Phy 7C Review Sheet

X Peng Confidential!! For DL 03 only!

Unit 8 Waves
1. Basic concepts about waves. a) The definition of wave: A wave is the movement in specific directions of the spatial and temporal organization of the oscillations of the particles of a medium about their equilibrium positions. b) Amplitude A, period T, frequency f, wave speed v, wavelength , total phase , fix phase constant , polarization. c) Depend only on the wave source: A, T, f, , polarization; depend only on the medium: v; depend on both: . d) The equation relating , f and v: v=f e) Two important directions: the direction of propagation v.s. the direction of oscillation (polarization). f) Transverse wave: the direction of propagation is always perpendicular to the direction of oscillation. Examples: water wave, wave on a tight string, EM wave. Longitudinal wave: the direction of propagation is always the same as the direction of oscillation. Examples: sound wave (in the air), wave on a spring. 2. Wave equation and total phase. a) Wave equation: y(x,t)=Asin(2t/T2x/+) b) Total phase: (x,t)= 2t/T2x/+ c) How to decide the sign with the propagation direction: i. ii. 3. Phase describes pace. Front falls behind back.

Superposition and interference

a)

An important comment on superposition: Superposition is always point by point. You can only superpose two waves at the same spatial point.

b)

Definition of interference: The superposition of two or more waves that forms a (relatively) steady pattern.

c)

Constructive and destructive interference: i. For constructive interference, the difference in total phase =n*2; for destructive interference, the difference in total phase=(n+1/2)*2, where n=0, 1, 2, ii. In the situation of constructive interference, the total amplitude must be greater than either one before. iii. However in the destructive interference, the total amplitude doesnt have to be zero, neither can we guarantee that its smaller than either one (just like we cannot guarantee the difference of two numbers is smaller than either one.). Its zero only when the amplitudes of the two original waves are equal to each other. iv. Whether its constructive or destructive depends on both the difference in wave paths and the difference in fixed phase constant. For cases when fixed phase constants are the same, x=n* gives constructive interferences while x=(n+1/2)* gives destructive ones.

d)

Two-slit interference. i. Maxima are given by dsin=n n is an integer called the interference order. n=0 for the central maximum, n=1 for the first maximum to the left/right of the central maximum, ii. More than two slits: positions of maxima are the same as two-slit interference, but the maxima are sharper and brighter than two-slit case.

e)

Beats. i. Beat is the interference of two waves with different but very close frequencies. The intensity of the total wave fluctuates with time.

ii.

The beat frequency equals the difference between the two frequencies. (The beat period doesnt equal the difference between the two periods!)

iii.

The carrier frequency equals the average of the two frequencies; the carrier period equals the average of the two periods.

f)

Standing waves. i. A standing wave is actually a vibration mode of a system. It doesnt propagate in space. ii. A standing wave can be viewed as the result of the inference of a propagating wave with its reflected wave. iii. Unlike propagating waves, the amplitudes are different for each point among a standing wave. iv. Nodes: points where the amplitude equals zero. Anti-nodes: points where the slope of the amplitude equals zero. v. Boundary conditions: Fixed end: node. Free end: anti-node.

4.

Reflection and refraction. a) Reflection and refraction happen because the wave speeds of the two media are different. b) Law of reflection: i=r c) Law of refraction: n1sin1=n2sin2 d) Some important comments: i. Frequency doesnt change during reflection/refraction because it only depends on the source. However the wave speed changes during refraction, so the wave length changes too. ii. iii. All angles are measured from the normal line (rather than the surface)! The refraction index n is large means the wave speed is slow. The refraction index of vacuum is 1, and the refraction index of air is approximately 1.

e)

Total internal reflection. i. When a wave is incident from a slow medium to a fast medium and the incident angle is greater than a critical angle c, the refractive wave disappears and all energy is reflected back. (Slow and fast here are referring to the wave speed.) ii. The critical angle c is found by a 90-degree refractive angle: nslowsinc=nfastsin90

5.

Thin lens imaging. a) Focal length, object distance and image distance. i. ii. iii. f>0 means converging lens, f<0 means diverging lens. i>0 means real image, i<0 means virtual image. o>0 means real object, o<0 means virtual object. (You dont need to know what a virtual object is, so o is always greater than zero in your cases.) b) Thin lens equation. 1/o+1/i=1/f M=-i/o c) Converging lens imaging. i. ii. Infinitely far away: flipped shrunk real image at focal point. Beyond twice the focal length: flipped shrunk real image between one and two focal lengths. iii. At twice the focal length: flipped equal-size real image at twice the focal length. iv. Between one and two focal lengths: flipped magnified real image beyond twice the focal length. v. vi. At the focal point: no image. Within one focal length: erect magnified virtual image on the same side as the object. d) Diverging lens imaging. i. Infinitely far away: erect shrunk virtual image at the focal point at the same side as the object.

ii.

