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PH11003
Tutorial 5
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11 - 15 Jan, 2021

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Problem 1

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Consider a guitar string (say, the 1st-string (E-high): the thinnest string). Its tension is
adjusted such that when open (string vibrating at full length), its fundamental frequency is
330 Hz (E). Keeping the tension same, if we now close the first fret (i.e. put our finger on the
first fret), the fundamental frequency becomes 350 Hz (F). If the length of the string is about

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60 cm, can you estimate the reduction in length of the string when you place your finger on
the first fret? Note that this is roughly the distance between the nut (0th-fret) and the first
fret.

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Problem 1

t
Consider a guitar string (say, the 1st-string (E-high): the thinnest string). Its tension is
adjusted such that when open (string vibrating at full length), its fundamental frequency is
330 Hz (E). Keeping the tension same, if we now close the first fret (i.e. put our finger on the
first fret), the fundamental frequency becomes 350 Hz (F). If the length of the string is about

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60 cm, can you estimate the reduction in length of the string when you place your finger on
the first fret? Note that this is roughly the distance between the nut (0th-fret) and the first
fret.

o Solution

Guitar Fretboard Lengths of two frets

PH11003 Tutorial 5 11 - 15 January, 2021 2/8

Problem 1

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of the standing wave in a stretched string of tension T having mass per unit length
Velocity p
µ is v = T/µ, which remains same for any specific string and independent of the string
length (doesn’t matter where you put your finger on the string !)

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• Without placing finger on the E string
Fundamental frequency of the string ν = 330 Hz.
Wavelength of the fundamental node = 2× full string length i.e. λ = 2L (L = 60 cm)

• Placing finger on the first fret of E string

Fundamental frequency of the string ν 0 = 350 Hz.
Wavelength of the fundamental node = 2× full string length i.e. λ0 = 2L0 (unknown)

In both the cases the velocity of the standing wave remains same

v = νλ = ν 0 λ0
ν
⇒ L0 = L
ν0
∴ L0 = 56.57 cm

Distance between the nut (0-th) fret and the first fret

∆L = L0 − L = 60 − 56.57 = 3.43 cm

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Problem 2

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Find the phase velocity and group velocity for the following two wave-forms
(x and t are measured in SI units)
(i) ψ1 (x, t) = cos(4t − 2x) + cos(8t − 4x).
(ii) ψ2 (x, t) = cos(8t − 6x) + cos(4t − 4x).

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Does these waveforms satisfy the wave equation
∂2ψ 1 ∂2ψ
2
− 2 =0
∂x v ∂t2
where v is a constant independent of frequency. Explain.

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Problem 2

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Find the phase velocity and group velocity for the following two wave-forms
(x and t are measured in SI units)
(i) ψ1 (x, t) = cos(4t − 2x) + cos(8t − 4x).
(ii) ψ2 (x, t) = cos(8t − 6x) + cos(4t − 4x).

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Does these waveforms satisfy the wave equation
∂2ψ 1 ∂2ψ
2
− 2 =0
∂x v ∂t2
where v is a constant independent of frequency. Explain.

o Solution
The general form of the wave form composed from the superposition of two wave functions
can be written as
ψ(x, t) = cos(ω1 t − k1 x) + cos(ω2 t − k2 x)
   
ω1 + ω2 k1 + k2 ω1 − ω2 k1 − k2
= 2 cos t− x cos t− x
2 2 2 2
| {z } | {z }
within envelop (phase) overall envelop (group)

So the phase velocity vp and the group velocity vg is given by

ω ω1 + ω2 ∆ω ω1 − ω2
vp = = and vg = =
k k1 + k2 ∆k k1 − k2

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Problem 2

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(i) Identifying as ω1 = 4, ω2 = 8, k1 = 2, k2 = 4, we have

4+8 4−8
vp = = 2 m/s and vg = = 2 m/s
2+4 2−4

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When vg = vp is same, there is no loss of energy and ω ∝ k. This is true for Non-Dispersive
media.

