Waves

Divisha, Justin, L6 Physics

 Progressive waves
● Wave motion: a propagation of disturbance that travels from one location to another.
● Displacement: distance of a point from its undisturbed (equilibrium) position
● Amplitude: maximum displacement of particle from undisturbed position
● Period: time taken for one complete oscillation
● Frequency: number of oscillations per unit time

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● Wavelength: distance from any point on the wave to the next exactly similar point (e.g. crest
to crest)
● Wave speed: speed at which the waveform travels in the direction of the propagation of the
wave
● Progressive waves transfer energy from one position to another
 Wavefronts

○ Waves produced by
a ripple tank are
called wave fronts
○ Each line represents
the crest of a wave
○ The distance
between two wave
fronts is the
wavelength
REFLECTION REFRACTION
DIFFRACTION
● Displacement-distance
graph: for a fixed time

● Displacement-time graph: for a

fixed position
 Phase difference
● The phase difference tells us how much a point or a wave is
in front or behind another
● This can be found from the relative positions of the crests or
troughs of two different waves of the same frequency
○ When the crests or troughs are aligned, the waves
are in phase
○ When the crest of one wave aligns with the trough of
another, they are in antiphase
● The diagram below shows the green wave leads the purple
wave by ¼ λ
● In contrast, the purple wave is said to lag behind the green wave
by ¼ λ
● Phase difference is measured in fractions of a wavelength,
degrees or radians
● The phase difference can be calculated from two different points
on the same wave or the same point on two different waves
● The phase difference between two points:
○ In phase is 360o or 2π radians
○ In anti-phase is 180o or π radians
 Wave Intensity
● Progressive waves transfer
energy
● The amount of energy passing
through a unit area per unit time is
the intensity of the wave
● Therefore, the intensity is
defined as power per unit area
● The area the wave passes through
is perpendicular to the direction of
its velocity
● The intensity of a progressive
wave is also proportional to its
amplitude squared and frequency
squared
 Transverse and Longitudinal waves

Transverse Waves
➢ Oscillation of wave
particles
perpendicular to
direction of
propagation
➢ Polarization can occur
➢ E.g. light waves
 Transverse and Longitudinal waves

Longitudinal Waves
➢ Oscillations of wave
particle parallel to
direction of propagation
➢ Polarization cannot occur
➢ E.g. sound waves
 The Doppler Effect
Calculating Doppler Shift
● Arises when source of waves moves relative to observer
● Can occur in all types of waves, including sound & light
● When a source of sound waves moves relative to a stationary observer, the observed frequency can
be calculated using the equation below:

● The wave velocity for sound waves is 340 ms-1

● The ± depends on whether the source is moving towards or away from the observer
a. If the source is moving towards, the denominator is v - vs
b. If the source is moving away, the denominator is v + vs
 Source stationary
relative to Observer:

Source moving towards

Observer:

Source moving away from

Observer:
Cathode-Ray Oscilloscope

● Used to determine frequency

and amplitude

● Y-gain: increase in voltage per

unit (determine amplitude)
● Time-base: increase in time per
unit (determine period and
frequency)
 Polarization
● Polarization: the action of restricting the
vibration of a transverse wave wholly or
partially to one direction.
● ONLY transverse waves can be
polarized.
 ●
●
Electromagnetic Waves
As electromagnetic wave progresses, wavelength decreases and frequency increases
Visible light: 400 nm - 700 nm

All electromagnetic waves:

● All travel at the speed of light: 3*10^8 m per sec
● Travel in free space (don’t need medium)
● Can transfer energy
● Are transverse waves
Thank you for
listening !