Physics 20

The Importance of Waves Waves are everywhere around us Many times when we think about waves we initially think about waves we see in the ocean However most waves that are in our everyday lives are waves that we cannot physically see with our eyes

Think about dolphins and bats... How do bats see in the dark and know where they are flying? How do dolphins who are blindfolded still retrieve objects, how do they see?

Both bats and dolphins use sound waves to “see” We also use waves in medicine; ultrasound allows humans to see a fetus or detect tumors

Radio waves carry information, while sound waves can carry conversation, and light waves stimulates the cells for vision Think about earthquake waves, microwaves, stadium waves, water waves

Waves are a form of energy transfer All waves carry energy from one place to another All waves are travelling disturbances

Disturb: to interrupt, to interfere with, unsettle Medium: an intervening substance, such as air or water A wave is a transfer of energy in the form of a disturbance, through a medium

A wave can be created by vibrations that create disturbances A pulse is a single disturbance. Therefore a wave is a repeating and periodic disturbance through a medium that moves from one location to another

To understand a wave you need to think about the medium as being a collection of interacting particles The interactions of one particle of the medium with the next adjacent particle allow the disturbance to travel through the medium.

Transferring energy Waves are said to be an energy transport phenomenon. As a disturbance moves through a medium from one particle to its adjacent particle, energy is being transported from one end of the medium to the other.

Transporting energy NOT matter In a wave phenomenon, energy can move from one location to another, yet the particles of matter in the medium return to their fixed position. A wave transports its energy without transporting matter.

Waves are seen to move through an ocean or lake; yet the water always returns to its rest position. Energy is transported through the medium, yet the water molecules are not transported. Proof of this is the fact that there is still water in the middle of the ocean. The water has not moved from the middle of the ocean to the shore. If we were to observe a gull or duck at rest on the water, it would merely bob up-and-down in a somewhat circular fashion as the disturbance moves through the water. The gull or duck always returns to its original position. The gull or duck is not transported to the shore because the water on which it rests is not transported to the shore. In a water wave, energy is transported without the transport of water.

Types of Waves We will be studying two types of waves: Transverse Longitudinal

Transverse Wave A transverse wave is a wave in which particles of the medium move in a direction perpendicular to the direction that the wave moves

A longitudinal wave is a wave in which particles of the medium move in a direction parallel to the direction that the wave moves.

Sound waves are a good example of longitudinal waves Earthquakes are capable of producing both longitudinal and transverse waves

Properties of Transverse Waves Think about a wave made by a stone thrown into a lake The water would be the medium The part of the water that is not disturbed by the wave is known as the equilibrium position The region where the water rises above the equilibrium position is known as the crest The regions where the water is lower than the equilibrium position are known as troughs

Wave Properties Cont’d Amplitude is the distance from the equilibrium position to the top of a crest or the bottom of a trough The wavelength is the horizontal length of one cycle of the wave. It is measured from crest to crest or trough to trough. It is the distance between any two successive points on the wave

Properties of a Longitudinal Waves A region where the coils are spread apart, thus maximizing the distance between coils, is known as a rarefaction A compression is a region where the coils are pressed together in a small amount of space

Period: is the time required to take one complete cycle Frequency: refers to how often the particles of the medium vibrate when a wave passes through the medium Frequency refers to how often something happens. Period refers to the time it takes something to happen. Frequency is a rate quantity. Period is a time quantity. Frequency is the cycles/second. Period is the seconds/cycle.

Mathematically, the period is the reciprocal of the frequency and vice versa. In equation form, this is expressed as follows Period= 1/frequency Frequency= 1/period Since the symbol f is used for frequency and the symbol T is used for period, these equations are also expressed as: T= 1/ff=1/T

Time to try some examples!!