Wave Analysis Tools is published in the journal Nature
and can be used by anyone as a guide for analysing waves. Waves occur
throughout nature and are typically propagated through a medium such as
air, water or through the ground. Examples include sound waves, seismic
waves from earthquakes, marine waves, oscillations in the components of
musical instruments (e.g. stringed and wind instruments) and vibrations
in structures such as bridges. It was thought in the 19th century that
electromagnetic waves such as infrared, visible light, ultra violet and
radio waves needed a medium for propagation. A fictitious medium called ether
was invented and experiments were devised to detect it. However those
experiments were in vain and we now know that EM waves can propagate
through space without an intervening medium. This is how we receive heat
and light from the Sun, through the vacuum of space.This report from RTÉ has more details on pioneering wave research.
