On October 23rd, 2014, we updated our
By continuing to use LinkedIn’s SlideShare service, you agree to the revised terms, so please take a few minutes to review them.
Waves and Wavelike MotionWaves are everywhere. Whether we recognize it or not, we encounterwaves on a daily basis. Sound waves, visible light waves, radio waves,microwaves, water waves, sine waves, cosine waves, stadium waves,earthquake waves, waves on a string, and slinky waves and are just a fewof the examples of our daily encounters with waves. In addition to waves,there are a variety of phenomena in our physical world that resemblewaves so closely that we can describe such phenomenon as beingwavelike. The motion of a pendulum, the motion of a mass suspended by aspring, the motion of a child on a swing, and the "Hello, Good Morning!"wave of the hand can be thought of as wavelike phenomena. Waves (and wavelike phenomena)are everywhere!We study the physics of waves because it provides a rich glimpse into the physical world that weseek to understand and describe as students of physics. Before beginning a formal discussion ofthe nature of waves, it is often useful to ponder the various encounters and exposures that wehave of waves. Where do we see waves or examples of wavelike motion? What experiences dowe already have that will help us in understanding the physics ofwaves?For many people, the first thought concerning waves conjures up apicture of a wave moving across the surface of an ocean, lake,pond or other body of water. The waves are created by some formof a disturbance, such as a rock thrown into the water, a duckshaking its tail in the water or a boat moving through the water.The water wave has a crest and a trough and travels from onelocation to another. One crest is often followed by a second crestthat is often followed by a third crest. Every crest is separated by atrough to create an alternating pattern of crests and troughs. Aduck or gull at rest on the surface of the water is observed to bobup-and-down at rather regular time intervals as the wave passes by. The waves may appear to beplane waves that travel together as a front in a straight-line direction, perhaps towards a sandyshore. Or the waves may be circular waves that originate from the point where the disturbancesoccur; such circular waves travel across the surface of the water in all directions. These mentalpictures of water waves are useful for understanding the nature of a wave and will be revisitedlater when we begin our formal discussion of the topic.The thought of waves often brings to mind a recent encounter at the baseball or football stadiumwhen the crowd enthusiastically engaged in doing the wave. When performed with reasonablygood timing, a noticeable ripple is produced that travels around the circular stadium or back andforth across a section of bleachers. The observable ripple results when a group of enthusiasticfans rise up from their seats, swing their arms up high, and then sit back down. Beginning inSection 1, the first row of fans abruptly rise up to begin the wave; as they sit back down, row 2begins its motion; as row 2 sits back down, row 3 begins its motion. The process continues, aseach consecutive row becomes involved by a momentary standing up and sitting back down. The
wave is passed from row to row as each individual member of the row becomes temporarilydisplaced out of his or her seat, only to return to it as the wave passes by. This mental picture of astadium wave will also provide a useful context for the discussion of the physics of wave motion.Another picture of waves involves the movement of aslinky or similar set of coils. If a slinky is stretchedout from end to end, a wave can be introduced intothe slinky by either vibrating the first coil up anddown vertically or back and forth horizontally. Awave will subsequently be seen traveling from oneend of the slinky to the other. As the wave movesalong the slinky, each individual coil is seen to moveout of place and then return to its original position.The coils always move in the same direction that thefirst coil was vibrated. A continued vibration of the first coil results in a continued back and forthmotion of the other coils. If looked at closely, one notices that the wave does not stop when itreaches the end of the slinky; rather it seems to bounce off the end and head back from where itstarted. A slinky wave provides an excellent mental picture of a wave and will be used indiscussions and demonstrations throughout this unit.We likely have memories from childhood of holding a long jump rope with a friend andvibrating an end up and down. The up and down vibration of the end of the rope created adisturbance of the rope that subsequently moved towards the other end. Upon reaching theopposite end, the disturbance often bounced back to return to the end we were holding. A singledisturbance could be created by the single vibration of one end of the