How do you work out wave envelopes and asymmetries?

Thread starter tim9000
Start date Oct 25, 2015
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Steady state Time constant Wave Waveforms Work

In summary, a wave envelope is a graphical representation of the amplitude of a wave over time, showing its maximum and minimum amplitudes as it propagates through a medium. To calculate a wave envelope, you plot the amplitude values over time on a graph. Wave asymmetry refers to the unevenness or irregularity of a wave's shape, which can be caused by various factors. To determine wave asymmetry, you compare the wave's shape to a perfect sinusoidal wave. Understanding wave envelopes and asymmetries is important in fields such as physics, engineering, and oceanography, as it helps us predict and analyze the behavior of waves in practical applications.

Oct 25, 2015

tim9000

Hi Say I took one or all of the four waves here:

How would I go about working out the envelope around their peaks, or finding the exponential time constant from start to steady state?

Cheers!

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Oct 25, 2015

Simon Bridge

Science Advisor

Homework Helper

You'd need to guess.
Probably you should use your knowledge of how the plots were produced to help you to guess.

1. What is a wave envelope?

A wave envelope is a graphical representation of the amplitude of a wave over time. It shows the maximum and minimum amplitudes of a wave as it propagates through a medium.

2. How do you calculate wave envelopes?

To calculate the wave envelope, you first need to obtain the amplitude of the wave at various points in time. Then, you plot these amplitude values on a graph, with time on the x-axis and amplitude on the y-axis. The resulting curve will show the envelope of the wave.

3. What is wave asymmetry?

Wave asymmetry refers to the unevenness or irregularity of a wave's shape. It can be caused by factors such as interference, diffraction, or changes in the medium through which the wave is propagating.

4. How do you determine wave asymmetry?

To determine wave asymmetry, you can compare the shape of the wave to a perfect sinusoidal wave. If the wave deviates significantly from a smooth, symmetrical shape, it is considered to have asymmetry.

5. Why is understanding wave envelopes and asymmetries important?

Understanding wave envelopes and asymmetries is important in many fields, such as physics, engineering, and oceanography. These concepts can help us better understand and predict the behavior of waves, which has practical applications in areas such as weather forecasting, telecommunications, and energy production.