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The movement of the ripples across the surface of the water is what we mean by a wave. It is not the movement of the individual water molecules, or the disturbance of the surface of water from equilibrium, but rather the movement of the disturbance to different locations in the medium that we call the wave.
In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Periodic waves oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (resting) value at some frequency.
The elements of the medium may oscillate about an equilibrium position (the fans move a short distance up and down), but they do not travel with the wave (the fans do not move horizontally with the wave). Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): A transverse wave made by soccer fans moving up and down.
equilibrium, in physics, the condition of a system when neither its state of motion nor its internal energy state tends to change with time. A simple mechanical body is said to be in equilibrium if it experiences neither linear acceleration nor angular acceleration; unless it is disturbed by an outside force, it will continue in that condition ...
1 Harmonic Oscillation 1 Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 The Harmonic Oscillator
The longitudinal waves in an earthquake are called pressure waves (P-waves) and the transverse waves are called shear waves (S-waves). These two types of waves propagate at different speeds, and the speed at which they travel depends on the rigidity of the medium through which they are traveling.
In layman language, equilibrium means that two things are balanced, or each of them has an equal quantity. In terms of physics, it may be referred to as a physical state in which two physical systems are in a motionless state and there is no change in the internal energy of both the systems.
For a wave to occur, two things are needed – a medium through which the wave passes, and a "driver" which is the initial source of the energy carried by the wave. Let's look at how each of the wave attributes links to these ingredients.
Equilibrium is a state of balance or stability, where the forces acting on a system are in a state of balance, and the system remains at rest or in a constant state of motion. This concept is fundamental in various areas of physics, including mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism.
The equilibrium is represented by the horizontal line in the middle of the wave. One period is the time it takes to go for one cycle, which means to get from one crest to crest, trough to trough, or to and from corresponding equilibrium points (both equilibrium points same direction). The units for period are measured in seconds per cycle.