rope. On the other hand, arepeated disturbance would result in a repeated and regular vibration of the rope. The shape ofthe pattern formed in the rope was influenced by the frequency at which we vibrated it. If wevibrated the rope rapidly, then a short wave was created. And if we vibrated the rope lessfrequently (not as often), a long wave was created. While we were likely unaware of it aschildren, we were entering the world of the physics of waves as we contentedly played with therope.Then there is the "Hello, Good Morning!" wave. Whether encountered in the driveway as youbegin your trip to school, on the street on the way to school, in the parking lot upon arrival toschool, or in the hallway on the way to your first class, the "Hello, Good Morning!" waveprovides a simple (yet excellent) example of physics in action. The simple back and forth motionof the hand is called a wave. When Mom commands us to "wave to Mr. Smith," she is telling usto raise our hand and to temporarily or even repeatedly vibrate it back and forth. The hand israised, moved to the left, and then back to the far right and finally returns to its original position.Energy is put into the hand and the hand begins its back-and-forth vibrational motion. And wecall the process of doing it "waving." Soon we will see how this simple act is representative ofthe nature of a physical wave.We also encountered waves in Math class in the form of the sine and cosine function. We oftenplotted y = B•sine(A•x) on our calculator or by hand and observed that its graphical shaperesembled the characteristic shape of a wave. There was a crest and a trough and a repeating
pattern. If we changed the constant A in the equation, we noticed that we could change the lengthof the repeating pattern. And if we changed B in the equation, we noticed that we changed theheight of the pattern. In math class, we encountered the underlying mathematical functions thatdescribe the physical nature of waves.Finally, we are familiar with microwaves and visible light waves. While we have never seenthem, we believe that they exist because we have witnessed how they carry energy from onelocation to another. And similarly, we are familiar with radio waves and sound waves. Likemicrowaves, we have never seen them. Yet we believe they exist because we have witnessed thesignals that they carry from one location to another and we have even learned how to tune intothose signals through use of our ears or a tuner on a television or radio. Waves, as we will learn,carry energy from one location to another. And if the frequency of those waves can be changed,then we can also carry a complex signal that is capable of transmitting an idea or thought fromone location to another. Perhaps this is one of the most important aspects of waves and willbecome a focus of our study in later units.Waves are everywhere in nature. Our understanding of the physical world is not complete untilwe understand the nature, properties and behaviors of waves. The goal of this unit is to developmental models of waves and ultimately apply those models to an understanding of the two mostcommon types of waves - sound waves and light waves.What is a Wave?So waves are everywhere. But what makes a wave a wave? What characteristics, properties, orbehaviors are shared by the phenomena that we typically characterize as being a wave? How canwaves be described in a manner that allows us to understand their basic nature and qualities?A wave can be described as a disturbance that travels through a medium from one location toanother location. Consider a slinky wave as an example of a wave. When the slinky is stretchedfrom end to end and is held at rest, it assumes a natural position known as the equilibrium orrest position. The coils of the slinky naturally assume this position, spaced equally far apart. Tointroduce a wave into the slinky, the first particle is displaced or moved from its equilibrium orrest position. The particle might be moved upwards or downwards, forwards or backwards; butonce moved, it is returned to its original equilibrium or rest position. The act of moving the firstcoil of the slinky in a given direction and then returning it to its equilibrium position creates adisturbance in the slinky. We can then observe this disturbance moving through the slinky fromone end to the other. If the first coil of the slinky is given a single back-and-forth vibration, thenwe call the observed motion of the disturbance through the slinky a slinky pulse. A pulse is asingle disturbance moving through a medium from one location to another location. However, ifthe first coil of the slinky is continuously and periodically vibrated in a back-and-forth manner,we would observe a repeating disturbance moving within the slinky that endures over someprolonged period of time. The repeating and periodic disturbance that moves through a mediumfrom one location to another is referred to as a wave.
