General Wave Properties

• Wave motion is initiated by an energetic disturbance that subsequently travels through a medium with a fixed velocity (for homogeneous media). This moving disturbance is referred to as a traveling wave.

• A wave propagates through a medium via internal cohesive forces, though the medium itself is not transported.

• The wave speed is determined by the mass (or mass density) and elastic modulus (or tension) of the medium in which it travels. A more “massy” material will have a lower propagation speed. A “stiffer” material will have a higher speed of propagation.

• Longitudinal Wave Motion: vibration of particles in the medium is along the same direction as the wave motion (longitudinal standing wave animation).

• Transverse Wave Motion: vibration of particles in the medium is perpendicular to the direction of wave motion.

• If a system is driven by a continuous sinusoidal disturbance of frequency $f$, periodic motion will result with a wavelength given by $\lambda = c / f$, where $c$ is the wave speed of propagation. The wavelength $\lambda$ represents the distance between successive, periodic movements of a medium.

• Low amplitude waves that interact (linearly) from different directions will pass through each other unchanged (referred to as linear superposition).