Pin Cushion

When you stroke the nails with your hand underneath the table, they start to move. The light reflected in the rolling nailheads creates a wave motion that looks a lot like the glimmering light playing across a rippled water surface or crops swaying in a field. A wave or a wave motion is aphysical phenomenon where a single motion spreads through a space.

Waves come in different types. The type of wave that is created in this experiment is an example of electromagnetic waves. Another form of electromagnetic waves are radio waves. There are also mechanical waves, which are sound waves and the kind of waves that form on the water surface. The third type of wave is the wave function in quantum physics, where the probable position of atoms is investigated by looking at different properties like mass and speed.