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Wave equation
The wave equation is a second-order linear partial differential equation for the description of
waves or standing wave fields such as mechanical waves (e.g. water waves, sound waves and
seismic waves) or electromagnetic waves (including light waves). It arises in fields like acoustics,
electromagnetism, and fluid dynamics.

This article focuses on waves in classical physics. Quantum physics uses an operator-based wave
equation often as a relativistic wave equation. A pulse traveling through a string with
fixed endpoints as modeled by the wave
equation

Introduction
The wave equation is a hyperbolic partial differential equation describing waves, including
traveling and standing waves; the latter can be considered as linear superpositions of waves
traveling in opposite directions. This article mostly focuses on the scalar wave equation
describing waves in scalars by scalar functions u = u (x, y, z, t) of a time variable t (a variable
representing time) and one or more spatial variables x, y, z (variables representing a position in
a space under discussion). At the same time, there are vector wave equations describing waves
in vectors such as waves for an electrical field, magnetic field, and magnetic vector potential and
elastic waves. By comparison with vector wave equations, the scalar wave equation can be seen
as a special case of the vector wave equations; in the Cartesian coordinate system, the scalar
wave equation is the equation to be satisfied by each component (for each coordinate axis, such
as the x component for the x axis) of a vector wave without sources of waves in the considered Spherical waves coming from a point
source
domain (i.e., space and time). For example, in the Cartesian coordinate system, for
as the representation of an electric vector field wave in the absence of wave
sources, each coordinate axis component (i = x, y, z) must satisfy the scalar wave equation.
Other scalar wave equation solutions u are for physical quantities in scalars such as pressure in
a liquid or gas, or the displacement along some specific direction of particles of a vibrating solid
away from their resting (equilibrium) positions.

The scalar wave equation is

A solution to the 2D wave equation

where

c is a fixed non-negative real coefficient representing the propagation speed of the wave
u is a scalar field representing the displacement or, more generally, the conserved quantity (e.g. pressure or density)
x, y and z are the three spatial coordinates and t being the time coordinate.
The equation states that, at any given point, the second derivative of with respect to time is proportional to the sum of the second
derivatives of with respect to space, with the constant of proportionality being the square of the speed of the wave.

Using notations from vector calculus, the wave equation can be written compactly as

or

where the double subscript denotes the second-order partial derivative with respect to time, is the Laplace operator and the
d'Alembert operator, defined as:

A solution to this (two-way) wave equation can be quite complicated. Still, it can be analyzed as a linear combination of simple solutions
that are sinusoidal plane waves with various directions of propagation and wavelengths but all with the same propagation speed c. This
analysis is possible because the wave equation is linear and homogeneous, so that any multiple of a solution is also a solution, and the
sum of any two solutions is again a solution. This property is called the superposition principle in physics.

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The wave equation alone does not specify a physical solution; a unique solution is usually obtained by setting a problem with further
conditions, such as initial conditions, which prescribe the amplitude and phase of the wave. Another important class of problems occurs
in enclosed spaces specified by boundary conditions, for which the solutions represent standing waves, or harmonics, analogous to the
harmonics of musical instruments.

Wave equation in one space dimension

The wave equation in one spatial dimension can be written as follows:

This equation is typically described as having only one spatial dimension x, because the only other
independent variable is the time t.

Derivation
The wave equation in one space dimension can be derived in a variety of different physical settings.
Most famously, it can be derived for the case of a string vibrating in a two-dimensional plane, with
each of its elements being pulled in opposite directions by the force of tension.[2]

Another physical setting for derivation of the wave equation in one space dimension uses Hooke's
law. In the theory of elasticity, Hooke's law is an approximation for certain materials, stating that the French scientist Jean-Baptiste le
Rond d'Alembert discovered the
amount by which a material body is deformed (the strain) is linearly related to the force causing the
wave equation in one space
deformation (the stress).
dimension.[1]

Hooke's law
The wave equation in the one-dimensional case can be derived from Hooke's law in the following way: imagine an array of little weights
of mass m interconnected with massless springs of length h. The springs have a spring constant of k:

Here the dependent variable u(x) measures the distance from the equilibrium of the mass situated at x, so that u(x) essentially measures
the magnitude of a disturbance (i.e. strain) that is traveling in an elastic material. The resulting force exerted on the mass m at the
location x + h is:

By equating the latter equation with

the equation of motion for the weight at the location x + h is obtained:

If the array of weights consists of N weights spaced evenly over the length L = Nh of total mass M = Nm, and the total spring constant of
the array K = k/N, we can write the above equation as

Taking the limit N → ∞, h → 0 and assuming smoothness, one gets

which is from the definition of a second derivative. KL2/M is the square of the propagation speed in this particular case.

