PHYS20171 MATHEMATICS OF WAVES AND FIELDS
Wave Figures
Here are some figures which illusrate some of the concepts associated with waves.
Velocity
The red dot in these two figures shows a point in the wave moving with the phase velocity. The green dot in the second figure shows a fixed location in the wave. This moves with the group velocity.- Phase velocity
- Group velocity
Wave packets
Notice how the waves making up the non-dispersive packet maintain their relative positions in the wave packet, whereas in the dispersive packet the individual peaks move through the packet.- Non-dispersive wave packet
- Dispersive wave packet
- Dispersive wave packet - Real part of the solution to Schrodinger's equation in free space.
Last modified: 7 Oct 2013