Superposition and

Standing Waves

LECTURER
MR. M C Zulu
 INTRODUCTION

 Most waves do not look very simple. They

look more like the waves in Figure show on
the slide than like the simple water wave
considered in Waves last semester.
 Complex waves are more interesting, even
beautiful, but they look formidable.
 Most waves appear complex because they
result from several simple waves adding
together. Luckily, the rules for adding waves
are quite simple.
 SUPERPOSITION AND INTERFERENCE

 When two or more waves arrive at the same point, they superimpose themselves on one
another. More specifically, the disturbances of waves are superimposed when they come
together—a phenomenon called superposition.
 For mechanical waves, the principle of superposition states that if two or more traveling waves
combine at the same point, the resulting position of the mass element of the medium, at that
point, is the algebraic sum of the position due to the individual waves.
 Waves can interfere constructively or destructively.
SUPERPOSITION AND INTERFERENCE CONT.

 When the crests of the two waves are

precisely aligned, as are the troughs. This
superposition produces constructive
interference. Because the disturbances add,
constructive interference produces a wave
that has twice the amplitude of the
individual waves, but has the same
wavelength
SUPERPOSITION AND INTERFERENCE CONT.

 When two identical waves that arrive exactly

180° out of phase, they producing destructive
interference. Because the troughs of one
wave add the crest of the other wave, the
resulting amplitude is zero for destructive
interference—the waves completely cancel
 STANDING WAVES AND RESONANCE

 Last semester we studied traveling waves, or waves that

transport energy from one place to another. Under certain
conditions, waves can bounce back and forth through a
particular region, effectively becoming stationary. These are
called standing waves
 Another related effect is known as resonance. In Oscillations,
we defined resonance as a phenomenon in which a small-
amplitude driving force could produce large-amplitude motion.
 The figure on the slide shows standing waves formed on the
surface of a bowl of milk sitting on a box fan. The vibrations
from the fan causes the surface of the milk to oscillate. The
waves are visible due to the reflection of light from a lamp
STANDING WAVES AND RESONANCE
 When two identical waves are moving in opposite directions, the resultant wave is a
standing wave shown below.
 The nodes are marked with red dots and the antinodes are marked with blue dots.
 RESONANCE (STANDING WAVES IN AIR COLUMNS)
 Resonance occurs in many different
systems, including strings, air columns, and
atoms.
 Resonance is the driven or forced
oscillation of a system at its natural
frequency.
 At resonance, energy is transferred rapidly
to the oscillating system, and the amplitude
of its oscillations grows until the system
can no longer be described by Hooke’s law.
 RESONANCE IN A TUBE CLOSED AT ONE END

 Resonance of air in a tube closed at one

end, caused by a tuning fork that vibrates
at the lowest frequency that can produce
resonance (the fundamental frequency).
A node exists at the closed end and an
antinode at the open end.
 The distance from a node to an antinode
is one-fourth of a wavelength, and this
equals the length of the tube; thus, 𝜆1 =
4𝐿 .
 RESONANCE IN A TUBE CLOSED AT ONE END

 The relationship for the resonant wavelengths of a tube 4

closed at one end is
n  L, n=1,3,5
n
RESONANCE IN A TUBE OPEN AT BOTH ENDS
 The relationship for the resonant wavelengths of a tube open at both ends is
2
n  L, n=1,2,3
n
 SOURCES OF MUSICAL SOUND

 Some musical instruments, such as woodwinds, brass, and pipe organs, can
be modeled as tubes with symmetrical boundary conditions, that is, either
open at both ends or closed at both ends
 Other instruments can be modeled as tubes with anti-symmetrical boundary
conditions, such as a tube with one end open and the other end closed
 EXAMPLE

 (a) What length should a tube closed at one end have on a day when the air
temperature is 22.0 °C if its fundamental frequency is to be 128 Hz? (b) What
is the frequency of its fourth overtone?
 Strategy
 The length L can be found from the relationship 𝑓𝑛 = 𝑛𝑣/4𝐿 , but we first
need to find the speed of sound 𝑣.
 EXAMPLE CONT.
 Solution
 Identify knowns: The fundamental frequency is 128 Hz, and the air
temperature is 22.0 °C. Use 𝑓𝑛 = 𝑛𝑣/4𝐿 to find the fundamental frequency
(n = 1),
v
L
4 f1

 Find the speed of sound

T 295 K
v  (331m / s )  (331m / s )  344m / s
273K 273K
EXAMPLE CONT.
EXAMPLE CONT.
 Enter the values of the speed of sound and frequency into the expression for L.

v 344m / s
L   0.672m
4 f1 4(128 Hz )

 Identify knowns: The first overtone has n = 3, the second overtone has n = 5, the
third overtone has n = 7, and the fourth overtone has n = 9
v
f6  9  9 f1  1.15kHz
4L
 TASK

 A section of drainage culvert 1.23 m in length makes a howling noise when the
wind blows across its open ends. Determine the frequencies of the first three
harmonics of the culvert if it is cylindrical in shape and open at both ends. Take
v = 343 𝑚/𝑠 as the speed of sound in air
 TASK
 A simple apparatus for demonstrating resonance in an air column
is depicted in the Figure. A vertical pipe open at both ends is
partially submerged in water, and a tuning fork vibrating at an
unknown frequency is placed near the top of the pipe. The length
L of the air column can be adjusted by moving the pipe vertically.
The sound waves generated by the fork are reinforced when L
corresponds to one of the resonance frequencies of the pipe. For a
certain pipe, the smallest value of L for which a peak occurs in the
sound intensity is 9.00 cm.
 What is the frequency of the tuning fork?
 Find the fundamental frequency when 𝐿 = 0.090 0 𝑚:
 What are the values of L for the next two resonance conditions?
 Calculate the frequency of the seventh overtone?
 BEATS

 Beats are fluctuations in amplitude

produced by two sound waves of
slightly different frequency,
 The amplitude variation causes
variations of loudness called beats,
 and the frequency with which the
loudness varies is called the beat
frequency.

fbeat  f 2  f1
 EXAMPLE

 What is the beat frequency produced when a tuning fork of a frequency of 256 Hz
and a tuning fork of a frequency of 512 Hz are struck simultaneously?
 Strategy
 The beat frequency is the difference of the two frequencies

f beat  f 2  f1   512  256  Hz  256 Hz

 TASK

 Two identical piano strings of length 0.750 m are each tuned exactly to 440
Hz. The tension in one of the strings is then increased by 1.0%. If they are
now struck, what is the beat frequency between the fundamentals of the
two strings?
End of Lecture 1 Part 1