Stress pulse in a bar

In the case of a stress pulse propagating longitudinally through a bar, the bar acts much like an infinite number of springs in series and
can be taken as an extension of the equation derived for Hooke's law. A uniform bar, i.e. of constant cross-section, made from a linear
elastic material has a stiffness K given by

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where A is the cross-sectional area, and E is the Young's modulus of the material. The wave equation
becomes

AL is equal to the volume of the bar, and therefore

1-d standing wave as a
superposition of two waves traveling
in opposite directions

where ρ is the density of the material. The wave equation reduces to

The speed of a stress wave in a bar is therefore .

General solution

Algebraic approach
For the one-dimensional wave equation a relatively simple general solution may be found. Defining new variables[3]

changes the wave equation into

which leads to the general solution

In other words, the solution is the sum of a right-traveling function F and a left-traveling function G. "Traveling" means that the shape
of these individual arbitrary functions with respect to x stays constant, however, the functions are translated left and right with time at
the speed c. This was derived by Jean le Rond d'Alembert.[4]

Another way to arrive at this result is to factor the wave equation using two first-order differential operators:

Then, for our original equation, we can define

and find that we must have

This advection equation can be solved by interpreting it as telling us that the directional derivative of v in the (1, -c) direction is 0. This
means that the value of v is constant on characteristic lines of the form x + ct = x0, and thus that v must depend only on x + ct, that is,
have the form H(x + ct). Then, to solve the first (inhomogenous) equation relating v to u, we can note that its homogenous solution
must be a function of the form F(x - ct), by logic similar to the above. Guessing a particular solution of the form G(x + ct), we find that

Expanding out the left side, rearranging terms, then using the change of variables s = x + ct simplifies the equation to

This means we can find a particular solution G of the desired form by integration. Thus, we have again shown that u obeys
u(x, t) = F(x - ct) + G(x + ct).[5]

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For an initial-value problem, the arbitrary functions F and G can be determined to satisfy initial conditions:

The result is d'Alembert's formula:

In the classical sense, if f(x) ∈ Ck, and g(x) ∈ Ck−1, then u(t, x) ∈ Ck. However, the waveforms F and G may also be generalized
functions, such as the delta-function. In that case, the solution may be interpreted as an impulse that travels to the right or the left.

The basic wave equation is a linear differential equation, and so it will adhere to the superposition principle. This means that the net
displacement caused by two or more waves is the sum of the displacements which would have been caused by each wave individually. In
addition, the behavior of a wave can be analyzed by breaking up the wave into components, e.g. the Fourier transform breaks up a wave
into sinusoidal components.

Plane-wave eigenmodes
Another way to solve the one-dimensional wave equation is to first analyze its frequency eigenmodes. A so-called eigenmode is a solution
that oscillates in time with a well-defined constant angular frequency ω, so that the temporal part of the wave function takes the form
e−iωt = cos(ωt) − i sin(ωt), and the amplitude is a function f(x) of the spatial variable x, giving a separation of variables for the wave
function:

This produces an ordinary differential equation for the spatial part f(x):

Therefore,

which is precisely an eigenvalue equation for f(x), hence the name eigenmode. Known as the Helmholtz equation, it has the well-known
plane-wave solutions

with wave number k = ω/c.

The total wave function for this eigenmode is then the linear combination

where complex numbers A, B depend in general on any initial and boundary conditions of the problem.

