Basic Wave Phenomena

Professor K. W. Chow
Department of Mechanical Engineering
 Introduction
Waves occur in different forms in nature. The notion of a wave is
familiar to everyone in one form or another.
Common examples of waves include ocean surface waves, sound
waves, electromagnetic waves or the “wave” at a football game.

(Extracted from
http://electron9.phys.utk.edu/phys136d/modules/m10/geometrical.htm)
 What is a wave?
A classic text on waves by G. B. Whitham
(California Institute of Technology, USA) (1973)
defines a wave as follows:
“A wave is any recognizable signal which is
transferred from one part of a medium to
another with a recognizable velocity of
propagation.”
The critical part of the definition is that a
disturbance or signal travels through a medium.
The medium through which the wave propagates
may experience some local oscillations (e.g.
water wave) as the wave passes, but the particles
in the medium do NOT travel with the wave.
Animation courtesy of
Dr. Dan Russell,
Kettering University
 Why are waves important?
They transmit INFORMATION (OR
SIGNALS) AND ENERGY in
Nature and engineering systems.
 Importance of waves
Waves play important roles in our daily lives.
Visible light beams are electromagnetic waves.
We rely on the propagation of sound waves through the air to hear
what others say.
The microwave oven in your kitchen employs microwave radiation to
heat food.
The transmission of signals using electromagnetic waves has
brought us the modern broadcast and telecommunication systems.

Microwave
telecommunications
Optical fiber provides tower, silhouette-
affordable bandwidth for Wrights Hill,
long distance Wellington New
communication Zealand
 Waves can be devastating
Every coin has two sides, so do waves. Waves are very versatile.
However, they can be sometimes catastrophic, unfortunately.
South Asia in 2004 and Japan in 2011. The tsunami is a kind of
water waves.
Sichuan Earthquake in 2008. The earthquake is a kind of elastic
waves.

Tsunami in South Asia 2004 (AP/Wide World Photo) 2008 Sichuan Earthquake
(AP Photo/Nicky Loh, POOL)
 Motivation
For its practical importance and
profound scientific values, the
theory of waves has been a
source of intriguing problems for
mathematicians, scientists and
engineers.
A sound understanding of waves
in different physical systems arms
the scientists and engineers to
fight against the natural disasters
and to design systems which
manipulate these versatile waves
for the betterment of human lives.

(Extracted from http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Sunset-Over-

Ocean-Waves-Posters_i1103195_.htm)
 (Very rough) Classification
schemes:
(1) Mechanical Waves – Motion of
particles in a medium as the wave
propagates (sound, elastic and water
waves).
(2) Electromagnetic Waves – Do not
require a material medium and can
travel through vacuum (light, radio and
micro- waves).
 Description of waves

The major properties of wave are

characterized by :
Speed of propagation
Frequency
Wavelength
Amplitude
A simple sine wave
 Properties of a Wave
Amplitude:
The amplitude of a wave is the maximum disturbance
in the medium during one wave cycle. In simple terms,
the amplitude is the height of the wave.

(Extracted from
http://www.learningmatt
ers.co.uk/images/azs/sc
Wavelength ience/light.gif)

The wavelength is the distance between two repeating

units of a propagating wave of a given frequency.
Experiment here.
 Amplitude
Crest – Peak or highest point;
Trough – Valley or lowest point;
The amplitude is the maximum
displacement from the mean position.
 Wavelength
Designated by the Greek letter λ.
Measured in meter.
It is the distance between repeating
units of a wave pattern.
 Wave number (k)
The number of waves per (2π) length of
the wave, e.g. if the wave length is 2π ,
then the wave number is 1.
If the wave length is π, then the wave
number is 2.
If the wave length is 4π, then the wave
number is 0.5.
Theoretically: k = 2π/λ
 Angular frequency (ω)
If the oscillation of the particle is mapped
to a rotation around a circle, then the
angular speed (the angle rotated in radian
per unit time) is termed the angular
frequency. Theoretically: ω = 2πf
where f is the frequency. If the frequency
is unity, then the angle rotated in one unit
time is 2π radian and ω = 2π
 Properties of a wave (cont’d)

