General Properties of Waves Flashcards
What do waves transfer?
Energy
What are the 2 types of wave?
Transverse and Longitudinal
What’s a transverse wave?
When wave oscillations are perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer
What’s a longitudinal wave?
When wave oscillations are parallel to the direction of wave motion
What type of wave are electromagnetic waves?
Transverse waves
What type of wave are sound waves?
Longitudinal waves
What type of wave are mechanical waves?
They may be either transverse or mechanical
What do all electromagnetic waves travel at the same speed through?
A vacuum (space)
What do electromagnetic waves form?
A continuous spectrum
What’s the order of electromagnetic waves from smallest to largest frequency?
Radio, micro, IR, visible, UV, X-ray, Gamma
What do longitudinal waves show areas of?
Rarefaction and compression
What 3 things can waves be?
Reflected, refracted, diffracted
When does significant diffraction occur?
When the wave is of the same order of magnitude as the size of the gap or obstacle
What to waves undergo when they are refracted at an interface?
A change of direction
What’s wavelength?
The distance between two peaks or the distance between two troughs
What’s amplitude?
Is measured from the peak (or trough) to the mid-point, and is the maximum displacement from the average position
What’s frequency?
The number of complete cycles (complete waves) in one second
What’s speed measured in?
m/s
What’s frequency measured in?
Hz
What’s wavelength measured in?
m
Which 4 electromagnetic waves can be used for communication?
Radio, micro, IR, visible
What type of communication are radio waves used in?
Television and radio
What type of communication are microwaves used in?
Mobile phones and satellite TV
What type of communication are infrared waves used in?
Remote controls
What type of communication are visible waves used in?
Photography