What is a Medium?But what is meant by the word medium? A medium is a substance or material that carries thewave. You have perhaps heard of the phrase news media. The news media refers to the variousinstitutions (newspaper offices, television stations, radio stations, etc.) within our society thatcarry the news from one location to another. The news moves through the media. The mediadoesnt make the news and the media isnt the same as the news. The news media is merely thething that carries the news from its source to various locations. In a similar manner, a wavemedium is the substance that carries a wave (or disturbance) from one location to another. Thewave medium is not the wave and it doesnt make the wave; it merely carries or transports thewave from its source to other locations. In the case of our slinky wave, the medium through thatthe wave travels is the slinky coils. In the case of a water wave in the ocean, the medium throughwhich the wave travels is the ocean water. In the case of a sound wave moving from the churchchoir to the pews, the medium through which the sound wave travels is the air in the room. Andin the case of the stadium wave, the medium through which the stadium wave travels is the fansthat are in the stadium.Particle-to-Particle InteractionTo fully understand the nature of a wave, it is important to consider the medium as a collectionof interacting particles. In other words, the medium is composed of parts that are capable ofinteracting with each other. The interactions of one particle of the medium with the next adjacentparticle allow the disturbance to travel through the medium. In the case of the slinky wave, theparticles or interacting parts of the medium are the individual coils of the slinky. In the case of asound wave in air, the particles or interacting parts of the medium are the individual moleculesof air. And in the case of a stadium wave, the particles or interacting parts of the medium are thefans in the stadium.Consider the presence of a wave in a slinky. The first coilbecomes disturbed and begins to push or pull on thesecond coil; this push or pull on the second coil will
displace the second coil from its equilibrium position. As the second coil becomes displaced, itbegins to push or pull on the third coil; the push or pull on the third coil displaces it from itsequilibrium position. As the third coil becomes displaced, it begins to push or pull on the fourthcoil. This process continues in consecutive fashion, with each individual particle acting todisplace the adjacent particle. Subsequently, the disturbance travels through the medium. Themedium can be pictured as a series of particles connected by springs. As one particle moves, thespring connecting it to the next particle begins to stretch and apply a force to its adjacentneighbor. As this neighbor begins to move, the spring attaching this neighbor to its neighborbegins to stretch and apply a force on its adjacent neighbor.A Wave Transports Energy and Not MatterWhen a wave is present in a medium (that is, when there is a disturbance moving through amedium), the individual particles of the medium are only temporarily displaced from their restposition. There is always a force acting upon the particles that restores them to their originalposition. In a slinky wave, each coil of the slinky ultimately returns to its original position. In awater wave, each molecule of the water ultimately returns to its original position. And in astadium wave, each fan in the bleacher ultimately returns to its original position. It is for thisreason, that a wave is said to involve the movement of a disturbance without the movement ofmatter. The particles of the medium (water molecules, slinky coils, stadium fans) simply vibrateabout a fixed position as the pattern of the disturbance moves from one location to anotherlocation.Waves are said to be an energy transport phenomenon. As a disturbance moves through amedium from one particle to its adjacent particle, energy is being transported from one end of themedium to the other. In a slinky wave, a person imparts energy to the first coil by doing workupon it. The first coil receives a large amount of energy that it subsequently transfers to thesecond coil. When the first coil returns to its original position, it possesses the same amount ofenergy as it had before it was displaced. The first coil transferred its energy to the second coil.The second coil then has a large amount of energy that it subsequently transfers to the third coil.When the second coil returns to its original position, it possesses the same amount of energy as ithad before it was displaced. The third coil has received the energy of the second coil. Thisprocess of energy transfer continues as each coil interacts with its neighbor. In this manner,energy is transported from one end of the slinky to the other, from its source to another location.This characteristic of a wave as an energy transport phenomenon distinguishes waves from othertypes of phenomenon. Consider a common phenomenon observed at a softball game - thecollision of a bat with a ball. A batter is able to transport energy from her to the softball by
means of a bat. The batter applies a force to the bat, thus imparting energy to the bat in the formof kinetic energy. The bat then carries this energy to the softball and transports the energy to thesoftball upon collision. In this example, a bat is used to transport energy from the player to thesoftball. However, unlike wave phenomena, this phenomenon involves the transport of matter.The bat must move from its starting location to the contact location in order to transport energy.In a wave phenomenon, energy can move from one location to another, yet the particles of matterin the medium return to their fixed position. A wave transports its energy without transportingmatter.Waves are seen to move through an ocean or lake; yet the water always returns to its restposition. 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 notmoved from the middle of the ocean to the shore. If we were to observe a gull or duck at rest onthe water, it would merely bob up-and-down in a somewhat circular fashion as the disturbancemoves through the water. The gull or duck always returns to its original position. The gull orduck is not transported to the shore because the water on which it rests is not transported to theshore. In a water wave, energy is transported without the transport of water.The same thing can be said about a stadium wave. In a stadium wave, the fans do not get out oftheir seats and walk around the stadium. We all recognize that it would be silly (andembarrassing) for any fan to even contemplate such a thought. In a stadium wave, each fan risesup and returns to the original seat. The disturbance moves through the stadium, yet the fans arenot transported. Waves involve the transport of energy without the transport of matter.In conclusion, a wave can be described as a disturbance that travels through a medium,transporting energy from one location (its source) to another location without transportingmatter. Each individual particle of the medium is temporarily displaced and then returns to itsoriginal equilibrium positioned. Check Your Understanding1. TRUE or FALSE:In order for John to hear Jill, air molecules must move from the lips of Jill to the ears of John.
2. Curly and Moe are conducting a wave experiment using a slinky. Curly introduces adisturbance into the slinky by giving it a quick back and forth jerk. Moe places his cheek (facial)at the opposite end of the slinky. Using the terminology of this unit, describe what Moeexperiences as the pulse reaches the other end of the slinky.3. Mac and Tosh are experimenting with pulses on a rope. They vibrate an end up and down tocreate the pulse and observe it moving from end to end. How does the position of a point on therope, before the pulse comes, compare to the position after the pulse has passed?4. Minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, ocean waves continue to splash onto theshore. Explain why the beach is not completely submerged and why the middle of the ocean hasnot yet been depleted of its water supply.5. A medium is able to transport a wave from one location to another because the particles of themedium are ____.a. frictionlessb. isolated from one anotherc. able to interactd. very lightCategories of WavesWaves come in many shapes and forms. While all waves share some basic characteristicproperties and behaviors, some waves can be distinguished from others based on someobservable (and some non-observable) characteristics. It is common to categorize waves basedon these distinguishing characteristics.Longitudinal versus Transverse Waves versus Surface Waves
One way to categorize waves is on the basis of the direction of movement of the individualparticles of the medium relative to the direction that the waves travel. Categorizing waves on thisbasis leads to three notable categories: transverse waves, longitudinal waves, and surface waves.A transverse wave is a wave in which particles of the medium move in a direction perpendicularto the direction that the wave moves. Suppose that a slinky is stretched out in a horizontaldirection across the classroom and that a pulse is introduced into the slinky on the left end byvibrating the first coil up and down. Energy will begin to be transported through the slinky fromleft to right. As the energy is transported from left to right, the individual coils of the mediumwill be displaced upwards and downwards. In this case, the particles of the medium moveperpendicular to the direction that the pulse moves. This type of wave is a transverse wave.Transverse waves are always characterized by particle motion being perpendicular to wavemotion.A longitudinal wave is a wave in which particles of the medium move in a direction parallel tothe direction that the wave moves. Suppose that a slinky is stretched out in a horizontal directionacross the classroom and that a pulse is introduced into the slinky on the left end by vibrating thefirst coil left and right. Energy will begin to be transported through the slinky from left to right.As the energy is transported from left to right, the individual coils of the medium will bedisplaced leftwards and rightwards. In this case, the particles of the medium move parallel to thedirection that the pulse moves. This type of wave is a longitudinal wave. Longitudinal waves arealways characterized by particle motion being parallel to wave motion.A sound wave traveling through air is a classic example of a longitudinal wave. As a sound wavemoves from the lips of a speaker to the ear of a listener, particles of air vibrate back and forth inthe same direction and the opposite direction of energy transport. Each individual particle pusheson its neighboring particle so as to push it forward. The collision of particle #1 with its neighborserves to restore particle #1 to its original position and displace particle #2 in a forward direction.This back and forth motion of particles in the direction of energy transport creates regions withinthe medium where the particles are pressed together and other regions where the particles arespread apart. Longitudinal waves can always be quickly identified by the presence of suchregions. This process continues along the chain of particles until the sound wave reaches the ear
of the listener. A detailed discussion of sound is presented in another unit of The PhysicsClassroom Tutorial.Waves traveling through a solid medium can be either transverse waves or longitudinal waves.Yet waves traveling through the bulk of a fluid (such as a liquid or a gas) are always longitudinalwaves. Transverse waves require a relatively rigid medium in order to transmit their energy. Asone particle begins to move it must be able to exert a pull on its nearest neighbor. If the mediumis not rigid as is the case with fluids, the particles will slide past each other. This sliding actionthat is characteristic of liquids and gases prevents one particle from displacing its neighbor in adirection perpendicular to the energy transport. It is for this reason that only longitudinal wavesare observed moving through the bulk of liquids such as our oceans. Earthquakes are capable ofproducing both transverse and longitudinal waves that travel through the solid structures of theEarth. When seismologists began to study earthquake waves they noticed that only longitudinalwaves were capable of traveling through the core of the Earth. For this reason, geologists believethat the Earths core consists of a liquid - most likely molten iron.While waves that travel within the depths of the ocean are longitudinal waves, the waves thattravel along the surface of the oceans are referred to as surface waves. A surface wave is a wavein which particles of the medium undergo a circular motion. Surface waves are neitherlongitudinal nor transverse. In longitudinal and transverse waves, all the particles in the entirebulk of the medium move in a parallel and a perpendicular direction (respectively) relative to thedirection of energy transport. In a surface wave, it is only the particles at the surface of themedium that undergo the circular motion. The motion of particles tends to decrease as oneproceeds further from the surface.Any wave moving through a medium has a source. Somewhere along the medium, there was aninitial displacement of one of the particles. For a slinky wave, it is usually the first coil thatbecomes displaced by the hand of a person. For a sound wave, it is usually the vibration of thevocal chords or a guitar string that sets the first particle of air in vibrational motion. At thelocation where the wave is introduced into the medium, the particles that are displaced from theirequilibrium position always moves in the same direction as the source of the vibration. So if youwish to create a transverse wave in a slinky, then the first coil of the slinky must be displaced ina direction perpendicular to the entire slinky. Similarly, if you wish to create a longitudinal wave
in a slinky, then the first coil of the slinky must be displaced in a direction parallel to the entireslinky.Electromagnetic versus Mechanical WavesAnother way to categorize waves is on the basis of their ability or inability to transmit energythrough a vacuum (i.e., empty space). Categorizing waves on this basis leads to two notablecategories: electromagnetic waves and mechanical waves.An electromagnetic wave is a wave that is capable of transmitting its energy through a vacuum(i.e., empty space). Electromagnetic waves are produced by the vibration of charged particles.Electromagnetic waves that are produced on the sun subsequently travel to Earth through thevacuum of outer space. Were it not for the ability of electromagnetic waves to travel to through avacuum, there would undoubtedly be no life on Earth. All light waves are examples ofelectromagnetic waves. Light waves are the topic of another unit at The Physics ClassroomTutorial. While the basic properties and behaviors of light will be discussed, the detailed natureof an electromagnetic wave is quite complicated and beyond the scope of The Physics ClassroomTutorial.A mechanical wave is a wave that is not capable of transmitting its energy through a vacuum.Mechanical waves require a medium in order to transport their energy from one location toanother. A sound wave is an example of a mechanical wave. Sound waves are incapable oftraveling through a vacuum. Slinky waves, water waves, stadium waves, and jump rope wavesare other examples of mechanical waves; each requires some medium in order to exist. A slinkywave requires the coils of the slinky; a water wave requires water; a stadium wave requires fansin a stadium; and a jump rope wave requires a jump rope.
