The concept of waves has been around since the first recorded waves on earth. In astronomy, waves are used to describe the movement of celestial bodies. In engineering, waves are used to describe the motion of a fluid. And in physics, waves are used to describe the motion of particles within a solid. Thus, in addition to being an interesting topic in itself, waves have great applications in many other areas of study, including the energy in waves.
In astronomy, waves are thought to be responsible for creating the majority of planets in our solar system. Astronomy is largely observational, meaning that we depend almost entirely on observations to understand what is happening. While astronomers cannot pick out one point on an extrasolar planet and claim it to be due to solar flares, they do observe that many of the planets in our solar system are moving away from their sun at different speeds. This, coupled with the fact that many of these same planets have almost perfectly circular motions, as well as the fact that they all possess similar composition, leads to the conclusion that the properties of these planets must be derived from the properties of the sun and, to a certain extent, of the solar system.
Waves are also used to explain the frequency and amount of acceleration that occurs in fluids. For instance, the concept of compression is used to explain why a car traveling at a particular speed slows down as it approaches a curve. The compression occurs because of the vibrations that occur in molecules as the car approaches an angle of attack that leads to a change in their vibration frequency. As the speed of the car approaches the curve, the compression continues as the molecules become stressed.
One of the most common types of waves is the sound. Everything from the roar of a jet airplane to the hissing of a water fountain produces sound. The sound is produced by something that is vibrating, just like the water is when it is boiling. The basic unit of sound is the note, which can be further broken down into its frequency range and fundamental wave types. The simplest form of sound is bass, which is created when the lowest fundamental wave that makes the sound is combined with a high pitched wave.
All forms of motion involve both electromagnetic waves and mechanical waves. In addition, all forms of motion involve both solitons (which are particles that have no mass) and plasms (which have both mass and a movable part). Solitons are often referred to as “free-airs,” while plasms are usually called “covered solids.” It should be noted that although mechanical waves are included in what are commonly known as electromagnetic waves, there are considerable differences between the two.
In the case of the electromagnetic waves, the units of measurement are the frequency of the wave, as well as their wavelength. For instance, the wavelength is how fast the wave travels, while the frequency is the number of times it travels per second. One can find a hertz rating by dividing the hertz value by the frequency, or frequency times the hertz. The number of hertz units per second is referred to as hertz, while a hertz rating on a device is referred to as a frequency in hertz.
In contrast, from a different perspective, it should be noted that when referring to sound waves, a transverse wave is not included. Rather, what is referred to as a transverse wave, is the way the sound waves travel over a medium. Thus, for example, the way the sound waves travel on a sidewalk are different than how they would travel if the medium were vacuumed. This is important because different mediums have different ways of describing transverse waves.
The way that waves are described in physics is also important to note because each frequency has different frequencies of its own. For instance, although all radio waves are in a band which can be described as being in the range of approximately 2400 MHz, not all waves will travel at the same speed. While a microwave transmitter can use all of the different frequencies within that band, it can only use frequencies within that frequency band. Thus, it is safe to say that all waves are considered to be electromagnetic waves.