Eigenmodes are useful in constructing a full solution to the wave equation, because each of them evolves in time trivially with the phase
factor so that a full solution can be decomposed into an eigenmode expansion:

or in terms of the plane waves,

which is exactly in the same form as in the algebraic approach. Functions s±(ω) are known as the Fourier component and are
determined by initial and boundary conditions. This is a so-called frequency-domain method, alternative to direct time-domain
propagations, such as FDTD method, of the wave packet u(x, t), which is complete for representing waves in absence of time dilations.
Completeness of the Fourier expansion for representing waves in the presence of time dilations has been challenged by chirp wave

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solutions allowing for time variation of ω.[6]
The chirp wave solutions seem particularly implied by very large but previously inexplicable
radar residuals in the flyby anomaly and differ from the sinusoidal solutions in being receivable at any distance only at proportionally
shifted frequencies and time dilations, corresponding to past chirp states of the source.

Vectorial wave equation in three space dimensions

The vectorial wave equation (from which the scalar wave equation can be directly derived) can be obtained by applying a force
equilibrium to an infinitesimal volume element. In a homogeneous continuum (cartesian coordinate ) with a constant modulus of
elasticity a vectorial, elastic deflection causes the stress tensor . The local equilibrium of a) the tension force
due to deflection and b) the inertial force caused by the local acceleration can be
written as

By merging density and elasticity module the sound velocity results (material law). After insertion, follows the well-
known governing wave equation for a homogeneous medium:[7]

(Note: Instead of vectorial only scalar can be used, i.e. waves are travelling only along the axis, and the scalar wave

equation follows as .)

The above vectorial partial differential equation of the 2nd order delivers two mutually independent solutions. From the quadratic
velocity term can be seen that there are two waves travelling in opposite directions and are possible, hence
results the designation “two-way wave equation”. It can be shown for plane longitudinal wave propagation that the synthesis of two one-
way wave equations leads to a general two-way wave equation. For special two-wave equation with the d'Alembert operator
results:[8]

For this simplifies to

Therefore, the vectorial 1st-order one-way wave equation with waves travelling in a pre-defined propagation direction results[9] as

Scalar wave equation in three space dimensions

A solution of the initial-value problem for the wave equation in three space dimensions can be
obtained from the corresponding solution for a spherical wave. The result can then be also used to
obtain the same solution in two space dimensions.

Spherical waves
To obtain a solution with constant frequencies, apply the Fourier transform

which transforms the wave equation into an elliptic partial differential equation of the form:

Swiss mathematician and physicist

This is the Helmholtz equation and can be solved using separation of variables. In spherical Leonhard Euler (b. 1707)
coordinates this leads to a separation of the radial and angular variables, writing the solution as:[10] discovered the wave equation in
three space dimensions.[1]

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The angular part of the solution take the form of spherical harmonics and the radial function satisfies:

independent of , with . Substituting

transforms the equation into

which is the Bessel equation.

Example
Consider the case l = 0. Then there is no angular dependence and the amplitude depends only on the radial distance, i.e.,
Ψ(r, t) → u(r, t). In this case, the wave equation reduces to

or

This equation can be rewritten as

where the quantity ru satisfies the one-dimensional wave equation. Therefore, there are solutions in the form

where F and G are general solutions to the one-dimensional wave equation and can be interpreted as respectively an outgoing and
incoming spherical waves. The outgoing wave can be generated by a point source, and they make possible sharp signals whose form is
altered only by a decrease in amplitude as r increases (see an illustration of a spherical wave on the top right). Such waves exist only in
cases of space with odd dimensions.

For physical examples of solutions to the 3D wave equation that possess angular dependence, see dipole radiation.

Monochromatic spherical wave

Although the word "monochromatic" is not exactly accurate, since it refers to light or electromagnetic
radiation with well-defined frequency, the spirit is to discover the eigenmode of the wave equation in
three dimensions. Following the derivation in the previous section on plane-wave eigenmodes, if we
again restrict our solutions to spherical waves that oscillate in time with well-defined constant
angular frequency ω, then the transformed function ru(r, t) has simply plane-wave solutions:

or
Cut-away of spherical wavefronts,
with a wavelength of 10 units,
propagating from a point source

From this we can observe that the peak intensity of the spherical-wave oscillation, characterized as
the squared wave amplitude

drops at the rate proportional to 1/r2, an example of the inverse-square law.

Solution of a general initial-value problem

The wave equation is linear in u and is left unaltered by translations in space and time. Therefore, we can generate a great variety of
solutions by translating and summing spherical waves. Let φ(ξ, η, ζ) be an arbitrary function of three independent variables, and let the
spherical wave form F be a delta function. Let a family of spherical waves have center at (ξ, η, ζ), and let r be the radial distance from
that point. Thus
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If u is a superposition of such waves with weighting function φ, then

the denominator 4πc is a convenience.

