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waveguide

(Encyclopedia)waveguide, device that controls the propagation of an electromagnetic wave so that the wave is forced to follow a path defined by the physical structure of the guide. Waveguides, which are useful chie...

surf

(Encyclopedia)surf: see wave, in oceanography; beach. ...

interference

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Constructive interference: Two crests or two troughs meet and combine (A, B, C). Destructive interference: A crest and a trough meet and cancel each other (D, E, F). interference, in physics, ...

Dirac, Paul Adrien Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Dirac, Paul Adrien Maurice dĭrăkˈ [key], 1902–84, English physicist. He was educated at the Univ. of Bristol and St. John's College, Cambridge, and became professor of mathematics at Cambridge in...

frequency

(Encyclopedia)frequency: see harmonic motion; wave. ...

sonic boom

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Sonic boom wave pattern from a supersonic aircraft and variation in pressure sonic boom, shock wave produced by an object moving through the air at supersonic speed, i.e., faster than the spee...

cyclone

(Encyclopedia)cyclone, atmospheric pressure distribution in which there is a low central pressure relative to the surrounding pressure. The resulting pressure gradient, combined with the Coriolis effect, causes air...

tunneling

(Encyclopedia)tunneling, quantum-mechanical effect by which a particle can penetrate a barrier into a region of space that would be forbidden by ordinary classical mechanics. Tunneling is a direct result of the wav...

tsunami

(Encyclopedia)tsunami tso͝onäˈmē [key], series of catastrophic ocean waves generated by submarine movements, which may be caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides beneath the ocean, or an asteroid ...

light

(Encyclopedia)light, visible electromagnetic radiation. Of the entire electromagnetic spectrum, the human eye is sensitive to only a tiny part, the part that is called light. The wavelengths of visible light range ...