Wave

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This article is about waves in the scientific sense. For waves on seas and lakes, see Wind wave. For
other uses, see Wave (disambiguation).

Surface waves in water showing water ripples

Different types of wave with varying rectifications

In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a disturbance (change from equilibrium) of
one or more fields such that the field values oscillate repeatedly about a stable equilibrium (resting)
value. If the relative amplitude of oscillation at different points in the field remains constant, the wave
is said to be a standing wave. If the relative amplitude at different points in the field changes, the
wave is said to be a traveling wave. Waves can only exist in fields when there is a force that tends to
restore the field to equilibrium.
The types of waves most commonly studied in physics are mechanical and electromagnetic. In a
mechanical wave, stress and strain fields oscillate about a mechanical equilibrium. A traveling
mechanical wave is a local deformation (strain) in some physical medium that propagates from
particle to particle by creating local stresses that cause strain in neighboring particles too. For
example, sound waves in air are variations of the local pressure that propagate by collisions
between gas molecules. Other examples of mechanical waves are seismic waves, gravity
waves, vortices, and shock waves. In an electromagnetic wave the electric and magnetic fields
oscillate. A traveling electromagnetic wave (light) consists of a combination of variable electric and
magnetic fields, that propagates through space according to Maxwell's equations. Electromagnetic
waves can travel through transparent dielectric media or through a vacuum; examples include radio
waves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays.
Other types of waves include gravitational waves, which are disturbances in a gravitational field that
propagate according to general relativity; heat diffusion waves; plasma waves, that combine
mechanical deformations and electromagnetic fields; reaction-diffusion waves, such as in
the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction; and many more.
Mechanical and electromagnetic waves transfer energy,[1], momentum, and information, but they do
not transfer particles in the medium. In mathematics and electronics waves are studied
as signals.[2] On the other hand, some waves do not appear to move at all, like standing
waves (which are fundamental to music) and hydraulic jumps. Some, like the probability
waves of quantum mechanics, may be completely static.