Wave Vector


wave vector

[′wāv ‚vek·tər] (physics) A vector whose direction is the direction of phase propagation of a wave at each point in space, and whose magnitude is sometimes set at 2π/λ and sometimes at 1/λ, where λ is the wavelength.

Wave Vector

 

the vector k, whose direction coincides with the direction of propagation of a traveling wave; it is numerically equal to the wave number.