Using complex numbers, we find solutions to the equation of motion for the harmonic oscillator that. While it does not require a background in physics to understand, it is assumed that the. Physics coursewaves wikibooks, open books for an open world. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading introduction to the physics of waves. Example a sinusoidal wave of frequency 500 hz has a speed of 350 ms. A wave that moves in the direction perpendicular to its propagation. A body with this ability is said to behave or respond elastically. In the simplest waves, the disturbance oscillates periodically see periodic motion with a fixed frequency and. In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a disturbance change from equilibrium of one or more fields such that the field values oscillate repeatedly about a stable equilibrium resting value. For example, acoustics is distinguished from optics in that sound waves are related to a mechanical rather than an electromagnetic light wave transfer caused by vibration. Quantum mechanics can be thought of roughly as the study of physics on very small length scales, although there are also certain macroscopic systems it directly applies to.
Introduction and types a wave is a transfer of energy through a medium from one point to another. Atomic physics such as properties of electrons, bohr model, energy quantization, atomic structure, atomic spectra, selection rules, blackbody radiation, xrays, atoms in electric and magnetic fields 7. The standard physics equation for deep water waves. A wave is a disturbance which propagates energy and momentum from one place to the other without the transport of matter.
The physics of waves version date february 15, 2015. Mechanical waves, electromagnetic waves, and matter waves. Each lesson includes informative graphics, occasional animations and videos, and check your understanding sections that allow the user to practice what is. For example, if the amplitude of an electron wave is given by a function of position and time, \\psi \, x,t\, defined for all x, where exactly is the electron. A sound wave is both the end product of the speech production mechanism and the primary source of raw material used by the listener to recover the speakers message. Electrical waves can travel through a vacuum radio and microwaves, light, and xrays are all electrical waves wavelength and amplitude. Most familiar are surface waves that travel on water, but sound, light, and the motion of subatomic particles all exhibit wavelike properties. E youngs modulus for a solid material, or the bulk modulus for a fluid.
The purpose of this chapter is to answer these questions. Waves exam2 and problem solutions physics tutorials. Brown physics textbooks introductory physics i and ii a lecture note style textbook series intended to support the teaching of introductory physics, with calculus, at a level suitable for duke undergraduates. Wave is used to describe a motion of an oscillation through space. Longitudinal wave definition, examples, formula, diagram. What is the wavelength of a microwave that has a frequency of 4. Mechanical waves, such as water waves or sound waves. Bending waves in a beam or plate, and water waves are a mixture of shear and longitudinal waves. Search within a range of numbers put between two numbers. The understanding of physics of waves followed the physics of oscillations of masses tied to springs and physics of the simple. This book provides an introduction to the eld of optics from a physics perspective. The energy transportation is carried by a disturbance, which spreads out from a source.
The nature of waves summary the physics hypertextbook. The part of a longitudinal wave, where particles of the medium are compressed together, are called compressions. Lecture notes on classical mechanics a work in progress daniel arovas department of physics university of california, san diego may 8, 20. Even more important, though only touched on in this book, is the wave phenomenon of quantum mechanics, built into the fabric of our space and time. The physics of waves howard georgi harvard university originally published by prentice hall englewood cliffs, new jersey 07632. Waves and wave properties presentation pdf teach engineering. Introduction to the physics of waves 1, freegarde, tim.
A wave is a disturbance in a medium that carries energy without a net movement of particles. Newton rejected the wave theory for good reason, but assumed the waves would be longitudinal like sound. I hope to emphasize that the physics of standing waves is the same. We begin our study of waves in this first unit of physics 7c with an introduction to waves and then a thorough development of the harmonic plane wave model, which we will use extensively to model and understand a wide variety of wave phenomena in this section we will familiarize ourselves with waves by concentrating on material waves. Lecture notes on classical mechanics a work in progress. Search for wildcards or unknown words put a in your word or phrase where you want to leave a placeholder. Electromagnetic waves example problems what is the frequency green light that has a wavelength of 5. Picture given below shows wave motion of source having frequency 2s1 a find wavelength b velocity c amplitude of wave. Transverse wave has the oscillations direction the same direction of oscillation. How can it make sense to use the same word wave for all these disparate phenomena. A sinusoidal wave of frequency 500 hz has a speed of 350 ms. Introduction to the physics of waves kindle edition by freegarde, tim. It is seen that the richness of quantum physics will greatly a ect the future generation technologies in many aspects. Based on the wave theory, poisson, aragoand fresnel predicted that there should be a bright spot at the center of a circular shadow.
