Waves Flashcards
What are longitudinal waves?
Waves where the oscillations are parallel to the direction of travel
What are mechanical waves?
Waves that travel through a substance
What are transverse waves?
Waves where the oscillations are perpendicular to the direction of travel
What is polarisation?
When a transverse wave’s oscillations remain in one plane
How do you polarise something?
Direct the wave at a slit, so only the vibrations parallel to the slit pass through.
What is displacement on a wave?
The distance from the equilibrium position
What is the amplitude of a wave?
The point of maximum displacement, it can be measured as the distance from rest to crest
what is the wavelength of a wave?
The distance between to waves, measured from the same point on each wave, for example trough to trough
What is the period of a wave?
The time it takes for one cycle to pass a fixed point
What is the frequency of a wave?
The number of complete waves passing a point in one second
What is phase difference?
The fraction of a cycle between the vibrations of two particles.
What is phase difference measured in?
Degrees or Radians
When does diffraction occur?
When a wave spreads out after going through a gap or round an obstacle
When is diffraction increased?
When the gap is narrower and the wavelength is bigger the waves spread out more
What is superposition?
When waves meet and combine for a brief period of time until they seperate again
