waves Flashcards
progressive wave
wave which transfers energy from one place to another with a wave front which travels through the material
longitudinal wave
waves which the particles oscillate in the same direction as energy propagation
transverse waves and give examples
waves where the particle oscillations are perpendicular to the energy propagation i.e electromagnetic waves
frequency
number of waves passing through a point per second
wavelength
distance between two adjacent corresponding points on a wave
amplitude
max displacement of the wave from its equilibrium position
what is the phase difference of a wave and what is it measured in
the amount one wave lags behind another as a proportion of the wavelength. measured in radians or degrees
what do each of the ‘axes’ on an oscilloscope measure
vertical divisions = voltage/amplitude
horizontal divisions = time
refraction
when a wave bends at a boundary between two materials due to the difference in density causing it to speed up or slow down
true or false: a wave can either be refracted or reflected at a boundary, but never both
false: at low angle of incidence most will be refracted, but some will reflect
true or false: diffraction is most noticeable when the wavelength is much larger than the gap the wave is travelling through
false
the most diffraction is seen when the gap and the wavelength are the same size
if the wavelength is much bigger the waves will be mostly reflected
can all waves be polarised
no, only transverse waves
what is the difference between a polarised and unpolarised wave
- polarised waves only contains waves oscillating along one axis
- unpolarised waves can be oscillating in any direction perpendicular to the axis of propagation
describe how a ripple tank might be used to investigate diffraction
- create water waves in the tank
- vary the size of the gap for them to pass through
- note how the direction of the waves passing through changes
polarised light is being passed through a rotating polarisation filter. what would happen to the intensity of the light passing through
it would vary from a maximum (all light passes through) when the axis of polarisation and the axis of the filter line up to a minimum (no light passes through) when the axes are perpendicular
how is intensity defined in terms of power
intensity is power / area
how are intensity and amplitude related
intensity is proportional to amplitude ^2
true / false: all electromagnetic waves have the same time period
false.
they all travel at the same speed - but their wavelengths, frequencies and time periods vary
how fast do electromagnetic waves travel in a vacuum
the speed of light
true or false: the magnetic field and electric field in a electromagnetic wave are parallel to each other
false: the electric and magnetic field are at right angles to each other