Wave
In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a disturbance of a field in which a physical attribute oscillates repeatedly at each point or propagates from each point to neighboring points, or seems to move through space.
The waves most commonly studied in physics are mechanical and electromagnetic. A 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. An electromagnetic wave consists of a combination of variable electric and magnetic fields, that propagates through space according to Maxwell’s equations. Electromagnetic waves can travel through suitable dielectric media or through 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 may often seem to travel through space; but, while they can carry energy, momentum, and information through matter or empty space, they may do that without transferring any mass. In mathematics and electronics waves are studied as signals. 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.
A physical wave is almost always confined to some finite region of space, called its domain. For example, the seismic waves generated by earthquakes are significant only in the interior and surface of the planet, so they can be ignored outside it. However, waves with infinite domain, that extend over the whole space, are commonly studied in mathematics, and are very valuable tools for understanding physical waves in finite domains.
A plane wave seems to travel in a definite direction, and has constant value over any plane perpendicular to that direction. Mathematically, the simplest waves are the sinusoidal ones. Complicated waves can often be described as the sum of many sinusoidal plane waves. A plane wave can be transverse, if its effect at each point is described by a vector that is perpendicular to the direction of propagation or energy transfer; or longitudinal, if the describing vectors are parallel to the direction of energy propagation. While mechanical waves can be both transverse and longitudinal, electromagnetic waves are transverse in free space.
Waive (verb)
To relinquish (a right etc.); to give up claim to; to forego.
“If you waive the right to be silent, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.”
Waive (verb)
To put aside, avoid.
Waive (verb)
To outlaw (someone).
Waive (verb)
To abandon, give up (someone or something).
Waive (verb)
To move from side to side; to sway.
Waive (verb)
To stray, wander.
Waive (noun)
A woman put out of the protection of the law; an outlawed woman.
Waive (noun)
A waif; a castaway.
Wave (verb)
To move back and forth repeatedly.
“The flag waved in the gentle breeze.”
Wave (verb)
To move one’s hand back and forth (generally above the head) in greeting or departure.
Wave (verb)
To call attention to, or give a direction or command to, by a waving motion, as of the hand; to signify by waving; to beckon; to signal; to indicate.
“I waved goodbye from across the room.”
Wave (verb)
To have an undulating or wavy form.
Wave (verb)
To raise into inequalities of surface; to give an undulating form or surface to.
Wave (verb)
To produce waves to the hair.
Wave (verb)
To swing and miss at a pitch.
“Jones waves at strike one.”
Wave (verb)
To cause to move back and forth repeatedly.
“The starter waved the flag to begin the race.”
Wave (verb)
To signal (someone or something) with a waving movement.
Wave (verb)
To fluctuate; to waver; to be in an unsettled state.
Wave (verb)
To move like a wave, or by floating; to waft.
Wave (verb)
obsolete spelling of waive
Wave (noun)
A moving disturbance in the level of a body of liquid; an undulation.
“The wave traveled from the center of the lake before breaking on the shore.”
Wave (noun)
A moving disturbance in the energy level of a field.
“Gravity waves, while predicted by theory for decades, have been notoriously difficult to detect.”
Wave (noun)
A shape that alternatingly curves in opposite directions.
“Her hair had a nice wave to it.”
“sine wave”
Wave (noun)
A sudden unusually large amount of something that is temporarily experienced.
“A wave of shoppers stampeded through the door when the store opened for its Christmas discount special.”
“A wave of retirees began moving to the coastal area.”
“A wave of emotion overcame her when she thought about her son who was killed in battle.”
“The grief and anxiety came in waves for the affected families.”
Wave (noun)
One of the successive swarms of enemies sent to attack the player in certain games.
Wave (noun)
A sideway movement of the hand(s).
“He dismissed her with a wave of the hand.”
Wave (noun)
A group activity in a crowd imitating a wave going through water, where people in successive parts of the crowd stand and stretch upward, then sit.
Waive (verb)
refrain from insisting on or using (a right or claim)
“he will waive all rights to the money”
Waive (verb)
refrain from demanding compliance with (a rule or fee)
“her tuition fees would be waived”
Wave (verb)
move one’s hand to and fro in greeting or as a signal
“he waved to me from the train”
Wave (verb)
move (one’s hand or arm, or something held in one’s hand) to and fro
“he waved a sheaf of papers in the air”
Wave (verb)
convey (a greeting or other message) by waving one’s hand or something held in it
“we waved our farewells”
“she waved him goodbye”
Wave (verb)
instruct (someone) to move in a particular direction by moving one’s hand
“he waved her back”
Wave (verb)
move to and fro with a swaying motion while remaining fixed to one point
“the flag waved in the wind”
Wave (verb)
style (hair) so that it curls slightly
“her hair had been carefully waved for the evening”
Wave (verb)
(of hair) grow with a slight curl
“she marvelled at the blueness of his eyes, how straight his nose was, the way his hair waved”
Wave (noun)
a long body of water curling into an arched form and breaking on the shore
“he was swept out to sea by a freak wave”
Wave (noun)
a ridge of water between two depressions in open water
“gulls and cormorants bobbed on the waves”
Wave (noun)
a shape regarded as resembling a breaking wave
“a wave of treetops stretched to the horizon”
Wave (noun)
the sea.
Wave (noun)
a sudden occurrence of or increase in a phenomenon, feeling, or emotion
“fear came over me in waves”
“a wave of strikes had paralysed the government”
Wave (noun)
a gesture or signal made by moving one’s hand to and fro
“he gave a little wave and walked off”
Wave (noun)
a slightly curling lock of hair
“his hair was drying in unruly waves”
Wave (noun)
a tendency to curl in a person’s hair
“her hair has a slight natural wave”
Wave (noun)
a periodic disturbance of the particles of a substance which may be propagated without net movement of the particles, such as in the passage of undulating motion, heat, or sound.
Wave (noun)
a single curve in the course of a periodic disturbance of the particles of a substance.
Wave (noun)
a periodic variation of an electromagnetic field in the propagation of light or other radiation through a medium or vacuum.