Undulatory

Undulatory
Undulatory Un"du*la*to*ry (?; 277), a. [Cf. F. ondulatoire.] Moving in the manner of undulations, or waves; resembling the motion of waves, which successively rise or swell rise or swell and fall; pertaining to a propagated alternating motion, similar to that of waves. [1913 Webster]

{Undulatory theory}, or {Wave theory} (of light) (Opt.), that theory which regards the various phenomena of light as due to undulations in an ethereal medium, propagated from the radiant with immense, but measurable, velocities, and producing different impressions on the retina according to their amplitude and frequency, the sensation of brightness depending on the former, that of color on the latter. The undulations are supposed to take place, not in the direction of propagation, as in the air waves constituting sound, but transversely, and the various phenomena of refraction, polarization, interference, etc., are attributable to the different affections of these undulations in different circumstances of propagation. It is computed that the frequency of the undulations corresponding to the several colors of the spectrum ranges from 458 millions of millions per second for the extreme red ray, to 727 millions of millions for the extreme violet, and their lengths for the same colors, from the thirty-eight thousandth to the sixty thousandth part of an inch. The theory of ethereal undulations is applicable not only to the phenomena of light, but also to those of heat. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • undulatory — index circuitous, tortuous (bending) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • undulatory — [un′jə lə tôr΄ē, un′dyələ tôr΄ē] adj. 1. of, caused by, or characterized by undulations 2. having a wavelike form or motion; undulating …   English World dictionary

  • undulatory — undulate ► VERB 1) move with a smooth wave like motion. 2) have a wavy form or outline. DERIVATIVES undulation noun undulatory adjective. ORIGIN from Latin undulatus, from unda a wave …   English terms dictionary

  • Undulatory theory — Undulatory Un du*la*to*ry (?; 277), a. [Cf. F. ondulatoire.] Moving in the manner of undulations, or waves; resembling the motion of waves, which successively rise or swell rise or swell and fall; pertaining to a propagated alternating motion,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • undulatory theory — noun (physics) the theory that light is transmitted as waves • Syn: ↑wave theory, ↑wave theory of light • Ant: ↑corpuscular theory of light (for: ↑wave theory of light), ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • undulatory motion — banginis judesys statusas T sritis radioelektronika atitikmenys: angl. undulatory motion vok. Wellenbewegung, f rus. волновое движение, n pranc. mouvement ondulatoire, m …   Radioelektronikos terminų žodynas

  • undulatory theory — banginė teorija statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. undulation theory; undulatory theory vok. Undulationstheorie, f; Wellentheorie, f rus. волновая теория, f pranc. théorie ondulatoire, f …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • undulatory radiation — banginė spinduliuotė statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. undulatory radiation; wave radiation vok. Wellenstrahlung, f rus. волновая радиация, f; волновое излучение, n pranc. radiation ondulatoire, f; rayonnement d’ondes, m; rayonnement… …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • undulatory flow — banginis tekėjimas statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. undilatory flow; undulating flow; undulatory flow vok. Wellenströmung, f; Wellenstrom, m rus. волновое течение, n pranc. écoulement ondulatoire, m …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • undulatory theory of light — banginė šviesos teorija statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. undulatory theory of light; wave theory of light vok. Wellentheorie des Lichtes, f rus. волновая теория света, f pranc. théorie ondulatoire de la lumière, f …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

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