Wave Properties

Waves are very common phenomena; most of us can suggest multiple examples of waves in everyday life. A list may include:

• sound waves,
• water waves,
• strings on instruments such as guitars or violins,
• light waves, and
• microwaves.

Sound waves, water waves and string instruments all need a medium to transfer energy. We can actually observe the waves on the surface of water or on string instruments. However we cannot see sound waves - even as they course the air around us to vibrate. Light and microwaves are examples of electromagnetic waves. These transverse waves are unusual in that they do not need a medium in order to transfer energy. That is how the earth can receive energy from the sun across the vacuum of space.

In the box below make a list of as many properties of waves you can think of.

Now eliminate each property you listed that is also a property of particles.

HINTS:

• Particles can be reflected.
• Particles travel at different speeds in different media.

Make a final list of properties that distinguish waves from particles.