Physics1ATopic1Mechanics

FirstYearUniversityPhysics1A
Topic1:Mechanics

ParticleKinematicsInOneDimension(2.12.6)
Displacement
Displacementisthedistanceanobjectisfromtheorigin,irrespectiveoftheroute
takentothatposition.Beingavector,itwillalsostipulatedirectionfromtheorigin.
Thedisplacementofanobjectunderconstantvelocitycanbedeterminedasfollows:
(Wherevxisconstant)
VelocityandAcceleration
Velocityistherateofchangeofdisplacementwithrespecttotime.Averagevelocity
isthechangeindisplacementdividedbythechangeintime.Instantaneousvelocity
canbedeterminedaccordingtothefollowingequation:

lim

Accelerationistherateofchangeofvelocitywithrespecttotime.Average
accelerationisthechangeinvelocitydividedbythechangeintime.Instantaneous
accelerationcanbedeterminedbythefollowingequation:

lim

Totalaccelerationisgivenby:

MotionwithConstantAcceleration
Incaseswhereaparticlemovesunderconstantacceleration,itsaverageacceleration
willbenumericallyequaltoitsinstantaneousaccelerationatanygivenpoint/sin
time.Assuch,agraphofvelocityvstimewillproduceastraightline.
1

NonUniformAcceleration
Thisoccurswhenanobjectchangesvelocityatdifferentratesatanygivenpointin
time.

MotioninTwoandThreeDimensions(3.13.4,4.14.6)
Vectors
~Vectorarrowsindicatethemagnitudeanddirectionofthevector
~Thetriangleisthesimplestformofavectordiagrampossible

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ResolutionandUnitVectors
Vectorsareresolvedonthebasisoftheirdirectionfromtheorigin.Aguideforthe
notationisprovidedbelow.

Unitvectorsallhaveamagnitudeof1.Theyarealwaysunderlinedandindicatedby
a^signabovethewordedvector(eg.
)
PolarCoordinateSystems
Thisisbasedontheprinciplethatanypointrofcoordinates(x,y)willconsistof2
componentsindicatingitslocation.Thesecomponentsare:

VectorAddition

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VectorSubtraction:
v=vu
Toworkoutvectorvuwemustreverseuandaddtov.Letusimaginethata
carismovingat20m/sNanditturnsacornersoitisnowmoving20m/sW.Itis
possibletouseavectordiagramtodeterminethechangeinvelocity.
Step1:Draworiginalvectordiagram
Step2:Reverseu
Step3:Solveforx.
800
Therefore
202

Or28.28ms1SW
(2DecimalPlaces)

EquatingVectors
Theprocessofequatingvectorsisachievedbyensuringallcomponentsareequal
andthenensuringthatallforcesareequal(asforcesarevectorsinthemselves).As
suchthemagnitudeanddirectionofthevectorsshouldbeequal.

EquationsofMotioninVectorForm

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ProjectileMotion
Projectilemotioncanbethoughtofasconsistingofhorizontalandvertical
componentswhenwithintheEarthsgravitationalfield.Thehorizontalcomponent
involvedtheprojectiletravellingatconstantvelocity.Theverticalcomponent
involvedtheprojectileexperiencingaforceofgravity,pullingitdownataconstant
acceleration.Thesecomponentsareresolvedasvectorswhichareindependentof
oneanother,involvingvectoradditiontodeterminemotion.

Atanygiventime,thediagrambelowisindicativeofthecomponentsof
projectilemotion.ThehorizontalcomponentisequaltoVcos,whilethevertical
componentisequaltoVsin.Theequationsforcalculatingthedisplacement,
accelerationsandvelocitiesoftheindividualcomponentsareprovidedbelow.

V
Vy = V sin

Vx = V cos

Otherequationsusedinprojectilemotioninclude:

Whendealingwiththeprojectilemotionof1particlein3D,itispossibletoalterthe
axestocreatea2Dproblem.Thisensuresthattheprojectilefliesintheplaneofthe
page,butwillnotworkinsituationsof2ormoreprojectiles.

UniformCircularMotion
Uniformcircularmotionisachievedbyaconstantangularvelocity.
Forthistoexist,theaccelerationvectormusthaveacomponentwhichis
perpendiculartothepath,orinotherwords,itpointstothecentreofthecircle.
Thefollowingequationsallowthedeterminationofvelocityandanglesbeingswept
out:
2

Notethatwhenquestionsrequestdisplacementofparticlesinuniformcircular
motioninpolarform,itisinthefollowingform:
.
. Whereristheradius.

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CentripetalAccelerationandPeriodofRotation
Thisreferstoanaccelerationwhichiscentreseeking,andiscalculatedaccordingto
theequation:

Notethatcentripetalaccelerationisneverconstantowingtothepersistentchanging
ofvelocity.
Theperiodofrotationcanbecalculatedaccordingtotheequation:
2

Example
Aplanetravelsinahorizontalcircle,speedvandradiusr.Foragivenv,whatisther
forwhichthenormalforceexertedbytheplaneonthepilotistwiceherweight.
Whatisthedirectionofthisforce?

CentripetalForce:
VerticalForces:

Byeliminating,

30
,

TangentialandRadialAcceleration
Tangentialaccelerationisthecomponentwhichwillcauseachangeinthevelocityof
theparticle.Ithasparallelswithinstantaneousvelocityandisgivenby:

Radialaccelerationisderivedfromthechangesindirectionofthevelocity,andis
givenby:

Becauseradialandtangentialaccelerationareperpendicularcomponentvectorsof
acceleration,themagnitudeoftotalaccelerationcanbegivenby:

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RelativeMotion
Allmeasurementsaremaderelativetoaframeofreference.Whendescribingthe
positingormotionofamovingobject,weneedtostateclearlytheframeof
referenceweareusingforourobservations.
Thevelocityofanobject,asmeasuredbyamovingobserver,isreferredtoas
relativevelocity.RelativeVelocityisthedifferencebetweenthevelocityofthe
object,relativetotheground,andthevelocityoftheobserverrelativetothe
ground.
Whentheobjectsaretravellinginthesamedirection,relativevelocitycanbe
calculatedbytheformula:
V1V2
Whentheobjectsaretravellinginoppositedirections,relativevelocitycanbe
calculatedby:
V1+V2

ParticleDynamics(5.15.8,6.1)
NewtonsLawsofMotion
NewtonsFirstLawofMotion(LawofInertia)
Anobjectwillremainatrestortravelwithaconstantvelocityunlessacteduponbya
netforce.
NewtonsSecondLawofMotion
Theforcerequiredtomoveanobjectisproportionaltoitsmass.

Notethatthislawonlyappliesininertialframesandisasumofallforcesactingon
anobject.
NewtonsThirdLawofMotion
Foreveryaction,thereisanequalandoppositereaction.

Mass
Thisistheamountofmatterwithinagivenobject.Akeypropertyisthatthemassis
proportionaltoberesistancetheobjectofferswhenattemptingtoalteritsvelocity
(forinstance,causingatennisballtoaccelerateiseasierthancausingatrainto
accelerate).Asaconsequence,theaccelerationoftheobjectisinversely
proportionaltothemassofanobjectwhenafixedforceisapplied.

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ApplicationsofNewtonsLaws
Newtonslawscanbeappliedintermsofthetensionincables.Theparticleswhich
areapplyingatensiontothecablecanbeinequilibriumorunderanetforce.Ifthe
particleisinequilibrium,
0asthereisnoforceinthexdirection.Additionally,

0
0
,suchthatFgisthegravitationalforceandTisthe
upwardforceprovidedbytension.
Iftheparticleisunderanetforce,then

,where
theforceisbeingexertedinthehorizontalplane.Thisprinciplecanbeappliedtothe
yplaneiftheforceisappliedvertically.However,ifthereisnoforceapplied
0
vertically,then:
.Inotherwords,thenormalforce
hasthesamemagnitudebutoppositedirectiontogravitationalforce.

ContactForces
Whenanobjectmoveswhileitisincontactwithanothermedium,thereisaforce
exertedwhichresiststhemotion.Thisisbecauseoftheinteractionsbetweenthe
objectanditssurroundings;resultantofthejaggednatureofobjects.Theseforces
areknownascontactforces.

Thenormalcomponentofacontactforceisthenormalforce(N).The
componentwhichoccursintheplaneofcontactisthefrictionforce(Ff).
Thenormalforceisatrightanglestothesurfaceandresults
fromdeformation.Ifthereexistsrelativemotion,thereiskinetic
friction(whichopposesmotion).Ifthereisnorelativemotion,then
thereisstaticfriction,whichopposesanyappliedforce.

