Chapter 14 Flashcards
How can Energy can be transferred?
By means of particles’ direct contact, such as one object pushing another
or indirect contact, such as throwing a ball.
By waves
Defn: A wave
is a disturbance that transfers energy through matter or space.
→ mechanical waves (e.g. water, sound, spring or rope) require a medium. electromagnetic waves (e.g. light, radio waves, X-rays) do not require a medium.
Things we learned in the demonstrations with the slinky
→ A pulse is a single disturbance, waves are composed of multiple pulses.
→ The particles of the medium move, but do not travel with the wave.
There are three different kinds of waves.
Transverse waves, longitudinal waves, torsional waves
Transverse waves
are waves in which the vibrations are perpendicular to the direction of wave travel. (e.g. light, piano strings, guitar strings)
Longitudinal waves
are waves in which the vibrations are parallel to the direction of wave travel. (e.g. sound) Note: Water waves are often considered to be transverse, but in reality, they include both transverse and longitudinal vibrations.
Torsional waves
are waves in which the medium transfers energy by twisting back and forth. → you don’t need to know anything else about these.)
What are waves caused by?
Waves are caused by the repeated motion of a vibrating source.
Characteristics of Repeated Motion (e.g., a pendulum)
Cycle, Period and Frequency
Cycle
- 1 cycle is one complete repetition.
- One wavelength
Period
- the time for one cycle or Symbol: T ; Units: s
Frequency
- the number of cycles that occur in each second 1 cycle Symbol: f; Units: Hz (c/s) 1 → Frequency and Period are reciprocals of each other: f = 1/T & T = 1/f
If the frequency of the source is increased, where will the crests be?
If the frequency of the source is increased, the crests will be closer together.
A transverse wave 2 main parts:
The high parts are called crests and the low parts are called troughs. (If the motion is sideways, choose one direction to call crests and the other troughs.)
A longitudinal wave 2 main parts:
The parts where the particles are closer together than normal are called compressions and the parts where the particles are further apart than normal are called rarefactions:
®Defi. The wavelength of a wave
is the distance from one crest to the next (or one trough to the next). → For a longitudinal wave, it is the distance from one compression to the next (or one rarefaction to the next.)
Wavelength symbol and units:
Symbol: 入 ; Units: m
To find how fast a wave travels, i.e, the speed of the wave:
we need the distance it travels in a certain amount of time.
v = d/t = 入/T Since f= 1/T
The Universal Wave Equation. =
v = f 入
The amplitude of a wave
is the distance from the rest position to maximum displacement.
i.e., the amplitude is ½ the distance from extreme to extreme
Amplitude Notes:
- The amount of work you do is the amount of energy you transfer, and it takes more work to produce a wave with a large amplitude than to produce one with a small amplitude. This suggests the following important fact:
- The amplitude is the factor that represents the amount of energy transferred by the wave. i.e., the greater the amplitude, the more energy is being transferred.
- The other factors (wavelength, frequency, period, speed) are not representative of the amount of energy.
Can two waves occupy the same space without affecting each other?
Two waves can occupy the same space without affecting each other. However, they do interfere with each other, causing the medium to react to the combination of the two waves.
Wave Behaviour - reflections/ invertion
The speed of a wave depends on the medium. Whenever a wave travels from one medium to another, part of the wave travels on and part is reflected.
→ If the 2nd medium is more dense than the 1st, the reflected wave is inverted.
→ If the 2nd medium is less dense, the reflected wave is not inverted.
Defn. Interference
Occurs when two or more waves act simultaneously on the same particles of the medium.
- The waves themselves are unchanged, only the medium is affected.
- The effect of two waves on the particles of the medium is analyzed using the Principle of Superposition
Constructive Interference
occurs when the two waves have displacements in the same direction. The resultant displacement is greater than that caused by either wave alone.
Destructive Interference
occurs when the two waves have displacements in opposite directions. The resultant displacement is less than that caused by the largest of the component waves.
Standing Waves
A Standing Wave is formed when 2 waves of the same amplitude and wavelength interfere. The resulting pattern remains stationary (i.e., it does not appear to be traveling).
- The amplitude of the standing wave is twice that of the 2 interfering waves.
- Although standing waves were demonstrated with transverse waves, the same ideas apply to longitudinal waves as well.
nodes
- Points that remain at rest at all times
What do we treat our study of waves as?
We treat our study of waves as though they were ideal waves → waves that do not lose amplitude as they travel.
Antinodes
- Points that experience maximum displacement