(ii) Identifying as ω1 = 8, ω2 = 4, k1 = 6, k2 = 4, we have

8+4 8−4
vp = = 1.2 m/s and vg = = 2 m/s
6+4 6−4

Generally vp > vg for lossy medium. But, this is a very special case where vg ≥ vp due to a
phenomenon known as Anomalous dispersion which has interesting characteristics.

Plug the wave forms ψ(x, t) for both (i) and (ii) to find whether it satisfies the d’Alembertian
1 ∂2 ∂2
operator  = 2 2 − . The (i) waveform does satisfy whereas (ii) does not. The reason
v ∂t ∂x2
1 is, (i) has v = v = ω/k, whereas for (ii) v 6= v .
g p g p

1 ˆ operator solution is of the form ∼ f (x − vt) + g(x + vt)

Vaguely! Mathematically speaking, 
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Problem 3

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Consider a sound wave traveling in a solid with Young’s modulus, Y = 2 × 1011 kgm−1 s−2 ,
and whose mass density is ρ = 8 × 103 kgm−3 . The wave-solution has the form
ξ(x, t) = A cos 2(kx − (2π × 102 )t), where x and t are measured in SI units.
1. Calculate the velocity of sound in the given solid.

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2. Compute the wavelength and frequency of the the given wave-form.

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Problem 3

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Consider a sound wave traveling in a solid with Young’s modulus, Y = 2 × 1011 kgm−1 s−2 ,
and whose mass density is ρ = 8 × 103 kgm−3 . The wave-solution has the form
ξ(x, t) = A cos 2(kx − (2π × 102 )t), where x and t are measured in SI units.
1. Calculate the velocity of sound in the given solid.

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2. Compute the wavelength and frequency of the the given wave-form.

o Solution
1. Velocity of the sound wave in the solid is given by
s s
Y 2 × 1011
v= = = 5000 m/s
ρ 8 × 103

Notice that the velocity of sound is around 15 times to that of air !

2. Given ω = 4π × 102 , so the frequency is given by

ω
ν= = 200 Hz
2π

and the wavelength is given by

v
λ= = 25 m
ν
Get a feel of how large the sound wave is in solids !
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Problem 4

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Find the Fourier transform f̃ (k) of the following function

x2
 
1
f (x) = √ exp − 2
2πσ 2σ

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What is the product of standard deviations of f (x) and f̃ (k) ?

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Problem 4

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Find the Fourier transform f̃ (k) of the following function

x2
 
1
f (x) = √ exp − 2
2πσ 2σ

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What is the product of standard deviations of f (x) and f̃ (k) ?

o Solution
The Fourier transformation of a function f (x) is defined as

1
Z ∞
f̃ (k) = √ f (x) eikx dx
2π −∞

The function f (x) given above is known as the Gaussian distribution having mean position
µ = 0 and standard deviation σ.

The Fourier transformation is given by

1
Z ∞ 1

x2

f̃ (k) = √ √ exp − 2 eikx dx
2π −∞ 2πσ 2σ

PH11003 Tutorial 5 11 - 15 January, 2021 7/8

Problem 4

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Z ∞
k2 σ 2 (x − ikσ 2 )2
  
1
⇒ f̃ (k) = exp − exp 2
dx
2πσ 2 −∞ 2σ
k2 σ 2 √
 
1

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⇒ f̃ (k) = exp − 2πσ
2πσ 2
1

σ 2   
∴ f̃ (k) = √ exp − k2
2π 2

Comparing the functional form with f (x), we find that the distribution f̃ (k) has a mean at
1
zero but with a standard deviation of . Notice that the Fourier transform of a Gaussian
σ
function is also Gaussian in nature.

Product of Standard deviation (SD) of both distributions

1
(SD)x (SD)k = σ × =1
σ

Notice that the product is a constant which is independent of µ and σ. Moreover, the
product is minimum. This has larger implications regarding Heisenberg’s famous
“Uncertainity principle” which we will encounter in Quantum Mechanics.

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