En física, una onda (del latín unda) consiste en la propagación de una perturbación de alguna propiedad del espacio, por ejemplo, densidad, presión, campo eléctrico o campo magnético, implicando un transporte de energía sin transporte de materia. El espacio perturbado puede contener materia (aire, agua, etc) o no (vacío). La magnitud física cuya perturbación se propaga en el medio se expresa como una función tanto de la posición como del tiempo . Matemáticamente se dice que dicha función es una onda si verifica la ecuación de ondas: donde es la velocidad de propagación de la perturbación. Por ejemplo, ciertas perturbaciones de la presión de un medio, llamadas sonido, verifican la ecuación anterior, aunque algunas ecuaciones no lineales también tienen soluciones ondulatorias, por ejemplo, un solitón.

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In physics, a wave is an oscillation accompanied by a transfer of energy that travels through a medium (space or mass). Frequency refers to the addition of time. Wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, which displace particles of the transmission medium–that is, with little or no associated mass transport. Waves consist, instead, of oscillations or vibrations (of a physical quantity), around almost fixed locations. There are two main types of waves. Mechanical waves propagate through a medium, and the substance of this medium is deformed. Restoring forces then reverse the deformation. For example, sound waves propagate via air molecules colliding with their neighbors. When the molecules collide, they also bounce away from each other (a restoring force). This keeps the molecules from continuing to travel in the direction of the wave. The second main type, electromagnetic waves, do not require a medium. Instead, they consist of periodic oscillations of electrical and magnetic fields originally generated by charged particles, and can therefore travel through a vacuum. These types vary in wavelength, and include radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays. Waves are described by a wave equation which sets out how the disturbance proceeds over time. The mathematical form of this equation varies depending on the type of wave. Further, the behavior of particles in quantum mechanics are described by waves. In addition, gravitational waves also travel through space, which are a result of a vibration or movement in gravitational fields. A wave can be transverse, where a disturbance creates oscillations that are perpendicular to the propagation of energy transfer, or longitudinal: the oscillations are parallel to the direction of energy propagation. While mechanical waves can be both transverse and longitudinal, all electromagnetic waves are transverse in free space.

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