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( Wave)
A wave is a disturbance that propagates through a transmission medium, usually with transference of energy. While a mechanical wave exists in a medium (which on deformation is capable of producing elastic restoring forces), waves of electromagnetic radiation (and probably gravitational radiation) can travel through vacuum, that is, without a medium. Waves travel and transfer energy from one point to another, often with little or no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium (that is, with little or no associated mass transport); instead there are oscillations around almost fixed locations. Agreeing on a single, all-encompassing definition for the term wave is non-trivial. A vibration can be defined as a back-and-forth motion around a point m around a reference value. However, defining the necessary and sufficient characteristics that qualify a phenomenon to be called a wave is, at least, flexible. The term is often understood intuitively as the transport of disturbances in space, not associated with motion of the medium occupying this space as a whole. In a wave, the energy of a vibration is moving away from the source in the form of a disturbance within the surrounding medium (Hall, 1980 8). However, this notion is problematic for a standing wave (for example, a wave on a string), where energy is moving in both directions equally, or for electromagnetic / light waves in a vacuum, where the concept of medium does not apply. For such reasons, wave theory represents a peculiar branch of physics that is concerned with the properties of wave processes independently from their physical origin (Ostrovsky and Potapov, 1999). The peculiarity lies in the fact that this independence from physical origin is accompanied by a heavy reliance on origin when describing any specific instance of a wave process. For example, acoustics is distinguished from optics in that sound waves are related to a mechanical rather than an electromagnetic wave-like transfer / transformation of vibratory energy. Concepts such as mass, momentum, inertia, or elasticity, become therefore crucial in describing acoustic (as opposed to optic) wave processes. This difference in origin introduces certain wave characteristics particular to the properties of the medium involved (for example, in the case of air vortices, radiation pressure, shock waves, etc., in the case of solids Rayleigh waves, dispersion, etc., and so on). Other properties, however, although they are usually described in an origin-specific manner, may be generalized to all waves. For example, based on the mechanical origin of acoustic waves there can be a moving disturbance in space-time if and only if the medium involved is neither infinitely stiff nor infinitely pliable. If all the parts making up a medium were rigidly bound, then they would all vibrate as one, with no delay in the transmission of the vibration and therefore no wave motion (or rather infinitely fast wave motion). On the other hand, if all the parts were independent, then there would not be any transmission of the vibration and again, no wave motion (or rather infinitely slow wave motion). Although the above statements are meaningless in the case of waves that do not require a medium, they reveal a characteristic that is relevant to all waves regardless of origin within a wave, the phase of a vibration (that is, its position within the vibration cycle) is different for adjacent points in space because the vibration reaches these points at different times.
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Wave Subcategories
Wave Articles
Better than Ambien...Sleep with Brainwave Entrainment by Glenda Sparling
Do you know you can synchronize your brainwaves and achieve better sleep? This article from the eBook, ABZzz's of Sleeping Insomnia-Free focuses on the letter 'B' and refers to brainwave entrainment.
What is brainwave entrainment? ...
Reviewing The Sonoma Diet Plan: Mediterranean Power Foods Can Make You Slim by Mark Green
There is no shortage of diet plans available these days. Some diets restrict what you eat, others restrict how you eat. Types and quantity of foods allowed vary from plan to plan. One option, for those who have found several diet plans not to work fo...
All you wanted to know about brainwave entrainment and its benefits by Chales Soma
The human brain and its capabilities set humans apart from other animals giving them the vital powers of distinction to differentiate between the good and the bad. This logical and systematic working of the human brain has allowed humans to rule the ...
Binaural Beats - Brain Wave Entrainment by Jess Ba-ad
You must have heard of binaural beat frequencies. Neurophysiologists have used this for cognitive and neurological research. Ordinary people can also benefit from this discovery by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove way back 1839 as you’ll see in a little while. ...
Brainwave Meditation - How It Works by Constantine George
Brainwave meditation has its beginnings in the seventies, when Transcendental Meditation (TM) was in vogue (remember the Beatles - Maharishi connection?). At that time many studies were performed in order to substantiate from a scientific perspective...
Insomnia Treatments Without Side Effects: An Overview by Isabel Tay
On a daily basis, we are bombarded by commercials that tout the virtues of sleeping pills.We are constantly reassured that sleeping pills are getting better: Lunesta, Ambien and Sonata cause fewer side effects than their predecessors. ...
Neurofeedback EEG Helps In Improving The Brain Activity by Mike Selvon
When studying brain activity, there are patterns of under-activation, over-activation or disturbed coordination, which have been found to be common to many kinds of symptoms as shown in brain imaging studies. These patterns often emerge with attentio...
Research Reveals Brain Training Reduces Stress by GiGi Konwin
There are many ways to reduce stress, however, using brain training is perhaps the easiest. This particular type of brain training includes relaxation methods such as meditation, brainwave entrainment and other brain training techniques.
On...
Autism Improvement Using NT by Phil Bate PhD
Only in the past few years have some Neurofeedback (NFB) clinicians worked with autistic children. Success has been rare. Few parents can afford the horrible cost, and few clinicians are willing to take on an autistic child, because of the difficul...
Meditation and Brain Wave States by Conrad Raw
Most people know that there are different brain wave states that the brain can be in at different times. The beta state is what we are normally in when we are completely awake and focused, while the alpha state is reached through daydreaming and medi...
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