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8 Appendix B: Derivation
of the Wave Equation
Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems, 10 th edition, by William E. Boyce and Richard C. DiPrima, ©2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Note that
V ( x, t ) H (t ) tan H (t )u x ( x, t )
Then our equation from the previous slide,
Vx ( x, t ) utt ( x, t ),
becomes
( Hu x ) x utt
• Since H is independent of x, it follows that
Hu xx utt
• If the motion of the string is small, then we can replace
H = Tcos by T. Then our equation reduces to
a 2u xx utt , a 2 T /
Wave Equation
• Our equation is
a 2u xx utt , a 2 T /
• We will assume further that a2 is constant, although this is not
required in our derivation, even for small motions.
• This equation is the wave equation for one space dimension.
• Since T has the dimension of force, and that of mass/length,
it follows that a has the dimension of velocity.
• It is possible to identify a as the velocity with which a small
disturbance (wave) moves along the string.
• The wave velocity a varies directly with the tension in the
string and inversely with the density of the string material.
Telegraph Equation