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Standing Waves

Standing Waves

Sometimes waves do not seem to move; rather, they just vibrate in place. Unmoving waves can be seen on the surface of a glass of milk kept in a refrigerator, which is one example of standing waves. Vibrations from the refrigerator motor create waves on the milk that oscillate up and down but do not seem to move across the surface. These waves are formed or created by the superposition of two or more identical moving waves in opposite directions. The waves move through each other, with their...

Gravity between Spherical Bodies

Gravity between Spherical Bodies

Newton's law of gravitation describes the gravitational force between any two point masses. However, for extended spherical objects like the Earth, the Moon, and other planets, the law holds with an assumption that masses of spherical objects are concentrated at their respective centers.
This assumption can be proved easily by showing that the expression for gravitational potential energy between a hollow sphere of mass (M) and a point mass (m) is the same as it would be for a pair of extended...

Propagation of Waves

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...

Reflection of Waves

Reflection of Waves

When a wave travels from one medium to another, it gets reflected at the boundary of the second medium. A common example of this is when a person yells at a distance from a cliff and hears the echo of their voice. The sound waves (longitudinal waves) traveling in the air are reflected from the bounding cliff. Similarly, flipping one end of a string whose other end is tied to a wall causes a pulse (transverse wave) to travel through the string, which gets reflected upon reaching the wall. In...

Modes of Standing Waves: II

Modes of Standing Waves: II

The starting point for expressing the modes of standing waves is understanding the boundary conditions that the waves must follow. The boundary conditions are derived from the physical understanding of how the standing waves are sustained, that is, how the vibrating particles of the medium behave at the boundaries imposed on them.
For a tube open at one end and closed at the other filled with air, the modes are such that there is always an antinode at the open end and a node at the closed end.

Surface Tension

Surface Tension

Surface tension is defined as the force per unit length (γ) acting along the surface of a liquid. It arises due to strong intermolecular forces of attraction. A molecule located inside the bulk of the liquid is surrounded by other molecules and experiences equal forces in all directions. However, a molecule at the surface experiences unbalanced forces because there are more neighboring molecules below than above. This creates a net inward force that pulls surface molecules toward the interior,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Measurements of Waves in a Wind-wave Tank Under Steady and Time-varying Wind Forcing

Measurements of Waves in a Wind-wave Tank Under Steady and Time-varying Wind Forcing

Published on: February 13, 2018

Observation of star-shaped surface gravity waves.

Jean Rajchenbach¹, Didier Clamond, Alphonse Leroux

¹Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée (CNRS UMR 7336) Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France. Jean.Rajchenbach@unice.fr

Physical Review Letters

|March 19, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers observed large-amplitude standing gravity waves forming star and polygon shapes in a lab experiment. Wave symmetry, independent of container size, changes with vibration parameters, suggesting nonlinear resonant coupling triggers this phenomenon.

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Area of Science:

Fluid dynamics
Wave phenomena
Nonlinear physics

Background:

Standing gravity waves are common in fluid systems.
Previous research has focused on simpler wave patterns.
Understanding wave symmetry breaking is crucial for fluid mechanics.

Purpose of the Study:

To report the observation of a novel standing gravity wave.
To investigate the factors influencing the wave's symmetry.
To explore the underlying mechanisms of symmetry breaking.

Main Methods:

Laboratory experiment involving vertical vibration of a fluid tank.
Systematic variation of vibration amplitude and frequency.
Observation and analysis of wave patterns, including star and polygon shapes.

Main Results:

A new type of large-amplitude standing gravity wave was observed.
The waves exhibited alternating star and polygon shapes.
Wave symmetry (number of branches) was independent of container dimensions.
Symmetry was controllable via vibration amplitude and frequency.

Conclusions:

Nonlinear resonant coupling of three gravity waves is proposed as a mechanism for symmetry breaking.
The observed phenomenon demonstrates complex interactions leading to a stable periodic state.
This finding offers new insights into wave dynamics and pattern formation.