Chapter 7

Progressive
Waves
 Waves
• Types of Waves
• Mathematical description of Waves
• Three Velocities in Wave Motion
 WAVE MOTION
‘Motion of infinite coupled oscillators’
‘Transport of Energy without transport of matter’

What is a Wave?

Key word -------- Disturbance or Perturbation

 TYPES OF WAVES
Waves can be classified in many ways:

1.Broad physical properties

2.Direction of particle motion
3.Number of dimensions
4.Shape of wave fronts
1.Broad physical properties
(a) Electromagnetic Waves
They require no material medium to exist.

(b) Matter Waves

These waves are associated with electrons
(c) Mechanical Waves:-
Examples:- Water waves, sound waves, waves
on string, waves on spring etc.
They are governed by Newton’s Laws
They can exist only within a material medium.
 2.Direction of particle motion
(a)Transverse waves are waves in which the
motion of the particles of the medium is
perpendicular to the direction of motion of the
disturbance.
Examples:-Waves on a string, radio waves,
light waves,
(b) Longitudinal waves are waves in which the
motion of the particles of the medium is in the
same (or opposite) direction as the motion of
the disturbance.

Examples:-Sound waves in air, wave on a

spring
3.Number of dimensions

(a) One Dimensional – Wave along a string or

spring
(b) Two Dimensional – Surface waves or
ripples on water

(c) Three Dimensional – Sound and light

waves traveling radially outward from a small
source
 3.Shape of wave fronts

(a):-A spherical wave – Disturbance

travel in radial direction, spherical
surfaces are spaced λ apart
(b):-A plane wave – Disturbance travel in single
direction, planes represent wave fronts spaced λ
apart.
We consider only

Transverse
Mechanical Waves
 Transverse Pulse
A string element moves up once and then
down as the pulse passes. The element’s
motion is perpendicular to the waves direction
of travel.
Sinusoidal Wave
 Mathematical Description
of Waves
v
a
x
x0
a x

At x  0, y(0, t )  A sin t
 x
At x distance y  x, t   A sin 2  t  
 v
 v x  t x
y x, t   A sin 2  t    A sin 2   
   T  
Time period  T
 Time for wave to travel a distance 
v
  vT  ,   frequency of wave

To get more compact form, we write
2
 k called wave number,

it is an angular quantity,its units are rad m
 2  
and  2    
T k T
y x, t   A sin t  kx
Eq. of sine wave traveling in  ve x direction

Eq. of sine wave traveling in  ve x direction

yx, t   A sint  kx

Most general form of the waveform moving in
+ve direction is

y  x, t   A sint  kx   
  phase constant
 does not affect the shape of the wave.

yx, t   A sin t  kx   

represents wave moving in - ve direction
Three Velocities in Wave
Motion
• 1. Particle Velocity
• 2. Phase Velocity:
• 3. Group Velocity:
1. Particle Velocity:

y  a sin t  kx


y / t  a sint  kx 
t

x
Wave or phase velocity

Phase speed v of wave is given by

x  
 v    
t T k

y
 ka cos(t  kx)
x
and
Relation Between Particle and
Phase Velocities
y / t  a cost  kx

y
 ka cos(t  kx)
x

 y y x y
y / t    v  
k x x t x
 3. Group Velocity:
y1  a cos1t  k1 x 
y 2  a cos2 t  k 2 x 
y  y  y  a cos t  k x   a cos t  k x 
1 2 1 1 2 2

cos   cos   2 cos     cos    

1 1
2 2
 1   2 k1  k 2   1   2 k1  k 2 
 2a cos t x  cos t x
 2 2   2 2 
1   2 k1  k 2
 k
2 2
   k k 
y  2a cos 1
t
2
x  cost  kx 
1 2

 2 2 

Envelope of
frequency
 
1 2

2
2a

Oscillations
of frequency  
1 2

2
Non-dispersive Medium
1 2   k k
 v v  1
 2
vv
1 2

k k k k
k1 k2 g

1 2 1 2
Dispersive Medium
1 2    
 v  1

2

k k k
g
k1 k2 1 2

 d 
vg   v     kv
k dk k
 d d (kv) dv
v    vk
k dk
g
dk dk
 dv
vg  v  k
dk
dv d
vk .
d dk
d d  2 
  
dk dk  k 
2 2
 2 
k 2
 dv  2

 vg  v  k   
d  2 
dv
 v
d
 Dispersion Relations
v v
g

v v
g
vg 
d

  dk

v 
k
no-dispersion normal-
dispersion

k k

v v

v 
k
d
 vg  g
dk
anomalous-dispersion

k
Problem 7.2 The displacement of a
transverse wave travelling along a string is given by
y = 0.3 sin π ( o.5x - 50t ), where y and t are in
centimeters and t is in seconds.
(a) Find the amplitude, wavelength, wavenumber,
frequency, period and velocity of the wave.
(b) Find the maximum transverse speed of any
particle in the string.
Problem 7.4: The wave of frequency 20
sec-1 has a velocity of 80 m / sec.
(a) How far apart are two points whose
displacements are 30 0 apart in phase?
(b) At a given point, what is the phase difference
between two displacements occuring at times
separated by 0.01 sec?
Problem 7-8: Two points on a string are
observed as a traveling wave passes them. The points
are at x1 = 0 and x2 = 1 m. The transverse motions of
the two points are found to be as follows:
y1 = 0:2 sin(3πt)
y2 = 0:2 sin(3πt + π/8)
(a) What is the frequency in Hertz?
(b) What is the wavelength?
(c) With what speed does the wave travel?
Problem 7-17 The following two waves
in a medium are superposed:
y1 = A sin(5x - 10t)
y2 = A sin(4x - 9t)
where x is in meters and t is in seconds.
(a) Write an equation for the combined disturbance.
(b) What is its group velocity?
(c) What is its phase velocity?
(d) What is the distance between points of zero
amplitude in the combined disturbance?