Seemingly incomprehensible Wave motion

AI Thread Summary
A wave front is defined as the locus of points in a wave that share the same phase, such as the crests or troughs of waves. When waves propagate, they can create interference patterns, particularly when two wave fronts meet, leading to superposition effects. The discussion uses the analogy of dropping a ball in water to illustrate how wave fronts appear as concentric circles emanating from the point of disturbance. Despite attempts to clarify the concept, some participants remain confused about the relationship between wave fronts and wave propagation. Ultimately, a wave front can be understood as the leading edge of a wave, whether it is circular or spherical in shape.
junior_J
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This may not be the best place to ask this question ... heck it isn't even homework ... I am trying to get a head start on next weeks lesson which is wave motion ... My book keeps referring to a term "wave front" , it mentions it twice/thrice during an explanation of interfernce patterns as seen on ripple tanks but doesn't actually say what it is ... my question is what is a wave front ? and how does this cause the interference ripple effects ?? (Im familliar with Youngs double slit experiment and how it works , although I am totally lost on how concentric circles cause superpostiton of waves ? )
 
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hmm...assume you drop a ball into a water tank and the circles that form around the ball are the wavefront...get it?if you can't jus get a pail of water and drop a ball in it and view from the top.anyway, let's say 2 wavefront meets(when it bounce back from the side of the tank) they will superimpose causing the interference pattern.
 
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hmm ... I still don't get it ... is a wave front equivalent to a wave or say a ray ??
 
ok the definition bit from Wikipedia goes "...a wavefront is the locus (a line, or, in a wave propagating in 3 dimensions a surface) of points having the same phase"

didn't get what its trying to say ... this lesson is a first for meh , bear with me and my english isn't all that good :)
 
so a wavefront is a group of waves in which a point on each of the waves are exactly located at their crests ??
 
sorry if this seems annoying ... how does that fit into the description made by semc about picturing water waves ?? I am totally lost
 
Wavefront is really just a front of the wave. If the wave propogates like a circle then the wavefront will be a circle and if it's propogating like a sphear the front will be shaped like a sphear.
 
  • #10
oki still don't get it , dropping this head start thingy ... thnx anyways
 
  • #11
hmm... i think it is easier to understand this way,wavefront = crest/trough get it?
 

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