wavefront

Examples of wavefront in the following topics:

• Huygens' Principle

  • The new wavefront is a line tangent to all of the wavelets.
  • Each point on the wavefront emits a wave at speed, v.
  • The new wavefront is tangent to the wavelets.
  • Huygens's principle applied to a straight wavefront.
  • The new wavefront is a line tangent to the wavelets.

• Single Slit Diffraction

  • The former states that every point on a wavefront is a source of wavelets.
  • The new wavefront is a line tangent to all of the wavelets.
  • This will produce a wavefront that is all in the same phase.

• Spherical and Plane Waves

  • A plane wave is a constant-frequency wave whose wavefronts (surfaces of constant phase) are infinite parallel planes of constant peak-to-peak amplitude normal to the phase velocity vector .
  • Plane waves are an infinite number of wavefronts normal to the direction of the propogation.

• Reflection and Transmission

  • Reflection is a wave phenomenon that changes the direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated.

• Sonic Booms

  • Since the source is moving faster (with a speed ) than the sound waves it creates, it actually leads the advancing wavefront.

• Moving Source

  • However, since the source is moving, the centre of each new wavefront is now slightly displaced to the right.

• Moving Observer

  • However, since the source is moving, the centre of each new wavefront is now slightly displaced to the right.

• General Case

  • However, since the source is moving, the centre of each new wavefront is now slightly displaced to the right.