Otherwise: erect shrunk virtual image within one focal length at the same side as the object.

e)

Multiple lens systems. i. ii. The image by the former lens can be viewed as an object for the next lens. The total magnification equals the product of magnifications of every lens.

f)

Myopia and hyperopia. i. A near-sighted person cannot see clearly things too far away, so he needs a lens to bring things closer to him, which is a diverging one. This diverging lens produces an erect shrunk virtual image. ii. A far-sighted person cannot see clearly things too close to him, so he needs a lens to take things farther away, which is a converging one. This converging lens may produce an erect magnified virtual image when seeing things relatively close to him, yet produces a flipped real image when seeing things relatively far away. This sounds incredible but in fact the light rays reach the eyes before forming this real image, which acts as a virtual object for the eyes. (You dont need to fully understand this.)

Unit 9 Fields
1. Electric charges. a) The smallest element for electric charges is e=1.602*10-19C, which equals (the absolute value of) the charge of a proton or an electron. b) Same charges repel and opposite charges attract. The definition of positive/negative charges is arbitrary. Its merely convention that we choose protons to be positively charged while electrons to be negatively charged. (From todays viewpoint, there would be much less trouble if we had chosen electrons to be positive, since electrons are definitely more important than protons.) c) Due to the complete symmetry between positive and negative charges, if we switch only the signs of every charge in an isolated system, nothing will change essentially.

2.

Coulombs law. a) b) F=kQq/r2 Some important comments: i. F is inversely proportional to r2. Even though you might remember this, you would still probably mistake it unconsciously for directly proportional to when dealing with a detailed problem. ii. Coulombs law is consistent with Newtons third law, i.e. the law of action and reaction, also its consistent with the notion that same charges repel and opposite charges attract.

3.

Electric field and electric field lines. a) Electric field is a vector field with both magnitude and direction. It can be understood as the force sensed by a unit positive test charge when placed at a specific location. b) F=qE, which means the force sensed by a positive charge has the same direction as the E vector while that by a negative charge has the opposite direction as the E vector. c) From Coulombs law, we know that the field by a point charge is E=kQ/r2, also inversely proportional to r2. However, unlike electric forces, electric fields only depend on the source charges (rather than the test charge). Electric field by a positive charge points away from the source charge while that by a negative charge points toward this charge.

4.

Superposition of electric fields. a) Just like superposition of waves, superposition of electric fields is also point by point, which means you can only superpose two electric field vectors at the same point. You can never add/superpose two electric field vectors at different points together! b) Electric field is a vector field, which means the superposition must be done by the parallelogram rule. Two electric field vectors with magnitudes 1 and 1 added together dont necessarily yield 2!

5.

Electric field lines.

a)

Electric field lines are lines drawn from positive charges to negative ones. The tangent of these lines at a specific point indicates the direction of electric field at that point. The density of electric field lines indicates the magnitude of the electric field at that point.

b)

Electric fields caused by static electric charges are called electrostatic fields. Electrostatic field lines are always open, i.e. never closed. However, for electric field caused by changing magnetic field, this conclusion is not true.

6.

Electric dipoles and molecules. a) A pair of equal but opposite charges very close to each other is called an electric dipole. Polar molecules can be simplified as an electric dipole in most cases. b) We use electric dipole moment to describe an electric dipole. Its a vector pointing from the negative charge to the positive charge. c) There will be no net force exerted on an electric dipole put in a uniform electric field. Yet it will rotate until the electric dipole moment vector is along the direction of electric field. d) The potential energy of an electric dipole put in an electric field: U= -pEcos. is the angle between p and E.

7.

Electric potential and equipotentials. a) Electric potential. i. ii. Electric potential is the electric potential energy per unite charge. Electric potentials can be superposed point by point like electric field vectors. But potential is a scalar, which means you can directly take the algebraic sum when doing superposition. iii. One important sentence: A force related to a potential energy always points to the direction where the potential energy decreases. Thus the electric field always points to the direction where the electric potential decreases. The minimum of potential energy gives the stable equilibrium position. b) Equipotentials. i. Each equipotential is a surface with the same potential. Equipotentials must be perpendicular to field lines at every point.

ii.

The density of equiotentials also describes the magnitude of electric field vectors just like the density of electric field lines.

8.

