Section 1 The Nature of Waves

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All waves are produced by
something that vibrates.
Medium—a material through
which a wave travels.
solid, liquid, or gas
Not all waves need a medium
Ex: Electromagnetic waves

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Wave

any disturbance or movement

that transmits energy through
matter or space
Waves carry energy without
transporting matter.

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 A wave is a disturbance
that transfers energy from
one point to another without
imparting net motion to the
medium through which it
travels
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Types of Waves

3 kinds:
Transverse
Longitudinal
Surface

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Mechanical waves (pulse
waves on a rope or a string,
sound waves, waves travelling
across the surface of water,
seismic waves, etc.); they
require a medium for their
propagation.

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Electromagnetic waves (visible light, IR
radiations, ultraviolet radiation, radio
and TV waves, X – rays, gamma rays,
ultrasound,……). Those consist of
transverse oscillations of E and B fields.
In this case we have oscillations of
fields and not material particles. They
do not require a medium for their
propagation (they can carry energy
through the vacuum).
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Matter waves which are waves
associated to electrons and other
micro- particles (protons,
neutrons, alpha particles, atoms,
molecules, etc.). Electrons,
protons, neutrons, …. are
described, in quantum mechanics,
by De Broglie waves – “probability
waves” associated to these micro
-particles. 8
Transverse waves—waves in
which the particles vibrate with
an up-and-down motion. animation

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Longitudinal waves—the
particles in the medium vibrate
back and forth along the path
that the wave travels. animation

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Surface waves- when a
transverse and longitudinal
wave combine.

Example: ocean waves

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n
Wavelength—the distance
between any two adjacent crests
or compressions in a series of
waves.

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NATURE OF SOUND WAVES

Sound is a longitudinal wave that is

created by a vibrating object, such as a
guitar string,
the human vocal cords, or the diaphragm
of a loudspeaker.
 sound can be created or transmitted only
in a medium, such as a gas, liquid, or
solid.
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SPEAKER DIAPHRAGM

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Longitudinal waves have dense
regions called compressions and
less dense regions called
rarefactions.

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 12-1 Characteristics of Sound

Loudness: related to intensity of the sound wave

Pitch: related to frequency.
Audible range: about 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz; upper limit
decreases with age
Ultrasound: above 20,000 Hz; see ultrasonic camera
focusing below

Infrasound:
below 20 Hz
12-2 Intensity of Sound: Decibels

The intensity of a wave is the

energy transported per unit
time across a unit area.
The human ear can detect
sounds with an intensity as
low as 10−12 W/m2 and as
high as 1 W/m2.
Perceived loudness, however,
is not proportional to the
intensity.
12-3 The Ear and Its Response; Loudness
 12-3 The Ear and Its Response; Loudness

Outer ear: sound waves travel down the ear canal to the
eardrum, which vibrates in response
Middle ear: hammer, anvil, and stirrup transfer
vibrations to inner ear
Inner ear: cochlea transforms vibrational energy to
electrical energy and sends signals to the brain
 12-3 The Ear and Its Response; Loudness

The ear’s sensitivity varies with frequency. These curves

translate the intensity into sound level at different
frequencies.
 12-4 Sources of Sound: Vibrating Strings and
Air Columns

Wind instruments create

sound through standing
waves in a column of air.
 12-4 Sources of Sound: Vibrating Strings and
Air Columns

A tube open at both ends (most wind instruments) has

pressure nodes, and therefore displacement antinodes,
at the ends.
 12-4 Sources of Sound: Vibrating Strings and
Air Columns

A tube closed at one end (some organ pipes) has a

displacement node (and pressure antinode) at the
closed end.
 12-6 Interference of Sound Waves; Beats

Waves can also interfere in time, causing a phenomenon

called beats. Beats are the slow “envelope” around two
waves that are relatively close in frequency.
 12-7 Doppler Effect

The Doppler effect occurs when a source of sound is

moving with respect to an observer.
 Chapter 3
Light: Geometric Optics
 The Ray Model of Light

Light very often travels in straight lines. We represent

light using rays, which are straight lines emanating from
an object. This is an idealization, but is very useful for
geometric optics.

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 Reflection; Image Formation
by a Plane Mirror

Law of reflection: the angle of reflection (that the ray

makes with the normal to a surface) equals the angle of
incidence.

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 Reflection; Image Formation
by a Plane Mirror

With diffuse reflection, your eye sees reflected light at

all angles. With specular reflection (from a mirror), your
eye must be in the correct position.

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 Reflection; Image Formation
by a Plane Mirror

What you see when you look into a plane (flat) mirror is
an image, which appears to be behind the mirror.

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 Reflection; Image Formation
by a Plane Mirror

This is called a virtual image, as the light does not go

through it. The distance of the image from the mirror is
equal to the distance of the object from the mirror.

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 The Refraction of Light
The index of refraction n of a material is
the ratio of the speed c of light in a
vacuum to the speed v of light in the
material:
SNELL’S LAW AND REFRACTION
1.When light travels from a
medium where the refractive
index is smaller into a medium
where it is larger, the refracted
ray is bent toward the normal,
as in Figure 26.1a.
Snell’s Law of Refraction
When light travels from a material with
refractive index n into a material with
1

refractive index n , the refracted ray, the

2

incident ray, and the normal to the

interface between the materials all lie in
the same plane. The angle of refraction 2

is related to the angle of

incidence by 1

n sin n sin
1 1 2 2
When light travels from a
medium where the refractive
index is larger into a medium
where it is smaller, the
refracted ray is bent away
from the normal, as in
Figure 26.1b.
A light ray strikes an air/water
surface at an angle of 46 with
respect to the normal. The
refractive index for water is 1.33.
Find the angle of refraction when
the direction of the ray is
(a) from air to water and (b) from
water to air.
Total Internal Reflection
 Thin Lenses; Ray Tracing

Ray tracing for thin lenses is similar to that for mirrors.

We have three key rays:
1. This ray comes in parallel to the axis and exits
through the focal point.
2. This ray comes in through the focal point and exits
parallel to the axis.
3. This ray goes through the center of the lens and is
undeflected.

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Thin Lenses; Ray Tracing
 The Thin Lens Equation

The thin lens equation is the same as the mirror

equation:

(23-8)

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 23-8 The Thin Lens Equation

The magnification formula is also the same as that for a

mirror:
(23-9)

The power of a lens is positive if it is converging and

negative if it is diverging.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

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