Belowareequationswhichdisplaytheratiooffrictionforcesto
normalforces.
(Assuch,thenormalforceisproportionaltothekineticfrictionforce)
(Assuch,thenormalforceisgreaterthanthestaticfrictionalforce,
wherefrictioncanbe0)
Ageneralisedlawinvolvingfrictionstatesthatkineticandstaticfrictionareroughly
independentofthenormalforceandofcontactarea.
Acomparativelargescaleexamplewouldbeplatetectonics.Thejagged
natureofplatescausesthemtolockperiodically,andthislockingcontinuesuntil
suchtimeasenoughforceisexertedtobreakfreeofthislocking.Thislockingcauses
staticfrictionduetothelackofrelativemotionandopposesanyappliedforceto
unlocktheplates.Thebreakingfreecausesadeformationintheplatesandthen
interactswithitssurroundsresultinginkineticfriction.

Whatbecomesclearistheforcerequiredtokeepanobjectmovingisless
thanthattoinitiallymoveanobject.

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Examples

DynamicsofCircularMotion
Incircularmotion,thereexistsaradialcomponentofacceleration,nutalsoa
tangentialcomponentwithamagnitudeof| |,thereforetheforceontheparticle
hasaradialandtangentialcomponent.Assuch,
andhence

Example
Acivilengineerwishestoredesignacurvedroadwayinsuchawaythatacarwillnot
havetorelyonfrictiontoroundacurvewithoutskidding.Inotherwords,acar
movingatthedesignatedspeedcannegotiatethecurveevenwhenitiscoveredin
ice.Sucharoadisbanked.Supposethedesignatedspeedis13.4m/sandthecurve
radiusis35m.Findtheangletheroadshouldbebankedby.
Onabankedroad,thenormalforcehasahorizontalcomponentwhichpointstothe
centreofthecurve.However,sincetheforceofstaticfrictionis0,theonly
.
componentwhichcancausecentripetalaccelerationis
.
Therefore:

.
.

(1)
0
(2)

(1)/(2)=

.
.

27.6

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WorkandEnergy(7.17.4,15.1,7.57.8,8.18.2,8.5)
MechanicalWork
TheworkWdoneonasystembyanagentexertingaconstantforceonthesystemis
equalto:
.
whereistheanglebetweentheforceandthedisplacement
vectors.

DeformingSprings

BasedonthediagramandHookesLaw,theworkdonebythespringontheblockis
equalto

Whereastheworkdoneappliedontothespringisequalto:

VectorDotProduct
Thisisalsoknownasthescalarproduct(beingtheproductof2scalarquantities).
Thisisduetothenotationforthemultiplicationofscalarpropertiesbeing(a.b),
while(axb)isusedforvectors.
Becauseofthis,wecanderivescalarproductsby
components.Hence:
.

.
.

.
.

Since . , .
.

. allequal0,

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Thiscanbeappliedtotheproblembelow:

VariableForces
HookesLaw
HookesLawdealswiththebehaviourofproductswhichdisplaylinearelasticity.Itis
basedontheprinciplethattheforceappliedtoanobjectwillbeproportionaltoany
deformation.

However,thelawhasamajorflawwithit;itonlyappliestoasmallportionofthe
graphofforcevsdeformation(orintermolecularseparation,asthisisanindicatorof
deformation).Indeformationbybending,someseparationsarestretched,while
othersarecompressed.Therealsoexistsaneutralpositionwherethereisnorelative
stretchingorcompression.Whenthisstretchingorcompressionexceedsthe
limitationsoftheobject,thelawfails.Assuch,itcanonlybeusedasan
approximation.
Observethegraphbelow:

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Clearlytherepulsiveforcesmustbesubstantiallystrongeroverallasitisdifficultto
compressanobjectbeyondafewpercent.
Alsoquiteclearisthatatrest,forceis0.
Anotherclearobservationisthatthereareseveralrangesoverwhichforceis
proportionaltodeformationareverysmall(whereHookeslawwillapply).Also,
eachregionhasitsownapproximationandhenceconstant.

KineticEnergy
UsingNewtonssecondlaw,wecanderivethefollowingequationforthenetwork
onanobject:
.

However,

Therefore,

WorkEnergyTheorems
Whenworkisdoneonasystemandtheonlychangeinthesystemisinitsspeed,
thenetworkdoneonthesystemequalsthechangeinthekineticenergyofthe
system.
Assuch,thistheoremindicatesthatthespeedofasystemwillincreaseifthenet
workdoneonitispositiveasthefinalkineticenergywillbegreater.Conversely,the
speedofasystemwilldecreaseiftheworkdoneonitisnegative.

PotentialEnergy
Potentialenergyisbasedontheconceptofgettingenergyback.Notallforcescan
storeenergyhowever;frictionenergycannotberecovered,whereasthatina
compressedspringcanberecovered(likewiseforworkdoneinagravitationalfield).
Thereisaminimumofpotentialenergyattheequilibriumpoint.
Foranyconservativeforce(whereworkdoneagainstisW=W(r)),itispossibleto
defineapotentialenergyUas
.Thatis,
.

Forinstance,usinggravity,whereanobjectofmassmisbeingslowlylifted(withno
acceleration)fromaheightyitoafinalheightofyf,itisfoundthattheworkdoneon
theobjectasthedisplacementincreasesisaproductoftheappliedforceandthe
displacement,suchthat
:
.
.

Asaresultofthis,itispossibletodeterminethatgravitationalpotentialenergyis
equalto:
andhence

Bycomparison,aspring,whichpossesseselasticpotentialenergy:

ThechoiceofzeroforUisarbitraryandcanbeanything.Forinstance,withthe

exampleofthespring,U=0atx=0,andso

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ConservativeForces
Theseforcesarewheretheworkdonearoundaclosedloopisequaltozero.Such
forceshave2keyproperties:
Theworkdonebyaconservativeforceonaparticlemovingbetweenany2
pointsisindependentofthepathtakenbyaparticle
Theworkdonebyaconservativeforceonaparticlemovingthroughany
closedpathiszero(wherethebeginningpointandendpointareidentical).
,itbecomesclearthat
Anexampleofsuchaforceisgravity.Basedon
onlytheinitialandfinalcoordinatesmatterandhenceoveranyclosedpaththe
workdonewillbezero.Thisissimilarforelasticsystems.Theworkofaconservative
forceisgenerallyrepresentedby andgenerally

NonConservativeForces
Theseareforceswheretheworkdoneinaclosedlookcannotequalzero.An
exampleofthiswouldbefriction.Assuch,themechanicalenergyisdefinedas:
(whereKiskineticenergyandUispotentialenergy).Suchforceswill
causeachangeinthemechanicalenergyofthesystem.Forinstancewhenslidinga
bookalonganonidealisedtable,thekineticenergyisconvertedtointernalenergy
asheat.Furthermore,thepathtakeninaclosedloopwilldeterminehowmuch
kineticenergyisconvertedtointernalenergy;thelongerthepath,themorefriction.

ConservationofMechanicalEnergy
Mechanicalenergyisgenerallynotconserved.However,ifnonconservativeforces
donowork,thereforemechanicalenergyisconserved.
Applications

Power
Thisistherateofdoingwork.Generallyspeaking,Wisusedforwork,while| |is
usedforweight.Itisworthnotingthatwhendisplacinginthehorizontaldirection,
thereisnoworkbeingdoneagainstgravity.Additionally,velocityisnormally
constant.TheSIunitisjoulespersecond,orwatts.Positiveworkisthatdoneinthe
samedirectionastheforce.Negativeforceisworkdoneoppositetothedirectionof
theforce.
AveragePower:

InstantaneousPower:
Example:

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Gravitation(13.1,13.413.6)
NewtonsLawofGravitation
NewtonsLawofUniversalGravitationstatesthateverymassintheuniverseis
attractedtoeveryothermassintheuniversebyaforceofgravitation.
mm
F =G 122
d
MotionofPlanetsandSatellites
SlingshotEffect
Satellitesmusthaveacertainvelocityinordertostayinorbit.Ifnottheywilleither
crashintoEarthorgooutintospaceandneverreturn.Thisvelocitydependsonthe
forceofgravityactingonthesatellite.Satellitespathsofmotionareaffectedby
gravity,thiscanbeseenbyorbitsandtheslingshotaffect.
KeplersLawsofPlanetaryMotion
Keplersfirstlawstatesthatallplanetsorbitthesuninanellipticalorbitwherethe
sunislocatedatoneofthefoci.
Keplerssecondlawisaconsequenceofconservationofangularmomentumand
statesthataplanetwillsweepequalareasinequalamountsoftime.Assuch:
whereLandMareconstants.
Keplersthirdlawshowstherelationshipbetweentheperiodandradiusoforbits.

GandVariation
Thevalueofgravityvariesasthedistanceawayfromthecentreofgravityincreases.
Assuch,thevalueofgravitycanbeseentobe:
whereristheradiusofthe
planetandhistheheightabovethesurface.Assuch,agravitationalfieldexists,and
extendsinfinitelyintospace,althoughatlargedistances,theforceisnegligible.
Basedon
,
where isaunitvectorpointingradiallyoutward
fromtheplanet,thenegativesignindicatesthefieldpointstothecentreofthe
planet.

