wave equation

noun

: a partial differential equation of the second order whose solutions describe wave phenomena

Examples of wave equation in a Sentence

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This goes back to another quote of another founder of modern physics, Paul Dirac, who wrote down the relativistic wave equation, an equation that describes quantum mechanics connected with special relativity — it’s called the Dirac equation. Quanta Magazine, 20 June 2024 The Universe Is Inherently Probabilistic Over a twelve-month period in 1926, at the age of thirty-eight, Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) wrote six major papers that would lay the foundation of quantum mechanics and introduce us all to his famous wave equation. Scott Bembenek, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wave equation was in 1926

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“Wave equation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wave%20equation. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.

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