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In physics, a sinusoidal plane wave is a special case of plane wave: a field whose value varies as a sinusoidal function of time and of the distance from some fixed plane. It is also called a monochromatic plane wave , with constant frequency (as in monochromatic radiation ).
The term is also used, even more specifically, to mean a "monochromatic" or sinusoidal plane wave: a travelling plane wave whose profile () is a sinusoidal function. That is, (,) = (() +) The parameter , which may be a scalar or a vector, is called the amplitude of the wave; the scalar coefficient is its "spatial frequency"; and the scalar is its "phase shift".
A sine wave, sinusoidal wave, or sinusoid (symbol: ∿) is a periodic wave whose waveform (shape) is the trigonometric sine function. In mechanics , as a linear motion over time, this is simple harmonic motion ; as rotation , it corresponds to uniform circular motion .
Sinusoidal plane-wave solutions are particular solutions to the wave equation. The general solution of the electromagnetic wave equation in homogeneous, linear, time-independent media can be written as a linear superposition of plane-waves of different frequencies and polarizations .
Mathematically, the simplest kind of transverse wave is a plane linearly polarized sinusoidal one. "Plane" here means that the direction of propagation is unchanging and the same over the whole medium; "linearly polarized" means that the direction of displacement too is unchanging and the same over the whole medium; and the magnitude of the displacement is a sinusoidal function only of time ...
According to the superposition principle, the response to the original stimulus is the sum (or integral) of all the individual sinusoidal responses. As another common example, in Green's function analysis, the stimulus is written as the superposition of infinitely many impulse functions, and the response is then a superposition of impulse ...
A phasor such as E m is understood to signify a sinusoidally varying field whose instantaneous amplitude E(t) follows the real part of E m e jωt where ω is the (radian) frequency of the sinusoidal wave being considered. In the time domain, it will be seen that the instantaneous power flow will be fluctuating at a frequency of 2ω.
Left: the real part of a plane wave moving from top to bottom. Right: the same wave after a central section underwent a phase shift, for example, by passing through a glass of different thickness than the other parts. Out of phase AE. A real-world example of a sonic phase difference occurs in the warble of a Native American flute.