From the definition of the delta function, u may also be written as

where α, β, and γ are coordinates on the unit sphere S, and ω is the area element on S. This result has the interpretation that u(t, x) is t
times the mean value of φ on a sphere of radius ct centered at x:

It follows that

The mean value is an even function of t, and hence if

then

These formulas provide the solution for the initial-value problem for the wave equation. They show that the solution at a given point P,
given (t, x, y, z) depends only on the data on the sphere of radius ct that is intersected by the light cone drawn backwards from P. It
does not depend upon data on the interior of this sphere. Thus the interior of the sphere is a lacuna for the solution. This phenomenon is
called Huygens' principle. It is only true for odd numbers of space dimension, where for one dimension the integration is performed
over the boundary of an interval with respect to the Dirac measure.[11][12]

Scalar wave equation in two space dimensions

In two space dimensions, the wave equation is

We can use the three-dimensional theory to solve this problem if we regard u as a function in three dimensions that is independent of
the third dimension. If

then the three-dimensional solution formula becomes

where α and β are the first two coordinates on the unit sphere, and dω is the area element on the sphere. This integral may be rewritten
as a double integral over the disc D with center (x, y) and radius ct:

It is apparent that the solution at (t, x, y) depends not only on the data on the light cone where

but also on data that are interior to that cone.

Scalar wave equation in general dimension and Kirchhoff's formulae

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We want to find solutions to utt − Δu = 0 for u : Rn × (0, ∞) → R with u(x, 0) = g(x) and ut(x, 0) = h(x).[13]

Odd dimensions
Assume n ≥ 3 is an odd integer, and g ∈ Cm+1(Rn), h ∈ Cm(Rn) for m = (n + 1)/2. Let γn = 1 × 3 × 5 × ⋯ × (n − 2) and let

Then

,
in ,
,

Even dimensions
Assume n ≥ 2 is an even integer and g ∈ Cm+1(Rn), h ∈ Cm(Rn), for m = (n + 2)/2. Let γn = 2 × 4 × ⋯ × n and let

then

u ∈ C2(Rn × [0, ∞))

utt − Δu = 0 in Rn × (0, ∞)

Green's function
Consider the inhomogeneous wave equation in dimensions

By rescaling time, we can set wave speed .

Since the wave equation has order 2 in time, there are two impulse responses: an acceleration impulse and a
velocity impulse. The effect of inflicting an acceleration impulse is to suddenly change the wave velocity . The effect of inflicting a
velocity impulse is to suddenly change the wave displacement .

For acceleration impulse, where is the Dirac delta function. The solution to this case is called the Green's function
for the wave equation.

For velocity impulse, , so if we solve the Green function , the solution for this case is just .

Duhamel's principle
The main use of Green's functions is to solve initial value problems by Duhamel's principle, both for the homogeneous and the
inhomogeneous case.

Given the Green function , and initial conditions , the solution to the homogeneous wave equation is[14]

where the asterisk is convolution in space. More explicitly,

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For the inhomogeneous case, the solution has one additional term by convolution over spacetime:

Solution by Fourier transform

By a Fourier transform,

The term can be integrated by the residue theorem. It would require us to perturb the integral slightly either by or by ,
because it is an improper integral. One perturbation gives the forward solution, and the other the backward solution.[15] The forward
solution gives

The integral can be solved by analytically continuing the Poisson kernel, giving[14][16]

where

is half the surface area of a -dimensional hypersphere.[16]

Solutions in particular dimensions

We can relate the Green's function in dimensions to the Green's function in dimensions.[17]

Lowering dimensions
Given a function and a solution of a differential equation in dimensions, we can trivially extend it to
dimensions by setting the additional dimensions to be constant:

Since the Green's function is constructed from and , the Green's function in dimensions integrates to the Green's
function in dimensions:

Raising dimensions
The Green's function in dimensions can be related to the Green's function in dimensions. By spherical symmetry,

Integrating in polar coordinates,

where in the last equality we made the change of variables . Thus, we obtain the recurrence relation

Solutions in D = 1, 2, 3

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When , the integrand in the Fourier transform is the sinc function

where is the sign function and is the unit step function. One solution is the forward solution, the other is the backward solution.