GravitationalPotentialEnergy
While
isareasonableestimateofthepotentialenergyofanobject,itcan
onlyapplyclosetothesurfaceofaplanet.Whereamoregeneralequationis
required,
willapply.

EscapeVelocity
Thisiswhenthekineticenergyofanobjectallowsittoescapefromthegravitational
fieldofanyobject(usuallyaplanet).Hence:

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OrbitsandEnergy
Sincenonconservativeforcesdonowork,mechanicalenergyisconserved.Hence
,whereEisthemechanicalenergyofthesatellite.
Assuch,
.Byremovingvelocityandconsideringthecircular
orbit:
.

Since

Therefore:

Assuch,asmallradiuswillresultinaverynegativepotentialenergyandaverylarge
kineticenergy.Hencetheinnerplanetsarefasterthantheouterplanets.Basedon
this,largeorbitsrequirealargeamountofworktoreachtherequiredaltitude,
whereitsvelocitywilldecreaseatthesehigheraltitudes.

Thisbecomesevidentwithspacecraftinorbit.Inordertospeedupandcatch
uptoanotherspacecraft,aspacecraftwillfireitsenginesbackwards,losingenergy
anddoingnegativeworkonitself.Thishastheeffectofmorenegativemechanical
energy,causingittofalltoalowerorbitwhereitwilltravelfasteruntilitcatchesup
withthesecondspacecraft.Itwillthenfireitsenginesforwardtoslowdownand
henceclimbuptoitsoriginal,slowerorbit.

MomentumandCollisions(9.1,9.39.6)
ConservationofLinearMomentum
TotalMomentumPrior=TotalMomentumFollowing
M1U1+M2U2+=M1V1+M2V2+
MomentumisconservedincollisionsbecauseofNewtonsThirdLaw.Thisis
becausethereisanequalandoppositereactiontoeveryactiondone.Becauseof
this,thereactionforcesmustequaltheactionforces.
ThechangeinmomentumofanobjectisreferredtoasImpulse.Itisdefined
bythefollowingequation:

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CollisionsinOneDimension
Elasticcollisionsin1dimensionarethosewherethetotalkineticenergy,andhence
momentum,ofthesystemisthesamebeforeandafterthecollision.Inreality,no
collisionsareperfectlyelasticbecauseobjectswilldeformslightlyduringthecollision
aswellasasmallamountofenergybeingconvertedtootherforms,suchasheat
andsound.Basedonthis,thefollowingapply:
and

Basedonthis,inelasticcollisionsarethosewherethetotalkineticenergyina
systemisdifferentbeforeandafteracollision,evenifmomentumisconserved.This
canhappenwhenobjectssticktogether(knownasaperfectlyinelasticcollision)or
whenanobjectissubstantiallydeformed(aswithaball)whenbeingbounced.In
elasticcollisionsaregenerallyhardtoanalysewithoutadditionalinformation.

Inaperfectlyinelasticcollision,bothobjectswilltravelwithacommon
velocityafterimpact.Beinganisolatedsystem,momentumisconservedandassuch,
thefinalvelocitycanbedeterminedbythefollowing:
.
CollisionsinTwoDimensions
Incollisionsintwodimensions,momentumisconservedinboththexandyaxes
independentlyas
and

Giventheinitialycomponentofmomentumina2particlesystemiszero
(giventhedirectioncanbetakenasthexaxis):
cos
cos Whereistheangleobject1fliesoffat,andis
theangleatwhichobject2fliesoffat(whereobject1collideswithobject2),and:
0
sin
sin
Ifthecollisioniselastic,then:
.Kinetic
energywillnotbeconservedifthecollisionisinelastic.
CentreofMass
Thexcoordinatesofthecentreofmassofaseriesofparticlescanbefoundbythe

followingequation:

Wherexiisthexcoordinateoftheithparticleandthetotalmassis
,
wherethesumrunsovernparticles.Theyandzcoordinatesofthecentreofmass
canalsobederivedbysimilarequations:

Thevectorpositionofthecentrefmassofanextendedobjectcanbe
expressedintheform:

Thecentreofmassofanysymmetricalobjectliesontheaxisofsymmetry
andonanyplaneofsymmetry.Forinstance,thecentreofmassforasphereisatits
geometriccentre.

Forallotherobjects,thecentreofmasscanbedeterminedbysuspending
theobjectfromanypointA,andthendrawingaverticallineAB(determinableviaa
plumbbob).IftheobjectisthensuspendedfromanypointC,andagain,avertical
linedrawnasCD,theintersectionofABandCDwillmarkthecentreofmass.

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Theworkdonebythecentreofmasscanbegivenbythechangeinkinetic
energyofthecentreofmass.
Example:

ManyParticleSystems
Thevelocityofthecentreofmassofsuchasystemisgivenby:

Thetotalmomentumofasystemofparticlesisgivenby:

Theaccelerationofthecentreofmasscanbegivenby:

Assuch,thesumofallexternalforcescanbegivenby:

Rotation(10.1,10.310.6)
AngularVelocityandAcceleration
Angulardisplacement:

Angularvelocity:

Angularacceleration:

2 .

Notethattheaboveequationsarecomparabletotheprojectileequations,however,
therespectivecomponentsofdisplacement,velocityandaccelerationhavebeen
dividedbyrtoobtaintheirangularequivalents.
AngularQuantities
Linear
Angular

. sin

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Example:Abicyclewheelhasaradiusof40cm.Whatisitsangularvelocitywhenthe
wheeltravelsat40kmh.
.
.
/

28
.

RotationalKineticEnergy
Rotationalkineticenergyisderivedfromthesumoftheindividualkineticenergiesof
theparticleswithinarigidobject.
Asseenabove,rotationalkineticenergyisequalto
.However,since
.

Thetotalkineticenergyofarollingobjectis:

MomentofInertia
Thisisameasureoftheabilityofanobjecttoresistchangesinitsrateofrotation.It
isalsoreferredtoastherotationalanalogueofmass.

Forasystemofmasses,thisisequalto:

Foracontinuousbody:

WhatbecomesevidentisthatIwilldependonthetotalmass,distributionofmass
andshape,aswellastheaxisofrotation.
Themomentofinertiacanalsobedefinedbytheequation:
wherenisa
number.Itcanalsobedefinedas
where
.
.Forahoop,
Otherobjects(forwhichkdoesnotneedtoberemembered):
Disc:

Solidsphere:

Itisworthnotingthatwhenanobjecthasalowermomentofinertia,thereisless
rotationalkineticenergy,andhencemoretranslationalkineticenergy.
Torque
Torqueistheturningmomentofaforce.Torquethatisaboutanaxisofrotationis
equaltotheproductofthedistancebetweentheendofthebeamandthepoint
throughwhichtheforceisappliedandthecomponentofforceperpendiculartothe
beam.

sin

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AngularMomentum

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SystemofParticles

Example:Persononrotatingseatholdstwo2.2kgmassesatarmslengthanddraws
themtowardstheirchest.Whatistheincreaseinagularmomentum?IsK
conserved?

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Physics1ATopic2ThermalPhysics

FirstYearUniversityPhysics1A
Topic2:ThermalPhysics

Temperature
TemperatureandThermalEquilibrium
Temperatureistheconceptbywhichanobjectisperceivedtobehotorcold.The
definitionoftemperatureisdependentupontheconceptsofthermalcontactand
thermalequilibrium.Athighertemperatures,particleswillpossessmoreenergyand
hencehavemorekineticenergyandcollisions.

Thermalcontactiswheretwoobjectsareabletoexchangeenergybetween
themselves,eitherviaheatorEMR.Thisisaconsequenceofatemperature
differencebetweenthetwoobjects.Whenparticlescollidewithawall,itcan
transferenergytothiswall,whichinturncantransfertheenergytotheparticleson
theothersideofthewall.

ThermalEquilibriumiswheretwoobjectsexchangenonetenergywhen
placedinthermalcontact.Asstatedabove,thiscontactdoesnotneedtobephysical
asenergycanbetransferredviaEMR.Akeylawrelatedtothermalequilibriumisthe
ZerothLawofThermodynamics.ThislawstatesthatifanytwoobjectsAandBare
separatelyinthermalequilibriumwithathirdobjectC,thenAandBareinthermal
equilibriumwitheachother.Consequently,ifAandBarebroughttogether,nonet
energywillbeexchanged.

Temperaturecanthenbedefinedusingthermalequilibrium.Itcanbe
thoughtoftobeapropertywhichdetermineswhetherornotanobjectisinthermal
equilibriumwithanotherobject/s.Iftwoobjectsareinthermalequilibrium,then
theyarethesametemperature.Quiteevidently,thetemperatureisnowdefinedby
energy.

