waves Flashcards
What is a wavelength?
The measurement of crest to crest.
What is an amplitude?
An amplitude is the maximum number of displacements in the oscillation cycle.
What is displacement?
How far the quantaty that is in oscillation has moved from its mean?
What are examples of transverse wave?
Electromagnetic waves and water ripples.
Example of a longitudinal wave?
Sound wave
What does the number of different displacement particles along the same direction along which the wave is propagating lead to?
It can cause compression and rarefactions which means the particles are close together and the wave are further apart.
What are longitudinal waves know for and why?
Pressure waves because the compression(particles close together) and the rarefractions(waves further apart) leading to changing speed.
what is superposition?
When the waves are in phase and they travel in same place and same time.
What happens when an electron moves down an energy level?
It becomes deexcited and releases photonic energy in the form of light.
What happens when an electron moves up an energy level?
Gets excited and absorbs photon energy light. The smaller the gaps which are at the highest energy level will produce a low frequency but a longer wavelength wave, the less the frequency the less the energy and so the plain the colour.
How is a wave formed?
The wave displaces from the equilibrium.
How is a stationary wave formed?
A stationary wave is formed by the wave displacing from the equilibrium. Then the
wave is in incidence and travels towards the boundary. Then the other wave travels away from the boundary and is superposed with the other wave and so they are inphased and so this leads to constructive inteference. Then as both the waves keep moving they alternate between in phase and out of phase. Out of phase causes them to be destructive inteference and this causes the waves to be stationary. Then the node is a fixed point along the boundary. Antinode is formed from constructive inteference.
What is refraction?
When light changes direction when hitting the boundary or when changing mediums.
