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Standing wave
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{{Short description|Wave that remains in a constant position}} [[File:Waventerference.gif|thumb|upright=1.4|Animation of a standing wave ''(<span style="color:red;">red</span>)'' created by the superposition of a left traveling ''(<span style="color:blue;">blue</span>)'' and right traveling ''(<span style="color:green;">green</span>)'' wave]] In [[physics]], a '''standing wave''', also known as a '''stationary wave''', is a [[wave]] that oscillates in time but whose peak amplitude profile does not move in space. The peak [[amplitude]] of the wave oscillations at any point in space is constant with respect to time, and the oscillations at different points throughout the wave are [[in phase]]. The locations at which the absolute value of the amplitude is minimum are called [[node (physics)|nodes]], and the locations where the absolute value of the amplitude is maximum are called antinodes. Standing waves were first described scientifically by [[Michael Faraday]] in 1831. Faraday observed [[Faraday wave|standing waves on the surface of a liquid in a vibrating container]].<ref>Alwyn Scott (ed), ''Encyclopedia of Nonlinear Science'', p. 683, Routledge, 2006 {{ISBN|1135455589}}.</ref><ref>Theodore Y. Wu, "Stability of nonlinear waves resonantly sustained", ''Nonlinear Instability of Nonparallel Flows: IUTAM Symposium Potsdam, New York'', p. 368, Springer, 2012 {{ISBN|3642850847}}.</ref> [[Franz Melde]] coined the term "standing wave" (German: ''stehende Welle'' or ''Stehwelle'') around 1860 and demonstrated the phenomenon in his classic experiment with vibrating strings.<ref>Melde, Franz. Ueber einige krumme Flächen, welche von Ebenen, parallel einer bestimmten Ebene, durchschnitten, als Durchschnittsfigur einen Kegelschnitt liefern: Inaugural-Dissertation... Koch, 1859.</ref><ref>Melde, Franz. "Ueber die Erregung stehender Wellen eines fadenförmigen Körpers." Annalen der Physik 185, no. 2 (1860): 193–215.</ref><ref>Melde, Franz. Die Lehre von den Schwingungscurven...: mit einem Atlas von 11 Tafeln in Steindruck. JA Barth, 1864.</ref><ref>Melde, Franz. "Akustische Experimentaluntersuchungen." Annalen der Physik 257, no. 3 (1884): 452–470.</ref> This phenomenon can occur because the medium is moving in the direction opposite to the movement of the wave, or it can arise in a stationary medium as a result of [[Interference (wave propagation)|interference]] between two waves traveling in opposite directions. The most common cause of standing waves is the phenomenon of [[resonance]], in which standing waves occur inside a [[resonator]] due to interference between waves reflected back and forth at the resonator's [[resonant frequency]]. For waves of equal [[amplitude]] traveling in opposing directions, there is on [[average]] no net [[Flux#Transport phenomena|propagation of energy]].
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