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The group velocity is positive (i.e., the envelope of the wave moves rightward), while the phase velocity is negative (i.e., the peaks and troughs move leftward). 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.
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.
In dispersive media the phase velocity is not necessarily the same as the group velocity. The phase velocity varies with frequency. The phase velocity is the rate at which the phase of the wave propagates in space. The group velocity is the rate at which the wave envelope, i.e. the changes in amplitude, propagates. The wave envelope is the ...
Phase velocity is the rate at which the phase of the wave propagates in space: any given phase of the wave (for example, the crest) will appear to travel at the phase velocity. The phase velocity is given in terms of the wavelength λ (lambda) and period T as =. A wave with the group and phase velocities going in different directions. Group ...
Applying the derivative gives the (non-relativistic) matter wave group velocity: = For comparison, the group velocity of light, with a dispersion =, is the speed of light.
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 ...
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. [ 3 ] Erwin Schrödinger introduced the idea of wave packets just after publishing his famous wave equation . [ 4 ]
Conversely, a phase reversal or phase inversion implies a 180-degree phase shift. [ 2 ] When the phase difference φ ( t ) {\displaystyle \varphi (t)} is a quarter of turn (a right angle, +90° = π/2 or −90° = 270° = −π/2 = 3π/2 ), sinusoidal signals are sometimes said to be in quadrature , e.g., in-phase and quadrature components of a ...