The dimension can be raised to give the case

and similarly for the backward solution. This can be integrated down by one dimension to give the case

Wavefronts and wakes

In case, the Green's function solution is the sum of two wavefronts moving in opposite directions.

In odd dimensions, the forward solution is nonzero only at . As the dimensions increase, the shape of wavefront becomes
increasingly complex, involving higher derivatives of the Dirac delta function. For example,[17]

where , and the wave speed is restored.

In even dimensions, the forward solution is nonzero in , the entire region behind the wavefront becomes nonzero, called a wake.
The wake has equation:[17]

The wavefront itself also involves increasingly higher derivatives of the Dirac delta function.

This means that a general Huygens' principle – the wave displacement at a point in spacetime depends only on the state at points
on characteristic rays passing – only holds in odd dimensions. A physical interpretation is that signals transmitted by waves
remain undistorted in odd dimensions, but distorted in even dimensions.[18]: 698

Hadamard's conjecture states that this generalized Huygens' principle still holds in all odd dimensions even when the coefficients in
the wave equation are no longer constant. It is not strictly correct, but it is correct for certain families of coefficients[18]: 765

Problems with boundaries

One space dimension

Reflection and transmission at the boundary of two media

For an incident wave traveling from one medium (where the wave speed is c1) to another medium (where the wave speed is c2), one part
of the wave will transmit into the second medium, while another part reflects back into the other direction and stays in the first medium.
The amplitude of the transmitted wave and the reflected wave can be calculated by using the continuity condition at the boundary.

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Consider the component of the incident wave with an angular frequency of ω, which has the waveform

At t = 0, the incident reaches the boundary between the two media at x = 0. Therefore, the corresponding reflected wave and the
transmitted wave will have the waveforms

The continuity condition at the boundary is

This gives the equations

and we have the reflectivity and transmissivity

When c2 < c1, the reflected wave has a reflection phase change of 180°, since B/A < 0. The energy conservation can be verified by

The above discussion holds true for any component, regardless of its angular frequency of ω.

The limiting case of c2 = 0 corresponds to a "fixed end" that does not move, whereas the limiting case of c2 → ∞ corresponds to a "free
end".

The Sturm–Liouville formulation

A flexible string that is stretched between two points x = 0 and x = L satisfies the wave equation for t > 0 and 0 < x < L. On the
boundary points, u may satisfy a variety of boundary conditions. A general form that is appropriate for applications is

where a and b are non-negative. The case where u is required to vanish at an endpoint (i.e. "fixed end") is the limit of this condition
when the respective a or b approaches infinity. The method of separation of variables consists in looking for solutions of this problem in
the special form

A consequence is that

The eigenvalue λ must be determined so that there is a non-trivial solution of the boundary-value problem

This is a special case of the general problem of Sturm–Liouville theory. If a and b are positive, the eigenvalues are all positive, and the
solutions are trigonometric functions. A solution that satisfies square-integrable initial conditions for u and ut can be obtained from
expansion of these functions in the appropriate trigonometric series.

Several space dimensions

The one-dimensional initial-boundary value theory may be extended to an arbitrary number of space dimensions. Consider a domain D
in m-dimensional x space, with boundary B. Then the wave equation is to be satisfied if x is in D, and t > 0. On the boundary of D, the
solution u shall satisfy

where n is the unit outward normal to B, and a is a non-negative function defined on B. The case where u vanishes on B is a limiting
case for a approaching infinity. The initial conditions are

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where f and g are defined in D. This problem may be solved by expanding f and g in the
eigenfunctions of the Laplacian in D, which satisfy the boundary conditions. Thus the eigenfunction
v satisfies

in D, and A solution of the wave equation in

two dimensions with a zero-
displacement boundary condition
along the entire outer edge

on B.

In the case of two space dimensions, the eigenfunctions may be interpreted as the modes of vibration of a drumhead stretched over the
boundary B. If B is a circle, then these eigenfunctions have an angular component that is a trigonometric function of the polar angle θ,
multiplied by a Bessel function (of integer order) of the radial component. Further details are in Helmholtz equation.

