Synthesis Lectures on Wave Phenomena in the Physical Sciences – serie

This is an introductory book about nonlinear waves. It focuses on two properties that various different wave phenomena have in common, the "nonlinearity" and "dispersion", and explains them in a style that is easy to understand for first-time students.Both of these properties have important effects on wave phenomena. Nonlinearity, for example, makes the wave lean forward and leads to wave breaking, or enables waves with different wavenumber and frequency to interact with each other and exchange their energies.Dispersion, for example, sorts irregular waves containing various wavelengths into gentler wavetrains with almost uniform wavelengths as they propagate, or cause a difference between the propagation speeds of the wave waveform and the wave energy.Many phenomena are introduced and explained using water waves as an example, but this is just a tool to make it easier to draw physical images. Most of the phenomena introduced in this book are common to all nonlinear and dispersive waves.This book focuses on understanding the physical aspects of wave phenomena, and requires very little mathematical knowledge. The necessary minimum knowledges about Fourier analysis, perturbation method, dimensional analysis, the governing equations of water waves, etc. are provided in the text and appendices, so even second- or third-year undergraduate students will be able to fully understand the contents of the book and enjoy the fan of nonlinear wave phenomena without relying on other books.

This book is to help post-graduate students to get into gravitational wave astronomy. We assume the knowledge of General Relativity theory, though we will concentrate on the physics and often omit mathematically strict derivations. We provide references to already existing literature where possible, this helps us to see a broad picture, skipping the details. The uniqueness of this book is in that it covers three frequency bands and three major world-wide efforts to detect gravitational waves. The LIGO and Virgo scientific collaboration has detected first gravitational waves and the merger of black holes become now almost a routine. We do expect many discoveries yet to come, especially in the joined gravitational and electromagnetic observations. LISA, the space-based gravitational wave observatory, will be launched around 2034 and will be able to detect thousands of GW sources in the milli-Hz band. Pulsar timing array observations have accumulated 20-years' worth of data and we expected detection of GWs in the nano-Hz band within the next decade. We describe the gravitational wave sources and data analysis techniques in each frequency band.

Gravitational wave (GW) research is one of the most rapidly developing subfields in experimental physics today. The theoretical underpinnings of this endeavor trace to the discussions of the "speed of gravity" in the 18th century, but the modern understanding of this phenomena was not realized until the middle of the 20th century. The minuteness of the gravitational force means that the effects associated with GWs are vanishingly small. To detect the GWs produced by the most enormously energetic sources in the universe, humans had to build devices capable of measuring the tiniest amounts of forces and displacements.This book delves into the exploration of the basics of the theory of GW, their generation, propagation, and detection by various methods. It does not delve into the depths of Einstein's General Relativity, but instead discusses successively closer approximations to the full theory. As a result, the book should be accessible to an ambitious undergraduate student majoring in physics or engineering. It could be read concurrently with standard junior-level textbooks in classical mechanics, and electromagnetic theory.

Proteins and macromolecular structures represent one of the most important building blocks for a variety of biological processes. Their biological activity is performed in a dynamic fashion, hence the concepts of waves and vibrations can help to explain how proteins function. This book has the goal of highlighting the importance of wave and vibrational phenomena in the realm of proteins. It targets younger students as well as graduate researchers who work in various scientific fields and are interested in learning how mechanical vibrations affect and drive the biological activity of proteins and macromolecular structures. Great attention is given to the computational approaches dedicated to the evaluation of protein dynamics and biological behavior, and modern experimental techniques are addressed as well. The book is written in a way that non-experts in the field can grasp most of the presented subjects. However, it is also based on the most relevant and recent scientific literature,providing a rather comprehensive library for the reader eager to know more about specific topics.

This book discusses light, its properties as an electromagnetic wave, interaction with matter, and laser as an optical device. The first part discussions include qualitative arguments such as pictorial representations of the wave dynamics and analogy to other oscillatory systems to facilitate an intuitive understanding of the topics. The second part reviews light-matter interaction. It introduces the light-matter interaction while introducing the particular behavior of light, known as the photon, reviewing various properties of light waves resulting from the interaction with matters including the propagation of light in media. The last two sections focus on the fundamentals of lasers and the practical uses of lasers, including several techniques to control the spatial and temporal characteristics of laser beams. This book discusses acoustic waves' characteristics so that we can deepen our understanding of acoustic waves.

This book discusses light, its properties as an electromagnetic wave, interaction with matter, and laser as an optical device. The first part discussions include qualitative arguments such as pictorial representations of the wave dynamics and analogy to other oscillatory systems to facilitate an intuitive understanding of the topics. The second part reviews light-matter interaction. It introduces the light-matter interaction while introducing the particular behavior of light, known as the photon, reviewing various properties of light waves resulting from the interaction with matters including the propagation of light in media. The last two sections focus on the fundamentals of lasers and the practical uses of lasers, including several techniques to control the spatial and temporal characteristics of laser beams. This book discusses acoustic waves' characteristics so that we can deepen our understanding of acoustic waves.

