Waves

IDU Unit
What do they have in common?
What is a wave?
A disturbance that transfers energy through space, without
transferring matter.
How do we classify waves?
Waves are classified according to

● What they move through

○ Mechanical waves
○ Electromagnetic waves
● How particles move to propagate the wave
○ Longitudinal waves
○ Transversal waves
How do we classify waves?
Waves are classified according to

● What they move through

○ Mechanical waves
○ Electromagnetic waves
● How particles move to propagate the wave
○ Longitudinal waves
○ Transversal waves
Mechanical waves
Most waves need a material to move through.

These are called mechanical waves.

The material they propagate through is called medium and it

allows the wave to propagate.

Water waves seismic waves Sound waves Waves through a

specific medium
Electromagnetic waves
Contrary to mechanical waves, electromagnetic waves (in
other words, light) do not need a medium to propagate.
Mechanical VS Electromagnetic waves
In the empty space, you can see but you can’t hear!
How do we classify waves?
Waves are classified according to

● What they move through

○ Mechanical waves
○ Electromagnetic waves
● How particles move to propagate the wave
○ Longitudinal waves
○ Transversal waves
How do particles move?
In which direction does the wave propagate?

In which direction do particles of the slinky move?

Longitudinal wave
In which direction does the wave propagate?

In which direction do particles of the slinky move?

The wave propagate horizontally.

The particles move horizontally.

Particles move parallel to the wave.

 Transversal wave
In which direction does the wave propagate?

In which direction do particles of the slinky move?

The wave propagate horizontally.

The particles move vertically.

Particles move perpendicularly to

the wave.
Electromagnetic waves
They are transversal.

In this case, what oscillate are not particle but electric

and magnetic fields
Sound waves
Is it longitudinal or transversal?
Sound waves
wave
Is it longitudinal or transveral?
Sound waves
Seismic waves

Which one makes more damages?

Water waves
With good approximation,
water waves are usually
considered to be transversal
waves

However the real nature is

more complex, and also water
waves are a superposition of
transversal and longitudinal
waves
How would you classify this wave?
Wave Terminology

● Amplitude: maximum
displacement from the
equilibrium position
● Wavelength: the distance
between two identical points
of the wave train (for
example, between two
consecutive peaks)
Wave Terminology

● Amplitude: maximum
displacement from the
equilibrium position
● Wavelength: the distance
between two identical points
of the wave train (for
example, between two
consecutive peaks)
Wave Terminology
Period (T): the time it takes a wave to travel a distance
equal to one wavelength (measured in seconds)

Frequency (f): the number of waves that pass through a fixed

point per second (measured in Heartz)

Wave velocity (v): distance travelled by a wave crest in one

period (measured in m/s)
Wave equation
It relates velocity, wavelength and frequency (or period) of
a wave.
Example: a water wave has a wavelength of
3 m and move at a speed of 12 m/s. What is
its frequency? What is its period?

From the first form of the wave equation

Velocity
The velocity only depends on the properties of the medium.

See what happens when you change the medium:

Changing wave speed on a slinky spring as it crosses a

boundary

Slinky demo from 0:55

Speed of sound about 330 m/s

Speed of light about 3 billions m/s

Guitar strings
Why do the different strings emit different sounds?

● The thicker the string, the slower the wave.

● The slower the wave, the smaller the frequency
● The smaller the frequency, the lower the guitar tone
What happens when...
...a wave meets a hard surface like a wall?

...a wave enters a new medium?

...a wave moves around an obstacle?

...a wave meets another wave?

...a wave meets a hard surface?
It depends whether the boundary is fixed (closed) or open
(free). Watch again this video from 3:45

Fixed (closed) Free (open)

Note that speed and amplitude remain unchanged

...a wave enters a new medium?
Watch again here too see the case of mechanical waves
Refraction

Reflection

Snell’s laws
Total Internal reflection
...a wave moves around an obstacle?
Diffraction: the bending of a wave around an obstacle or
through and opening.

Large opening Small opening Obstacle

...a wave moves around an obstacle?
Double slit diffraction
...a wave meets another wave?
Interference: a phenomenon in which two waves superpose to
form a resultant wave.
...a wave meets another wave?
Constructive VS Destructive interference
More phenomena to experiment with
Here are some other ideas for your experiments...
Beats
Beats are the periodic and repeating fluctuations heard in
the intensity of a sound when two sound waves of very
similar frequencies interfere with one another.

Here is a video
Resonance
Resonance describes the phenomenon of increased amplitude
that occurs when the frequency of a periodically applied
force is equal or close to a natural frequency of the system
on which it acts.
Resonance
Idea for experiment: video here
Standing waves
is a wave which oscillates in time but whose peak amplitude
profile does not move in space.

The locations at which the displacement is minimum are

called nodes, and the locations where the displacement is
maximum are called antinodes

Link to an idea for

experiment
Polarization
Filtering light (oscillates in all
direction) to allow light that oscillates
in one direction only.