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Particle velocity (denoted v or SVL) is the velocity of a particle (real or imagined) in a medium as it transmits a wave. The SI unit of particle velocity is the metre per second (m/s). In many cases this is a longitudinal wave of pressure as with sound , but it can also be a transverse wave as with the vibration of a taut string.
Acoustic waves are disturbances that propagate through a medium—such as air, water, or solids—by causing the particles of the medium to compress and expand. These waves carry energy and are characterized by properties like acoustic pressure, particle velocity, and acoustic intensity. The speed of an acoustic wave depends on the properties ...
In a sound wave, the complementary variable to sound pressure is the particle velocity. Together, they determine the sound intensity of the wave. Sound intensity, denoted I and measured in W·m −2 in SI units, is defined by =, where p is the sound pressure, v is the particle velocity.
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 profile of the wave amplitudes; all transverse displacements are bound by the envelope profile.
By comparison with vector wave equations, the scalar wave equation can be seen as a special case of the vector wave equations; in the Cartesian coordinate system, the scalar wave equation is the equation to be satisfied by each component (for each coordinate axis, such as the x component for the x axis) of a vector wave without sources of waves ...
where E is the energy of the wave, ħ is the reduced Planck constant, and c is the speed of light in a vacuum. For the special case of a matter wave, for example an electron wave, in the non-relativistic approximation (in the case of a free particle, that is, the particle has no potential energy):
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 ...
In the case of a sound wave travelling through air, the particle displacement is evident in the oscillations of air molecules with, and against, the direction in which the sound wave is travelling. [2] A particle of the medium undergoes displacement according to the particle velocity of the sound wave traveling through the medium, while the ...