Engineering Physics

PHY-109
Waves-1
ELECTROMAGNETIC THEORY QUANTUM MECHANICS

LASER WAVES

Dr. Jeeban Pd Gewali

Department of Physics
Lovely Professional University
SOLID STATE PHYSICS
Phagwara, Punjab-144411

FIBER OPTICS
Syllabus
 Interference phenomenon and Concept of resonance

 Audible, ultrasonic and infrasonic waves. Production of ultrasonic

waves by magnetostriction method.

 Production of ultrasonic waves by piezoelectric method, ultrasonic

transducers and their uses, applications of ultrasonic waves,
detection of ultrasonic waves (Kundt's tube method, sensitive flame
method and piezoelectric detectors),

 Absorption and Dispersion of ultrasonic waves.

 Superposition of two waves, sound wave and its velocity, standing

waves, Formation of beats, Supersonic and shock waves.
Wave Motion
 Awave is the propagation of disturbance in a medium which carries the energy along with its motion.

 Wave can be mainly of three types

 Mechanical
Classical Waves
 Electromagnetic
 Matter wave Non Classical Waves

 The equation governing the propagation of disturbance in a classical wave is

𝜕2𝑓 1 𝜕2𝑓
= 2
𝜕𝑥 2 𝜐 𝜕𝑡 2

 In general wave motion is propagating, however there are waves in which, over a period of time no net energy
is carried in any direction. These are called the stationary waves.

 The shape of the wave can vary widely depending on the situation. A short and sharp jerk to the free end of a
string anchored to the wall at the other end, creates a hump to propagate through the string. Such a wave is
called a pulse.
Wave Motion
 If two sound waves of slightly different frequencies mix with
each other, the resulting profile is called beats.

 Again, the wave of an earthquake may have a very

complicated profile of pressure as shown in the figure.

𝜕2𝑓 1 𝜕2𝑓
Wave Equation in Differential Form = 2
𝜕𝑥 2 𝜐 𝜕𝑡 2

 The simplest function which is the solution of the wave equation is

𝑓 = 𝐴 sin(𝑘 𝑥 − 𝜐𝑡 + 𝜙)

** It can be easily shown that this solution satisfies the differential equation by integrating it twice with
respect to space (x) and time (t).
Wave Motion
𝜕2𝑓 1 𝜕2𝑓
= 2 𝑓 = 𝐴 sin(𝑘 𝑥 − 𝜐𝑡 + 𝜙)
𝜕𝑥 2 𝜐 𝜕𝑡 2

Amplitude: The maximum size of the disturbance is known as the

Amplitude (A).

Phase Angle: The argument of the function on the right hand side is
known as the phase of the disturbance. It is expressed either in
degrees or in radians. The constant 𝜙 is called the initial phase.

Wave front: A wave front is defined as the locus of the points which
are in the same phase. According to Huygens's theory, each point
on a wave front acts as a source of secondary disturbance. The
waves emanating from these secondary sources are known as the
wavelets. Thus,

Point source Spherical Wave Front

Line Source Cylindrical Wave Front

Plane Source Plane Wave Front

Wave Motion
Wave length: It is the distance the wave has to Wave Number and Wave Vector: The is the spatial
travel along the direction of propagation to change frequency of a wave, either in cycles per unit distance or
the phase by 2𝜋. It is usually denoted by 𝜆. It is the radians per unit distance. It can be envisaged as the
normal distance between two consecutive wave number of waves that exist over a specified distance.
fronts of the same phase i.e. whose phase differ by
2𝜋. Wave number is the magnitude of the wave vector (k).
Thus,
Time Period: It is the time required for the wave to
travel a distance of one wavelength so that 2𝜋
𝜆 = 𝜐𝑇 𝑘=
𝜆
Velocity: The velocity or the phase velocity of a wave is
Frequency: The quantity 1/T is called the frequency. defined as the velocity of its wave fronts. Let the wave
It represents the number of cycles completed per front move a distance Δ𝑥in time Δt.
second. Then,
1 𝜙 𝑥, 𝑡 = 𝜙(𝑥 + Δ𝑥, 𝑡 + Δ𝑡)
𝜈= Therefore,
𝑇
Angular Frequency: It represents the radian angle Δ𝑥 𝜔
change in the phase of the wave per second. 𝜐= = = 𝜈𝜆
Δ𝑡 𝑘
𝜔 = 2𝜋𝜈
Mechanical Wave: Transverse Wave

Examples
• Light waves
• Waves on a string
• Slinky waves
• Television waves
• microwaves
Mechanical Wave: Longitudinal Wave

SOUND WAVES
In a longitudinal wave the particle displacement is parallel to the direction
of wave propagation. The animation at right shows a one-dimensional
longitudinal plane wave propagating down a tube. The particles do not
move down the tube with the wave; they simply oscillate back and forth
about their individual equilibrium positions. Pick a single particle and watch
its motion. The wave is seen as the motion of the compressed region (i.e., it P-Wave (Primary) wave in earthquake is
is a pressure wave), which moves from left to right. An example of longitudinal wave.