The above categories represent just a few of the ways in which physicists categorize waves inorder to compare and contrast their behaviors and characteristic properties. This listing ofcategories is not exhaustive; there are other categories as well. The five categories of waveslisted here will be used periodically throughout this unit on waves as well as the units on soundand light.The Anatomy of a WaveA transverse wave is a wave in which the particles of the medium are displaced in a directionperpendicular to the direction of energy transport. A transverse wave can be created in a rope ifthe rope is stretched out horizontally and the end is vibrated back-and-forth in a verticaldirection. If a snapshot of such a transverse wave could be taken so as to freeze the shape of therope in time, then it would look like the following diagram.The dashed line drawn through the center of the diagram represents the equilibrium or restposition of the string. This is the position that the string would assume if there were nodisturbance moving through it. Once a disturbance is introduced into the string, the particles ofthe string begin to vibrate upwards and downwards. At any given moment in time, a particle onthe medium could be above or below the rest position. Points A, E and H on the diagramrepresent the crests of this wave. The crest of a wave is the point on the medium that exhibits themaximum amount of positive or upward displacement from the rest position. Points C and J onthe diagram represent the troughs of this wave. The trough of a wave is the point on the mediumthat exhibits the maximum amount of negative or downward displacement from the rest position.The wave shown above can be described by a variety of properties. One such property isamplitude. The amplitude of a wave refers to the maximum amount of displacement of a particleon the medium from its rest position. In a sense, the amplitude is the distance from rest to crest.Similarly, the amplitude can be measured from the rest position to the trough position. In thediagram above, the amplitude could be measured as the distance of a line segment that isperpendicular to the rest position and extends vertically upward from the rest position to point A.The wavelength is another property of a wave that is portrayed in the diagram above. Thewavelength of a wave is simply the length of one complete wave cycle. If you were to trace yourfinger across the wave in the diagram above, you would notice that your finger repeats its path.A wave is a repeating pattern. It repeats itself in a periodic and regular fashion over both timeand space. And the length of one such spatial repetition (known as a wave cycle) is the
wavelength. The wavelength can be measured as the distance from crest to crest or from troughto trough. In fact, the wavelength of a wave can be measured as the distance from a point on awave to the corresponding point on the next cycle of the wave. In the diagram above, thewavelength is the horizontal distance from A to E, or the horizontal distance from B to F, or thehorizontal distance from D to G, or the horizontal distance from E to H. Any one of thesedistance measurements would suffice in determining the wavelength of this wave.A longitudinal wave is a wave in which the particles of the medium are displaced in a directionparallel to the direction of energy transport. A longitudinal wave can be created in a slinky if theslinky is stretched out horizontally and the end coil is vibrated back-and-forth in a horizontaldirection. If a snapshot of such a longitudinal wave could be taken so as to freeze the shape of theslinky in time, then it would look like the following diagram.Because the coils of the slinky are vibrating longitudinally, there are regions where they becomepressed together and other regions where they are spread apart. A region where the coils arepressed together in a small amount of space is known as a compression. A compression is apoint on a medium through which a longitudinal wave is traveling that has the maximum density.A region where the coils are spread apart, thus maximizing the distance between coils, is knownas a rarefaction. A rarefaction is a point on a medium through which a longitudinal wave istraveling that has the minimum density. Points A, C and E on the diagram above representcompressions and points B, D, and F represent rarefactions. While a transverse wave has analternating pattern of crests and troughs, a longitudinal wave has an alternating pattern ofcompressions and rarefactions.As discussed above, the wavelength of a wave is the length of one complete cycle of a wave. Fora transverse wave, the wavelength is determined by measuring from crest to crest. A longitudinalwave does not have crest; so how can its wavelength be determined? The wavelength can alwaysbe determined by measuring the distance between any two corresponding points on adjacentwaves. In the case of a longitudinal wave, a wavelength measurement is made by measuring thedistance from a compression to the next compression or from a rarefaction to the nextrarefaction. On the diagram above, the distance from point A to point C or from point B to pointD would be representative of the wavelength.
Check Your UnderstandingConsider the diagram below in order to answer questions #1-2.1. The wavelength of the wave in the diagram above is given by letter ______.2. The amplitude of the wave in the diagram above is given by letter _____.3. Indicate the interval that represents one full wavelength.a. A to Cb. B to Dc. A to Gd. C to G