Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Absence of localized acoustic waves in a scale-free correlated random system
A E B Costa1, F A B F de Moura
1Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Maceió-AL 57072-970, Brazil.
Abstract:
We numerically study the propagation of acoustic waves in a one-dimensional medium with a scale-free long-range correlated elasticity distribution. The random elasticity distribution is assumed to have a power spectrum S(k) ∼ 1/k(α). By using a transfer-matrix method we solve the discrete version of the scalar wave equation and compute the localization length. In addition, we apply a second-order finite-difference method for both the time and spatial variables and study the nature of the waves that propagate in the chain. Our numerical data indicate the presence of extended acoustic waves for a high degree of correlations. In contrast with local correlations, we numerically demonstrate that scale-free correlations promote a stable phase of free acoustic waves in the thermodynamic limit.
Related Concept Videos
Sound Waves
Sound waves are longitudinal in most fluids because fluids cannot sustain any lateral pressure. In solids, however, shear forces help in propagating the disturbance in the lateral direction as well. Hence,...
Unsoundness of Aggregate due to Volume Change
Standing Waves in a Cavity
Damped Oscillations
Although friction and other non-conservative...
Propagation of Waves
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...
The de Broglie Wavelength

