wave theory

wave theory

noun
1.
Also called undulatory theory. Physics. the theory that light is transmitted as a wave, similar to oscillations in magnetic and electric fields. Compare corpuscular theory.
2.
Historical Linguistics. a theory that accounts for shared features among languages or dialects by identifying these features as innovations that spread from their points of origin to the speech of contiguous areas.


Origin:
1825–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To wave theory

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Wave theory is always a great word to know.
So is thermal conductivity. Does it mean:
a progressive disturbance propagated in a medium without progress or advance by the points themselves, as in the transmission of sound or light
the amount of heat per unit time per area that can be conducted through a plate of thickness of a given material, differing by one unit of temperature
Collins
World English Dictionary
wave theory
 
n
1.  the theory proposed by Huygens that light is transmitted by waves
2.  See electromagnetic wave any theory that light or other radiation is transmitted as waves

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature