Waves

What Are Waves?

• A wave is a disturbance that carries energy through matter or
space without transferring matter.
• It is a disturbance that transfers energy from place to place.
• What carries waves? A medium, a medium is the material
through which a wave travels.
• A medium can be a gas, liquid, or solid.
• These media are distinguished by their properties - the
material they are made of and the physical properties of that
material such as the density, the temperature, the elasticity,
etc.
• Such physical properties describe the material itself, not the
wave.
 TYPES OF WAVES
• Not all waves require a medium to travel. Due
to that waves are classified into two broad
types; which are,
• Mechanical Waves are waves that require a
medium. Examples are, water waves, waves
on the string, sound waves etc.
• Electromagnetic Waves travel through empty
space and do not require a medium. Examples
are, light, x-rays etc.
 What causes waves?
• Waves are created
when a source of
energy causes a
medium to vibrate.
• A vibration is a repeated
back and forth or up
and down motion.
 Mechanical Waves
Mechanical waves travel through mediums
such as:
water

air
solids
 Mechanical Waves
• May be longitudinal

• Or transverse
 Types of Mechanical Waves
Transverse Waves – energy moves up and
down or side to side while traveling
forward

Wavelength Crest Amplitude

Trough How often = Frequency

 Transverse wave (sine waves)
• Waves that move the medium at right angles
to the direction in which the waves are
traveling is called a transverse wave.
• Transverse means across.
• The highest parts are called crests the lowest
parts are called troughs.
Compressional or Longitudinal Wave

• Matter vibrates in the

same direction as the
wave travels.
 Compressional or Longitudinal wave
• The parts, where the
coils are close
together are called
compressions, the
parts where the coils
are spread out are
called rarefactions.
 Combinations of waves
• Surface waves are a
combination of transverse
and longitudinal waves.
The waves occur at the
surface between water
and air.
Terms associated with the study of waves

• Amplitude
• Wavelength
• Frequency
• Speed
 Amplitude
• Amplitude is the maximum (displacement) distance the
particles of the medium carrying the wave move away from
their rest positions.

• The farther the medium moves as it vibrates the larger the

amplitude of the resulting waves. The greater the amplitude
the greater the amount of energy
 Amplitude of transverse waves
• The amplitude of a transverse wave is the
maximum distance the medium moves up or
down from its rest position.
• You can find the amplitude of a transverse
wave by measuring the distance from rest to
crest or rest to trough.
 Amplitude of a longitudinal wave.
• The amplitude of a longitudinal wave is a
measure of how compressed or rarefied the
medium becomes.
 Wavelength
• A wave travels a certain distance before it starts to
repeat. The distance between two corresponding parts
of a wave is its wavelength.
• Transverse measure from crest to crest or trough to
trough.
• Longitudinal measure from one compression to the next.
 Frequency
• The number of complete waves that pass a
given point in a certain amount of time.
• AKA number of vibrations per second.
• Frequency measured in hertz (Hz) named
after Heinrich Hertz who discovered radio
waves in 1886.
 Period
• The period of a wave is the time for a particle
to make one complete cycle.
 Pair Share
• Is there a relationship between wavelength
and frequency? What is it?

• Is there a relationship between frequency and

period? What is it?

• Is there a relationship between amplitude and

frequency? What is it?
 Speed
• The speed, wavelength, and frequency of a
wave are related to each other by a
mathematical formula.
• Speed = wavelength x frequency
• Frequency = speed/wavelength
• Wavelength = speed/frequency
 Speed
• What can effect the speed of a wave?

• Wave speed depends upon the medium

through which the wave is moving. Only an
alteration in the properties of the medium
will cause a change in the speed.
Exa
mpl
e1

3m
2
2m 3m
v=fλ v =1.5 m/s
 TRAVELLING WAVES
• These are waves which transfer energy from
one point to another moving away from
source of disturbance.
• They carry energy and momentum with them.
 WAVES IN ONE DIMENSION
• Suppose a wave moves along the x-axis with
constant velocity v and without any change of
shape and the disturbance takes place parallel
to the y-axis, then
y (x, t) = f (x – vt)………………….(1)
defines a one-dimensional wave along the
positive direction of the x-axis (forward wave).
 Waves in One Dimension
• A wave which is the same in all respect but
moving in the opposite direction (i.e. along the
direction of x decreasing) is given by Eqn. (1)
with the sign of v changed:
y (x, t) = f (x + vt)…………………(2)
• Eqns. (1) and (2) satisfy the second-order
partial differential equation:
This is a wave equation in one
dimension.
 Waves in One Dimension
• A wave whose profile is that of a sine or cosine
function is called a harmonic wave. We can express
such a wave as
y = f (x – vt) = A sin k (x – vt) ...(3)
where A is the amplitude of the wave and k is called
the circular wave number.
For a particular point x = x1, we may write Eqn. (3) as y
= – A sin k (vt – x1)………(4)
 Example 2
A travelling wave is described by

for y and x measured in centimeters and t in

seconds. Show explicitly that satisfies the one
dimensional wave equation.

(a)Deduce the wave speed.

(b)What is the direction of propagation?

 Quiz

• Write down the one-dimensional wave

equation, and show that the function

is a solution. What is the speed of this wave,

if x and y are measured in metres and t in
seconds?
 Velocities in Wave Motion
There are three velocities in wave motion which are;
1.The particle velocity, which is the simple harmonic velocity of
the oscillator about its equilibrium position.