The particle in the water moves in a circular path as the wave goes by. Elasticity, ability of a deformed material body to return to its original shape and size when the forces causing the deformation are removed. S3p104 derive and solve problems, using the wave equation v f. The physics classroom tutorial presents physics concepts and principles in an easytounderstand language. Special relativity such as introductory concepts, time dilation.
Manyparticle wave function and the hilbert space of identical particles. This wave will be moving with a phase velocity given by vphase. Traveling waves appear only after a thorough exploration of onedimensional standing waves. This wave can be produced in any medium such as gas, liquid or solid. This scanning tunneling microscope image of graphite shows the most probable place to find electrons. The period and wavelength of a wave on this string are 3. Waves propagate with a finite speed sometimes called the wave speed that depends upon the type of wave, the composition of the medium, and. The description of waves is closely related to their physical origin for each specific instance of a wave process. At point b, both waves will be in phase at all times. Introductory physics test results are reported under the following four mcas reporting categories. A water wave is an example of a surface wave, which is a combination of transverse and longitudinal wave motions.
Phase velocity is the speed of the crests of the wave. Motion of the waves energy motion of individual molecules of the wave transverse waves two motions are perpendicular waves on a string, water surface waves longitudinal waves two motions are parallel sound waves waves can have both transverse and longitudinal motion. The part of a longitudinal wave, where particles of the medium are spread out, are called rarefactions. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Speed frequency wavelength te wavelength sometimes referred to as lambda. Transverse waves and mechanical waves are examples of mechanical waves. At point a, the two waves cancel each other at all times. Or we can measure the height from highest to lowest points. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. In a longitudinal sound wave propagating in a gas, the vibrations are the displacements of the air molecules or pressure or density.
Lei when an electromagnetic wave travels from one medium to another its speed changes either increases or decreases while. Notice, you are not being asked for the values of y1 nor y2. Some of the famous scientists associated with the physics of wave motion are christiaan huygens 16291695, robert hooke and isaac newton. If the relative amplitude of oscillation at different points in the field remains constant, the wave is said to be a standing wave. Conceptual ideas develop logically and sequentially, ultimately leading into the mathematics of the topics. Wave, propagation of disturbances from place to place in a regular and organized way. A physics revision video introducing the concepts of waves. So that particles can return to their mean position, after having been disturbed. Example problems problem 1 a the middle c string on a piano is under a tension of 944 n. This plane wave is constant in the x and z directions. Springs having different thicknesses are attached at. At this point, the string will not oscillate at all.
While it does not require a background in physics to understand, it is assumed that the reader has at least high school level linear algebra, calculus, and trigonometry. How water waves, sound waves and light waves are all similar. In transverse waves the particles of the medium move perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels. As the wave moves, compressions and rarefactions are produced due to the back and forth motion of particles of the medium. The wavelength is the length from one peak to the next or from any point to the next matching point the amplitude is the height from the center line to the peak or to the trough. It may take the form of elastic deformation, a variation of pressure, electric or magnetic intensity, electric potential, or temperature. While the examples of waves phenomena that we discuss in this book will be chosen. Lecture 11 chapter 16 waves i university of virginia. Introduction to quantum mechanics harvard university. A century later it was postulated that light could be a transverse wave. Motion and forces heat and heat transfer waves and radiation electromagnetism the table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each items reporting category and the framework learning standard it assesses. It focuses primarily on the wave and ray descriptions of light, but also includes a brief introduction to the quantum description of light.
Longitudianl wave has the oscillations direction perpendicular to the direction of oscillation. For example, if k0,k,0 the wave is ax,y,z,ta0cosky. Longitudinal waves two different motions to describe in a wave. Sound lies at the very center of speech communication. Wavessuch as these water wavesspread outward from a source. To a greater or lesser extent, most solid materials exhibit elastic behaviour, but. The two waves always add, producing a displacement twice that of each wave by itself. Waves transport energy without transporting matter. Wave functions and uncertainty the wave function characterizes particles in terms of the probability of finding them at various points in space. Sound in air results when air is suddenly compressed, for example by a.
1186 1025 910 1160 381 818 725 1199 1072 2 8 1010 1318 6 663 1247 1350 612 502 1407 1362 1273 1252 1505 1154 1370 428 40 457 250 760 1057 1018 1350 821 132 960 729 327 1321 1059