Vibrations and Waves

DESI SAFITRI
4203121028
Vibrations and oscillations

 Periodic motions ( like: uniform circular motion )

 usually motions where restoring forces are present
( restoring forces: forces acting in opposite direction to
the distortion )
 example 1 : mass hanging on a spring ( restoring force-->
elastic )
 example 2: simple pendulum ( restoring force -->
gravitational )
 example 3: vibrating membrane or strings ( restoring
force--> elastic)
 1. Mass hanging on a spring

 describing the motion (case with no friction)

 new notions
-equilibrium position (where there is no net force)
-amplitude (maximal deviation from equilibrium,
units: m)
-one cycle (the object reaches its original position and
momentum)
-period , T (the length of time for completing one cycle,
units: s)
-frequency, f (number of cycles per unit time,
units: 1/s )
period of the system 1

f 
- does NOT depend on amplitude ! T
- stiffness of the spring ( spring constant, k,
units: N/m )
-mass of the object , m (units: kg)
m
T  2
k
2. Pendulum

 Describing the motion (case with no

friction)

 period
- does NOT depend on the amount of
swing (amplitude)
- does NOT depend on the mass !
- depends on its length, l (units: m)
-depends on the strength of gravity, g
(units: m/s2)

l
T  2
g
Vibrations and oscillations: key to the clocks!

 Early clocks:
- motion of the heavens: Sun, Moon, stars
- flow of substance: water, sand
 pendulum clocks:
- Christian Huygens, 1656
 spring clocks:
- John Harrison, 1756
 today’s instruments:
-electronic clocks (electronic
( oscillators)
-atomic clocks --> using the frequency of atomic transitions
Resonance

 each oscillating system has its distinctive, natural frequency : fn

 driving an oscillator with a frequency which is strongly different of
this is usually not effective
 driving the system with a frequency close to its natural frequency
increases strongly the amplitude--> this phenomenon is called
RESONANCE
 resonance type increases can be achieved also by driving with with
frequencies with integer parts of fn
 complex systems have all natural frequencies (depends on the
stiffness of material, the mass, size and form of the objects)
 good effects of resonance: tuning the radio, tuning musical
instruments, etc ….
 bad effects of resonance: safety of buildings, bridges, airplanes etc.
Waves: Vibrations that Propagate
 Simplest waves: perturbations (or pulses) that propagates
 example: domino waves (just one pulse propagation possible, no
mechanism for restoring the dominoes)
 better example: a chain of balls connected by springs (existence of
restoring forces)

 other examples: tidal waves, earthquake, light, sound

 although the waves travel, the individual particles vibrate around their
equilibrium position
 waves transport energy rather than matter
 in real medium a part of the energy dissipates by friction
 two basic type of waves: longitudinal and transverse waves
One dimensional waves in a rope

 We study simple cases, but the results will be general ones

 wave pulse on a rope
- the speed can be changed by the tension in the rope
- the speed depends on the linear density of the rope
- amplitude of the pulse have no effect on the pulse speed

 when a pulse hits the end that is attached to the post, it “bounces” off
and heads back (reflection of the pulse)
 if the incident pulse is an “up” pulse (crest), the reflected pulse is
“down” pulse (trough)
 Superposition of waves

 we send a crest and when it reflects as a

trough we send another crest to meet it
 the two waves pass each other as if the
other one were not there !
- very strange word if it would not be like
this!
 during the time the waves pass through
each other the resulting disturbance is a
combination (superposition) of the two
pulses
 the displacement is the algebraic sum of
the displacements of the two pulses
Periodic waves

 Moving the rope up and down with a steady frequency and

amplitude generates periodic waves

 properties of periodic waves

- frequency, f: : oscillation frequency of any piece in the medium
- wavelength, : the smallest distance for which the wave pattern
repeats (distance between two adjacent crest or troughs) units: m
- speed of the waves, v: traveling speed of a particular crest, units: m/s

v
T
v  f
 Standing waves

 When a periodic wave is confined --> new effects

 superposition of reflected waves with the original one-->
standing waves
 oscillating pattern that does not travel
 understanding it by using the superposition principle
 portions of the rope do not move at all : nodes
 positions on the rope that have largest amplitudes: antinodes
 different possible standing waves
- all have the same speed but different frequency and wave-length
- fundamental mode and harmonics
- longest wavelength: fundamental mode
Interference

 Scientific term for the superposition of waves

 we consider the 2D case, example: surface of liquids
 we assume that there are two sources with the same
frequency which oscillate in phase (both sources
produce crests at the same time)
 superposition--> creates interference patterns
 bright regions produced by crests
 dark regions produced by troughs
 regions with large amplitude (where crest meet
crest, or trough meets trough) --> antinodes
 regions with little or no amplitude (crest meet
trough)--> nodes
 the amplitude at a given point depends on the
difference in the path lengths from the two sources
 if the difference is a an integer multiple of we have
antinode
 if the difference is an odd multiple of
of we have
antinodes
 nodes and antinodes form a complex pattern in space
 nodal and antinodal lines
Diffraction

 waves can spread out behind the barrier

 this bending of waves around obstacles is called
diffraction
 the amount of diffraction depends on the relative sizes
of the opening and the wavelength
 if the wavelength is much smaller than the opening,
very little diffraction is evident (harder to see it with
light)
 as the wavelength gets closer to the size of the
opening, the amount of diffraction gets bigger
 diffraction through many obstacles can produce again
interference patterns
 Home-Work assignments

 Vibrations and Oscillations

358/1, 3-18; 361/1-10; 362/11-12
 Waves
358/20-21; 359/22, 24-33; 360/34-51;
361/55-56, 58-60; 362/15-24
 Summary

 Vibrations and oscillations are described by: period, T (time required for one cycle); frequency, f
(oscillations per unit time); f=1/T ; amplitude (maximum distance from the equilibrium)
- examples: mass hanging on a spring and pendulum
 all systems have a distinctive natural frequency
l m
 when a system is excited at a natural frequency --> resonance T  2 T  2
 waves are vibrations moving through the medium g k
 waves can be transverse or longitudinal one
 waves are characterized by: speed v, frequency f ,and wavelength v=F
 waves pass through each other, when overlap the total displacement is given by the
superposition (sum) of the individual waves
 when periodic wave is confined resonant patterns -- standing waves - can be produced
nodes (portions in the standing wave that do not move), antinodes (moves with the largest
amplitude) ; fundamental standing wave and harmonics
 two identical periodic wave sources with a constant phase difference produce an
interference pattern which contains nodal and antinodal regions
 waves do not go straight through openings or around barriers --> they suffer diffraction. The
diffraction pattern depends on the relative sizes of the openings and the wavelength