Here is more about the Smith chart (also known by various other names), an essential tool for electrical engineers working with radio frequency circuits for impedance matching between, for example, transmission lines and antennas, to minimise the standing wave ratio and optimise power transfer to the load.
…Which is part of the reason I did not become an engineer. I do, though, wonder if my math “allergy” might have lessened had I studied it later in life; or, maybe, if I had had better teachers. I’m pretty sure he is no longer living to be offended, so I will mention my freshman math professor, Vincent Haag. Affectionately (he was a nice guy), we called him Hints & Vague.
Great book published probably 80 to 100 years ago called Reflections. The basic thrust is that yes, standing waves exist and they are not to be feared (or dreaded as many amateur radio operators agonize over).
The audience for Refections is the amateur operating between 20 meters wavelength and longer.