MeasuringTemperature
Thetemperatureofanobjectismeasuredwithathermometer.Theyarebasedon
theprinciplethatsomephysicalpropertyofasystemchangedasthetemperatureof
thesystemchanges.Atemperaturescalecanbebasedonanyofthefollowing
properties:
Volumeofaliquid(Mercuryoralcohol)
Dimensionsofasolid(suchasintheexpansion/contractionoftraintracks)
Pressureofagasataconstantvolume(Idealgases)
Volumeofagasataconstantpressure(Idealgases)
Electricalresistanceofaconductor
(Asheatrises,conductivitydecreasesproportionallytothetemperature)
Colourofanobject(aswithBlackBodies)
Incalibratingathermometer,itmustbeplacedinthermalcontactwithsomenatural
systemthatremainsataconstanttemperature(suchasthetriplepointofwater).
TheCelsiusscaleisbasedupontheicepointofwaterbeingat0andtheboilingpoint
at100with100incrementsinbetweenthesepoints.

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Akeyproblemwiththermometers,especiallyliquidinglassvariants(suchas
thoseinvolvingalcoholormercury),isthatthethermometermayonlyagreewith
thecalibrationpoint/s.Asaconsequence,therecanbelargediscrepancieswhenthe
temperatureisfarfromthesepoints(thescalebetweencalibrationpointsmaynot
belinear).Thermometersalsohavealimitedrange;forinstance,mercurycannot
operatebelow30Candalcoholcannotworkabove85C.

Theconstantvolumegasthermometerisbasedupontheeffectsonthe
pressureofafixedvolumeofgasasthetemperaturechanges.Anincreaseinthe
temperaturecausesgreaterpressure,whichpushesthemercuryout.Theheight
differenceisproportionaltothetemperature.

Whencomparingtemperature,itisimportanttousetheKelvinscalebecause
thisisatruerepresentationofthekineticenergyofanobject.Forinstance,waterat
100Cisnottwiceashotaswaterat50C.However,aflameat233Cistwiceashot
asanicecubeat20C.
AbsoluteZero
Thisconceptisbasedupontheclassicalphysicsprinciplethatat0K,particleswill
havezerokineticenergy.Itwouldfollowlogicallythatthemoleculeswouldthen
settleoutonthebottomofthecontainer.However,quantumphysicsshowsthat
someresidualenergywillremain,andthisiscalledzeropointenergy.Furthermore,
theconceptofabsolutezeroisatheoreticalconcept.Thisisbecauseforasubstance
tobeatabsolutezero,thecontainermustbeatabsolutezerobecausethetwo
objectswouldbeinthermalcontact.Thisproblemcontinuestocompound,and
henceforanobjecttobeabsolutezero,everythingmustbeatabsolutezero.

ThermalPropertiesofMatter
Whenanobjectisheated,itwillexpand.Consequently,thejointsinmanyobjects
allowroomforthisintheformofexpansionjoints.Thisexpansionisaconsequence
ofthechangeinaverageseparationbetweenatomsinanobject.Ifthisexpansionis
smallrelativetotheoriginaldimensions,thenagoodapproximationofthischange
indimensionsisthisisproportionaltothechangeintemperature.
LinearExpansion
Thecoefficientoflinearexpansionisasfollows:
/
or
or

WhereLiistheinitiallengthandLfisthefinallengthandhasunitsof(C)1.

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Itshouldbenotedthatsome,butnotall,materialscanexpandinonedirectionwhile
contractinanotherastemperatureincreases.Alsoasthelineardimensionschange,
thesurfaceareaandvolumewillalsochange.

VolumeExpansion
Thisisbasedontheprinciplethatthechangeinvolumeisproportionaltothe
originalvolumeandthechangeintemperature.

WhereisthecoefficientofvolumeexpansionandViistheinitialvolume.
Insolids,
3 .However,theformulaassumesthematerialisisotropic,orthe
sameinalldirections.

Theprincipleofvolumeexpansioncanbeexploitedinthermometers.The
greatervolumealiquidwillexpand,thegreatertheaccuracyofthethermometer.
AreaExpansion
Thisisbasedontheprinciplethatthechangeinareaisproportionaltotheoriginal
areaandchangeintemperature.

2

WhereAiistheinitialarea.

BimetallicStrips
Thesearestripsofmetalcontainingtwodifferentmetalsphysicallybondedtoone
another.Atacertaintemperature,thestripwillbeperfectlystraight.However,as
onestripexpandsmorethantheother,itwillbendasthetemperaturechanges.An
applicationforsuchanobjectisinthermostats.

Water
Water,unlikeothersubstances,willincreaseindensityasitstemperaturerisesfrom
0Cto4C.Above4C,waterwillbehavelikeanyothersubstance.Thisisa
consequenceofthehydrogenbondsbetweenmolecules.

ChangesinVolume
Whilethevolumeexpansionequationrequiresaninitialvolumefortemperature
change,thereisnoequilibriumseparationfortheatomsinagas.Inotherwords,
thereisnostandardvolumeforanyfixedtemperature,andhencethevolume
dependssoleonthecontainer.Consequently,thevolumeforgasesisvariable.And
thechangeinvolumeisconsidered.

KineticTheoryandtheIdealGas
MacroscopicPropertiesofaGas
EquationofStateforaGas
Thisdescribeshowthevolume,pressureandtemperatureofagasofmassmare
related.
TheMole
Theamountofgaswithinagivenvolumecanbeexpressedinthenumberofmoles.
OnemoleofanysubstancecontainsAvogadrosnumberofconstituentparticles.The
numberofmolesiscalculatedby
.

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BoylesLaw
Whenagasiskeptataconstanttemperature,itspressureisinverselyproportional
toitsvolume.
CharlesandGayLussacssLaw
Whenagasiskeptataconstantpressure,itsvolumeisdirectlyproportionaltoits
temperature.

IdealGasLaw
Theequationofstateforanidealgasis:

Wherenisthenumberofmoles,RisaconstantcalledtheUniversalGasConstant
(8.314J/mol.K),Tistemperature,Pispressure,Visvolume,andtheunitsforPVis
Joules.
Thislawisoftenstatedintermsofthetotalnumberofmoleculespresent,hence:

WherekBisBoltzmannsconstantof and

1.38

10

/ .

ItiscommontocallP,VandTthethermodynamicvariablesofanidealgas.

Thislawhelpsexplainthatthepressureagasexertsonthewallsofa
containerareaconsequenceofthecollisionsofgasmoleculeswiththewall.
IdealGasLawAssumptions
1. Thenumberofmoleculesinthegasislargeandtheaverageseparation
betweenthemoleculesislargecomparedwiththeirdimensions.Such
moleculesoccupyanegligiblevolumeinthecontainer.
2. ThemoleculesobeyNewtonslawsofmotion,butasawholetheymove
randomly.Consequently,anymoleculecanmoveinanydirectionwithany
speed.Atanygivenmoment,acertainpercentageofmoleculesmoveathigh
speedsandacertainpercentagewillmoveatslowspeeds.
3. Themoleculesinteractonlybyshotrangeforcesduringcollisions.Hence
therearenoattractiveorrepulsiveforcesbetweenthem.
4. Moleculesmakeelasticcollisionswiththewalls
5. Thegasunderconsiderationisapuresubstance.Inotherwords,allthe
moleculesareidentical(notentirelytrueinrealityduetoisotopes)
Thefirst3assumptionsarethemostimportanthowever.
MolecularModeloftheIdealGas
ThemolecularmodelforagaswasdevelopedbyBrownin1801afterobservingthat
pollensuspendedinwatermovedinanirregularpattern.Hethoughtthatthepollen
containedsomelifeforce,however,itisnowknownthatthiswasfromwater
moleculesbumpingintothepollenrandomly.Thiswasthefirstevidenceof
atomisationwhichwasanobservationratherthanadeduction.

KineticInterpretationofTemperature
PressureandKineticEnergy
Therelationshipbetweenpressureandkineticenergyisasfollows:

Thisisinterpretedasthepressureisproportionaltothenumberofmoleculesper
unitvolume(N/V)andtotheaveragetranslationalkineticenergyofthemolecules.
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Notetheuseof ,whichisthemeanvalueofthespeedsquared.Thisisa
consequenceofthelargenumberofparticlesinagas,andhenceitisimpossibleto
refertoaspecificparticle.Furthermore,totalvelocityiszeroasthereasmanyvector
componentsinonedirectionastheother.

BycomparingtheaboveequationwiththatfortheIdealGasLawwefind:

Hence,thetemperatureisadirectmeasureoftheaveragemolecularkineticenergy.
Simplifyingtheequationgives:

Andgiventhiscanbeappliedinanydirection:

The isaconsequenceofeachcomponent(x,yandz)are oftheoverallequation.

Usingthis,itbecomesapparentthatthetranslationaldegreeoffreedomcontributes
anequalamountofenergytothegas(giveneachdirectionisindependentofthe
others).Thisconceptofeachcomponentcontributingequallytotheenergyofthe
systemcanbereferredtoastheTheoremoftheEquipartitionofEnergy.
TotalKineticEnergyofaGas
ThetotalkineticenergyisjustNtimesthekineticenergyofeachmolecule:

Notingthat

Ifthegashasonlytranslationalenergy,thethisistheinternalenergyofthegas.
Basedonthis,theinternalenergyofanidealhasdependssolelyontemperature.
RootMeanSquare(RMS)Speed
Thisisthesquarerootoftheaverageofthesquaresofthespeeds.
Hence:

WhereMisthemolarmass.

