Chapter 13

Mechanical Waves

13.1 Types of Waves

There are two types of waves

Mechanical waves

The disturbance in some physical medium The wave is the propagation of a disturbance through a medium Examples are ripples in water, sound A special class of waves that do not require medium Examples are visible light, radio waves, x-rays

Electromagnetic waves

General Features of Waves

In wave motion, energy is transferred over a distance Matter is not transferred over a distance

A disturbance is transferred through space without an accompanying transfer of matter The motions of particles in the medium are small oscillations

All waves carry energy

A mechanism responsible for the transport of energy

Mechanical Wave Requirements

Some source of disturbance A medium that can be disturbed Some physical mechanism through which elements of the medium can influence each other

This requirement ensures that the disturbance will propagate through the medium
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Pulse on a Rope

The wave is generated by a flick on one end of the rope The rope is under a tension A single bump is formed and travels along the rope

The bump is called a pulse

Pulse on a Rope

The rope is the medium through which the pulse travels The pulse has a definite height The pulse has a definite speed of propagation along the medium A continuous flicking of the rope would produce a periodic disturbance which would form a wave
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Transverse Wave

A traveling wave or pulse that causes the elements of the disturbed medium to move perpendicular to the direction of propagation is called a transverse wave The particle motion is shown by the blue arrow The direction of propagation is shown by the red arrow
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Longitudinal Wave

A traveling wave or pulse that causes the elements of the disturbed medium to move parallel to the direction of propagation is called a longitudinal wave The displacement of the coils is parallel to the propagation
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Traveling Pulse

The shape of the pulse at t = 0 is shown The shape can be represented by y = f (x )

This describes the transverse position y of the element of the string located at each value of x at t=0
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Traveling Pulse, 2

The speed of the pulse is v At some time, t, the pulse has traveled a distance vt The shape of the pulse does not change

Simplification model

The position of the element at x is now y = f (x vt)

Traveling Pulse, 3

For a pulse traveling to the right

y (x, t) = f (x vt) y (x, t) = f (x + vt)

For a pulse traveling to the left

The function y is also called the wave function: y (x, t) The wave function represents the y coordinate of any element located at position x at any time t

The y coordinate is the transverse position

Traveling Pulse, final

If t is fixed then the wave function is called the waveform

It defines a curve representing the actual geometric shape of the pulse at that time

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13.2 Sinusoidal Waves

A continuous wave can be created by shaking the end of the string in simple harmonic motion The shape of the wave is called sinusoidal since the waveform is that of a sine curve The shape remains the same but moves

Toward the right in the text diagrams

Amplitude and Wavelength

The crest of the wave is the location of the maximum displacement of the element from its normal position

This distance is called the amplitude, A The point at the negative amplitude is called the trough

The wavelength, l, is the distance from one crest to the next

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Wavelength and Period

Wavelength is the minimum distance between any two identical points on adjacent waves Period, T , is the time interval required for two identical points of adjacent waves to pass by a point

The period of a wave is the same as the period of the simple harmonic oscillation of one element of the medium
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Frequency

The frequency, , is the number of crests (or any point on the wave) that pass a given point in a unit time interval

The time interval is most commonly the second The frequency of the wave is the same as the frequency of the simple harmonic motion of one element of the medium
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Frequency, cont

The frequency and the period are related

When the time interval is the second, the units of frequency are s-1 = Hz

Hz is a hertz
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Producing a sinusoidal wave

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13.3 Traveling Wave

The brown curve represents a snapshot of the curve at t = 0 The blue curve represents the wave at some later time, t

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Speed of Waves

Waves travel with a specific speed

The speed depends on the properties of the medium being disturbed

The wave function is given by

This is for a wave moving to the right For a wave moving to the left, replace x vt with x + vt
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Wave Function, Another Form

Since speed is distance divided by time, v=l/T The wave function can then be expressed as

This form shows the periodic nature of y of y in both space and time
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Wave Equations

We can also define the angular wave number (or just wave number), k

The angular frequency can also be defined

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Wave Equations, cont

The wave function can be expressed as y = A sin (k x wt) The speed of the wave becomes v = l If x at t = 0, the wave function can be generalized to y = A sin (k x wt + f) where f is called the phase constant
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Linear Wave Equation

The maximum values of the transverse speed and transverse acceleration are

vy, max = wA ay, max = w2A

The transverse speed and acceleration do not reach their maximum values simultaneously

v is a maximum at y = 0 a is a maximum at y = A
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The Linear Wave Equation

The wave functions y (x, t) represent solutions of an equation called the linear wave equation This equation gives a complete description of the wave motion From it you can determine the wave speed The linear wave equation is basic to many forms of wave motion
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Linear Wave Equation, General

The equation can be written as

This applies in general to various types of traveling waves

y represents various positions

For a string, it is the vertical displacement of the elements of the string For a sound wave, it is the longitudinal position of the elements from the equilibrium position For EM waves, it is the electric or magnetic field components
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Linear Wave Equation, General cont

The linear wave equation is satisfied by any wave function having the form y (x, t) = f (x vt) Nonlinear waves are more difficult to analyze

A nonlinear wave is one in which the amplitude is not small compared to the wavelength
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13.4 Linear Wave Equation Applied to a Wave on a String

The string is under tension T Consider one small string element of length Ds The net force acting in the y direction is

This uses the small-angle approximation

Linear Wave Equation and Waves on a String, cont

mDs is the mass of the element Applying the sinusoidal wave function to the linear wave equation and following the derivatives, we find that

This is the speed of a wave on a string

It applies to any shape pulse

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