Acoustics & Sound For Musicians - Online Book

The Theory Of Sound Which Constitutes The Physical Basis Of The Art Of Music.

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	12             THREE ELEMENTS OF A WAVE.          . wind which originated them and on the depths and configuration of the sea bottom over which they pass. Hence, before we can lay down a wave in a figure, we must know the nature of the wave's curve, i.e. its form. Since the crests of the waves are raised above the ordinary level of the sea, the troughs must necessarily be depressed below it, just as, in a ploughed field, the earth heaped up to form the ridges must leave empty the furrows from which it was taken. Each crest being thus associated with a trough, it is convenient to regard one crest and one trough as forming together one complete wave. Thus each wave consists of a part raised above, and a part depressed below, the horizontal plane which would be the surface of the sea were it not being traversed by waves. 7. The lengtht amplitude and form of a wave completely determine the wave, just as the length, breadth and height of an oblong block of wood, i.e. its three dimensions, fix the size of the block. These three elements of a wave are mutually independent, that is to say we may alter any one of them with­out altering the other two. This will be seen by a glance at the accompanying figures.