Huygen's Principle & Wave Interference Flashcards
What is a sine wave?
A symmetrical wave that describes the movement of something with time
How does amplitude affect a sign wave?
Higher peaks = higher amplitude
How does wavelength affect a sine wave?
Larger wave length = more spaced apart waves
If two sine waves appear to be mirror images, what happens?
The waves are completely out of phase with each other so they will cancel each other out.
What are Huygen sources?
Point sources that emit a wave (the crystals).
What are Huygen wavelets?
The waves emitted from each source (each crystal).
What does the rate of divergence depend on?
The size of the source
What is Divergence?
Divergence is the spreading of the beam as it travels from the source.
How does the source effect divergence?
The larger the source of sound, the less divergence there is
What is the cause of weak echos failing to make it back?
Divergence.
The source of sound is small so there is a large amount of diveregence
What is diffraction?
Diffraction occurs when a beam with planar wave fronts passes through a small aperture and spreads out.
What is an aperture?
An opening
What is a planar wave front?
A wave that is harmonic and homogenous (in phase)
What is Huygen’s principal?
Each point source creates it’s own sound wave (beam) and these many wavelets from multiple sources join together to form a new wave front.
How does the concept of a “new wave front” help us in UT?
By controlling the shape of the beam we can control certain aspects like sensitivity and resolution.