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Phase

The phase of an oscillating particle is the fraction of a cycle a particle has completed since the start of the cycle and is measured in radians.The displacement time for one complete cycle is a sine curve.At a quarter of the time period the phase is π/2.Half-way through the cycle the phase is π radians and 3π/2 radians three-quarters of the way through.The phase for one complete cycle is 2πradians.

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Specification: AQA Physics (7407), AS-level, 3.3.1.1 Progressive waves. Topic: Waves.

Key terms in this lesson

snell's law
The law relating the refractive indices and angles of incidence and refraction at a boundary: n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2.

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All 24 lessons in Waves · All AQA AS-level Physics topics