Terms
Vibration: periodic back-and-forth motion of the particles of an elastic body or medium, commonly resulting when almost any physical system is displaced from its equilibrium condition and allowed to respond to the forces that tend to restore equilibrium.
Wave: a wave is disturbance or oscillation that travels through matter/space, accompanied by a transfer of energy. Wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, often with no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium—that is, with little or no associated mass transport.
Wave Period: For cyclical processes, such as rotation, oscillations, or waves, frequency is defined as a number of cycles per unit time.
Crests: A crest is the point on a wave with the maximum value or upward displacement within a cycle.
Troughs: A trough is the opposite of a crest, so the minimum or lowest point in a cycle.
amplitude: the maximum extent of a vibration or oscillation, measured from the position of equilibrium.
Wavelength: the distance between successive crests of a wave, especially points in a sound wave or electromagnetic wave.
Frequency: the rate at which a vibration occurs that constitutes a wave, either in a material (as in sound waves), or in an electromagnetic field (as in radio waves and light), usually measured per second.
Hertz: the SI unit of frequency, equal to one cycle per second.
Transverse waves: a wave vibrating at right angles to the direction of its propagation.Translate transverse waves to
longitudinal waves: a wave vibrating in the direction of propagation.
Doppler Effect: an increase (or decrease) in the frequency of sound, light, or other waves as the source and observer move toward (or away from) each other. The effect causes the sudden change in pitch noticeable in a passing siren, as well as the redshift seen by astronomers.
Blue Shift: a shift toward shorter wavelengths of the spectral lines of a celestial object, caused by the motion of the object toward the observer.
Red Shift: redshift happens when light or other electromagnetic radiation from an object is increased in wavelength, or shifted to the red end of the spectrum.r
Shock Wave: a region of abrupt change of pressure and density moving as a wave front at or above the velocity of sound, caused by an intense explosion or supersonic flow over a body.
Sonic Boom: a loud noise caused by the shock wave generated by an aircraft moving at supersonic speed. A shock wave of compressed air caused by an aircraft traveling faster than the speed of sound. It is often audible as a loud, explosive sound, and it sometimes causes damage to structures on the ground.