Waves: Sound/Light Flashcards
Mechanical wave
wave that needs a medium to travel through e.g. sound waves, water waves
electromagnetic wave
does not need a medium to travel through e.g. visable light, x-rays
periodic travelling wave
periodic disturbance that travels outward from a source, transferring energy from the source to other places
transverse wave
wave where the direction of vibration is perpendicular to the direction in which the wave is travelling
longitudinal wave
wave where the direction of vibration is parallel to the direction in which the wave is travelling e.g. sound waves
amplitude of wave
height of wave from undisturbed point to crest
oscillation/cycle
period
1 crest and 1 trough
wavelength
distance from trough to trough/crest to crest
frequency
number of cycles passing any point per second
unit of frequency
Hertz (H) - 1Hz=1 cycle per sec
wave phenomena
- reflection
- refraction
- diffraction
- interference
- polarisation
c=fλ
c=speed
f=frequency
λ=wavelength
reflection
bouncing of waves off an obstacle in their path
refraction
changing of direction of a wave when it enters a region where its speed changes e.g. hear better on cold night
diffraction
sideways spreading of waves into the region beyond a gap or around an obstacle
constructive interference
2 waves meet and resulting amplitude is greater than the amplitude of each individual wave
destructive interference
where 2 waves meet and resulting amplitude is less than the amplitude of each individual wave
note: when trough meets crest the waves completely cancel each other out - completely out of phase
coherent sources
constant phase difference or in phase
they will have same frequency
nodal lines
lines in interference pattern where there is total destructive interference
antinodal lines
where constructive interference occurs
polarisation
restriction of waves to vibrating in a certain plane
stationary waves
amplitude of wave at every point is constant: no net transfer of energy.
occurs when 2 periodic travelling waves of same amp/frequency moving in opposite directions meet
node to node
λ/2