Shackleford said:I'm really rusty on waves. What characteristics am I looking for? With respect to its variables, doesn't a valid wave equation have to contain only linear terms in its argument(s)?
ehild said:Yes, a wave has the form f(ax-bt).
ehild
SammyS said:Having (ax±bt)2 shouldn't matter. The squaring can be considered to be part of function, f .
Yes.Shackleford said:Same goes for cos2, too?
A traveling wave is a type of wave in which the disturbance or energy moves through a medium from one location to another, without displacing the medium itself. It is characterized by a repeating pattern of oscillations or vibrations.
A traveling wave moves through a medium, while a standing wave remains in one place. Additionally, a standing wave is created by the interference of two waves traveling in opposite directions, whereas a traveling wave is created by a single disturbance moving through the medium.
The two types of traveling waves are transverse waves and longitudinal waves. In a transverse wave, the particles in the medium move perpendicular to the direction of the wave, while in a longitudinal wave, the particles move parallel to the direction of the wave.
The wavelength of a traveling wave is the distance between two consecutive points in the wave that are in phase. The frequency is the number of complete cycles of the wave that occur in one second. The wave speed is the distance the wave travels in one second. The relationship between these three quantities is given by the equation: wave speed = wavelength x frequency.
The direction of a traveling wave can be determined by looking at the direction in which the disturbance or energy is moving through the medium. For example, in a water wave, the direction of the wave is the same as the direction in which the water is moving. In a sound wave, the direction of the wave is the same as the direction in which the air particles are vibrating.