AQA AS Physics Definitions - Waves LATEST UPDATE
amplitude
maximum displacement of a vibrating particle; for a transverse wave, it is the distance from the middle to the peak of the wave.
antinode
fixed point in a stationary wave pattern where the amplitude is a maximum.
coherent
two sour...
amplitude
maximum displacement of a vibrating particle; for a transverse wave, it is the distance
from the middle to the peak of the wave.
antinode
fixed point in a stationary wave pattern where the amplitude is a maximum.
coherent
two sources of waves are coherent if they emit waves with a constant phase difference.
critical angle
the angle of incidence of a light ray must exceed the critical angle for total internal
reflection to occur.
cycle
interval for a vibrating particle (or a wave) from a certain displacement and velocity to
the next time the particle (or the next particle) that has the same displacement and
velocity.
diffraction
spreading of waves on passing through a gap or near an edge.
diffraction grating
a plate with many closely-ruled parallel slits on it.
dispersion
splitting of a beam of white light by a glass prism into colours.
electromagnetic wave
a wavepacket or photon consisting of transverse electric and magnetic waves in phase
and at right angles to each other.
endoscope
optical fibre device used to see inside cavities.
equilibrium
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