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Class 38 Properties of Waves
Class 38 Properties of Waves
PHYSICS
WAVES
Mr Rishi Gopie
Mr
R
Gopie
PHYSICS
Properties
of
waves
a) Reflection (at a plane boundary) – after which f, λ and speed (v) remain the same. consider:
i) Plane wavefronts
Diag. 9
Diag. 10
Diag. 11
i) λ1 > λ2
diag. 12
vi) Generally, for any type of wave (such as water waves, light waves, sound waves etc.):
4) refraction occurs towards the normal in the denser medium and away from the
n = wavelength (speed) of the waves in the less dense medium/wavelength (speed)
6) Refraction occurs when a wave passes from one medium into another in which it
has a different speed and wavelength and the angle of incidence at the boundary
This is the spreading of waves as they pass through an opening or aperture such as a gap or
a slit (and as they pass around the edge of an obstacle) the width a. Of which is comparable
In all cases, for the emerging waves: f, λ and speed (v) remain the same as for the incident rays.
For a given width of opening/aperture/gap/slit (i.e. for a fixed a): increasing λ of the incident waves
increases the amount of diffraction, i.e. spreading of the waves (e.g. red light is diffracted more than
blue light , by the same opening, since λa > λb )
For a given wavelength of incident waves (i.e. a fixed λ): decreasing a increases the amount of
diffraction waves.
Since the wavelength of visible light are very small then the diffraction of light in ordinary
circumstances is not observed – instead, light appears to travel in straight lines rather than to be
diffracted. However, the wavelengths of the sound waves and water waves are usually much larger
than those for visible light and so their diffraction effects are much more common and easier to
observe – for instance, sound can be heard round obstacles, such as doorways, while the source of
the sound cannot be seen around the same obstacles. Also, water waves are observed to spread
through/around openings in ripple tanks (and in bays on coastlines).
The principle of superposition states that when two(or more) waves meet at the same point
in space the resultant displacement at that point is the vector sum of the individual
displacements that each of the waves would produce, by itself, at that point in space.
Coherent sources of waves are sources which produce waves that have a constant phase
difference between them. Such waves are said to be, themselves, coherent. They also have
Interference between waves is produced where two (or more) coherent waves meet. The
waves undergo superposition and produce a pattern of resultant waves. This effect is
known as interference. Where the waves meet and undergo superposition in phase (i.e. with
crest – on – crest and trough – on – trough) then constructive interference occurs and the
amplitude of the resultant wave is the sum of the amplitudes of the two interfering waves. A
Where waves meet and undergo superposition exactly out-‐of-‐phase, i.e. 180° out-‐of-‐phase
occurs and the amplitude of the resultant wave is the difference between the amplitudes of
the two interfering waves. A minimum of intensity is thus obtained
Diag. 14
In a case of such interference the resultant wave (if there is one) has the same λ, f and speed
Water Waves High Crests and lower troughs Lower crests and higher
All waves (and only waves – not particles ) can undergo diffraction and interference where
waves from 2 (two) coherent sources overlap, interference patterns are produced in the
Diag. 15
It is impossible to obtain two independent sources of light waves that are coherent, so a
single source must be divided into two secondary sources (such as a pair of slits i.e. double
slit). Since these two secondary sources come from the same primary source then the waves
they produce must be coherent. Young`s double slit experiment investigates an interference
Diag. 16
The interference pattern is produced on a screen as a fringe pattern, i.e. a series of
alternating bright (B) and dark (D) fringes or bands. The centre of a bright fringe
corresponds to a region of constructive interference and the centre of a dark fringe
Where x is the fringe separation (i.e. the distance between the centres of adjacent bright
fringes/bands).
D is the distance between the double slit arrangement and the screen, d is the slit separation
(i.e. the distance between the centres of the two slits), λ is the wavelength of the wave.
Once d and D are constant then𝑥 ∝ 𝜆, i.e. the fringes get closer together as the wavelength
of light decreases (for instance as the colour of the light changes from red to blue).
given colour, say) as the slit separation increases. The young double-‐slit experiment i)
demonstrates the wave nature of light (since only waves can undergo diffraction and
interference), ii) enables the value for the wavelength to be determined (by measuring , x, d,
Since it is much easier to obtain a pair of coherent sources of sound waves then an
analogues experiment can be performed for sound waves. The primary source of light can
be replaced by an A.F. (audio frequency) generator and the double slit arrangement can be
replaced by a pair of identical speakers connected to the A.F. generator. In place of the
screen, a detector of sound waves is used – such as an observer`s ear of a microphone
Coherent water waves can be produced in a ripple tank (using dippers or barriers with gaps
in them) and an interference pattern obtained and observed. In fact, ripple tank
experiments can demonstrate all the properties of reflection, refraction, diffraction and
interference. Also all waves undergo superposition. In fact, only waves are capable of
undergoing superposition. In fact, only waves are capable of undergoing superposition
effects such as diffraction and interference – particles cannot show these properties.