GCSE PHYSICS - What is a Wave? - What does a Wave do?

What is a Wave?

When waves move through a substance, they only move the particles
of the substance backwards and forwards (longitudinal)
or side to side (transverse) as the wave passes.
After the wave has gone, the particles of the substance are
back where they started but energy has been carried by the wave
from its origin (where it begins) to its destination (where it finishes).

One type of wave (an electromagnetic wave) does not need
any substance to get from its origin to its destination.
It can travel through a vacuum (nothing).
Electromagnetic waves can travel from stars to planets
through empty space (space is a vacuum).

What does a Wave do?

Waves transmit energy without transmitting matter.

This means that waves can move energy (or information)
from one place to another
without moving any substance (stuff) from one place to another.
The amount of energy that a wave has depends on its amplitude.

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