PHYC10001Physics1Advanced 25

Chapter16:WavesI

ProfRobertScholten
SchoolofPhysics
UniversityofMelbourne

Whereweare
Lastlecture
OscillationsandWaves:SimpleHarmonicMotion
Taylorseries
Smallangleapproximation
Gravityandverticaloscillations
Pendulum
Dampedandforcedoscillators

Thislecture
Introducewavesaspropagating disturbances
Travellingwaves;period,wavelength,phasevelocity
Thewaveequation
SuperpositionandFouriersynthesis
Wavesin3D
Wavemotiononastring
Energytransmittedbyawave

Nextlecture
Sound
Electromagneticwaves
Doppler
ProfREScholten(2015) 2
 Waves:chapter17
SimpleHarmonicMotion:
lotsofoscillationnotgoinganywhere!

Awave isadisturbance thatpropagates

Awaveisadisturbancethattransports energy
withouttransportingmatter

Neednotbeperiodic,butwewillmainly
considerperiodicexamples

3
ProfREScholten(2015) http://www.bordfolio.com

Waves objectives

Howisitthatsomethingwaves???
Whydoesadisturbancepropagate?

Tousethewavemodel&understandhowitdiffersfromtheparticlemodel
Tovisualise wavemotionanddevelopintuitionaboutwaves
Toworkwithfunctionsoftwovariables,usingbothgraphicalandmathematical
representations
Tobecomefamiliarwiththepropertiesofsinusoidalwaves,suchas
wavelength,wavenumber,phase,andfrequency
Tostudyimportantcharacteristicsofsoundwavesandlightwaves
TounderstandtheDopplereffect

ProfREScholten(2015) 4
 16.1,16.2Onedimensionalwaves

Tounderstandwaves,wemustdealwithtwo variables
Forexample,transversedisplacementonastring,
D,isafunctionofposition andtime

Textbookrefersto
snapshot graphs(D vs x foragivent asshownabove)
history graphs(D vs t foragivenx)

ProfREScholten(2015) Figure from Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday Resnick and Walker (Wiley) 5

16.1Onedimensionalwaves,twovariables

ProfREScholten(2015) 6
 ConcepTest
Awavepulseismoving,asillustrated,withuniformspeedv alongarope.
Whichofthegraphs14belowcorrectlyshowstherelationbetweenthe
displacements ofpointP andtimet?

ProfREScholten(2015) FromPeerInstructionbyE.Mazur 7

16.1Onedimensionalwaves

Pulse
Longitudinal

Transverse

ProfREScholten(2015) Figures from Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday Resnick and Walker (Wiley) 8
 Transversewaves

ProfREScholten(2015) http://www.gmi.edu/~drussell/Demos.html(16May2004) 9

Longitudinal(pressure)waves

ProfREScholten(2015) http://www.gmi.edu/~drussell/Demos.html(16May2004) 10
 Mixedwaves

ProfREScholten(2015) http://www.gmi.edu/~drussell/Demos.html(16May2004) 11

Sinusoidalwaves:v=f

ASHMoscillatorcangenerate atravellingwave
E.g.loudspeaker,electronsinradioantenna
y
v
k

m x

ProfREScholten(2015) 12
 Sinusoidalwaves:v=f
Velocity=distanceperunittime
Considermovementforexactlyoneperiod,T
Mustmoveonewavelength

Velocityisthen v f
T

Thatis: v f

Knightcallsthisthefundamentalrelationshipfor
sinusoidalwaves

Note:
f isapropertyofthesource,
v isapropertyofthemedium,
isthereforedependentonboth

13
ProfREScholten(2015)

Travellingwaves

Considerawavethattravelswithvelocityv

D x=vt

t=0 t=t

D(x) x
D(x-vt)
AnyfunctionoftheformD(xvt+) isatravelling wavewithspeedv

ProfREScholten(2015) 14
 Periodandwavelength

E.g.sinusoidalwavetravellinginthepositivex direction:
D x, t A sin kx t 0

Period: timeforonecompletewavecycleatagivenpoint
sin kx t 0 sin kx t T 0

2
TrueifT=2 T

Wavelength: distancebetweenrepetitionsatagiventime
sin kx t 0 sin k x t 0

2
Trueifk=2
k
k =wavenumber (not springconstant)

ProfREScholten(2015) 15

Phasevelocity:v=f again
D x=vt
Considerapointofconstantphase
x

Phase velocity isspeedatwhichapointofconstantphasetravels

kx t 0 constant
dx
k 0
dt

v or kv Phasevelocity
k

D x=vt

ProfREScholten(2015) 16
 Travellingwaves

ShowthatanyfunctionoftheformD(kxt+0) isalsoatravelling
wavewithspeedv=/k

kv = so D kx t 0 D kx kvt 0
D k x vt 0
D kx'0

whichisafunctionofx'=xvt asrequired

ProfREScholten(2015) 17

ConcepTest

Awaveissentalongalongspringbymovingthe
leftendrapidlytotherightandkeepingitthere.

