Exploring the World of Waves: From Ocean to Quantum Mechanics

Waves transport energy without transferring matter. They're oscillations that travel through space or a medium, like water or air. Not all waves require a medium, however; electromagnetic waves can move through a vacuum.

Mechanical waves, like sound or ocean waves, need a medium to travel. Electromagnetic waves, such as light and radio waves, don't. They can travel through empty space, which is how sunlight reaches Earth.

Transverse waves move perpendicular to energy transfer, like light waves. Longitudinal waves, like sound, move in the same direction as energy transfer, creating compressions and rarefactions in the medium.

Some waves can 'bend' around obstacles, a phenomenon known as diffraction. Waves can also interfere with each other constructively or destructively, amplifying or canceling out, which is essential in noise-canceling headphones.

Contrary to popular belief, tsunamis are not tidal waves but long-wavelength, high-energy sea waves caused by underwater disturbances. They can cross entire oceans, growing in height as they near land.

In the quantum realm, particles like electrons exhibit wave-particle duality, behaving as both particles and waves. This duality is fundamental to quantum mechanics and challenges our classical understanding of physics.

Cosmic Microwave Background is the afterglow of the Big Bang, rippling as waves across the universe. It's not only evidence of the universe's birth but also provides insights into its composition and evolution.

Sound can't travel in space, but black holes can 'sing' through gravitational waves, creating ripples in spacetime!