Physics Flashcards
What is a transfer of energy without net(matter) movement defined as?
Wave nature. A wave can have a fixed position, and act as a conduit for energy.
What types of waves are there?
Transverse and longitudinal waves.
What is “Rich men in Vegas use expensive gadgets” an expression for?
Radiowaves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-ray, gammarays.
What types of waves exist that are not on the spectrum?
Electromagnetic waves, sound waves, seismic activity.
What is amplitude?
Amplitude is the length from the midpoint in a transversal wave to the top or bottom of the wave. It is also a measure of the energy of the wave.
What is wavelength?
Wavelength is defined as the symbol lampda, and it is measured in meters and as the distance between two crests or throughs.
What is frequency? What is it defined as?
Frequency is the is how fast the wave swings around the midpoint. A high frequency also means a high pitch sound, while a low frequency means a low pitch sound. Frequency is defined as 1/T where T is the period. Frequency is measured in Hz, or seconds^-1, which is wave per second.
What is a period in a wave? What is it defined as?
A period is the time that it takes for a fixed point in a transversal wave to swing from the top to the bottom and up again, which is the same as saying a complete wavelength. A period is defined as T=1/F, where F is the frequency. It is also defined as T=v/lambda (m/s)/m, which in turn gives T the unit seconds.
What is the formula for speed in a wave?
speed=distance/time
wave speed=wavelengthfrequency
v=lampdaF
which is measured in meters per second.
Which aspects of a wave is affected by the media?
Frequency is not. Wavelength and speed can depend on the medium, for instance light in glass, the wavelength and speed falls.
What does longitudinal and transverse waves mean?
Transverse waves vibrates at a 90 degree angle to the direction of the wave. Longitudinal means that the wave vibrates in the direction of the wave.
How do waves behave? At surfaces, boundaries?
They reflect on a surface, they refract at a boundary.
How does reflection and refraction effect the speed, frequency and wavelength of a wave?
If it reflects the wave, then it continues as the same wave in a different direction. If it refracts, then the wave continues with the same frequency but often the speed and wavelength changes so that it’s either faster or slower depending on the media.
What is the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection?
When you look at a shift in material, for instance air to a mirror, and a wave is coming in at an angle to that mirror, the angle of incidence is when you draw a line at a 90 degree angle on the mirror and take the angle between that and the angle the ray is coming in at. In reflection, the angle of incidence is also the angle of reflection.
Why does refraction affect a wave changing medium?
Because sometimes the other medium is denser or less dense than the medium the wave came from, which also changes the angle of the wave, unless it’s coming in at a 90 degree angle.