HeatandtheFirstLawofThermodynamics
HeatandInternalEnergyofIdealGases
In1850,Joulediscoveredalinkbetweenthetransferofenergybyheatinthermal
processesandthetransferofenergybyworkinmechanicalprocesses.Thisledthe
conceptofenergytobegeneralisedtoincludeinternalenergy.

Internalenergyisthesumofallenergiespossessedbyaparticle.For
instance,inagas,thisincludesgravitationalpotential,vibration,rotational,random
translational,chemicalpotentialandrestmassenergies.Thekineticenergydueto
motionthroughspaceisNOTincluded.Internalenergycanbechangedbyboththe
applicationofheat(orflowofenergy)orwork(applyingaforce).

Thermalenergyreferstothesumofgravitationalpotential,rotational,
vibrationalandrandommotionkineticenergies.ThisisrepresentedbythesymbolQ.

Heatcanbeinterpretedtobeaflowofenergybetweentwoormore
systems.Thisisduetoatemperaturedifferencebetweentherespectivesystems.
Heatisquantifiedastheamountofenergytransferred.

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HeatCapacity
Thisisdefinedastheamountofenergyrequiredtoraisethetemperatureofa
sampleby1C.Itcanbedepictedbythefollowingequation.
.
SpecificHeatforSolidsandIdealGas
Specificheatistheheatcapacityperunitarea,or
.Theequationforspecific
heatisgivenby
.Thespecificheatisameasureofhowinsensitivean
objectistotemperaturechangeasagreaterspecificheatwillrequiremoreenergy
tochangethatsubstancestemperature.

Signconventionsforheatcapacityandspecificheatare:
Iftemperatureincrease,Qand Tarepositiveasenergytransfersintothe
system
Iftemperaturedecreases,QandTarenegativeasenergytransfersoutof
thesystem.
Thespecificheatofwaterisratherlargecomparedtomanyothersubstances.The
consequencesofthisarevariousweatherphenomenon,suchasmoderated
temperaturesalongthecoastandseabreezes.

Calorimetry
Thisisatechniqueformeasuringthespecificheatofasubstance.Itinvolvesheating
amaterial,addingittoasampleofwater,andthenrecordingthefinaltemperature.
Assumingthesystemofthesampleandthewaterisisolated,conservationofenergy
requiresthattheamountofenergywhichleavesthesampletobethesameasthe
energywhichentersthewater.

Thisminussignisimportant,andisindicativeofthesamplelosingenergy,whichthe
watergainsenergy.
PhaseChanges
Thisreferstothechangeofphysicalstateofasubstance,suchassolidtoliquid.
Duringaphasechange,thereisnochangeintemperatureofthesubstance.The
energyrequiredtoeffectthischangeiscalledLatentHeat.
LatentHeat
Thisistheamountofenergyrequiredtocauseasubstancetochangestate.Itis
equalto
wheremisthemassofthesample.Thelatentheatoffusionis
theenergyrequiredtochangefromsolidtoliquid,whilethelatentheatof
vaporisationistheenergyrequiredtochangefromliquidtogas.Apositivesignwill
beusedtoindicateenergybeingtransferredintothesystem.Conversely,anegative
signwillindicatethatenergyislostbythesystem.Animportantconceptin
calculatinglatentheatisthatthetemperaturewillnotchangeuntilthesamplehas
completelychangedstate.

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WorkDoneonanIdealGas
Thestatevariableswilldescribethemacroscopicstateofasystem.Inanidealgas,
thesearepressure,temperature,volumeandinternalenergy.However,this
macroscopicstatecanonlybespecifiedifthesystemisinthermalequilibrium.

Transfervariablesdescribethechangesinstate.Theyarezerounlessa
processoccurstocausethetransferofenergyacrossasystemboundary.For
example,heatandworkaretransfervariables.Forinstance,heatcanonlybe
assignedavalueifitcrossesaboundary.

Theworkdoneonanidealgascanbegivenby:

.
.
. SinceP=F/A
Thechangeinvolumeisgivenby
. andhencetheworkdoneis

. .
Thetotalworkdoneisgivenby:

PVDiagrams
Thesearediagramsshowingthecorrelationbetweenpressureandvolumetoallowa
determinationoftheworkdoneonanidealgas.Theworkdoneonsuchadiagramis
verydependentonthepathtaken.

Theabovediagramindicatesthatthevolumehasbeenreducedbeforethepressure
isincreasedbyheating.

Theabovediagramshowsthatthepressurewasfirstlyincreasedbeforethevolume
wasdecreased.

Theabovediagramshowsthatthepressureandvolumecontinuallychanged.While
isanapplicableequationforthefirst2cases,indiagram3,the
evaluationofworkrequirestheP(V)functiontobeknown.

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ConversionofWorktoThermalEnergy
Ifapistoncompressesagas,thekineticenergyoftheparticleswillbeincreased.This
isthroughconservationofmomentum,wherethemovingpistonsupplieskinetic
energytotheparticles,therebyincreasethermalenergy.

FirstLaworThermodynamics
Thisisaspecialcaseofconservationofenergytakingintoaccountthechangein
internalenergythroughenergytransfersinworkandheat.Thelawstatesthat:

Akeyconsequenceofthislawisthattheremustexistaninternalenergywhichis
determinedbythestateofthesystem.Forinfinitesimalchanges:

ApplicationsoftheFirstLawofThermodynamics
TheAdiabaticprocessiswherenoenergyentersofleavesthesystembyheat.Thisis
achievedbyinsulatingthesystem,orhavingthesystemproceedquicklyenoughthat
noheatcanbeexchanged.Since
0,
.Ifthegasiscompressedinthis
manner,thenWispositive,sointernalenergyisalsopositiveandhence
temperatureincreases.

Theisobaricprocessisonewhichoccursatconstantpressure.Theworkdone
is
,wherePisconstant.
Theisovolumetricprocesstakesplaceinconstantvolume.Sincethereisno
changeinvolume,W=0.HenceininternalenergyequalsQ.Additionally,ifanyheat
isadded,sincethevolumeisconstant,alloftheenergytransferredresultsinan
increaseininternalenergy.

Theisothermalprocessoccursatconstanttemperature.Sincetemperature
doesntchange,internalenergyequalszero.Anyenergythatentersmustleavethe
system.ItsPVgraphisasfollows:

Since

,theequationformsaparabola.

Also,sincethegasisanidealgasandtheprocessisquasistatic,

. log

Ifthegasexpands,thenVf>Vi,andhencetheworkdoneisnegative.
TheTransferofHeat
Inanisolatedsystem,therearenointeractionswiththesurroundingenvironment,
andhence
0
.Asaconsequence,theinternalenergyofsucha
systemremainsconstant.

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Cyclicprocessesarewherethesystemstartsandendsatthesamestate.
Suchaprocessisnotisolated.OnaPVdiagram,thiswouldbeindicatedbyaclosed
curve.Becausetheinternalenergyisastatevariable,thereisnochangeininternal
energy.Hence,if
0,
.Insuchprocesses,thenetworkdone
percycleisequaltotheareaenclosedbythecurveonaPVdiagram.

Heatistypicallytransferredbyconduction,convectionorradiation.In
conduction,particlesbecomeenergisedandcollidewithotherparticles.Anincrease
inkineticenergythereforewilltransferthroughtotheotherparticles,thus
conductingheat.However,theconductionprocesscanonlytakeplaceifthereisa
differencebetweentwopartsoftheconductingmedium.Therateoftransfercanbe
givenby
whereisaconstantofthermalconductivity,Pis
power,dxisthethicknessandTaandTbarethetemperaturesof2different
materials,wheresubstanceAishotterthanB.

Convectionreferstoenergytransferbemovingasubstance.Itisoften
associatedwithchangesindensity,suchasinair.Thisisreferredtoasnatural
convection.Forcedconvectionisachievedwithfansorpumps.Convectionresults
fromtheheatingofair,suchthatitexpandsandrises,whilecooleraircyclesin.Thus
acontinuouscurrentisestablished.

Radiationdoesnotrequirephysicalcontact.ItisaresultoftheIRemissions
ofawarmbody.TherateofradiationcanbegivenbyStefanslawstating:
,wherePistherateoftransfer(inWatts),isaconstant
(5.6696 10 ),Aisthesurfacearea,eistheconstantofemissionoremissivity,
andTisthetemperatureinK.
Therateatwhichanobjectradiatesheatisdeterminedbyitssurrounds,
hence
.Ifanobjectisinthermalequilibriumwithitsurrounds,
therewillbenonetradiation.