Magnetic fields. a) Magnetic dipole. Magnetic dipoles are to magnetic fields just what electric dipoles to electric fields. Magnetic dipoles are described by the magnetic dipole moment m, pointing from the S pole to the N pole. The potential energy of a magnetic dipole put in a magnetic field is U= -mBcos. b) Magnetic fields by currents/moving charges RHR1 i. A straight current carrying wire case Directing your thumb along the direction of current (which is opposite to the velocity of electrons moving inside the wire), the other four fingers indicate the magnetic field around the wire. ii. A circular current carrying wire case Directing your four fingers along the direction of current, your thumb indicates the direction of magnetic field inside the loop. The magnetic field outside the loop is opposite. c) Magnetic forces on moving charges RHR2 i. Method 1 method given by the textbook Simply the Very Bad Finger method. What needs attention is that for negative charges you need to flip one of these three directions (or equivalently use your left hand instead). ii. The vector product of two vectors A and B is A B with the magnitude Method 2 the method I told you in the DL

ABsin and direction perpendicular to the plane formed by A and B. Bending direction of A B. Now you only need to remember the formula F = qv B. your four fingers of your right hand from A to B, your thumb indicates the Also you need to flip the direction of v B to get F when dealing with

negative charges. d)

Some important comments.

i. ii.

There will be no magnetic force if v is parallel to B. Magnetic forces are always perpendicular to the velocity, thus it cant change the magnitude of velocity. More importantly, magnetic forces never do work!

9.

Electro-magnetic induction. a) Cutting-magnetic-field-lines approach. When dealing with moving conductive wires in a magneto-static field, you may use this approach. There will be current (more accurately, electro-motive force) generated if and only if the wire is cutting the magnetic field lines. The direction of current can be figured out by analyzing the magnetic force exerted on charge carriers inside the wire. b) Changing-magnetic-flux approach. This approach applies to any cases. First we define a scalar named magnetic flux =BAcos. is the angle between B vector and the normal line of the area (which is the direction of the A vector). Whenever there is change in , there is electro-motive force generated: =-d/dt. The faster changes, the stronger is. The current can be decided by Ohms Law: I=/R. c) Lenzs Law. The direction of induced current always seeks to generate a magnetic field to oppose the change in the original one, i.e. they are opposite when the original one is increasing and the same when the original one is decreasing. The pushing-a-stone analogy: ->p (the momentum of the stone), ->F (the force reacted on your hand). The force reacted on your hand always seeks to oppose the change in the momentum of the stone.

10. Electromagnetic waves. a) Changing magnetic fields produce electric fields (as you know from electromagnetic induction), while changing electric fields can in turn produce magnetic fields. These changing electromagnetic fields twisted together make an electromagnetic wave. b) c) EM waves need no media. Their wave speed is a constant c=3*108m/s. Radio waves, microwaves, infrared/ultraviolet rays, visible light, X-rays, gamma

rays are all EM waves that merely differ in frequency. d) EM waves are transverse waves. Polarizers let through light with E vector along its axis while totally absorb light with E vector perpendicular to its axis. Those who dont direct their E vectors completely parallel or perpendicular to the axis can be decomposed into two components, one of which is parallel to the axis and the other one is perpendicular to the axis.

Unit 10 Quantum Physics

1. Photons another approach for EM waves. a) Lets imagine EM waves as large quantities of photons moving in space. The wavefunction describes the probability for a single photon to appear in a specific location. Thus generally it also describes the average number of photons actually appearing in that location. b) c) The energy of a single photon is given by E=hf. The probability for a photon to appear in a specific location is given by the square of the absolute value of the wavefunction ||2. Thus the number of photons actually appearing at that location is also proportional to ||2. 2. Steady states and energy levels. a) Steady states means the wavefunction doesnt change with time. The steady state of a microscopic system is just like a standing wave in 3 dimensions. b) A microscopic system doesnt have to be on a steady state though. An arbitrary state can be viewed as the superposition of several steady states. This means therere certain probabilities for it to be on each of these steady states. c) Though the energy of a microscopic system can still be continuous, the energies of steady states are discrete. They are called energy levels. d) 3. The ground state energy level for a hydrogen atom is -13.6eV.

Transitions between different energy levels. a) As the phrase steady states means, the system will stay at a steady state without external fields. However, if there are external fields (e.g. light excitation), the

system can undergo a transition between steady states. b) Energy conservation must be satisfied during transitions. Thus, there must be photons (or something else) absorbed during a transition from a low energy level to a high energy level; and there must be photons (or something else) emitted during an inverse transition. The energy of the photon absorbed/emitted equals the difference between the two levels. 4. Quantum simple harmonic oscillators. The energy levels of a quantum simple harmonic oscillator are given by the formula En=(n+1/2)hf. f is the classical frequency of this oscillator and n is an integer 0,1,2, Interestingly, they are equally distributed.