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The group velocity of a wave is the velocity with which the overall envelope shape of the wave's amplitudes—known as the modulation or envelope of the wave—propagates through space. For example, if a stone is thrown into the middle of a very still pond, a circular pattern of waves with a quiescent center appears in the water, also known as ...
It is possible to calculate the group velocity from the refractive-index curve n(ω) or more directly from the wavenumber k = ωn/c, where ω is the radian frequency ω = 2πf. Whereas one expression for the phase velocity is v p = ω/k, the group velocity can be expressed using the derivative: v g = dω/dk. Or in terms of the phase velocity v p,
In optics, group-velocity dispersion (GVD) is a characteristic of a dispersive medium, used most often to determine how the medium affects the duration of an optical pulse traveling through it. Formally, GVD is defined as the derivative of the inverse of group velocity of light in a material with respect to angular frequency , [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
The group velocity is depicted by the red lines (marked B) in the two figures above. In shallow water, the group velocity is equal to the shallow-water phase velocity. This is because shallow water waves are not dispersive. In deep water, the group velocity is equal to half the phase velocity: {{math|c g = 1 / 2 c p. [7]
Animation: phase and group velocity of electrons This animation portrays the de Broglie phase and group velocities (in slow motion) of three free electrons traveling over a field 0.4 ångströms in width. The momentum per unit mass (proper velocity) of the middle electron is lightspeed, so that its group velocity is 0.707 c. The top electron ...
Phase and group velocity divided by 4 √ gσ / ρ as a function of inverse relative wavelength 1 / λ √ σ / ρg. Blue lines (A): phase velocity c p, Red lines (B): group velocity c g. Drawn lines: gravity–capillary waves. Dashed lines: gravity waves. Dash-dot lines: pure capillary waves. Note: σ is surface tension in this graph.
Propagation of a wave packet demonstrating a phase velocity greater than the group velocity. This shows a wave with the group velocity and phase velocity going in different directions. The group velocity is positive, while the phase velocity is negative. [1] The phase velocity of a wave is the rate at which the wave propagates in any medium.
Ideas related to wave packets – modulation, carrier waves, phase velocity, and group velocity – date from the mid-1800s. The idea of a group velocity distinct from a wave's phase velocity was first proposed by W.R. Hamilton in 1839, and the first full treatment was by Rayleigh in his "Theory of Sound" in 1877.