Stationary Waves

http://www2.biglobe.ne.jp/~norimari/science/JavaEd/e-wave4.html

Stationary waves are produced by

superposition of two progressive waves of
equal amplitude and frequency, travelling
with the same speed in opposite directions.

Production of Stationary Waves

A stationary wave would be set up by

causing the string to oscillate rapidly at a
particular frequency.
If the signal frequency is increased
further, overtone patterns appear.

Properties of a stationary wave

(1)
Stationary waves have nodes where there is no
displacement at any time.
In between the nodes are positions called
antinodes, where the displacement has
maximum amplitude.
Vibrator
N

A
A vibrating loop

Properties of a stationary wave

(2)

The waveform in a stationary wave does not

move through medium; energy is not carried
away from the source.
The amplitude of a stationary wave varies from
zero at a node to maximum at an antinode,
and depends on position along the wave.

h
f

t=0

b c d
e

i
f g h

t = T

t = T

t = T

t = T

Vibrations of particles in a
stationary wave
At t = 0, all particles are at rest
because the particles reach their
maximum displacements.
At t = T,
Particles a, e, and i are at rest
because they are the nodes.
Particles b, c and d are moving
downward.
They vibrate in phase but with
different amplitude.
Particles f, g and h are moving
upward.
They vibrate in phase but with
different amplitude.

Properties of a stationary wave

(2)

All particles between two adjacent nodes

(within one vibrating loop) are in phase.
Video
1. Stationary waves (string)
2. Stationary waves (sound)

Modes of vibration of strings

http://id.mind.net/~zona/mstm/physics/waves/standingWaves/standingWaves1/StandingWaves

Picture of Standing Wave

L

L = 1
f1 = v/2L
L = 2
f2 = v/L
L = 13
f3 = 3v/2L
L = 24
f4 = 2v/L
L = 25
f5 = 5v/2L

Name
Structure
1st Harmonic
1 Antinode
or
2 Nodes
Fundamental
2nd Harmonic
2 Antinodes
or
3 Nodes
1st Overtone
3rd Harmonic
3 Antinodes
or
4 Nodes
2nd Overtone
4th Harmonic
4 Antinodes
or
5 Nodes
3rd Overtone
5th Harmonic
5 Antinodes
or
6 Nodes
4th Overtone

Investigating stationary waves

using sound waves and
microwaves
Moving the detector along the line between the wave
source and the reflector enables alternating points of
high and low signal intensity to be found. These are
the antinodes and nodes of the stationary waves.
The distance between successive nodes or antinodes
can be measured, and corresponds to half the
wavelength .
If the frequency f of the source is known, the speed of
the two progressive waves which produce the
stationary wave can be obtained.

Reflector

Wave source

Detector

Resonant Frequencies of a
Vibrating String
From the experiment, we find that

There is a number of resonant frequencies

in a vibrating string,
The lowest resonant frequency is called
the fundamental frequency (1st harmonic),
The other frequencies are called overtones
(2nd harmonic, 3rd harmonic etc.),
Each of the overtones has a frequency
which is a whole-number multiple of the
frequency of the fundamental.

Factors that determine the

fundamental frequency of a
vibrating string
The frequency of vibration depends on

the mass per unit length of the string,

the tension in the string and,
the length of the string.

The fundamental frequency is given by

1 T
fo
2L

where T = tension
= mass per unit length
L = length of string

Vibrations in Air Column

http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph11e/stlwaves.htm

When a loudspeaker producing sound is placed

near the end of a hollow tube, the tube
resonates with sound at certain frequencies.
Stationary waves are set up inside the tube
because of the superposition of the incident
wave and the reflected wave travelling in
opposite directions.

Factors that determine the

fundamental frequency of a
vibrating air column
The natural frequency of a wind
instrument is dependent upon

The type of the air column,

The length of the air column of the
instrument.

Open tube

Closed tube

Modes of vibration for an open

tube
Picture of Standing Wave

L = 1
f1 = v/2L
L = 2
f2 = v/L
L = 13
f3 = 3v/2L
L = 24
f4 =2v/L
L = 25
f5 = 5v/2L

Name
1st Harmonic
or
Fundamental
2nd Harmonic
or
1st Overtone
3rd Harmonic
or
2nd Overtone
4th Harmonic
or
3rd Overtone
5th Harmonic
or
4th Overtone

Structure
2 Antinodes
1 Node
3 Antinodes
2 Nodes
4 Antinodes
3 Nodes
5 Antinodes
4 Nodes
6 Antinodes
5 Nodes

Modes of vibration for a closed

tube
Name

Picture of Standing Wave

L = 1
f1 = v/4L
L = 3
f3 =3v/4L
L = 15
f5 =5v/4L
L = 17
f7 = 7v/4L
L = 29
f9 =9v/4L

1st Harmonic
or
Fundamental
3rd Harmonic
or
1st Overtone
5th Harmonic
or
2nd Overtone
7th Harmonic
or
3rd Overtone
9th Harmonic
or
4th Overtone

Structure
1 Antinode
1 Node
2 Antinodes
2 Nodes
3 Antinodes
3 Nodes
4 Antinodes
4 Nodes
5 Antinodes
5 Nodes

The quality of sound (Timbre)

http://surendranath.tripod.com/Harmonics/Harmonics.html

The quality of sound is determined by the

following factors:
The particular harmonics present in addition to
the fundamental vibration,
The relative amplitude of each harmonic,
The transient sounds produced when the
vibration is started.
resultant
Fundamental
1st overtone

2nd overtone

3rd overtone

Chladnis Plate
Chladnis plate is an example of
resonance in a plate.
There are a number of frequencies at
which the plate resonate. Each gives a
different pattern.