Vibrations and Waves

1 Oscillations
Any motion that repeats itself in equal time intervals is said to be periodic or cyclic. Examples
of periodic motion include the orbits of the moon and planets, the swing of a pendulum, or
the movement of air particles as a sound wave passes. Periodic motion can be described in
terms of sine functions and is therefore also referred to as harmonic motion.
An oscillating or vibrating particle moves to and fro about some fixed point or equilibrium
position. The displacement is the distance of the oscillating particle from the equilibrium
position. The period is the time interval for one complete cycle and the number of cycles per
unit time is the frequency. Thus

1
f= . (1)
T

The Greek letter ν (nu) is often used as the symbol for frequency instead of f . The unit of
frequency is the hertz (Hz). 1 Hz = 1 s−1 .
A common type of periodic motion that can be described in a simple way mathematically
is simple harmonic motion. In simple harmonic motion the displacement of the oscillating
particle varies sinusoidally with time (the acceleration is proportional to the displacement and
in the opposite direction).

2 Travelling waves
Examples of travelling (or progressive) wave phenomena abound in nature. Music is a result
of sound waves travelling through the air and setting your eardrum vibrating. Surfers ride
water waves and everything we see is a result of light waves reflecting from the objects we
look at.
Waves are produced by vibrations or oscillations. A mechanical wave originates in the
vibration of some portion of an elastic medium. The energy of the vibration is transmitted to
adjacent layers of the medium thus producing a wave that travels through the medium. Water
waves, sound waves or a wave moving along a stretched string are all examples of mechanical
waves. Light waves and radio waves are electromagnetic waves (see Section 10). These do
not require a medium through which to propagate. Light from the stars travels many years
through the near vacuum of interstellar space to reach us.
If the oscillation producing a wave is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the
wave, like a wave moving along a stretched string, it is called a transverse wave. If the
oscillation is in the same direction as the resulting wave, for example a sound wave, it is called
a longitudinal wave.

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2.1 Transverse waves
As an example of a transverse wave we consider a wave produced in a stretched string by an
oscillating mass on a spring, as in the Figure 1.

crest
spring wavelength

oscillating
mass

trough

Figure 1: Transverse wave in a stretched string.

The period (T ) is the time for 1 cycle to pass any point.

In this example, the period is the time for the mass on the spring to bob up and down once.
One wavelength (λ) is the shortest distance between particles that are at the same stage
of vibration.

The amplitude is the maximum displacement from the equilibrium position.

λ
amplitude

Figure 2: One cycle of a wave.

During one cycle, the wave travels a distance λ. If f oscillations occur per second, then the
distance travelled by the wave in 1 second (the speed of the wave) is given by f × λ. Hence

v = f λ. (2)

The speed v of a wave depends on the medium through which the wave is travelling and the
frequency f depends on the source. v is measured in m s−1 , f in s−1 or Hz and λ in metres.

2
2.2 Longitudinal waves
If the vibrating elements producing a mechanical wave oscillate in the direction of the propa-
gation of the wave, as is the case for sound waves, then the wave is known as a longitudinal
wave.

listener

mean
position

Figure 3: Representation of a sound wave through air.

The air between a vibrating tuning fork and a listener can be regarded as made up of
thin layers of molecules. As the prong (P) moves to the right (see Figure 3) it presses on the
adjacent layer, which in turn presses on the next and so on. As P moves to the left, the layers
move successively back. Regions of compression and rarefaction are thus transferred through
the air to the listener.
Each layer of air vibrates about a mean position and vibrates along the direction of
propagation. At a particular instant a graph of the displacement of each layer plotted against
its mean position might be as in the lower portion of Figure 3.
For both transverse and longitudinal waves, we can draw displacement–position graphs for
any particular instant (often called simply displacement curves). These plot the instanta-
neous displacement of each ‘particle’ (or layer) against its mean position.

2.3 Mathematical description of travelling waves

y
λ
+A

−A

Figure 4: A sinusoidal wave travelling in the positive x direction.

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The wave depicted in Figure 4 could be represented by
2πx
y = A sin .
λ
The value of y is the same at any particular value x as it is at x + λ, x + 2λ, etc. Suppose
now that the wave (with its axes) travels to the right with velocity v. Relative to a fixed origin
after a time t, x = x + vt or x = x − vt. Hence
2π
y = A sin (x − vt). (3)
λ
Recalling that v = f λ and f = T1 , where T is the time period, we may write Equation (3)
in the alternative forms
x
y = A sin 2π − ft (4)
λ
x t
y = A sin 2π − . (5)
λ T
Another version is obtained if we write
2π
k=
, (6)
λ
where k is the propagation constant or wave number. Thus
y = A sin(kx − 2πft) = A sin(kx − ωt), (7)
where ω = 2πf .
Equations (3)–(7) are for a wave travelling to the right (positive x direction). For a wave
travelling to the left (negative x direction)
2π
y = A sin (x + vt) (8)
λ
= A sin(kx + ωt). (9)

Example 1: Wave equation

A travelling wave moves in one dimension with an amplitude of 0.100 m, a frequency of 800 Hz
and a wavelength of 0.0500 m. Write the equation for the particle displacement in the form

y = A sin(kx − ωt),

placing numerical values where appropriate.

