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General Wave Properties

 August 3, 2019

Waves

A wave transfers energy

from one place to anoth-
er without the transfer of
particles in the medium.
Rather, individual parti-
cles vibrate (oscillate)
about fixed positions
instead.

Wave motion can be eas-

ily exemplified by vibra-
tions in:

Ropes
:
 Springs

Water

Types of waves

There are two types of

waves:

Longitudinal waves
Transverse waves
:
 In a longitudinal wave
(such as sound), the par-
ticles vibrate parallel to
the direction of the wave.
This leads to compres-
sions (particles are clos-
er together than normal)
and rarefactions (parti-
cles are further apart
than normal)

In a transverse wave
(such as light), particles
vibrate perpendicular to
the direction of the wave.
This leads to a series of
peaks (particles are high-
er than normal) and
troughs (particles are
lower than normal).

Some important terms

that you must be aware
:
 of are:

Wavelength is the
distance between
adjacent particles
that are at the
same point in their
vibration
In a transverse
wave, it is the
distance be-
tween two adja-
cent peaks or
troughs
In a longitudinal
wave, it is the
distance be-
tween two adja-
cent compres-
sions or
rarefactions
Amplitude is the
maximum displace-
ment of particles
from rest position
This is a bit
tricky to mea-
sure for longitu-
:
 dinal waves
But for trans-
verse waves, it
is simply the
distance be-
tween the rest
position to the
peak
Velocity of the
wave is the dis-
tance traveled per
second, and is mea-
sured in m/s
Frequency of the
wave is the number
of complete waves
passing a point per
second, and is mea-
sured in hertz (Hz)
Wavefronts can be
represented as
lines which are al-
ways perpendicular
to the direction of
wave travel. The
distance between
one wavefront to
the next is the
:
 wavelength

Combining velocity, fre-

quency and wavelength
produces this wave
equation:

Reflection, re-
fraction and
diffraction

Reflection

When waves hit a plane

surface, it will reflect
:
 off it. The frequency,
speed or wavelength of
the wave remains un-
changed in reflection.

A ripple tank has a vibrat-

ing bar which can gener-
ate waves of varying fre-
quency in water.

We can observe what

happens when the water
waves hit a barrier:

Take note that the wave-

fronts are 90° to the di-
rection of travel of the
wave

Refraction

A wave will become re-

:
 fracted if it travels from
one medium to another
medium with a different
density. The speed of the
wave changes, and that
causes a change in direc-
tion of the wave.

Water travels more slow-

ly in shallow water com-
pared to deep water. We
can observe what hap-
pens to water waves as
it goes from deep to
shallow:

As you can see, the

wavelength decreases
and the direction shifts
as the waves hit the
more shallow side.
:
 Diffraction

Diffraction is the process

by which waves spread
out as a result of passing
through a narrow gap or
across an edge of an
object.

As water waves pass

through the gap, you can
observe the spreading of
the new wavefronts:

The extent of diffraction

is dependent on the size
of the gap in comparison
to the wavelength of the
wave.
:
 Diffraction can also oc-
cur as waves hit the
edge of a barrier.

The longer the wave-

length the greater the
diffraction that occurs.

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