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FirstYearUniversityPhysics1A
Topic3:Waves

Oscillations
OscillatingSystems
Oscillatingsystemsoftenundergoperiodicmotion,wherethemotionoftheobject
willrepeatatregularintervals.Onesuchexampleofthisissimpleharmonicmotion.
SimpleHarmonicMotion
Thisiswhereaforceactingonanobjectisproportionaltothepositionoftheobject,
relativetosomeequilibriumposition(wherethisforceisalsodirectedsucha
position).Inthecaseofaspring,thisforcecanbequantifiedwith
.

TheaccelerationofaparticleundergoingSHMisnotconstant.However,the
accelerationofthemasscanbedeterminedusingNewtonssecondlaw:

ItisthisaccelerationequationwhichdefinesasystemundergoingSHM.Fromthis
equation,itisclearthattheaccelerationisproportionaltothedisplacementofthe
object.Furthermore,thedirectionofthisaccelerationisoppositetothe
displacementfromtheequilibriumpoint.Notethatwhenablockcompletesonefull
oscillation,ithasmoved4A,whereAistheamplitudeoftheoscillation.Thisis
becauseitmustmovefrommaxdisplacement,toneutral,tominimum
displacement,andthenallthewaybacktomaxdisplacement.

Whenablockishungfromaverticalspring,itsweightwillcausethespringto
stretchtosomeequilibriumpoint.Iftherestingpositionofthespringisdefinedas
y=0,thenitisclearthat:

WhenrepresentingSHMmathematically,itisusefultochoosethexaxisas
theoneinwhichtheoscillationoccurs.ApplyingNewtonssecondlaw:

Furthermore,if

,then2

wherefisthefrequencyoftheoscillations.

Clearly,theperiodandfrequencyofthemotionareverydependentuponthemass
oftheparticleandtheforceconstantofthespring.Evidently,thefrequencyis
proportionaltothespringconstant,butinverselyproportionaltothemass.

InrepresentingSHMgraphically,anequationwhichcandefineSHMis:
. cos

. sin

. cos

asrequiredforSHM.
Similarly,anotherequationwhichcandefineSHMis

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Physics1ATopic3Waves

Notethatintheaboveequations:

istheangularfrequency(unitsofradian/s)
Aistheamplitudeofthemotion,orthemaximumdisplacementthe
particleachieves

isthephaseconstant,orinitialphaseangle
Notethatthephaseofthemotionisgivenby

Since
. cos
,itispossibletodeterminethevalueofAand by
applyingtheconditiont=0totheequation.

Becauseofthenatureofthesineandcosinefunctionsoscillatingbetween1
and1,themaximumvaluesofvelocityandaccelerationaregivenby:

Anotherimportantfactisthatthevelocityfunctionistypically90outof
phasewiththedisplacementfunction,whiletheaccelerationistypically180outof
phasewiththedisplacementfunction.
EnergyofCollisions
Assumingthatthespringmasssystemismovingonafrictionlesssurface,thekinetic
energycanbefoundby:

. sin

. sin
,

Theelasticpotentialenergycanbefoundby:

. cos

Hencethetotalenergyofthesystemcanbegivenby:

.
Notethatthistotalenergygivenaboveremainsconstant,andthatitisproportional
tothesquareoftheamplitude.Theenergyisbeingcontinuouslytransferred
betweenthepotentialandkineticenergyoftheblock.

MolecularModelofSimpleHarmonicMotion
Iftheatomsinamoleculedonotmovetoofarapart,theforcebetweenthemcanbe
modelledasiftherewerespringsbetweentheatoms.Hencethepotentialenergy
actssimilartothatofanoscillatorundergoingsimpleharmonicmotion.
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UniformCircularMotion
Thereexistsaclearlinkbetweensimpleharmonicmotionandcircularmotion.Ifa
diskwithaknobisrotatedandviewedfromabove,theknobappearstomoveback
andforthasthoughitwereundergoingsimpleharmonicmotion.Thisbecomes
evidentinthediagrambelow:
Theparticlemovesalongthecirclewitha
constantangularvelocity.
OPmeansananglewiththexaxis.
Attimet,theanglewillbe

. cos

. sin

. sin

Hence
whichtherequirementforSHM

Quiteevidently,simpleharmonicmotionalongastraightlinecanberepresentedby
aprojectionofuniformcircularmotionalongthediameterofareferencecircle.This
allowsuniformcircularmotiontobeconsideredacombinationof2simpleharmonic
motions:
Onealongthexaxis
Theotheralongtheyaxis
Wherethetwodifferinphaseby90.
Pendulums
Themotionofasimplependulumintheverticalplaneisdrivenbygravitational
force.Thismotionisverysimilartothatofparticlesundergoingsimpleharmonic
motion,wheretheangleofthependulumissmall.

Fromthediagramabove,theforcesactingonthebobaretension(T)andweight
force(mg).Thetangentialcomponentofgravitationalforceisarestoringforce,given
by
sin .Thearclengthisgivenby
.
Hence

and

Inthetangentialdirection,
sin

ThelengthLofthependulumisconstant,henceforsmallvaluesof,
sin

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Hencethemotionissimpleharmonicwith

Thefunctioncanbewrittenas:
cos

Theangularfrequencyisgivenby:

Theperiodisgivenby:
2

Basedontheabove,ifthependulumislongerorisinafieldoflowergravitational
force,itwilltakelongertocomplete1period.
DampedOscillations
Inmanyrealsystems,nonconservativeforcesarepresent,suchasfriction,air
resistanceandviscosity.Insuchcases,themechanicalenergyofthesystemwill
diminishovertime,andhencethemotionisdescribedasbeingdamped.Belowis
thegraphofadampedoscillation:

Basedonthisdiagram,theamplitudeoftheoscillationdecreasewithtime,where
thebluelineisrepresentativeoftheenvelopeofthemotion.

Anexampleofdampedmotioniswhenanobjectisattachedtoaspringand
submergedinaviscousliquid.Theretardingforcecanbeexpressedas
,
wherebisapositiveconstant,knownasthedampingconstant.FromNewtons
secondlaw,
.

Therearethreetypesofdamping,shownbythegraphbelowofposition
versustime:

(a) Isanunderdampedoscillator
(b) Isacriticallydampedoscillator
(c) Isanoverdampedoscillator

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ForcedOscillations
Becauseoftheconceptofdampedoscillations,theprocessofforcedoscillationswas
developed.Thisiswherelossofenergyinadampedsystemiscompensatedforby
applyinganexternalforce,forinstanceperiodicallypushingapendulum.The
amplitudeofthemotionremainsconstantiftheenergyinputpercycleexactly
equalsthemechanicalenergylostbythesystemineachcyclefromresistiveforces.
Generallyspeaking:

sin

sin

Wherextisthetransientforce,andxssisthesteadystateforce.

Whilethemotionofanobjectundergoingsimpleharmonicmotionisgiven
by
. cos
,theamplitudeofthedrivenoscillationisgivenby:

Where

isthenaturalfrequencyoftheundampedoscillator,givenby

Quiteclearly,theamplitudeofthemotionisdependentonthefrequency.
Resonance
Whenthefrequencyofthedrivingforceisnearthenaturalfrequency,(or
),
therewillbeanincreaseinamplitude.Thisdramaticincreaseisreferredtoas
resonance,whilethenaturalfrequencyofthesystemisalsoreferredtoasthe
resonancefrequencyofthesystem.
Themaximumpeakofresonanceoccurswhenthedrivingfrequencyequals
thenaturalfrequency.Theamplitudethenincreaseswithdecreaseddamping.
Consequently,thecurve(shownbelow)willbroadenasdampingincreases.The
shapeofthiscurveishencedependentonb.

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WaveMotion
PropagationofaDisturbance
Therearetwomajortypesofwaves.Theyaremechanicalwaves(wheresome
mediummustbedisturbedandthewavepropagatesthroughthismedium)and
electromagneticwaves.Theenergyofanydisturbanceistransferredoverdistance,
butnotthematter(theparticlesmovebackandforthorupanddown).

Apulseonaropecanbecreatedbyflickingaropeundertensionindirection.
Thispulsecanthentravelthroughtherope,causingthepulsetohaveadefinite
heightandspeedofpropagation(whichistypicallyuniqueforeachmedium).Ifthe
ropeiscontinuouslyflicked,aperiodicdisturbancecanbeformedasawave.

Wavescantraveleitherparallelorperpendiculartothemotionofthe
disturbance.Transversewavesarecomparabletoasinecurve,andtheparticlesare
displacedperpendiculartothedirectionofpropagation.

Longitudinalwavesarethosewherethetravellingwavecausestheparticlestomove
paralleltothedirectionofthewave.

Complexwavescanalsobeformed,suchaswaterwaves.Thesecanexhibita
combinationofthepropertiesoftransverseandlongitudinalwaves.

