Why do waves have that shape?

Figure 10.13: Ocean waves are energy traveling through water. As wind blows over the surface of the water, it disturbs the water, producing the familiar shape of a wave.

What is a curved shape that can be used to represent a wave?

A simple transverse wave can be represented by a sine or cosine curve, so called because the amplitude of any point on the curve—i.e., its distance from the axis—is proportional to the sine (or cosine) of an angle. In the figure, sine curves of various amplitudes are shown.

Why waves do not travel in straight line?

Like electromagnetic waves, mechanical waves, and (in fact) everything travels in a straight line until something acts on it causing it to stop going straight or until the medium it’s travelling in changes. Light will bend due to gravity, refraction, reflection.

Why is a wave curved?

There is no forward motion of the water and the ripples are only an UP and DOWN motion with no flow of any kind. This is a Wave motion and the motion is gradual so appears to be curved but is in fact only straight UP and straight DOWN.

Do waves have a shape?

Energy often travels in waves. Waves can take on many shapes. One of the most common wave shapes is called a sine wave, shown below. Light waves are one of many types of waves in nature shaped like sine waves.

Is a wave a curve?

The shape of an ocean wave is often depicted as a sine wave, but the the experimental waveshape is described as a “trochoid”. A trochoid can be defined as the curve traced out by a point on a circle as the circle is rolled along a line. The circles summarize the total motion of the medium when a full wavelength passes.

Why do you think the rope formed such shapes when you were just moving the free end up and down?

The up and down vibration of the end of the rope created a disturbance of the rope that subsequently moved towards the other end. The shape of the pattern formed in the rope was influenced by the frequency at which we vibrated it. If we vibrated the rope rapidly, then a short wave was created.

Does light always travels in a straight line?

Any physics student knows that light travels in a straight line. But now researchers have shown that light can also travel in a curve, without any external influence. The effect is actually an optical illusion, although the researchers say it could have practical uses such as moving objects with light from afar.

Why does light appear to travel in a straight line inspite of its wave nature?

Since the wavelength of light (4000 to 8000 ) is very small as compared with the size of ordinary object and apertures, diffraction of light is not easily noticeable and hence light appears to travel in a straight line.

What is the shape of wave?

1. wave shape – the shape of a wave illustrated graphically by plotting the values of the period quantity against time. wave form, waveform. undulation, wave – (physics) a movement up and down or back and forth. Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection.

Why do wavelengths have different colors?

We see different wavelengths of light as different colors because they are associated to different wavelength, which activates different cells in the retina. You can try to answer the question from another perspective, such as why a red surface is red, but that is another story.

Why do seismic waves travel in a straight line?

If there were no changes with depth, seismic waves would travel a straight path to the other side of the Earth. But wave arrivals to distant seismic stations have taught us that there are layers. Seismic waves through the Earth follow the same laws of refraction and reflection as any other wave at interfaces.

Why is the production possibility curve not a straight line?

Why is production possibility curve NOT a straight line? Its always drawn as a curve and not a straight line because there a cost involved in making a choice i.e when the quantity of one good produced is higher and the quantity of the other is low.

Why do planes fly on a curved line?

Similar to the Earth itself, aircraft, therefore, take flight routes that also appear to be a curved line, tracing the Earth’s shape.

Why is the value curve always drawn as a curve?

1 Answer. Its always drawn as a curve and not a straight line because there a cost involved in making a choice i.e when the quantity of one good produced is higher and the quantity of the other is low. This is known as opportunity cost.