Why do partials travel in wave format or why do we have waves anyway instead of going direct from A to B?

[Terence_I]

A kangaroo hoping from A to B is an unpractical way of doing
things why do waves do this?

[derek w]

The microscopic world of sub atomic particles,does not behave like the macroscopic world,it's different.

Waves are a distortion.

[swansont]

A transverse wave allows transmission of energy without whatever is "waving" to move in that direction. Even longitudinal waves only require a small amount of motion to do this. Describing this an "unpractical" is mistaken.

[Mark Ian]

I think this is a terrific question. The universe seems to strive for efficiency. Phospholipids in solution will seek to form spherical vesicles, and so does water in space (doesn't form vesicles but a sphere). Heat will strive to disperse uniformly in a enclosed system. Life strives for survival... but does a particle of the microscopic universe strive to get from point A to B? In the example hat swansont gives does not work too well with electrons and photons. Your perplection is shared, for what is there to wave.

[swansont]

I think this is a terrific question. The universe seems to strive for efficiency. Phospholipids in solution will seek to form spherical vesicles, and so does water in space (doesn't form vesicles but a sphere). Heat will strive to disperse uniformly in a enclosed system. Life strives for survival... but does a particle of the microscopic universe strive to get from point A to B? In the example hat swansont gives does not work too well with electrons and photons. Your perplection is shared, for what is there to wave.

 

Don't anthropomorphize nature. She hates that.

 

It's true systems tend toward a minimum energy, but if the ways that they can do that are limited then a requirement that it also be efficient is artificial. IOW, you have to acknowledge the boundary conditions and other limitations in place. The kangaroo, for example, has an evolutionary pathway. That limits the options for locomotion. Also, in evolution, efficiency (or fitness) is a relative term, which changes with the environment.

[Nehushtan]

A kangaroo hoping from A to B is an unpractical way of doing

things why do waves do this?

Hopping is anything but an unpractical method of locomotion for a kangaroo – especially given the animal’s evolutionary adaptation in this respect:

 

Kangaroos and wallabies have large, elastic tendons in their hind legs. They store elastic strain energy in the tendons of their large hind legs, providing most of the energy required for each hop by the spring action of the tendons rather than by any muscular effort. This is true in all animal species which have muscles connected to their skeletons through elastic elements such as tendons, but the effect is more pronounced in kangaroos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo#Adaptations

 

Compared with running, hopping enables kangaroos to cover large distances quickly and without expending too much energy.

 

And I’ve never heard of waves “hopping” before.