2.4 - Waves Flashcards
what are stationary waves formed by?
the interference of two waves, of the same frequency and amplitude, travelling in
opposite directions
what displacement do nodes have on a stationary wave?
no displacement (nodes-placement)
what is meant if 2 waves are coherent?
they have a constant phase relationship
for 2 waves to constructively interfere, they must…
be coherent and exactly in phase
for 2 waves to destructively interfere, they must…
be coherent and exactly out of phase
when does a wave experience a pi phase change?
when it is travelling in a less dense medium and reflects from an
interface with a more dense medium. low to high gives pi
when does a wave not experience a pi phase change?
when it is travelling in a more dense medium and reflects from an
interface with a less dense medium
what is optical path length
OPL is the effective distance travelled by a wave in a vacuum, by taking into account the refractive index of a medium.
what is geometric path length?
the “real world” distance travelled by a wave
what does the division of amplitude refer to?
when a single waves amplitude is divided between 2 new, coherent, waves
a coated (bloomed) lens can be made nonreflective for a specific what
wavelength of light
