British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms

BSL Environmental Science Glossary - Wavefront definition

Definition: A wavefront is one line or plane linking waves. Imagine an invisible line covering the tops of 2 waves parallel to each other, and the other waves at the same height will have the same wavefront. There will be another wavefront at the bottom of the wavelength, covering the bottoms of the wavelengths, so that the bottoms of the wavelengths are all on the same plane. Or, in the middle of the wave there is a wavefront that is on the same plane as the other waves going in the same direction. A wavefront doesn't follow the wavelength itself, just the plane across or down the wavelength. The wavefront is connected to the other waves that are going in the same direction, they are the same size and shape as the original wave. A wavefront shows that the waves have the same pattern.