wave equation

noun

: a partial differential equation of the second order whose solutions describe wave phenomena

Examples of wave equation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This goes back to another quote of another founder of modern physics, Paul Dirac, who wrote down the relativistic wave equation, an equation that describes quantum mechanics connected with special relativity — it’s called the Dirac equation. Quanta Magazine, 20 June 2024 The Universe Is Inherently Probabilistic Over a twelve-month period in 1926, at the age of thirty-eight, Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) wrote six major papers that would lay the foundation of quantum mechanics and introduce us all to his famous wave equation. Scott Bembenek, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2017 For analyzing electromagnetics, the RF Module enables the use of Maxwell’s equations to solve for the wave equation at every point within the model that is impacted by electromagnetic fields. IEEE Spectrum, 20 Jan. 2023 All that can be said for sure is that the electron moves between quantum states according to the probability determined by Schrödinger’s wave equation. Scott Bembenek, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2017 In the mathematics, there’s the part of the wave equation where every wave is just minding its own business. Quanta Magazine, 12 Dec. 2022 As their number rises, using Schrödinger’s wave equation to account for the constant contact between all electrons grows exponentially harder. Quanta Magazine, 7 Feb. 2022 There's the Momentum Principle, the wave equation, Schrödinger's equation, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Rhett Allain, Wired, 17 Sep. 2020 The solutions to the wave equation describing a particle in this system can be labeled ψA when slit A is open and ψB when slit B is open. Urbasi Sinha, Scientific American, 7 Jan. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wave equation was in 1926

Dictionary Entries Near wave equation

Cite this Entry

“Wave equation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wave%20equation. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on wave equation

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!