Wave Nature

Have you ever thought or wondered about waves?















It might not be immediately apparent but waves are pure energy. A wave is defined as an oscillating or vibrating disturbance in space-time. Space-time can be any medium, such as the air or atmosphere. If we create a sound for example, that sound at the very least exists or propagates in the air itself (Assuming you're on planet Earth that is :p). Normally we wouldn't notice since air is invisible, and we don't see sound, we hear it. In this we are limited by our perceptions, however there are thankfully some very nice tools and instruments in science that we can use to see these things that we couldn't see otherwise.

• Hearing Waves

The Cocklear is the part of the ear that picks up and interpret's sound waves. It's basically a spectrum: higher sounds are associated with one end, while lower sounds are heard at the other. When the sound waves enter the ear, they strike part of the cochlear. The sound waves themselves are like keys and the ear itself is the key hole. Only thing is, there are many different types of keys (Sounds) so in a sense you need a very complex key hole with many different key slots. And that's basically how the ear works: only certain sounds are able to strike certain parts of the cocklea. Since waves are really just pure energy, and energy is really just information after all, then the brain and ear can generall interpret most sounds by the effect they produce. So when you hear a sound, it's because the cochlear in your ear is vibrating which then sends the information to your mind which you interpret in a very small fraction of a second.

• Why?

If you think of energy or waves in terms of equilibrium, it shouldn't be too difficult to see why a wave is just energy expanding outwards. Equilibrium is the scientific term for balance you could say. If there is too much of a thing concentrated, like sugar in a water solution, it just means that when you apply energy by shaking it, producing waves, then the waves are going to attempt to evenly distribute the sugar throughout the water.


Each time a note is played, there is an object striking another object. When the objects meet or impact, wave energy is released from the objects. The same is true if you tap your finger on a wooden surface. On the moment of impact, energy is released, which you hear as sound.

The energy that is released, contained, and absorbed by objects produces vibrations which disturb and travel throughout the whole medium until they are all used up or absorbed by all the stuff in the medium. Basically, that just means that the energy of any thing or system will eventually disperse and be reabsorbed due to equilibrium or balance.

• Beyond Waves   

So far, we have a pretty good explanation of a wave, however there is a deep dark secret about waves that you should be aware of if you really want to understand what they are.

A wave is energy, but it's also non-physical. Matter is physical and we know that matter and energy are equivalent but a wave is a specific type of energy that does not contain a physical form. As an example of what I mean think of space and time itself. Space-time is the dimensions. They are:

Length,
Width,
Height,
&
Time


To explain what I mean, consider the dimensions. All are accepted as real, all have mathematical symbols to represent them and are used to describe reality, yet none of them have any concrete physical substance or form. That is, waves are unable to be directly detected. We only view them by their effects or relationships to matter or on other things. The wave is similar to space-time in this fashion in that space-time, or the dimensions of length, width, height, and time, are non-physical things.

And so, as far as anyone can tell, but no one, not even Albert Einstein could quite understand or figure out, the wave is exactly the same or similar too space-time, and is therefore given as a distortion in or through space and time. Waves are strange eh?