## Wave Phenomena

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Last Update: 4/5/02
Copyright© 1996-2002. All rights reserved. See Terms of Usage.

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The following representation scheme is a starting point for modeling phenomena such as electromagnetic radiation, sound, or surface waves in a fluid. These events are classified as elements of #$WavePropagation, a special subset of #$Translocation. This scheme captures some common features of these phenomena, while remaining noncommittal as to their underlying physical mechanisms. There is currently no "physics" theory in Cyc of the behavior of any wave phenomena, not even at a naive level. The intent of the following vocabulary is to establish a basic level of representation which will not unduly constrain future work.

Since #$WavePropagation is a subset of #$Translocation, each element of #$WavePropagation has an origin (#$fromLocation) and an endpoint (#$toLocation). Translational movements (#$Movement-TranslationEvent) also have a #$toLocation and #$fromLocation, but elements of #$WavePropagation differ in that they have no #$objectMoving. Instead, there is some physical change which first occurs at the #$fromLocation and then `moves' away -- i.e., the location of occurrence changes location in a continuous fashion away from the origin. Although there is something `moving', wave phenomena are more eventlike than objectlike. For example, a sound is something that happens to the medium in which it propagates; for a given location, its structure is defined by a temporal sequence of certain #$subEvents (changes in pressure).

Elements of #$WavePropagation, though they are #$Events, are distinguishable from the events that produce them. Consider an #$Utterance event: one can reasonably discuss the sound itself without referring to the mechanism that produced it, whether that be a person, a recording, or a voice synthesizer. Therefore, Cyc distinguishes between a #$WavePropagation and its generation (#$EmittingAWave).

Some important subsets of #$WavePropagation are also subsets of #$InformationBearingEvents.

### Top Level Collections

#$WavePropagationType types of wave propogation **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A collection of collections. Each instance of #$WavePropagationType is a specialization of #$WavePropagation (q.v). Instances of #$WavePropagationType include the collections #$ElectromagneticRadiation, #$Sound, #$VisibleLight, and #$XRay.
> guid: bf331d6f-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$SiblingDisjointCollection #$SecondOrderCollection
> direct specialization of: #$TemporalStuffType
> direct generalization of: #$SoundWavePropagationType #$ElectromagneticRadiationType

#$WavePropagation wave propagations **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A specialization of #$Translocation. Each instance of #$WavePropagation is an event in which a wavelike disturbance propagates through space, with or without a medium. A wave propagation is like a translational movement in that it can have both a starting point (related to the instance of #$WavePropagation by #$fromLocation) and an ending point (related to the instance of #$WavePropagation by #$toLocation), but differs in that there is no object moving (see the predicate #$objectMoving). Notable specializations of #$WavePropagation include #$ElectromagneticRadiation and #$Sound.
> guid: c10080f5-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$DefaultDisjointScriptType #$TemporalStuffType
> direct specialization of: #$Translocation
> direct generalization of: #$ElectromagneticRadiation #$InformationBearingWavePropagation #$Sound #$AudibleSound

#$EmittingAWave wave emissions **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A collection of events; a subcollection of #$Emission. Each instance is an event in which a wave is emitted at a #$fromLocation. For example, Themistocles ordering his fleet to withdraw; Miles Davis playing the trumpet; an emergency flare burning by the side of the road. See also #$WavePropagation.
> guid: bebe7cda-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$TemporalStuffType
> direct specialization of: #$Emission #$GenerationOrConversionEvent
> direct generalization of: #$EmittingSound

#$ReceivingAWave receiving a wave **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A specialization of #$Receiving. Each instance of #$ReceivingAWave is an event in which an instance of #$WavePropagation (q.v.) is received at some location (the location is related to the instance of #$WavePropagation by the predicate #$toLocation). Instances of #$ReceivingAWave include a CD player receiving an infrared signal from a remote control, a person hearing a sound of distant thunder, and a radio telescope receiving signals from a celestial body.
> guid: bfccc722-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$TemporalStuffType
> direct specialization of: #$Receiving

### Types Of Wave Phenomena

#$ElectromagneticRadiation electromagnetic radiation **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A collection of events; a subcollection of #$WavePropagation. Each instance of #$ElectromagneticRadiation is an event that arises from the interaction of an electrical field and a magnetic field. Positive examples include #$VisibleLight, #$RadioWaves, and #$XRays.
> guid: c1009603-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$DefaultDisjointScriptType #$WavePropagationType
> direct specialization of: #$WavePropagation
> direct generalization of: #$Light #$RadioWave #$GammaRay #$XRay

