AN INTRODUCTION TO WAVE

Water waves, waves in a rope or string, vibrations in a piece of steel (e.g., train tracks),
earthquake waves, sound waves produced by a musical instrument, light waves, microwaves,
X-rays, radio waves, the back and forth motion of a pendulum, waving one’s hand back and
forth.
What is a wave?
A vibration or disturbance that moves through a substance (a medium) or through empty
space.

There are two types of waves:

Electromagnetic waves: can travel through empty space e.g., light waves, X-rays, radio waves,
microwaves (Acronym: RIVUXG: radio, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, xray, gama). Each of
these RIVUXG has its own frequency and wavelength but all have same speed of 3x10 6m/s
Mechanical waves: need a substance or medium to pass through e.g., sound waves, waves
through a rope, water waves.

Demonstration: Put a cell phone in a bell chamber. Dial the cell phone number and have it ring
before evacuating the air. Everyone will be able to hear the ringing of the mechanical sound
wave. Pump the air out of the chamber and dial the cell phone again. Leave a message on the
phone. The ringing of the mechanical sound wave cannot be heard since there is no air in the
chamber for it to travel through. Before removing the phone, ask students if they think that the
message got to the phone – e.g., could the radio waves carrying the message reach the phone
.

KEY Q: Why does sunlight reach us here on Earth while the sound of nuclear reactions
happening on the sun does not?
Types of Mechanical Waves (Transverse waves&Longitudinal waves)
a. Transverse waves are mechanical waves in which the particles of the substance carrying the
wave vibrate up and down while the wave moves to the right or left (e.g., waves on a rope or
spring). The high points of the wave are called crests while the low points are called troughs.
For waves, there is no net displacement of the particles (they return to their equilibrium
position), but there is a net displacement of the wave. There are thus two different motions:
the motion of the particles of the medium and the motion of the wave.
Question:

1. The total distance between 4 consecutive peaks of a transverse wave is 6 m. What is the
wavelength of the wave?
2. Define frequency, wavelength and speed of a wave and state the formula relating them.
3. A cork on the surface of a swimming pool bobs up and down once per second on some
ripples. The ripples have a wavelength of 20 cm. If the cork is 2 m from the edge of the
pool, how long does it take a ripple passing the cork to reach the shore? (ans: 10s)

Waves transfer energy from one location to another, but they cannot transfer matter.
KEY Q: Think about the last time you watched a live interview on TV when the interviewer was
in a different location than the interviewee. There is often a delay between the interviewer
asking the question and the interviewee responding. Can you think of why there might be a
delay?
KEY Q: why do you we see the lightning before the sound during a thunderstorm? Why do you
notice the smoke when a gun is fire before you hear the sound?
Speed of Waves: Different kinds of waves travel at different speeds. Examples, electromagnetic
waves, such as visible light, travel at 300 000 km/s; mechanical waves, such as sound waves,
travel at 0.343 km/s at room temperature through air.
The medium (material) that a mechanical wave, such as a sound wave, travels through affects
its speed. Example, sound travels faster through rope than it does through air, since rope is
denser. Putting one’s ear to the track to hear the train (not recommended rather than listening
for the sound of the train in the air.
When a wave moves from a thin rope to a thicker one, the speed of the wave will decrease.
The wave will move slower and the wave length will increase.
When light enters a denser medium (like from air to glass) the speed and wavelength of
the light wave decrease while the frequency stays the same.
Incident, Reflected and Transmitted Waves
The incident wave is the one that arrives at the boundary. The reflected wave is the one that
moves back, away from the boundary. The transmitted wave is the one that moves into the
new medium, away from the boundary.
Note: the reflected and transmitted waves are not inverted.

Reflection of a Wave from a Fixed End

When the end of the medium is fixed, for example a rope tied to a wall, a wave reflects from
the fixed end, but the wave is inverted.

Reflection of a Wave from a Free End

Another example of a free-end is the boundary between the thin and a thick string.

When the end of the medium is free, for example a rope tied loosely to a pole, a wave reflects
from the free end, but the wave is not inverted.
Superposition of Waves

Two or more waves can pass through the same medium at that same time. The resulting wave
is obtained by using the principle of superposition. The principle of superposition states that
the effect of the waves is the sum of their individual effects. After waves pass through each
other, each wave continues along its original direction of travel, and their original amplitudes
remain unchanged.
Constructive interference takes place when two waves meet each other to create a larger
wave. The amplitude of the resulting wave is the sum of the amplitudes of the two initial
waves. In other words,If two waves are both trying to form a trough in the same place then a
deeper trough is formed, the depth of which is the sum of the depths of the two waves. Now
in this case, the two waves have been trying to do the same thing, and so add together
constructively. This is called constructive interference.

Destructive Interference takes place when two waves meet and cancel each other. The
amplitude of the resulting wave is the sum of the amplitudes of the two initial waves. In order
words, if one wave is trying to form a peak and the other is trying to form a trough, then they
are competing to do different things. In this case, they can cancel out. The amplitude of the
resulting wave will depend on the amplitudes of the two waves that are interfering. If the
depth of the trough is the same as the height of the peak nothing will happen. If the height of
the peak is bigger than the depth of the trough, a smaller peak will appear. And if the trough is
deeper then, a less deep trough will appear. This is destructive interference.

Question
Question: For each labelled point, indicate whether constructive or destructive interference
takes place at that point.

Question: Consider the diagram below of a standing wave on a string 9 m long that is tied at
both ends. The wave velocity in the string is 16 m/s. What is the wavelength?

Standing Waves
What happens when a reflected transverse wave meets an incident transverse wave? When
two waves move in opposite directions, through each other, interference takes place. If the
two waves have the same frequency and wavelength then standing waves are generated.
Standing waves are so-called because they appear to be standing still.

If we look at the overall result, we get a standing wave

Nodes and Anti-nodes

A node is a point on a wave where no displacement takes place. In a standing wave, a node is a
place where the two waves cancel out completely as two waves destructively interfere in the
same place. A fixed end of a rope is a node. An anti-node is a point on a wave where maximum
displacement takes place. In a standing wave, an anti-node is a place where the two waves
constructively interfere. A free end of a rope is an anti-node.
Wavelengths of Standing Waves with Fixed and Free Ends

For 2 nodes, It is shown below:

Question: Write the formula for the relationship between the wavelength and the length of a
pipe in a standing wave with 4 nodes.

Longitudinal wavesare mechanical waves in which the particles of the substance carrying
the wave vibrate right to left and the wave moves right to left. In other words, a wave where
the particles in the medium move parallel to the direction of propagation of the wave.
Example, sound waves - the parts of the wave where the particles of the substance are close
together are called compressions and the parts where the particles are far apart are called
rarefactions.

A longitudinal wave is seen best in a spring that is hung from a ceiling.

Instead of peaks and troughs, longitudinal waves have compressions and rarefactions.A compression is a region in a
longitudinal wave where the particles are closer together. A rarefaction is a region in a longitudinal wave where the
particles are further apart.

A sound wave is different from a light wave.

• A sound wave is produced by an oscillating object while a light wave is not.
• A sound wave cannot be diffracted while a light wave can be diffracted.
Question: A person shouts at a cliff and hears an echo from the cliff 1 s later. If the speed of
sound is 344 m/s, how far away is the cliff?