The animation shows the difference between the oscillatory motion of

individual particles and the propagation of the wave through the medium.
The animation also identifies the regions of compression and rarefaction.
Water Surface Waves
Water waves are an example of waves that involve a
combination of both longitudinal and transverse
motions. As a wave travels through the waver, the
particles travel in clockwise circles. The radius of the
circles decreases as the depth into the water increases.
The animation at right shows a water wave travelling
from left to right in a region where the depth of the
water is greater than the wavelength of the waves. I
have identified two particles in orange to show that
each particle indeed travels in a clockwise circle as the
wave passes.
Interference
 While material particles such as rock will not share its space with
another rock, more than one vibration or wave can exist at the
same time in the same space.

 When more than one wave occupies the same space at the same
time, the displacements add at every point. This is called the
principle of superposition of waves.

 If we drop two rocks in water simultaneously, maintaining a certain

definite distance, then the water waves generated thereby overlap
with each other and creates a pattern called the interference.
Zone of Interference
Created by the superposition
 Within the zone of interference, wave effects may be increased,
of waves
decreased or neutralized based on the fact whether the
interference is constructive or destructive.

 Wave interference occurs throughout physics, from mechanical

waves to light waves and even with the quantum-mechanical
waves that describe matter at the atomic scale.
Interference
Interference
 Let us consider, there are two waves approaching each
other, shown in fig (a).

 As shown in the figure (b), the wave crests coincide and

so do the troughs. The resulting wave is momentarily
twice as big. This is called the constructive
interference-two waves superposing to produce larger
wave displacements.

 In figure (c) the crest of one wave meets the trough of

another wave. As a result they cancel each other and
the resulting amplitude is zero. This is called the
destructive interference.
Path Difference and Phase Difference
• Let's assume that, two stones are thrown at two points which are very near,
then you will see the pattern as shown in the figure.

• let's mark the first point of disturbance as S1 and the other as S2, then waves
will be emanated as shown above. By having a cross-sectional view, you will see
the same waves as shown in the figure below (in the below explanation
wavelengths of waves emanated from two different disturbances is assumed to
be the same).

• The waves emanating from S1 has arrived exactly

one cycle earlier than the waves from S2. Thus, we
say that, there is a path difference between the two
waves of about λ (wavelength). If the distance
traveled by the waves from two disturbance is same,
then path difference will be zero. Once you know
the path difference, you can find the phase
difference using the formula given below:
𝟐𝛑
𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 = × 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
𝛌
Interference of waves going in the same direction
• Suppose two identical sources send sinusoidal waves of same angular frequency 𝜔 in the positive x-direction. The
wave velocity and the wave number is same for the two waves.
• One source may be started a little later than the other or the two sources may be situated at different points.
Thus, the two waves arriving at a point differ in phase. Let A1 and A2 be the amplitudes of the two waves and 𝛿 be
the difference in phase angle.
• The two waves are then represented by the equation
𝑦1 = 𝐴1 sin(𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡)
𝑦1 = 𝐴2 sin(𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡 + 𝛿)

• According to the principle of superposition, the resultant wave is

𝑦 = 𝑦1 + 𝑦2
Applying, 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝑨 + 𝑩 = 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝑨 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝑩 + 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝑨 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝑩 we get,

𝑦 = 𝐴1 sin 𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡 + 𝐴2 sin 𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡 cos 𝛿 + cos 𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡 sin 𝛿

𝑦 = sin 𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡 𝐴1 + 𝐴2 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛿 + cos(𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡)(𝐴2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛿)
• If we write
𝐴1 + 𝐴2 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛿 = 𝐴 cos(𝜖) 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛿 = 𝐴 sin(𝜖)
Then we get,
𝑦 = 𝐴 sin 𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡 cos 𝜖 + cos 𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜖
𝑦 = 𝐴 sin(𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡 + 𝜖)
Interference of waves going in the same direction
Thus the resultant is indeed a sine wave of amplitude A and with a phase difference 𝜖 with the
first wave. Thus,

𝐴2 = 𝐴2 cos2 𝜖 + 𝐴2 sin2 𝜖

𝐴2 = 𝐴1 + 𝐴2 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛿 2 + 𝐴2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛿 2

𝐴2 = 𝐴12 + 𝐴22 + 2𝐴1 𝐴2 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛿

𝐴= 𝐴12 + 𝐴22 + 2𝐴1 𝐴2 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛿

Also ,
𝐴 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜖 (𝐴2 sin 𝛿)
tan 𝜖 = =
𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜖 𝐴1 + 𝐴2 cos 𝛿
Condition for Constructive and Destructive Interference

Constructive Interference:

• The resultant amplitude is maximum when 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛿 = +1.

• Thus, 𝛿 = 2𝑛𝜋.
• This implies 𝐴 = 𝐴1 + 𝐴2

Destructive Interference:

• The resultant amplitude is minimum when 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛿 = −1.

• Thus, 𝛿 = (2𝑛 + 1)𝜋.
• This implies 𝐴 = |𝐴1 − 𝐴2 |