#$VisibleLight light waves **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A collection of events; a subcollection of #$ElectromagneticRadiation. Every instance of #$VisibleLight is an instance of electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength approximately between 3800 and 7750 #$Angstroms, i.e., light visible to human eyes.
> guid: bd58f608-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$ElectromagneticRadiationType
> direct specialization of: #$Light
> direct generalization of: #$VisualImage

#$RadioWave radio waves **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A specialization of #$ElectromagneticRadiation. Each instance of #$RadioWave is an instance of electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength in the range from approximately 1 centimeter (1x10^8 #$Angstrom) to 3,000,000 meters (3x10^18 #$Angstrom), and a frequency of approximately 10^8 #$Hertz to 10^2 #$Hertz.
> guid: c100962b-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$ElectromagneticRadiationType
> direct specialization of: #$ElectromagneticRadiation

#$XRay x rays (wave propagations) **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A specialization of #$ElectromagneticRadiation. Each instance of #$XRay is an instance of electromagnetic radiation that has a #$wavelength (q.v.) range from about 1 #$Angstrom to 1x10^-3 #$Angstroms.
> guid: bf85c802-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$ElectromagneticRadiationType
> direct specialization of: #$ElectromagneticRadiation

#$GammaRay gamma rays **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A specialization of #$ElectromagneticRadiation. Each instance of #$GammaRay is an instance of electromagnetic radiation that has a wavelength (see the predicate #$wavelength) of less than 1x10^-2 angstroms (see the constant #$Angstrom). Low power instances of #$GammaRay overlap with high power instances of #$XRay (q.v.).
> guid: c05ce4b7-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$ElectromagneticRadiationType
> direct specialization of: #$ElectromagneticRadiation

#$Sound sounds **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A specialization of #$WavePropagation. Each instance of #$Sound is an instance of wave propagation in which longitudinal pressure waves travel through matter. Notable specializations of #$Sound include #$AudibleSound, #$UltraSound, and #$Music.
> guid: be99a967-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$WavePropagationType
> direct specialization of: #$WavePropagation
> direct generalization of: #$AudibleSound #$UltraSound

#$AudibleSound sounds **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A specialization of #$Sound. Each instance of #$AudibleSound is a sound within the frequency range (see the collection #$Frequency) of human hearing.
> guid: bd5906fc-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$SoundWavePropagationType
> direct specialization of: #$Sound
> direct generalization of: #$SoundInformationBearingThing #$Music #$Utterance #$AnimalSound

#$UltraSound ultrasound **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A specialization of #$Sound. Each instance of #$UltraSound is a sound wave having a #$Frequency (q.v.) greater than 20,000 cycles per second, a frequency which is above the range of human hearing.
> guid: c02c1799-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$SoundWavePropagationType
> direct specialization of: #$Sound

### Measurement Of Wave Phenomena

#$wavelength wavelength **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> (#$wavelength WAVE LENGTH) means that the #$WavePropagation WAVE consists of waves having the length LENGTH. LENGTH is a #$Distance measuring one complete wave in a #$WavePropagation event.
> guid: c10096d6-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$BinaryPredicate

#$amplitudeOfSignal amplitude of signal **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> (#$amplitudeOfSignal WAVE AMP) means the distance from the average to the extremes of the signal WAVE is AMP.
> guid: be5d5b47-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$IntervalBasedQuantitySlot

#$frequencyOfSignal frequency (binary predicate) **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> (#$frequencyOfSignal WAVE FREQ) means that the #$WavePropagation event WAVE consists of waves that occur at intervals of FREQ. FREQ is a measure of #$Frequency generally expressed as cycles per unit of time; frequency of electromagnetic radiation is standardly measured in #$Hertz.
> guid: c10096a8-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$BinaryPredicate

#$Frequency frequencies (quantities)

> A specialization of #$Rate. Each instance of #$Frequency is the number of times something happens during some time interval. Instances of #$Frequency may be either single values (see the collection #$ScalarPointValue), such as 103 kiloHertz, or a range of values, such as #$Rarely. Note that instances of #$Frequency are important in the characterization of types of #$WavePropagation.
> guid: bd58fad4-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$MeasurableScalarIntervalType
> direct specialization of: #$Rate

#$Hertz hertz (units of measure) **COMMENT NOT REVIEWED** **GAFs NOT REVIEWED**

> A Cyc function, specifically an #$IndividualDenotingFunction. #$Hertz represents the basic unit of measure for elements of #$Frequency (1 Hz=1 cycle per second). (#$Hertz NUM) denotes the frequency NUM cycles per second.
> guid: bd588e07-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
> direct instance of: #$UnitOfMeasureNoPrefix #$UnitOfFrequency #$StandardUnitOfMeasure #$Individual

Copyright© 1996-2002. All rights reserved. See Terms of Usage.