superposition of waves Flashcards
what is a mechanical wave ?
It is disturbance produced in an elastic medium due to periodic vibrations of particles of the medium about their respective mean positions.
what is a progressive/travelling wave ?
A wave in which the disturbance produced in the medium travels a given direction continuously, without any damping and obstruction, from one particle to another.
what are transverse waves ?
vibrations of particles are perpendicular to the direction of the propagation of wave and produce crests and throughs in their medium of travel. They can propagate through solids
what are longitudinal waves ?
vibrations of particles are along the direction of the propagation of the wave and produce compressions and rarefactions along the direction of propagation of the wave. They can propagate through solids and fluids
what is reflection of waves ?
it is the phenomenon in which the sound wave traveling from one medium to another comes back in the original medium with slightly different intensity and energy.
what is a stationary wave ?
when two identical waves traveling along the same path in opposite directions interfere with each other, resultant wave is called a stationary wave.
what are nodes and antinodes ?
the points of the stationary wave which do not move and have 0 amplitude are nodes.
the points which move and have the maximum amplitude are antinodes.
what is a sonometer ?
it consists of a hollow rectangular wooden box called the sound box.
what is a beat ?
one waxing and successive waning together constitute one beat.
what is beat frequency ?
the number of beats heard per second.
what is loudness ?
it is the human perception to intensity of sound. the unit used is phon.
what is pitch ?
pitch is the human perception to frequency.
what is the quality/timbre ?
it is the characteristic which enables us to distinguish between two sounds of same pitch and loudness.
it depends on the number of overtones present in the sound along with a given frequency.
what is a musical scale ?
a sequence of frequencies which have a specific relationship with each other.
