# Teachers, HS to Ph.D: physics/quantum analogies in these water-wave generators that create images?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-hs-to-ph-d-physics-quantum-analogies-in-these-water-wave-generators-that-create-images/640371>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 8, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-hs-to-ph-d-physics-quantum-analogies-in-these-water-wave-generators-that-create-images/640371 "2012-11-08T17:01:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-hs-to-ph-d-physics-quantum-analogies-in-these-water-wave-generators-that-create-images/640371/1 "2012-11-08T17:01:00Z")

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See subject. [Intriguing design-a-3D water object by water waves thing from Osaka University.](http://gizmodo.com/189476/water-writing-with-waves-we-wonder-why) I know that this could be perfect pedagogic example of something or other, and I’d like to hear how physicists or physics/science teachers would put it.

Actually, how this could be phrased for different levels of students–high school and up–interests me.

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**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-hs-to-ph-d-physics-quantum-analogies-in-these-water-wave-generators-that-create-images/640371/2 "2012-11-08T17:20:38Z")

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It seems like a very good demonstration of Fourier-Bessel series. The patterns in the water from each oscillator comprise a series of orthogonal basis functions, and the fact that you can “target” certain shapes is because you can take such a series for any function.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-hs-to-ph-d-physics-quantum-analogies-in-these-water-wave-generators-that-create-images/640371/3 "2012-11-09T01:22:22Z")

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It’s not quite as impressive as it might look: The images only remain for a moment, before the waves continue on across the surface.

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**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-hs-to-ph-d-physics-quantum-analogies-in-these-water-wave-generators-that-create-images/640371/4 "2012-11-09T02:00:08Z")

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How would you create a standing “wave” complex? And what are the times relative to interaction of stability?

I just have this inchoate image of all sorts of fundamental forces “creating” a particle where none was before. I’m going on my understanding of such things here, which is, shall we say, inchoater.