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TravellingWaves
Atravellingwaveorpulsecanberepresentedbyanequationwhichgivesthe
disturbanceasafunctionofdisplacementandtime.
Inthediagrambelow:

Evidently,theshapeofthepulseatt=0canberepresentedby
,0
.This
describesthetransverseposition,y,oftheelementofthestringlocatedateach
valueofxatt=0.Thespeedofthepulseisvandintimet,willtraveladistanceofvt.
Attime=t,theshapeisrepresentedby
.Thisisbecausethepulse
movesdowntheropeandisntalwayssinusoidal.Hence,toachievetheoriginal
curve,thedisplacementmustbesubtracted.

Consequently,foracurvetravellingtotheright,
,
.
Meanwhile,foracurvetravellingtotheleft,
,
.Assuch,y(x,t)is
thewavefunction,representingtheycoordinateofanyelementlocatedatposition
xatanytimet.Forafixedt,itiscalledthewaveform,asitdefinesthecurveatany
specifictime.
PropertiesofWaves
Theamplitudeofawaveisthemaximumdisplacementfromtheequilibrium
position.
Thewavelengthisthedistancebetweenany2identicalpointsonadjacentwaves.
Theperiodisthetimetakenforonewavelength.
Thefrequencyisthenumberofwavespersecond.
WaveFunction
Thisisgivenby
,
. sin
.Itdescribesthemotionofawave
movinginthepositivexdirectionwithaspeedofv.Conversely,
,
. sin
describesmotioninthenegativexdirection.
Inperiodicformitisgivenby:
,

. sin 2

. sin

HencethewavenumberIsgivenby

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andtheangularfrequencyby

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WaveSpeed
Whilethetransversespeedofawavecanbegivenby
, .
. cos
,thisisdifferenttothespeedofthewave
itself,givenby:

Thespeedofawaveonthestringcanalsobegivenby:
/

PowerandIntensityinWaveMotion
Thekineticenergyofawaveisgivenby

,where

Thetotalkineticenergyinawaveisgivenby
.Thissameequation
canalsobeusedtodefinepotentialenergyinawave.Hence,thetotalenergyofa
waveisgivenby
.
Thepowerassociatedwithawaveisgivenby:

Hencepowerisproportionaltofrequencysquared,amplitudesquaredandwave
speed.
PrincipleofSuperposition
Theprincipleofsuperpositioninvolvestheenergyofaseriesofwavesaddingatany
givenpoint;hencetheircombinationisthealgebraicsumoftheirvalues.However,
theprincipleofsuperpositioncanonlyapplytolinearwaves,wheretheamplitudeis
smallerthanthewavelength.

Theprinciplestatesthattravellingwavescanpassthroughoneanother
withoutbeingdestroyedoraltered.Thisresultsintheircombinationinaresultant
waveknownasinterference.
InterferenceofWaves
Theretwotypesofinterference:constructiveanddestructive.Constructive
interferenceiswherethedisplacementscausedbythetwopulsesareinthesame
directionandhencetheamplitudeoftheresultingwaveisgreaterthaneitherwave.
Destructiveinterferenceiswherethedisplacementsareinoppositedirectionsand
hencetheamplitudeoftheresultingwaveislessthaneitherwave.Ineffectthe
wavescanceleachotherouttoacertainextent.
Mathematically:
1
. sin

2 .sin

1
2 2 .cos
sin

Hencetheresultingwaveissinusoidal,withthesamefrequencyandwavelength,but
withanamplitudeof2 . cos
andaphaseof .Henceduringperfectconstructive
interference,thephaseiszero(wherebothwavesareinphaseeverywhere)and
consequently,theamplitudeis2A.Inperfectdestructiveinterference,thephaseis
anoddmultipleof(andthewavescanceloneanotherout)resultinginan
amplitudeof0.Generallyspeaking,ifthephaseisbetween0andanoddmultipleof
theamplitudeisbetween0and2Aandthefunctionswillcontinuetoadd.

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StandingWaves
If2waveshavethesameamplitude,wavelengthandfrequency,andtravelinthe
oppositedirectiononeanotherwiththeequations:
. sin

. sin

Wherethedifferentsignsindicatethedifferentdirections,theywillinterfere
accordingtothesuperpositionprincipledescribedintheequationbelow:
2 . sin
cos

Thisisthewavefunctionofastandingwave.Evidently,thereisno

component,becausethewaveisnolongertravelling.Thisbecomesobviouswhena
standingwaveisobserved,wherethereisnosenseofmotionastheparticlesappear
tooscillatearoundanode.

Anodeoccursatapointofzeroamplitude.Inotherwords:
sin

sin
0.Thiscorrespondstowhen
,
.
Anantinodeoccursatapointofmaximumdisplacement(2A).Inotherwords:

sin
1.Thiscorrespondstowhere
,wherenisapositiveodd
number.

Evidently,theamplitudeofanindividualwaveisA,whiletheamplitudeof
anyparticleundergoingSHMis2 . sin
,whiletheamplitudeofastandingwave
is2A.However,theamplitudeofanyparticleinastandingwaveisgivenbythesame
equationasforSHM.

Keytostandingwavesisthefactthatatpointsofmaximaldisplacement,the
particlesaremomentarilystationary,whileatzerodisplacement,theparticleshave
differinginstantaneousvelocitiesasssomeparticlesmoveupwhileothersmove
down.

Forastandingwavetobeestablished,theendpointsmustbenodesabd
fixed(hencehavezerodisplacement).Thiswillthenresultinasetofnormalmodes
(oraseriesofantinodes),whereeachnormalmodereferstothenumberof
antinodes.Therelationshipbetweennormalmodesandthewavelengthviewedis
givenby
,wherenisthenthnormalmodeofoscillation.Since
,the
naturalfrequencyisgivenby

.Ifthestringisundertension,

thiscanbegivenby
,ifafreelyhangingweightisused.Inastandingwave,
thenumberofnodesisonegreaterthanthatofantinodesanditwillshowsymmetry
aboutthemidpointofthestring.
Quantisation
Thisiswhereonlycertainfrequenciesofoscillationareallowed.Thisisparticularly
commonwhereboundaryconditionsmustbemet.
HarmonicSeries
Thenaturalfrequencycorrespondsto
1,andisthelowestfrequency.The
frequenciesofthereaminingnaturalmodesareintegermultiplesofthefunamental
frequency,andwillformaharmonicseries.Thenormalmodesmaybecalled
harmonics,orresonantmodes.

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SoundWaves
SpeedofSound
Thespeedofsoundisdependentuponthepropertiesofthemediumitistravelling

through.Itcanbesummedupbytheequation
gas,theBulkmodulus,orB,isgivenby

.Inaliquidora

.Thedensityofthematerialis

givenby,whilethespeedofsoundinaliquidorgasisgivenby

Thespeedofsoundinasolidisdeterminedviadifferentmeans.Itutilises

Youngsmodulus:
.Again,the

densityisgivenby.Hencethevelocityofsoundinasolidisgivenby

Thespeedofsoundisalsodependentuponthetemperatureofthemedium,
especiallyingases.Forair,thisrelationshipisgivenby

331

whereTcisthetemperatureinCelsius.
Unliketransversewaves,thevelocitydoesnotdependuponthefrequency.
TravellingLongitudinalWaves
Soundwavesarecausedbyaseriesofcompressionsandrarefactionsinthemedium
itistravellingthrough.Theseregionsmovewiththesamespeedassound.The
perceptionofsoundcanbeviathechangeinpressure(causedbythedifferencesin
pressureofcompressionsandrarefactions),orbytheinterpretationofthepulses.

EachelementofthemediummoveswithSHMparalleltothedirectionof
propagation.Consequently,thedisplacementofanyelementisgivenby:
,
cos
,wheresmaxisthemaximumpositionfromthe
equilibriumposition,andisoftencalledthedisplacementamplitudeofthewave.
Thevariationingaspressure,or isalsoperiodicandcanbegivenbythe
equation

Physics1ATopic3Waves

PowerandIntensityofSoundWaves
Ifapistonweretocompressagas,itwouldtransferenergytotheelementsofairin
thetube.Thisenergywouldthenpropagateawayfromthepistonasasoundwave.
Usingthis,itispossibletocalculatethekineticandpotentialenergy,togivethetotal
energyofthewave
,
cos

,
.
sin

1
1

. .
. sin

2
2
Byusing sin

1
.

4
AstheelementsundergoSHM,thepotentialenergyofonewavelengthisthesame
asitskineticenergy.Hence,thetotalmechanicalenergyisgivenby:
1

.
2

Therateofenergytransferisthepowerofthewaveandisgivenby:

1
. .

2
Since
.Thisgivestheenergythatpassesagivenpointduringoneperiodof
oscillation.

Theintensityofawaveisdefinedasthepowerperunitarea.Itistherateat
whichtheenergytransportedbythewavepassesthroughaunitarea;

Inthecaseoftheir,thisisgivenby:
. . .

amplitude:

.Intermsofthepressure
.

