A closer look at waves with losses.

R. Dean Ayers

Software for generating and controlling parameters of kinetic images on the screen of a PC provides us with a new approach for understanding realistic wave behavior.  Mark McLaughlin, Nader Inan and I have worked with MATLAB^® and more recently with DPGraph to examine some interesting details of imperfect standing waves.  A few examples of “observational mathematics” from other areas of physics will be shown as well.  Tools of this sort could make a real difference between electronic textbooks and those printed on paper.  [Work supported by the Paul S. Veneklasen Research Foundation and the CSULB Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee.]