wave

A disturbance that propagates through space or a medium, transferring energy without net transport of matter.

• characterized by frequency, wavelength, amplitude, and speed
• mechanical waves (sound) require a medium; electromagnetic waves (light) propagate through spacetime
• electromagnetic waves: oscillating fields described by electromagnetism and Maxwell’s equations
• in quantum mechanics, particles exhibit wave behavior — wave-particle duality
• wave function encodes probability amplitudes of quantum states
• gravitational waves: ripples in spacetime predicted by relativity
• interference, diffraction, and resonance are universal wave phenomena
• sound, light, and quantum probability all share the wave formalism