Solution:
2π 2π −1
k= = m .
λ 0.05
ω = 2πf = 2π × 800 = 1600πs−1 .
A = 0.100 m.
Hence
2πx
y = 0.100 sin − 1600πt = 0.100 sin[40π(x − 40t)].
0.05

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2.4 Speed of a transverse wave on a string
We would expect the speed V to be larger if the tension T in a string is larger and smaller
if the mass per unit length µ is larger. It turns out that

T
V = , (10)
µ

where µ is the mass per unit length of the string

m
µ= . (11)

When a musician tunes a stringed instrument like a guitar, she is changing the tension of
the strings. From Equation (10) it is clear that increasing the tension increases the speed.
Since the speed of a wave is proportional to the frequency, increasing the tension increases
the frequency and hence the pitch of a note. The lowest notes on a stringed instrument are
produced by the thickest strings for which µ is larger. From Equation (10) it is clear that for
a greater mass per unit length the speed, and hence the frequency, is smaller.

Example 2: Mass of a stretched string

A length of string is stretched between two points 80 cm apart. The tension in the string is
20 N and the speed of a transverse wave on the string is 80 m s−1 . Determine the mass of the
string.
Solution:
The mass per unit length is obtained from Equation (10):
T 20
µ= 2
= 2 = 3.125 × 10−3 kg m−1 .
V 80
We obtain the mass from Equation (11):

m = µ = 3.125 × 10−3 × 0.8 = 0.0025 kg.

2.5 Speed of sound in a gas

The speed of sound depends on the medium through which the sound wave is propagating.
Some values for the speed of sound are listed in Table 1. Because sound travels more slowly

Medium (at 0 ◦C) Speed (m s−1 )

AIR 331
HYDROGEN 1280
WATER 1480
SEA WATER 1520
IRON 5100

Table 1: Some values for the speed of sound in different media.

than light, thunder can be heard some seconds after lightning is observed. Sound takes ap-
proximately 3 seconds to travel 1 km in air.

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 The speed of sound in a gas is (a) independent of the gas pressure and (b) proportional to
the square root of the absolute temperature. (See later notes on Heat for an explanation of
absolute temperature.) √
V ∝ T, (12)

where T is the absolute temperature in degrees kelvin.

Example 3: Speed of sound at different temperatures

If the speed of sound in air at 0 ◦C is 331 m s−1 , what will it be at 15 ◦C?
Solution:
The speed and temperature are related by Equation (12) with T in kelvin. Thus

V15 273 + 15
= ,
V0 273 + 0
which gives
288
V15 = 331 × = 340 m s−1 .
273

3 The principle of linear superposition

In most situations, many waves are present at a certain place at the same time. For instance
several people talking at once or the music created by several instruments playing simultane-
ously. The principle of linear superposition enables us to describe the resultant waveform due
to the individual waves present.

Principle of linear superposition

When two or more waves are present simultaneously at the same place, the resultant distur-
bance is the sum of the disturbances of the individual waves.

4 Constructive and destructive interference

The interaction of individual waves with each other is known as interference. When the
peaks and troughs of two waves coincide as in Figure 5a, the waves are said to be exactly
in phase. The resultant waveform obtained by adding waves that are in phase is a wave

+ = + =

(a) Constructive interference (b) Destructive interference

Figure 5: Two waves of equal amplitude and wavelength interfere (a) constructively when
they are in phase and (b) destructively when they are out of phase.

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of amplitude equal to the sum of the amplitudes of the individual waves. Waves that are in
phase exhibit constructive interference.
When the peaks of one wave coincide with the troughs of another wave as in Figure 5b,
the waves are said to be exactly out of phase. The resultant waveform obtained by adding
waves that are out of phase is a wave of amplitude equal to the difference of the amplitudes of
the individual waves. Waves that are out of phase exhibit destructive interference. If the
amplitudes of two waves which are exactly out of phase are equal, then the waves will cancel.
In the case of two sound waves, no sound will be heard.
If the sound waves from two adjacent loudspeakers
P
(which are fed from the same oscillator) are mixed, in-
terference occurs. At any point P, if the path difference
S2 S2 P−S1 P between each speaker and P is a whole num-
ber of wavelengths, the crests (and troughs) at P will
coincide and we get reinforcement (constructive inter-
ference). If on the other hand the path difference is a
S1 whole number of wavelengths plus half a wavelength,
then the crests from one speaker will coincide with the
troughs from the other speaker and we get cancellation
(destructive interference).
For constructive interference
S2 P − S1 P = mλ (m = 0, 1, 2, . . .) (13)
and for destructive interference
S2 P − S1 P = (m + 12 )λ (m = 0, 1, 2, . . .). (14)

Example 4: Interference due to two sound sources of the same frequency

Two speakers, A and B, both produce a note of 850 Hz. If the speakers are placed 5.0 m apart,
determine whether a listener standing 12 m in front of speaker A, and perpendicular to the
line joining the speakers, will hear a maximum or a minimum. (Take the speed of sound in
air as 340 m s−1 .)
Solution: 12 m
A P
5m

B
To determine whether constructive or destructive interference will occur, we need to deter-
mine the path difference BP − AP, and calculate if this is a whole number of wavelengths,
or a whole number plus a half number of wavelengths. BX = 13 m since BAP is a right
angled triangle. The path difference is therefore BP − AP = 1 m. The wavelength may be
obtained from Equation (2):
v 340
λ= = = 0.4 m.
f 850
The path difference is therefore 2 12 times the wavelength, hence destructive interference
occurs and a minimum will be heard.