ondas

Ondas, or waves, are disturbances that propagate energy through space or a medium, typically accompanied by oscillations of the medium's particles. They transfer energy and momentum without a net transport of matter. Waves are described by properties such as amplitude, wavelength, frequency, period, and speed, and their behavior depends on the medium and the type of wave.

Waves are commonly classified as mechanical or electromagnetic. Mechanical waves require a material medium; examples include sound waves in air, seismic waves in Earth, and surface waves on water. Electromagnetic waves consist of oscillating electric and magnetic fields and can travel through vacuum; they include radio waves, visible light, and X-rays. A broader category, matter waves, appears in quantum mechanics as the wave-like description of particles.

Key relationships include v = λ f, with v the speed, λ the wavelength, and f the frequency. Amplitude relates to energy transported; intensity scales with the square of amplitude. Waves can interfere, leading to constructive or destructive patterns. When a wave encounters boundaries, it can reflect, refract, or diffract. Dispersion occurs when wave speed depends on frequency, causing components to travel at different speeds. For electromagnetic waves, polarization describes the orientation of the fields.

Practical examples span acoustics, wireless communication, optics, oceanography, and seismology. Understanding ondas informs technologies from speakers and radios to fiber optics and seismic analysis.