All waves share several fundamental characteristics:
- They transfer energy from one place to another without transferring matter.
- They are caused by vibrations or disturbances in a medium or field.
- All waves have measurable properties including wavelength, frequency, speed, and amplitude.
- They exhibit behaviors such as reflection, refraction, diffraction, and interference.
- Waves require a source of disturbance to begin, where particles of the medium are displaced from their equilibrium position.
- Depending on the type, waves can be mechanical (requiring a medium) or electromagnetic (capable of traveling through a vacuum).
- Mechanical waves involve particle vibrations in the medium, which can be perpendicular (transverse waves) or parallel (longitudinal waves) to the direction of wave propagation.
- Surface waves involve circular particle motion at the surface of a medium.
In summary, all waves carry energy through oscillations or vibrations characterized by wavelength, frequency, speed, and amplitude, and they follow predictable physical behaviors like reflection and interference
