Chapter 14: Waves
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Chapter 14: Waves What’s disturbing you?
Wave Properties • Waves carry energy through matter. • The matter can move with the wave, or at right angles to it. • Newton’s laws and conservation laws govern the behavior of waves as well as particles. • All waves transmit energy. Some we see and some we cannot, like sound and light.
What are Waves? • Rhythmic disturbances that carry energy through matter or space are called waves. • Some waves require a medium to travel through. These are called Mechanical waves. • Water, air, ropes, and springs can “carry” energy through them. • Media can be solids, liquids, or gases. Some are good carriers and some not so good…
Two types of waves There are two different fundamental types of waves: • Transverse Waves- the energy moves at right angles to the direction of the medium. • Water, light, waves on a rope, electromagnetic waves, most waves move this way • Longitudinal Waves- the energy moves parallel with the direction of the medium. • Sound & slinky compressions are the only examples of a longitudinal or compression wave. Most liquids & gases transmit energy this way.
Measuring Waves We can describe waves in several aspects: • Speed- Δd/Δt, speed depends on medium • Amplitude- maximum displacement from rest or equilibrium. Greater amplitude is caused by more work, thus more energy (not more speed) • For waves of the same speed, the rate at which energy is transferred is proportional to the square of the amplitude. Double amplitude transfers 4x as much energy/sec.
Measuring waves cont’d • Wavelength (λ)- low points are troughs, high points are crests, shortest distance b/t 2 identical points on a wave is one wavelength (m). • Period (T)- the time it takes for a wave to make one complete cycle (oscillation). (s) • Frequency (f)- the number of cycles per second (Hz).
Wave Speed • Both period and frequency of a wave depend only on the wave source; not speed or medium. • Wavelength depends on both frequency and wave speed. Speed of a wave is wavelength divided by period, so • Wave speed is frequency times wavelength.
Example Problem A sound wave produced by a clock chime is heard 515 m away, 1.5 s later. a. What is the speed of sound of the clock’s chime in air? b. The sound wave has a frequency of 436 Hz. What is its period? c. What is its wavelength?
Problem Solved Given: d = 515m, t=1.5s, f=436 Hz v = d / t, T = 1/f • v = 515m / 1.5s = 343m/s • T= 1/f = 1/436Hz, T=2.29x10-3s • λ = v / f = (343m/s) / (436Hz) = 0.787m
Wave Behavior • When a wave reaches a boundary, some of the wave reflects back into the original medium, and some of the wave is transmitted into a new medium. • The amount of reflection or refraction depends on rigidity of the medium.
Waves at Boundaries • Remember the speed of a wave through a medium depends on the properties of the medium, not wave amplitude or frequency. • In air, temperature affects speed. • In water, depth affects speed. • In solids, rigidity affects speed. • Waves striking boundaries may be returned to their medium (reflected), or passed through to the next (transmitted).
Boundaries cont’d • An incoming wave is called an INCIDENT WAVE. • If an incident wave strikes a barrier and is transmitted, the pulse remains upward. • If an incident wave strikes a barrier and is reflected, the pulse returns to the original medium and can be inverted. • Reflected waves can lose amplitude and transfer energy to the barrier. The wave’s speed does not really decrease.
Superposition • Unlike particles of matter, 2 or more waves can exist in the same space at the same time. • The medium will be displaced an algebraic equivalent to the sum of the individual displacements. • This is called interference and can increase (Constructive) or decrease (Destructive) the amplitude of the new wave.
Wave Interference • Interference can produce points of zero displacement called nodes. • Points of maximum displacement are called antinodes. • Standing waves appear to stand still due to interference at just the right frequency.
Waves in two-dimensions • Ray diagrams help model the movement of waves in 2 dimensions. • A line perpendicular to the barrier is the “normal” • The angle an incident ray makes with the normal will be equal to the angle a reflected ray makes with the normal • This is the law of reflection and holds true for all types of waves.
Reflection and Refraction • Waves that return to their medium reflect from a surface following the law of reflection. • Waves that pass through to another medium refract or bend due to a change in speed in the new medium.
Diffraction • Waves may bend AROUND a barrier they encounter. Bending around the edges without changing media is called diffraction. • Diffraction also occurs when waves meet a small obstacle. They can bend around it and fill in behind it.