page_title: Wave equation
section_title: Scalar wave equation in three space dimensions
hierarchical_section_title: Wave equation / Scalar wave equation in three space dimensions
context_page_description: The wave equation is an important second-order linear partial differential equation for the description of waves—as they occur in classical physics—such as mechanical waves or light waves. It arises in fields like acoustics, electromagnetics, and fluid dynamics.
  Historically, the problem of a vibrating string such as that of a musical instrument was studied by Jean le Rond d'Alembert, Leonhard Euler, Daniel Bernoulli, and Joseph-Louis Lagrange. In 1746, d’Alembert discovered the one-dimensional wave equation, and within ten years Euler discovered the three-dimensional wave equation.
context_section_description: A solution of the initial-value problem for the wave equation in three space dimensions can be obtained from the corresponding solution for a spherical wave. The result can then be also used to obtain the same solution in two space dimensions.
caption: Swiss mathematician and physicist Leonhard Euler (b. 1707) discovered the wave equation in three space dimensions.[6]
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