Wave Speed
Definition
How fast a wave disturbance travels through a medium — not how fast the medium itself moves.
Symbol: · Unit: meters per second (m/s)
Technical definition
The propagation speed of a wave's phase, v = fλ. It is determined by the properties of the medium — tension, density, elasticity — not by the source's frequency or amplitude.
Example
Sound travels at about 343 m/s in air but roughly 1500 m/s in water — the same shout, very different speed, because the medium changed. Shouting louder does not make it arrive sooner; only the medium sets the speed.
Wave speed is not the speed of the particles. In a water wave, the water mostly bobs up and down in place while the wave pattern races forward — like a stadium wave, where fans stay in their seats while the wave travels around the arena. Confusing the two makes energy transport in waves seem impossible.