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Propagation Speed of Electromagnetic Waves01:30

Propagation Speed of Electromagnetic Waves

Electromagnetic waves are consistent with Ampere's law. Assuming there is no conduction current Ampere's law is given as:
Propagation of Waves01:07

Propagation of Waves

When a wave propagates from one medium to another, part of it may get reflected in the first medium, and part of it may get transmitted to the second medium. In such a case, the interface of the two mediums can be considered as a boundary that is neither fixed nor free.
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
Speed of a Transverse Wave01:13

Speed of a Transverse Wave

The speed of a wave depends on the characteristics of the medium. For example, in the case of a guitar, the strings vibrate to produce the sound. The speed of the waves on the strings and the wavelength determine the frequency of the sound produced. The strings on a guitar have different thicknesses but may be made of similar material. They have different linear densities, and the linear density is defined as the mass per length.
One of the key properties of any wave is the wave speed. Light...
Propagation of Action Potentials01:23

Propagation of Action Potentials

The propagation of an action potential refers to the process by which a nerve impulse, or "action potential," travels along a neuron.
Neurons (nerve cells) have a resting membrane potential, with a slightly negative charge inside compared to outside. This is maintained by ion channels, such as sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) channels, which control the flow of ions. When a stimulus, like a touch or a signal from another neuron, triggers the neuron, sodium channels open, allowing sodium ions to...
Travelling Waves01:04

Travelling Waves

A wave is a disturbance that propagates from its source, repeating itself periodically, and is typically associated with simple harmonic motion. Mechanical waves are governed by Newton's laws and require a medium to travel. A medium is a substance in which a mechanical wave propagates, and the medium produces an elastic restoring force when it is deformed.
Water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves are some examples of mechanical waves. For water waves, the wave propagation medium is water;...
Echo01:06

Echo

The human ear cannot distinguish between two sources of sound if they happen to reach within a specific time interval, typically 0.1 seconds apart. More than this, and they are perceived as separate sources.
Imagine the sound is reflected back to the ears. Assuming that the source is very close to the human, the difference between hearing the two sounds—the emitted sound and the reflected sound—may be more than the minimum time for perceiving distinct sounds. If this is the case, then the...