If the boundary is a sphere in three space dimensions, the angular components of the eigenfunctions are spherical harmonics, and the
radial components are Bessel functions of half-integer order.

Inhomogeneous wave equation in one dimension

The inhomogeneous wave equation in one dimension is

with initial conditions

The function s(x, t) is often called the source function because in practice it describes the effects of the sources of waves on the medium
carrying them. Physical examples of source functions include the force driving a wave on a string, or the charge or current density in the
Lorenz gauge of electromagnetism.

One method to solve the initial-value problem (with the initial values as posed above) is to take advantage of a special property of the
wave equation in an odd number of space dimensions, namely that its solutions respect causality. That is, for any point (xi, ti), the value
of u(xi, ti) depends only on the values of f(xi + cti) and f(xi − cti) and the values of the function g(x) between (xi − cti) and (xi + cti).
This can be seen in d'Alembert's formula, stated above, where these quantities are the only ones that show up in it. Physically, if the
maximum propagation speed is c, then no part of the wave that cannot propagate to a given point by a given time can affect the
amplitude at the same point and time.

In terms of finding a solution, this causality property means that for any given point on the line being considered, the only area that
needs to be considered is the area encompassing all the points that could causally affect the point being considered. Denote the area that
causally affects point (xi, ti) as RC. Suppose we integrate the inhomogeneous wave equation over this region:

To simplify this greatly, we can use Green's theorem to simplify the left side to get the following:

The left side is now the sum of three line integrals along the bounds of the causality region. These turn out to be fairly easy to compute:

In the above, the term to be integrated with respect to time disappears because the time interval involved is zero, thus dt = 0.

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For the other two sides of the region, it is worth noting that x ± ct is a constant, namely xi ± cti, where the sign is chosen appropriately.
Using this, we can get the relation dx ± cdt = 0, again choosing the right sign:

And similarly for the final boundary segment:

Adding the three results together and putting them back in the original integral gives

Solving for u(xi, ti), we arrive at

In the last equation of the sequence, the bounds of the integral over the source function have been made explicit. Looking at this
solution, which is valid for all choices (xi, ti) compatible with the wave equation, it is clear that the first two terms are simply
d'Alembert's formula, as stated above as the solution of the homogeneous wave equation in one dimension. The difference is in the third
term, the integral over the source.

Further generalizations

Elastic waves
The elastic wave equation (also known as the Navier–Cauchy equation) in three dimensions describes the propagation of waves in an
isotropic homogeneous elastic medium. Most solid materials are elastic, so this equation describes such phenomena as seismic waves in
the Earth and ultrasonic waves used to detect flaws in materials. While linear, this equation has a more complex form than the equations
given above, as it must account for both longitudinal and transverse motion:

where:

λ and μ are the so-called Lamé parameters describing the elastic properties of the medium,
ρ is the density,
f is the source function (driving force),
u is the displacement vector.
By using ∇ × (∇ × u) = ∇(∇ ⋅ u) − ∇ ⋅ ∇ u = ∇(∇ ⋅ u) − ∆u, the elastic wave equation can be rewritten into the more common form
of the Navier–Cauchy equation.

Note that in the elastic wave equation, both force and displacement are vector quantities. Thus, this equation is sometimes known as the
vector wave equation. As an aid to understanding, the reader will observe that if f and ∇ ⋅ u are set to zero, this becomes (effectively)
Maxwell's equation for the propagation of the electric field E, which has only transverse waves.

Dispersion relation
In dispersive wave phenomena, the speed of wave propagation varies with the wavelength of the wave, which is reflected by a dispersion
relation

where ω is the angular frequency, and k is the wavevector describing plane-wave solutions. For light waves, the dispersion relation is
ω = ±c |k|, but in general, the constant speed c gets replaced by a variable phase velocity:

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See also
Acoustic attenuation Mathematics of oscillation
Acoustic wave equation Maxwell's equations
Bateman transform Schrödinger equation
Electromagnetic wave equation Standing wave
Helmholtz equation Vibrations of a circular membrane
Inhomogeneous electromagnetic wave equation Wheeler–Feynman absorber theory
Laplace operator

