Wave propagation

Wave propagation is the evolution of a disturbance through space and time under the medium's dynamical equations. In a uniform nondispersive one-dimensional model,the wave equation admits rightward and leftward profiles $u=f(x-ct)+g(x+ct)$. Each profile travels at wave speed $c$ without changing shape, so a measured delay over a known distance can determine $c$.

A real medium can alter this simple picture through dispersion, wave absorption, wave reflection and wave scattering. Phase velocity follows a fixed wave phase, while group velocity describes a narrowband wave packet's envelope in a regime where that approximation holds. Neither should be identified automatically with every signal's arrival speed. Specifying an initial disturbance and suitable boundary conditions determines which of the possible propagation patterns occurs.

A changing pressure disturbance travels through a material with finite speed. This transient response is distinct from the eventual equilibrium balance of hydrostatic pressure. In an elastic liquid-filled tube the wall and liquid jointly determine the propagation speed.