Frequency / Period:
– Frequency is a measure of how often the particles of
the medium vibrate when a wave passes through the
medium.
– The commonly used unit in frequency is Hertz
(abbreviated Hz). 1 Hz is equivalent to 1 cycle /
second.
– For example, if a coil of slinky makes 5 cycles in one
second, then the frequency is 5 Hz.
– The period is the time taken for a particle to complete
a cycle of vibration. In other words, the period is the
reciprocal of the frequency.
 Frequency
Measured in Hertz (Hz)
= number of cycles per unit time (1
second)

If this is a graph of displacement versus time (i.e. the horizontal axis is time),
then the bottom wave is at a higher frequency than those above it.
 Properties of a wave (cont’d)
Wave velocity/speed
– The wave velocity refers to the speed at which
the wave propagates.
– The wave velocity depends on the medium
through which the wave propagates.
– The properties of the medium, say density,
tension in the string, thickness etc, will affect
the wave velocity.
– For instance, sound waves travel faster in solid
than in the air, as sound waves are related to
the elastic restoring force of the medium.
 Transverse and Longitudinal Waves
Another classification is based on the direction of particle oscillation
and the direction of wave propagation.
If the direction of particle oscillation is perpendicular to the direction
of propagation, the wave is called a transverse wave.
Examples of transverse waves include the wave in a guitar string /
violin, light and other electromagnetic waves.

Animation courtesy of
Dr. Dan Russell,
Kettering University
 Transverse and Longitudinal Waves
If the direction of particle oscillation is parallel to
the direction of propagation, the wave is called a
longitudinal wave. The sound wave is an example
of longitudinal wave.

Animation courtesy of
Dr. Dan Russell,
Kettering University
 Dynamics of Wave Motion
In one cycle of the oscillation, the wave
pattern will move ahead by a distance equal to
one wavelength.
In one unit of time (one second), the wave
pattern oscillates a number of cycles (which
is, by definition, the frequency of the wave).
Hence the pattern move forward a distance of
(Frequency) times the (Wavelength)
 Speed (or velocity) of a wave

(Frequency) X (Wavelength) = Velocity

 Dynamics of Wave
Phenomena:

Velocity =
(Frequency) X (Wavelength)
 Dynamics of Wave
Phenomena:
Simple algebra will show that
Velocity =
(Angular frequency)/ (Wave
number)
 Standing Waves
When two identical waves travel in opposite
directions and collide, a standing wave pattern
results.
The particles still somehow oscillate. The wave
profile now only moves up and down and does
NOT propagate (i.e. does not move left nor
right).
Applications: Musical instruments.
 Basic Wave Phenomena
Some basic phenomena common for all waves.
Reflection - If you throw a ball at a wall, it will
bounce back i.e. reflect.
Waves also undergo reflection and obey the law of
reflection i.e. the angle of incidence
is equal to the angle of reflection.
Properties of a wave (wavelength,
frequency, period and speed) are
not changed by reflection. The only
change is the direction in which
the wave is traveling. (Extracted from
http://www.school-for-
champions.com/science/
waves_obstacle.htm)
 Reflection
When a wave pulse on a string strikes a hard / fixed
boundary, the wave will reflect with inversion. However,
if the boundary is free, there will be no inversion.
Fixed End Free End

Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering University

 Reflection
The echoes you hear when you shout at a
wall are the reflection of sound waves.
The reflection of wave is also an important
phenomenon utilized in modern
applications such as the radar.
Radar means “Radio detection and
ranging”. A transmitter sends out
microwaves. The wave is reflected when it
meets an obstacle. The time of arrival of
the reflected pulse gives the distance of the
obstacle.
 Refraction
Refraction occurs when a wave moves from
one medium to another with a different
propagation speed.
This change of wave velocity
causes the BENDING of the
propagation direction.
For example, when water
from a deep region enters
a shallow region, the wave will (Extracted from
http://www.iop.org/activity
/education/Teaching_Res
bend since water waves travel ources/Teaching%20Adv
anced%20Physics/Vibrati
ons%20and%20Waves/I
faster in shallower region. mages%20300/img_tb_4
458.gif)
 Refraction
Animation

Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering University

 Refraction

For waves propagating to a new medium

where the speed propagation increases, in
general the wave front BENDS AWAY from
the normal (= a direction perpendicular to
the interface).
For waves propagating to a new medium
where the speed propagation decreases, in
general the wave front BENDS TOWARDS
the normal.
 Refraction
In a hot day, the air is warmest right next to the ground and grows
cooler above the ground.
The change in medium properties will also alter the wave velocity.
This means that for a sound wave traveling close to the ground, it
will travel faster and for sound wave traveling above the ground, it
will be slower.
Consequently, the sound wave will change direction and bends
upwards. This can create a region called “shadow zone” where a
person standing there will not hear the sound, even though he/she
might be able to see the sound source.

Courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering University

 Refraction
Another interesting as well as practically important
implication of wave refraction is coastal erosion.
When ocean waves travel from deep water to the
coastline, the water becomes shallow and the
wave fronts are bent due to wave refraction.
The waves are bent towards the sides of the
headlands and
cause erosion.

(Extracted from
http://daphne.palo
mar.edu/lyon/Anim
ations/WaveMotion.
swf)
 Diffraction
Diffraction of wave normally refers to the
apparent bending of waves around small
obstacles and the spreading of waves past small
openings.
When the opening is small,
the wave spreads out more.
When the wavelength of a
wave is large (in other words,
the opening is relatively small),
the diffraction
(Extracted from
is also stronger. http://www.bbc.co.u
k/scotland/educatio
n/bitesize/higher/ph
ysics/radiation/wav
es1_rev.shtml)
 Diffraction
Online experiment here.
Diffraction explains why you can hear someone who
is around the corner of a building, long before you
see them, as sound wave diffracts or spreads out
around the corner. Hence, the wall cannot “block”
the sound. Light does not
diffract much here because
it has a very small wavelength.
The wall will simply “block”
the light.
(Extracted from
Animation here http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/fe
schools/waves/diffract.htm)
 Interference
Interference is perhaps a more
complicated wave phenomenon.
Let us first see what happens when two
pulses of the same sign (positive or
negative) meet. The two
waves will “add up” their
displacement and become
a bigger wave when they
meet.
Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering University
 Interference

However, when two pulses of opposite

signs meet, they will “cancel each other”.
There will be no displacement when they
overlap exactly!

(Extracted from http://www.maths.gla.ac.uk/~fhg/waves/)

 Interference
When there are two or more wave sources, each of
the source will send out wave independently.
For any location, the total signal is the superposition
of all the individual signal sent by the sources.
If they are in phase, the overall amplitude
of the wave at that
location will be
increased:
Constructive
Interference.
(Extracted from
http://astro-
canada.ca/_en/a
2313.html)
 Interference
On the other hand, if the signals are out of phase,
they may cancel each other, resulting in quiescence:
Destructive Interference. Interesting interference
patterns will appear when you have multiple sources.

(Extracted from
http://astro-
canada.ca/_en/a
2313.html)
 Interference
The interference pattern of two sources
are as follows:

Animation here

(Extracted from
http://www.olympusn
dt.com/data/Image/t
heroy/InterferenceP
attern.jpg)
 Interference

Interference explains why there are

locations where sound may appear to be
louder than the others. This is due to the
interference of sound from multiple
sources or from the reflecting walls.
When you are listening to the radio, you
may find places where the signals are very
weak. This could be due to the destructive
interference of the signals.
 Nonlinear Wave Interaction
(Active area of research)
Linear interaction of waves

(Extracted from
http://www.maths.gla.ac.uk/~fhg/waves/)

Nonlinear interaction of waves (Solitons)