Notes
1. Speiser, David. Discovering the Principles of Mechanics 1600–1800 (https://books.google.com/books?id=9uf97reZZCUC&pg=PA19
1), p. 191 (Basel: Birkhäuser, 2008).
2. Tipler, Paul and Mosca, Gene. Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Volume 1: Mechanics, Oscillations and Waves;
Thermodynamics (https://books.google.com/books?id=upa42dyhf38C&pg=PA470), pp. 470–471 (Macmillan, 2004).
3. Eric W. Weisstein. "d'Alembert's Solution" (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/dAlembertsSolution.html). MathWorld. Retrieved
2009-01-21.
4. D'Alembert (1747) "Recherches sur la courbe que forme une corde tenduë mise en vibration" (https://books.google.com/books?id=lJ
QDAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA214) (Researches on the curve that a tense cord forms [when] set into vibration), Histoire de l'académie
royale des sciences et belles lettres de Berlin, vol. 3, p. 214–219.
See also: D'Alembert (1747) "Suite des recherches sur la courbe que forme une corde tenduë mise en vibration" (https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=lJQDAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA220) (Further researches on the curve that a tense cord forms [when] set into
vibration), Histoire de l'académie royale des sciences et belles lettres de Berlin, vol. 3, p. 220–249.
See also: D'Alembert (1750) "Addition au mémoire sur la courbe que forme une corde tenduë mise en vibration," (https://books.g
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h456/linearwave.pdf) (PDF). math.arizona.edu. Archived from the original (http://math.arizona.edu/~kglasner/math456/linearwave.pd
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6. V. Guruprasad (2015). "Observational evidence for travelling wave modes bearing distance proportional shifts". EPL. 110 (5): 54001.
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021). Acoustics. 3 (2): 309–315. doi:10.3390/acoustics3020021 (https://doi.org/10.3390%2Facoustics3020021). Text was
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References
Atiyah, M. F.; Bott, R.; Gårding, L. (1970). "Lacunas for hyperbolic differential operators with constant coefficients I". Acta
Mathematica. 124: 109–189. doi:10.1007/BF02394570 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF02394570). ISSN 0001-5962 (https://search.w

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14/09/2024, 17:51 Wave equation - Wikipedia
orldcat.org/issn/0001-5962).
Atiyah, M. F.; Bott, R.; Gårding, L. (1973). "Lacunas for hyperbolic differential operators with constant coefficients. II". Acta
Mathematica. 131: 145–206. doi:10.1007/BF02392039 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF02392039). ISSN 0001-5962 (https://search.w
orldcat.org/issn/0001-5962).
R. Courant, D. Hilbert, Methods of Mathematical Physics, vol II. Interscience (Wiley) New York, 1962.
Evans, Lawrence C. (2010). Partial Differential Equations (http://home.ustc.edu.cn/~wclw8181/wffc.files/Partial%20Differential%20E
quations.Evans.pdf) (PDF). Providence (R.I.): American Mathematical Soc. ISBN 978-0-8218-4974-3.
"Linear Wave Equations (http://eqworld.ipmnet.ru/en/solutions/lpde/wave-toc.pdf)", EqWorld: The World of Mathematical Equations.
"Nonlinear Wave Equations (http://eqworld.ipmnet.ru/en/solutions/npde/npde-toc2.pdf)", EqWorld: The World of Mathematical
Equations.
William C. Lane, "MISN-0-201 The Wave Equation and Its Solutions (http://www.physnet.org/modules/pdf_modules/m201.pdf)",
Project PHYSNET (http://www.physnet.org).

External links
Nonlinear Wave Equations (http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/NonlinearWaveEquations/) by Stephen Wolfram and Rob Knapp,
Nonlinear Wave Equation Explorer (http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/NonlinearWaveEquationExplorer/) by Wolfram
Demonstrations Project.
Mathematical aspects of wave equations are discussed on the Dispersive PDE Wiki (http://tosio.math.toronto.edu/wiki/index.php/Mai
n_Page) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20070425131659/http://tosio.math.toronto.edu/wiki/index.php/Main_Page) 2007-04-
25 at the Wayback Machine.
Graham W Griffiths and William E. Schiesser (2009). Linear and nonlinear waves (http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Linear_and_no
nlinear_waves). Scholarpedia (http://www.scholarpedia.org/), 4(7):4308. doi:10.4249/scholarpedia.4308 (https://dx.doi.org/10.4249/s
cholarpedia.4308)

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