waves n stuff Flashcards
what is a transverse wave?
waves in which the direction of vibration of field/particle is perpendicular to direction of wave propagation
what is a longitudinal wave?
waves in which the direction of vibration of field/particle is parallel to direction of wave propagation
what is a polarised wave?
a wave where the vibrations stay in one plane only
what is an unpolarised wave?
a wave where the vibrations don’t stay in one plane
what is the period of a wave?
the time for one complete wave to pass a fixed point
what is wavelength?
least distance between two adjacent vibrating particles with same displacement and velocity at the same time
what is amplitude?
The maximum displacementof a vibrating particle
height of wave crest or depeth of trough from equilbrium position
what is refraction?
change of direction of a wave when it enters a more dense medium from a less dense medium
what is diffraction?
the spreading of waves passing through a gap or near an edge
what is an antinode
a fixed point in a stationary wave pattern where the amplitude and displacement is at it’s maximum
what is a node
a fixed point in a stationary wave where the amplitude and displacement is 0
what is equation for difference for distance between adjacent nodes on a stationary wave
half of the wavelength of the stationary wave
what is an electromagnetic wave
wavepacket or photon
consisting of transverse electric and magnetic waves
in phase and at right angles to each other
what is a mechanical wave
a wave that passes through a substance
what is one complete cycle of a wave
it’s from maximum displacement to the next maximum displacement
what is the displacement of a vibrating particle
it’s distance and direction from equilbrium position
state a feature of longitudinal waves that transverse waves do not have
rarefractions and compressions
what are wave fronts
lines of constant phase
what is the direction in which a wave travels
at right angles to the wave front
what is superpositon
the effect of two waves adding together when they meet
what is the principle of superposition
when two waves meet the total displacement at a point is equal to the sum of the indivdiulal displacements at that point
what is created when a trough and trough meet
a super trough is created
what is created when a crest and a crest meet
super crest is created
how is a stationary wave formed
when two or more progressive waves of the same frequency and amplitude pass through each other
what is a stationary wave
a wave pattern with node and antinodes
formed when two or more progressive waves of the same frequency and amplitude pass through each other
what happens when a crest and trough of the same amplitude meet
the resultant displacement becomes zero the two waves cancel each other out
what happens when a crest and a trough with different amplitudes meet
the two waves cancel each other out
the resultant amplitude is miniumum
what is observed when polarised light is passing through a polarising filter that is being rotated 360 degrees
variation in intensity between max and min
two maxima in 360 degrees roatation
what is displacement
of a vibrating particle is its distance and direction from the equlibrium position
what is the period of a wave
the time for one complete wave to pass a fixed point
what is the frequency of a wave
number of cycles of vibration of a particle per second
or
number of complete passing a fixed point per second
what is path difference
the difference in distances from two coherent sources to an interference fringe
what is phase difference
the fraction of a cycle between the vibrations of two vibrating particles
