Physics › Section K · Oscillations and waves › Topic K.6
Waves
Sound, light, ocean swell and earthquake tremors are all waves: disturbances that travel and carry energy without carrying the medium along with them. A handful of quantities, linked by one simple equation, describe every one of them.
In this topic
- A travelling disturbance
- Mechanical and electromagnetic waves
- Transverse and longitudinal waves
- Earthquake waves
- Describing a wave
- The wave equation
- Worked example: one note, two media
- What sets the wave speed
- Worked example: a wave on a string
- Worked example: locating an earthquake
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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