Is the wave considered energy or matter?

Answer 1

Short Version:

There are different kinds of waves.

Electromagnetic waves are oscillations of an electromagnetic field and different than sound, water waves, vibrating guitar strings and other material oscillations.

We identify waves involving matter as mechanical waves. that emphasized not only is the quantity that is waving is made of matter, but the usual interchange of potential and kinetic energy involve mechanical potential energy (like elastic energy) and kinetic energy of moving mass.

More Explanation:

Most waves involve the oscillation of a material medium.

Water waves, both ocean waves and small ripples, are an example of waves of a material medium. Without water, there are no water waves or water ripples. Sound, earthquake tremors, vibrations of a drum head and many other things are examples of waves involving matter. Usually we call such waves mechanical waves.

Electromagnetic waves are of the more unusual variety. They require no material medium to be present for them to exist. When we say "no material medium," we are talking about vacuum. Everything else is matter. Water, air, wood and people are matter. Vacuum is emptiness.

Light, radio signals, microwaves, infrared radiation and even x-rays and gamma rays are all electromagnetic waves. They differ in energy and wavelength, but they are otherwise the same combination of an oscillating electric and an oscillating magnetic wave that propagate at the speed of light. In fact, they are light whether we can actually see them with our eyes, i.e. visible light, or not.

An electromagnetic wave will happily travel through a vacuum. In fact, electromagnetic waves travel fastest in a vacuum. They all travel at the famous "speed of light" which the theory of relativity tells us is the speed limit for everything.

Of course, light and the other electromagnetic waves can travel through matter also. Light goes through glass, air, water and a number of other materials with relatively little problem. Light does slow when it goes through matter and the matter itself begins to oscillate in concert with the oscillation of light. The electronic structure of mater responds to light and makes its own little wave in the process. So, when light passes through a material, you get not only the electromagnetic wave but a bit of a matter wave as well. that is why light in a material is slower than light in a vacuum, because the mixing with matter slows it down.

Caveat: With apologies for bringing up a rather esoteric point that the reader is welcome to ignore, experts can get picky and say that the above discussion leaves something out. Light may not be the only wave that can travel at the speed of light in a vacuum, but it gets pretty tricky to discuss that point. Let us just say that for all the experiments done thus far, no one has actually observed a massless gluon traveling at the speed of light or a gravitational wave doing that.

Answer 2

Energy. Take a sound wave for instance. When something makes a noise, the air moves in a similar fashion as a the wave created when you stretch and release a slinky. The air compounds on itself in a particular section. Then the energy is transferred to the next section then, to the next and so forth until it meets a resistance.

Answer 3

No. A wave is a way in which energy can be transmitted through a medium. It is not a state of matter.

Answer 4

A wave is a transfer of energy through a medium, but it is not considered matter. Waves can propagate through various forms, such as sound waves through air or electromagnetic waves through vacuum.