave
A mechanical wave is a wave that is an oscillation of matter, and therefore transfers energy through a medium.
Transverse Waves
a wave vibrating at right angles to the direction of its propagation.
Longitudinal Waves
Longitudinal waves, also known as “I waves”, are wave/s in which the displacement of the medium is in the same direction as, or the opposite direction to, the direction of travel of the wave.
Crest
Highest point on a wave
Trough
The lowest point on a wave
Amplitude
The amplitude of a periodic variable is a measure of its change over a single period (such as time or spatial period). There are various definitions of amplitude , which are all functions of the magnitude of the difference between the variable’s extreme values. In older texts the phase is sometimes called the amplitude.
Wave Length
The length of one crest or trough to the other
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency, which emphasizes the contrast to spatial frequency and angular frequency.
Reflection
Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated.
Refraction
Refraction is the change in direction of propagation of a wave due to a change in its transmission medium
Diffraction
Diffraction refers to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle or a slit
Interference
The process in which two or more light, sound, or electromagnetic waves of the same frequency combine to reinforce or cancel each other, the amplitude of the resulting wave being equal to the sum of the amplitudes of the combining waves.
Electromagnetic Spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the collective term for all known frequencies and their linked wavelengths of the known photons.
Radiation
the emission of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles, especially high-energy particles that cause ionization
Electromagnetic Wave
one of the waves that are propagated by simultaneous periodic variations of electric and magnetic field intensity and that include radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays
Radio Waves
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light
Microwaves
Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from one meter to one millimeter; with frequencies between 300 MHz (100 cm) and 300 GHz (0.1 cm).
Infrared
Infrared (IR) is an invisible radiant energy, electromagnetic radiation with longer wavelengths than those of visible light, extending from the nominal red edge of the visible spectrum at 700 nanometers (frequency 430 THz) to 1000000 nm (300 GHz) (although people can see infrared up to at least 1050 nm in experiments).
Ultraviolet Light
Ultraviolet (UV) is an electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength from 10 nm (30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight.
X-Ray
X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of electromagnetic radiation. (10 to the 16th power and 10 to the 20th power of hertz is typical)
Gamma Waves
A gamma wave is a pattern of neural oscillation in humans with a frequency between 25 and 100 Hz, though 40 Hz is typical.
Transmission
Transmission is the act of transferring something from one spot to another, like a radio or TV broadcast, or a disease going from one person to another.
Absorption
In physics, absorption of electromagnetic radiation is the way in which the energy of a photon is taken up by matter, typically the electrons of an atom
Scattering
Scattering, in physics, a change in the direction of motion of a particle because of a collision with another particle.
Polarization
Polarized light waves are light waves in which the vibrations occur in a single plane.
Prism
In optics, a prism is a transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light
Primary Colors
Red, yellow and blue are the primary colors. They mix to make different colors
Primary Pigments
A set of primary colors is a small, arbitrary set of pigmented physical media, lights or purely abstract elements of a mathematical colorspace model
