undulatory theory

American  

noun

Physics.

1. wave theory.

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Etymology

Origin of undulatory theory

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

As the undulatory theory was able to give a satisfactory explanation of the phenomenon, the corpuscular theory was rejected, and the undulatory theory was accepted.

From Aether and Gravitation by Hooper, William George

He was one of the few men who championed Fresnel during the controversy which raged at the time when the undulatory theory of light was first announced.

From A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year Volume Two (of Three) by Emerson, Edwin

This study of sound laid the foundation, according to his own account, of his subsequent researches in the undulatory theory of light.

From Heroes of Science: Physicists by Garnett, William

The undulatory theory of light, first founded upon experimental demonstration by Thomas Young, was extended to a large class of optical phenomena, and permanently established by his brilliant discoveries and mathematical deductions.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 2 "French Literature" to "Frost, William" by Various

That lecture marks an epoch in physical science; for it brought forward for the first time convincing proof of the correctness of the undulatory theory of light.

From A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year Volume Two (of Three) by Emerson, Edwin