Apointsourcewillemitsoundwavesequallyinalldirections.Consequently,
thepowerwillbeevendistributedinthisspherearoundthesource.
.Evidently,thislawobeystheinversesquarelaw.

Theintensityofsoundwavesismeasuredindecibels.Whiletherangeof
intensitiesdetectablebythehumanearareratherlarge,theyaredetectedaccording
toalogarithmicscale,suchthatasoundperceivedtobetwiceasloudisinfact10
timesasloud.Theintensitycanbedeterminedvia:
10 log

I0isconsideredthereferenceintensity,andistakentobethethresholdofhearing.It
isequivalenttothefaintestdiscernableintensityofsoundinasilentroom.Itisequal
/ .Atthislevel,theintensityis0dB.0dBdoesnotnecessarilymean
to1 10
thereisnosound;justnosoundwhichcanbedetectedbythehumanear.
Consequently,anegativevalueofdBispossible.

Theloudnessofasoundisoftenrelatedtoaphysicalmeasurementofthe
strengthofasound.However,apsychologicalassessmentcanalsooccur,wherethe
bodycalibratesasoundbycomparingittoareferencesound(oftentakentobe
1000Hz,whichisthethresholdofhearing).Generally,doublingtheloudnesswill
causeanincreaseof10dB.

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DopplerEffect
Thisistheapparentchangeinfrequency(orwavelength)ofawave,whichoccurs
becauseofrelativemotionbetweenthesourceandtheobserver.Whentherelative
speedisgreaterthanthewavespeed,thefrequencyappearstoincrease.
Conversely,whentherelativespeedislowerthanwavespeed,thefrequency
appearstodecrease.

Ifthesourceisstationaryandtheobservermovestowardsthesource,then
thespeedofthewavesrelativetotheobserverwillbe
.
Consequently,theobservedfrequencywillbe:

Wherefistheobservedfrequencyandvisthevelocityofthewavesandfisthe
frequencyofthewaves.
Consequently,ifthesourceisstationaryandtheobservermovesawayfromthe
source,theobservedfrequencywillbe:

Ifthesourceisinmotionandtheobserverisatrest,thenthedistance
betweenwavefrontswillchangeby
.Hencethedistancebetweenwavefronts
willbecome

.Therefore:

"

"

Mostimportantlyisthatthewavespeedremainsunchanged.Wavespeedis
purelydependentuponthemediumandisnotaffectedbyanyrelativemotionofthe
source.

Whenthesourceismovingtowardstheobserver:
"

Whenthesourceismovingawayfromtheobserver:
"

Ifboththesourceandobserverismoving,then:

KeytotheDopplerEffectisthepresenceofaccelerationforachangeinfrequencyto
occur.Ifatrainapproachesatconstantvelocity,thedistancebetweenwavefronts
willessentiallybethesameandtherefore,therewillbenochangeinfrequency.

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ShockWaves
Itispossibleforthespeedofthesourcetoexceedthespeedofthewave.Theresult
isanenvelopeofthesewavefrontsintheformofacone,wheretheapexhalfangle
isgivenbysin
.ThisanglemayalsobecalledtheMachangle.

TheMachnumberistheratioofthesourcespeedtothewavespeed.Itis
givenby
.TherelationshipbetweentheMachnumberandMachangleisgiven
by:sin

.Whenthemachnumberisgreaterthan1,ashockwave

willformandthespeedisconsideredsupersonic.Theshockwavecarriesalarge
amountofenergy,concentratedinthesurfaceofthecone.Consequently,the
pressurevariesgreatlyaccordingtolocation.

Whenanaircraftflieswithconstantvelocityfromcoldairtowarmair,the
Machnumberwilldecrease.
Resonance
Asystemiscapableofoscillatinginoneormorenormalmodes.Consequently,ifa
periodicforceisappliedtoasystem,theresultingmotionisgreatestwhenthe
frequencyoftheappliedmotionisequaltooneofthenaturalfrequenciesofthe
system.Thesenaturalfrequenciesarereferredtoasresonancefrequencies,andis
symbolisedby .Insuchsystems,themaximumamplitudeisonlylimitedbythe
frictioninthesystem.
StandingLongitudinalWavesinAirColumns
Suchwavescanbesetupinaircolumnsasaresultofinterferencebetween
longitudinalsoundwavestravellingintheoppositedirectiontoeachother.The
phaserelationshipbetweentheincidentandreflectedwavesdependonwhether
theendofthepipeisopenorclosed.

Iftheendofthepipeisclosed,thenadisplacementnodeisformedatthe
endofthepipe(andsincedisplacementandpressureare90outofphase,itisa
pressureantinode).Thisisbecausethewallwillnotallowanyfurtherlongitudinal
motionintheair.Consequently,thereflectedwaveis180outofphasewiththe
incidentwave,creatingastandingwave.Itisworthnotingthattheopenendisa
displacementantinode,whiletheclosedendremainsadisplacementnode.Thefirst
resonancewillgivenby

,whilethefirstfundamentalfrequencyisgivenby

.Consequentlyfrequenciesofhighermodesaregivenby:
2

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Physics1ATopic3Waves

Iftheendofthepipeisopen,thenattheendofthepipewillbea
displacementantinode(orpressurenode)becausethecompressedairisfreeto
expandintotheatmosphere(andhencethereisnopressurevariation).Itisworth
notingthatbothendsofthetubearedisplacementantinodes.Thefirstresonance
willbeof

,whilethefundamentalfrequencywillbe

resonanceswillbeequalto

.Higher

Inpractiseanantinodeformingattheopenendofatubewillbeslightlybeyondthe
endofthetube.Thisadditionallengthmustbeaccountedforwhenconsidering
resonance.Forthetubebelow,thefirstresonancewillbegivenby

Anexampleofresonanceinaircolumnscanbegivenbytubespartiallyfilledwith
water.Whenatuningforkisbroughtnearthetopofthetube,andthelengthfrom
thetoptothewatercorrespondstoaresonancefrequencyofthepipe,thesound
willbelouder.Usingtheselengths,itispossibletocalculatethelengthswhere
resonanceoccurs.

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StandingLongitudinalWavesinRods
Ifarodisclampedinthemiddle,andstrokesareappliedtherod(andinthesame
directionastherod),longitudinalwaveswillpassthroughit,causingtherodto
oscillate.Theclamphoweverwillforcetheappearanceofadisplacementnode.The
endsoftherod,however,willbefreetovibrateandhencewillformdisplacement
antinodes.

Iftherodisclampedatapointotherthanthemiddle,othernormalmodesof
oscillationcanbeproduced.Iftherodisclampedadistanceof fromoneendofthe
rod(where
),thenthesecondnormalmodewillbeproduced.Thisconceptis
utilisedonmusicalinstrumentssuchasxylophonesandchimes.
StandingWaveinMembranes
Twodimensionaloscillationscanbesetupinaflexiblemembranestretchedovera
circularface.Theresultingsoundwillnotbeharmonic,sincethestandingwaves
havefrequencieswhicharenotintegermultiples.Thefundamentalfrequencywill
containonenodalcurve.

SpatialandTemporalInterference
Spatialinterferenceiswhentheamplitudeoftheoscillationinamediumvarieswith
thepositioninspaceoftheelement,suchaswithstandingwaves.Temporal
interferenceiswhenthewavesareperiodicallyinandoutofphase.Consequently,
thereisatemporalalternationbetweenconstructiveanddestructiveinterference,
suchasinbeats.

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Beats
Atemporalinterferencewilloccurwhentheinterferingwavehaveslightlydifferent
frequencies.Beatingistheperiodicvariationinamplitudeatagivenpointduetothe
superpositionoftwowaveshavingslightlydifferentfrequencies.
. cos
. cos 2

. cos
. cos 2

cos 2

cos 2

Consequently,thewavehasameanfrequencyof:
cos 2

timevaryingamplitudeof2

andismodulatedbythe

Thebeatfrequencyisthenumberofamplitudemaximapersecond.Itoccurs

whencos 2

1.Consequently,itisthedifferencebetweenthe

|
|,althoughthehumanearcan
frequenciesoftwosources,givenby
onlydetectabeatfrequencyofupto20beatspersecond.

Thewavepatternsproducedbymusicalinstrumentsaretheresultofthe
superpositioningofvariousharmonics.Thehumanperceptiveresponseassociated
withthesemixturesisthequalityortimbreofthesound.
Forinstance,atuningforkproducesasinusoidalpattern:

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Thesamenoteonaflutesoundsdifferently,giventhesecondharmonicisvery
strongandthefourthissimilarinstrengthtothefirst:

Whenawavepatternisperiodic,itcanbecloselyapproximatedbyacombinationof
sinusoidalwaveswhichformaharmonicseries.Thistechniqueisdescribedby
FouriersTheorem,andutilisestheFourierSeries.
Theseriesismadeupofoddnumberedharmonicsandisgivenby:
sin 2
Where

and

cos 2

andAnandBnaretheamplitudesofthewaves.

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