Waves: Vibrations that Propagate
Simplest waves: perturbations (or pulses) that propagates
example: domino waves (just one pulse propagation possible, no mechanism for restoring the dominoes)
better example: a chain of balls connected by springs (existence of restoring forces)
other examples: tidal waves, earthquake, light, sound
although the waves travel, the individual particles vibrate around their equilibrium position
waves transport energy rather than matter
in real medium a part of the energy dissipates by friction
two basic type of waves: longitudinal and transverse waves