2. The wave or phase velocity, the velocity with which planes of

equal phase, crests or troughs, progress through the
medium.

3. The group velocity. A number of waves of different

frequencies, wavelengths and velocities may be superposed
to form a group.
 Velocities of waves
• The phase velocity is the velocity of a point on the wave that has a given
phase (for example, the crest) and is given by

• A phase constant Φ shifts the wave:

.

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 Velocities of waves
• When two or more waves traverse the same region, they act
independently of each other.
• Combining two waves yields:

• The combined wave oscillates within an envelope that denotes

the maximum displacement of the combined waves.
• When combining many waves with different amplitudes and
frequencies, a pulse, or wave packet, is formed which moves at
a group velocity:

ugr = Δω / Δk.

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 The principle of superposition for
waves
• It often happens that waves travel simultaneously through the
same region, e.g.
 Radio waves from many broadcasters
 Sound waves from many musical instruments
 Different colored light from many locations from your TV

• Nature is such that all of these waves can exist without

altering each others' motion
• Their effects simply add
• This is a result of the principle of superposition, which applies
to all harmonic waves, i.e. waves that obey the linear wave
equation 2 2
2 y  y
v 2
 2
x t
• And have solutions:y ( x, t )  ym f kx t  or ym sin kx  t 
 The principle of superposition for
wavesalong the same stretched
• If two waves travel simultaneously
string, the resultant displacement y' of the string is simply
given by the summation
y '  x, t   y1  x, t   y2  x, t 
where y1 and y2 would have been the displacements had the
waves traveled alone.
This is the principle of superposition.
Overlapping waves algebraically add to produce a resultant wave (or
net wave).

Overlapping waves do not in any way alter the travel of each other
 Interference of waves
• Suppose two sinusoidal waves with the same frequency and
amplitude travel in the same direction along a string, such
that
y1  ym sin kx   t 

y2  ym sin kx   t   
• The waves will add.
• If they are in phase (i.e. f = 0), they combine to double the
displacement of either wave acting alone.
• If they are out of phase (i.e. f = p), they combine to cancel
everywhere, since sin(a) = -sin(a + p).
• This phenomenon is called interference.
Interference of waves
 Interference of waves
• Mathematical proof:

y1  ym sin kx   t 

y2  ym sin kx   t   
Then:
y '  x, t   y1  x, t   y2  x, t 

 ym sin kx   t   ym sin kx   t   

But: sin   sin  2sin 12    cos 12    

Phase
shift
So: y '  x, t   2 ym cos 12   sin kx   t  12  
Wave part
Amplitude
 Interference of waves
y '  x, t   2 ym cos 12   sin kx   t  12  
If two sinusoidal waves of the same amplitude and
frequency travel in the same direction along a
stretched string, they interfere to produce a resultant
sinusoidal wave traveling in the same direction.

• If f = 0, the waves interfere constructively, cos½f = 1 and the

wave amplitude is 2ym.
• If f = p, the waves interfere destructively, cos(p/2) = 0 and the
wave amplitude is 0, i.e. no wave at all.
• All other cases are intermediate between an amplitude of 0
and 2ym.
• Note that the phase of the resultant wave also depends on
the phase difference.
 Standing waves
If two sinusoidal waves of the same amplitude and
wavelength travel in opposite directions along the
same medium, their interference with each other
produces a standing wave.

y '  x, t   y1  x, t   y2  x, t 

 ym sin kx   t   ym sin kx   t   

2 ym sin kx  12  cos  t  12  

x dependence t dependence

• This is clearly not a traveling wave, because it does not have

the form f(kx - wt).
• In fact, it is a stationary wave, with a sinusoidal varying
amplitude 2ymcos(wt).
 Standing Waves
Consider a wave and its reflection:

 x 
yright Asin  2   ft  
  
  x  x 
A sin  2  cos 2 ft  cos  2  sin 2 ft 
     
 x 
yleft Asin  2   ft  
  
  x  x 
A sin  2  cos 2 ft  cos  2  sin 2 ft 
     
 x
yright  yleft 2Asin  2  cos 2 ft
 
Standing waves
and resonance
• At ordinary frequencies,
waves travel backwards
and forwards along the
string.new reflected wave
• Each
has a new phase.
• The interference is
basically a mess, and no
significant oscillations
build up.
Standing waves and resonance
• However, at certain special
frequencies, the interference
produces strong standing wave
patterns.
• Such a standing wave is said to
be produced at resonance.
• These certain frequencies are
called resonant frequencies.
 Standing waves and resonance
• Standing waves occur whenever
the phase of the wave returning
to the oscillating end of the
string is precisely in phase with
the forced oscillations.
l determined by geometry • Thus, the trip along the string
and back should be equal to an
integral number of wavelengths,
i.e. 2L
2 L n or   for n 1,2,3...
n
v v
f  n , for n 1,2,3...
 2L
• Each of the frequencies f1, f1, f1,
etc, are called harmonics, or a
harmonic series; n is the
harmonic number.
 Example 6
The vibration of a string fixed at both ends is represented by
the equation

If the above stationary wave is produced due to

superposition of two waves of same frequency, velocity
and amplitude travelling in opposite directions;
Find the equations of the component waves

What is the distance between two consecutive nodes of the

stationary wave?