The nature of sound is, nowadays, well known and understood so that sound could be synthetically described like the propagation of vibration in elastic media.​Sound waves propagate as longitudinal waves, transverse waves, or in mixed modes in different media. The development of applications related to the proper management of the information connected with sound waves. This is the case of so-called acoustic emission. This book introduces the basics of sound waves, their types, propagation in different modes, velocities, and other properties It also introduces the basics of acoustic emission and the different sources of acoustic emission. This book delivers different propagation modes, their significance, and the attenuation and distortion of acoustic waves. One of the overlooked applications of acoustic emission, the acousto-ultrasonic approach is introduced and discussed with practical applications.

The nature of sound is, nowadays, well known and understood so that sound could be synthetically described like the propagation of vibration in elastic media.​Sound waves propagate as longitudinal waves, transverse waves, or in mixed modes in different media. The development of applications related to the proper management of the information connected with sound waves. This is the case of so-called acoustic emission. This book introduces the basics of sound waves, their types, propagation in different modes, velocities, and other properties It also introduces the basics of acoustic emission and the different sources of acoustic emission. This book delivers different propagation modes, their significance, and the attenuation and distortion of acoustic waves. One of the overlooked applications of acoustic emission, the acousto-ultrasonic approach is introduced and discussed with practical applications.

This book discusses acoustic waves in five chapters. Chapter 1 reviews the general properties of waves. Chapter 2 presents the acoustic waves in fluid and solids, including the wave equations in the respective media. Chapter 3 discusses the propagation of audible acoustic waves in the air. The discussion includes analyses of speech and music we hear in the time and frequency domains. Chapter 4 discusses the propagation of acoustic waves in solids. Unlike in the air, sound waves take complicated forms in solids; they can be both in longitudinal and transverse modes, and mode conversions can occur upon reflection. Although these behaviors make the analysis difficult, we can apply them to engineering problems. Chapter 5 describes the transduction of acoustic signals. It presents acoustic transmitters and sensors along with their operation principles. Finally, Chapter 6 presents several techniques used in engineering. It is also useful to consider applying acoustic and optical techniques to engineering problems.

This book discusses acoustic waves in five chapters. Chapter 1 reviews the general properties of waves. Chapter 2 presents the acoustic waves in fluid and solids, including the wave equations in the respective media. Chapter 3 discusses the propagation of audible acoustic waves in the air. The discussion includes analyses of speech and music we hear in the time and frequency domains. Chapter 4 discusses the propagation of acoustic waves in solids. Unlike in the air, sound waves take complicated forms in solids; they can be both in longitudinal and transverse modes, and mode conversions can occur upon reflection. Although these behaviors make the analysis difficult, we can apply them to engineering problems. Chapter 5 describes the transduction of acoustic signals. It presents acoustic transmitters and sensors along with their operation principles. Finally, Chapter 6 presents several techniques used in engineering. It is also useful to consider applying acoustic and optical techniques to engineering problems.

Most physical phenomena exhibit spatiotemporal features interpreted as wave dynamics. Various diagnostic technologies use some waves such as light, sound, and microwaves. A proper understanding of wave dynamics is essential to interpret these physical phenomena and apply the technology efficiently. However, the physics underlying the wave-like behavior of real-world systems is not necessarily straightforward. Often the mathematical description of these physics is hard to understand. Consequently, the interpretation of diagnostic signals is not simple, which sometimes leads to an incorrect diagnosis. This book aims to solve these problems by describing the related topics on a sound physical basis and explaining them intuitively for easy digestion. Presents real-world examples of oscillatory and wave systems to help the reader understand wave dynamics while explaining numerical methods. Explains the physics and mathematics underlying wave dynamics in intuitive fashions.

Most physical phenomena exhibit spatiotemporal features interpreted as wave dynamics. Various diagnostic technologies use some waves such as light, sound, and microwaves. A proper understanding of wave dynamics is essential to interpret these physical phenomena and apply the technology efficiently. However, the physics underlying the wave-like behavior of real-world systems is not necessarily straightforward. Often the mathematical description of these physics is hard to understand. Consequently, the interpretation of diagnostic signals is not simple, which sometimes leads to an incorrect diagnosis. This book aims to solve these problems by describing the related topics on a sound physical basis and explaining them intuitively for easy digestion. Presents real-world examples of oscillatory and wave systems to help the reader understand wave dynamics while explaining numerical methods. Explains the physics and mathematics underlying wave dynamics in intuitive fashions.

Numerical calculations (what many call computational physics) is a core tool in modern physics.  With numerical methods it’s possible to solve problems that would otherwise be impossible.  Most physics students and educators have at least some exposure to the wave equation.  It shows up in many different contexts—light, quantum mechanics, and even a simple wave on a string.  However, it can be difficult to come up with non-trivial solutions to the wave equation.  This text goes through the techniques to create a numerical model of the wave equation starting from the very basics and using free and open source tools such as Python and Web VPython.