The wave equation can be seen as infinitely many infinitesimal coupled oscillators by 
Ciro Santilli 40 Updated 2025-07-16
Ciro Santilli 40 Updated 2025-07-16TODO confirm, see also: coupled oscillators. And then this idea can be used to define/motivate quantum field theory in terms of quantum harmonic oscillators with second quantization.
- youtu.be/SMmFgIEGYtw?t=324 Quantum Field Theory 2a - Field Quantization I by ViaScience (2018)
Start with: Section "String polarization".
Then go to: Section "Polarization of light".
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This is about the polarization of a string in 3D space. That is the first concept of polarization you must have in mind!
Far field approximation to Kirchhoff's diffraction formula, i.e. when the plane of observation is far from the object diffracting.
Near field approximation to Kirchhoff's diffraction formula, i.e. when the plane of observation is near the object diffracting.
Examples:
- mechanical resonance, notably:
- pipe instruments
- electronic oscillators, notably:
- LC oscillator, and notably the lossy version RLC circuit
Perhaps a key insight of resonance is that the reonant any lossy system tends to look like the resonance frequency quite quickly even if the initial condition is not the resonant condition itself, because everything that is not the resonant frequency interferes destructively and becomes noise. Some examples of that:
- striking a bell or drum can be modelled by applying an impuse to the system
- playing a pipe instrument comes down to blowing a piece that vibrates randomly, and then leads the pipe to vibrate mostly in the resonant frequency. Likely the same applies to bowed string instruments, the bow must be creating a random vibration.
- playing a plucked string instrument comes down to initializing the system to an triangular wave form and then letting it evolve. TODO find a simulation of that!
Another cool aspect of resonance is that it was kind of the motivation for de Broglie hypothesis, as de Broglie was kind of thinking that electroncs might show discrete jumps on atomic spectra because of constructive interference.
Notably used for the pattern of the double-slit experiment.
The inaugural that predicted the Josephson effect.
Published on Physics Letters, then a new journal, before they split into Physics Letters A and Physics Letters B. True Genius: The Life and Science of John Bardeen mentions that this choice was made rather than the more prestigious Physical Review Letters because they were not yet so confident about the results.
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