An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

A fleshy lobe or appendage hanging down from the throat or chin of certain birds, as the domestic chicken or turkey (Dictionary.com).

Of uncertain origin.

Jil (in Nâini and Baxtiyâri) "wattle."

An instrument used for measuring the magnitude of the power in an electric circuit.

→ watt; → -meter.

1) General: A raised ridge-shaped formation moving across the surface of a liquid (as of the sea).
2) Physics: A disturbance advancing from point to point in a → medium or → space as in the → propagation of → sound or → light.
See also:
→ acoustic wave, → acoustic wave equation, → advanced wave, → Alfven wave, → ballistic wave, → blaze wavelength, → bow wave, → collapse of the wave function, → complex wave, → compressional wave, → cosmic microwave background anisotropy, → cosmic microwave background radiation, → decimetric wave, → density wave, → density-wave theory, → elastic wave, → electromagnetic wave, → electrostatic wave, → gravitational wave, → gravity wave, → half-wave plate, → heat wave, → incoherent wave, → Langmuir wave, → longitudinal wave, → Mach wave, → microwave, → microwave background radiation, → microwave radiation, → millimeter wave, → millimeter-wave astronomy, → modulated wave, → Moreton wave, → neutral wave, → P-wave, → periodic wave, → plane wave, → quarter-wave plate, → radio wave, → rarefaction wave, → retarded wave, → Rossby wave, → S-wave, → scalar wave, → seismic wave, → Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, → shear wave, → shock wave, → sine wave, → sound wave, → square wave, → standing wave, → stationary wave, → submillimeter wave, → transverse wave, → wave equation, → wave function, → wave mechanics, → wave nature, → wave numbe, → wave optics, → wave packet, → wave plate, → wave theory of light, → wave vector, → wave-particle duality, → waveband, → waveform , → waveform analysis, → wavefront, → wavefront correction, → wavefront distortion, → wavefront sensor, → wavefront tilt, → waveguide, → wavelength, → wavelet, → wavelet theory, → wave train.

M.E. waw; O.E. wagian "to move to and fro," wafian "to wave with the hands" (cf. O.N. vafra "to hover about," M.H.G. waben "to wave, undulate").

Mowj, loan from Ar. mauj.

In the → Copenhagen Interpretation of → quantum mechanics, the change undergone by the → wave function of a particle when a measurement is performed on the particle. The wave function collapses to one that has a definite value for the quantity measured. If the → position of the matter wave is measured, it collapses to a localized → pulse. If → momentum is measured, it collapses to a wave with a definite momentum. Same as → collapse of the wave function.

→ wave; → collapse.

The partial differential equation ∂²U / ∂²x + ∂²U / ∂²y + ∂²U / ∂²z = (1/c²) ∂²U / ∂²t or its counterparts in one or two dimensions or in other coordinates, the solution of which represents the propagation of displacementU as waves with velocity c.

→ wave; → equation.

In → quantum mechanics, the function of space and time that satisfies → Schrodinger equation. The square of the modulus of its amplitude at any point represents the probability of finding a particle there.

→ wave; → function.

One of the forms of quantum mechanics, due to Louis de Broglie and extended by E. Schrödinger. It originated in the suggestion that light consists of corpuscles as well as of waves and the consequent suggestion that all elementary particles are associated with waves.

→ wave; → mechanics

A general term to describe → light involving the following phenomena: → reflection, → refraction, → interference, → diffraction, and → polarization. Compare → particle nature.

→ wave; → nature.

The reciprocal of → wavelength, which represents the number of waves per unit length. Wave number is often defined as k = 2π/λ. Same as → propagation number.

→ wave; → number

The branch of optics that analyzes the electromagnetic radiation in terms of its wave characteristics. Also called → physical optics.

→ wave; → optics.

A traveling → waveform consisting of the → superposition of several → waves of different → wavelengths and → phases.

→ wave; packet from M.E. pak "bundle" + diminutive suffix -et; maybe from M.Fr. pacquet.

Basté "packet," literally "bound, tied; set," p.p. of bastan "to form, bind, tie" (Mid.Pers. bastan/vastan "to bind, shut;" Av./O.Pers. band- "to bind, fetter," banda- "band, tie;" cf. Skt. bandh- "to bind, tie, fasten;" Ger. binden; E. bind; PIE base *bhendh- "to bind").

An optical element that retards the phase of one plane of vibration of light relative to the plane at right angles. The two beams then recombine to form a single beam with new polarization characteristics. A typical wave plate is a birefringent crystal with a carefully chosen orientation and thickness. Also known as → retardation plate. A → half-wave plate creates a half-wave retardation. See also → quarter-wave plate.

→ wave; → plate.

The theory that describes light as waves that spread out from the source that generates the light. It contradicts the → corpuscular theory of light proposed by Newton (1704). The idea of the wave nature of light was first put forward by Robert Hooke (1660). The wave theory was originally stated by Huygens (1690), who showed reflection and refraction could be explained by this theory. It was supported by → Young's experiment (1802) and established by the work of Fresnel (1814-1815). The wave theory received its most important support from Maxwell's → electromagnetic theory. See also → Huygens-Fresnel principle.

→ wave; → theory; → light.

A series of successive waves spaced at regular intervals.

→ wave; → train.

A vector whose direction is that of propagation of a wave and whose magnitude is given by the → wave number, 2π/λ, where λ is the → wavelength, or ω/c, where ω is the → angular frequency and c is the speed of propagation.

→ wave; → number.

The principle admitted in → quantum mechanics that all particles have a wave-like nature and that waves have a particle aspect. The wave-particle duality is of fundamental importance in obtaining a realistic picture of the → elementary particles.
See also: → particle nature, → wave nature, → de Broglie hypothesis, → Davisson-Germer experiment.

→ wave; → particle; → duality.

A portion of the electromagnetic spectrum which is defined because of its characteristics or for its use.

→ wave; → band.

A graphical representation of the shape of a wave for a given instant in time.

→ wave; → form.

The resolution of a complex waveform into a sum of simple periodic waves, usually by computer means.

→ waveform; → analysis.

The locus of adjacent points possessing the same phase in the path of a wave motion. Its surface is uniform (spherical or plane) and normal to propagation direction in an isotropic medium. → wavefront distortion.

→ wave; → front.