ThefigureshowsthewavepulseatQR:partRSof
thelongspringisasyetundisturbed.

Whichofthegraphs15correctlyshowsthe
relationbetweendisplacements andpositionx?

Displacementstotherightarepositive.

ProfREScholten(2015) FromPeerInstructionbyE.Mazur 18
 16.4Thewaveequation

Canany functionbeawave?
Seekanequationthatdescribestravellingwaves,includingthepositionandtime
dependence.FirstintroducedbydAlembert (1747).
Travelling wave

Let , where

f f x' f x' x vt
Spacederivative because 1
x xx x' x x' x x

f f x' f
Timederivative v v f
t t t x' t x' x'

Canshow: v
t x

ProfREScholten(2015) 19

Partialderivatives;CraterLake,Oregon

=slopestraightup

x
y
=slopealongcontour

ProfREScholten(2015) 20
 Thewaveequation

Canany functionbeawave?
Seekanequationthatdescribestravellingwaves,includingthepositionandtime
dependence.FirstintroducedbydAlembert (1747).

Let , where

f f x' f x' x vt
Spacederivative because 1
x x x' x x' x x

f f x' f
Timederivative v v f
t t x' t x' x'

Combine: v
t x

ProfREScholten(2015) 21

Thewaveequation
f

Wehaveand v
x x t x

2 2 f
Takesecond derivatives: *
x 2 x'2

2 f f
v v
t 2
t x' x' t

v
x' t
2 2
2
v
t 2 x 2

2
1 2


Combiningwith(*): The1dwaveequation
x 2 v 2 t 2

Atravellingwavemustobeythewaveequation

ProfREScholten(2015) 22
 Importantexamplesofthewaveequation
2 1 2
Wehavethegeneralwaveequation
x 2 v 2 t 2

2E 2E 2B 2B
Foranelectricormagneticfield 2 2
x 2 t x 2 t

Foramatterwave,(x) istheprobabilityoffindingtheparticleatx:
theprobabilitywavefunction

2 2 2 2 2 2
i 2 V i
2m x 2 t 2m x 2 t 2

Schrdingerwaveequation thebasisofquantummechanics

ProfREScholten(2015) 23

Homework?Ifyouknowpartialderivatives
2 1 2
Showthatthefollowingobeythewaveequation
x 2 v 2 t 2

x, t 0 sin kx t 0

x, t 0 sin qkx qt 0

ProfREScholten(2015) 24
 Waves objectives

Tousethewavemodel&understandhowitdiffersfromtheparticlemodel
Tovisualizewavemotionanddevelopintuitionaboutwaves
Toworkwithfunctionsoftwovariables,usingbothgraphicalandmathematical
representations
Tobecomefamiliarwiththepropertiesofsinusoidalwaves,suchas
wavelength,wavenumber,phase,andfrequency

Howisitthatsomethingwaves???
Whydoesadisturbancepropagate?

Tostudyimportantcharacteristicsofsoundwavesandlightwaves
TounderstandtheDopplereffect

ProfREScholten(2015) 25

16.5Superposition

Whatconstraintsdoesthewaveequationenforce?
Manysolutionssatisfythewaveequation

Propertyofalineard.e. thatthesumofanynumberofsolutionsisalsoa
solution:
If1 and2 aresolutionsthensois =1+2

Thusanycombinationofsines andcosinesisasolution

Anywave,whetherperiodicornot,canbeexpressedasalinearcombinationof
sines andcosines

BasisofFourieroptics

ProfREScholten(2015) 26
 16.5Superposition

Ifweaddtwowaves,theamplitudeofthecombinedeffectisjustthesum
oftheindividualwaves

IfD1, D2 aretwoallowedwavesthensoisD = D1+D2

Atagivenpoint,overlappingwavesaddalgebraically,toproducearesultantwave

Thetravelofawaveisunaffectedbyinteractionwithotherwaves

http://www.surendranath.org/Applets/Waves/TWave02/TW02.html
Theprincipleofsuperposition
Whentwoormorewavesaresimultaneously presentatasinglepointin
space,thedisplacementofthemediumatthatpointisthesumofthe
displacementsduetoeachindividualwave

Dx, t i Di x, t

ProfREScholten(2015) 27

PrincipleofSuperPosition
Pulsesinterfering

ProfREScholten(2015) http://phys23p.sl.psu.edu/phys_anim/waves/indexer_wavesB.html 28
 Summaryandhomework

Waves
Introducedwavesaspropagating disturbances D kx t
Functionsoftwo variables,e.g.x andt
Travellingwaves;period,wavelength,phasevelocity
SuperpositionandFouriersynthesis

Reading
Nextlecture:Chatper 17WavesII

Recommendedexercises
SeeLMS,Suggestedproblems&solutions
Chapter 16:Q1,Q2,Q3,P1,P6,P8,P9,P28

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