Waves, Sound, and Light Vibrations and Waves Overview waves are related to vibrations/oscillations, a back-and-forth movement similar

r to a pendulum Propagation: in a medium, molecules can be disturbed by forces; once this happens, neighboring molecules exert a force to return the molecule to its original place; because the neighbors are forced to move out of place as well, this causes an oscillation; energy is being transferred Simple Harmonic Motion: the foundation of waves; the motion of a particle is periodic; it moves back and forth; like with a spring, there is always a force restoring it to its equilibrium Wave Motion with Mechanical Waves Mechanical waves: propagated in a medium When mediums are disturbed, it receives energy, causing particles to vibrate; the particles, not the medium vibrates o The Domino effect is a classic example; however, there is no restoring force that would cause the dominoes to stand back up o Swinging a rope This rhythmic transfer of energy, wave motion, creates waves Periodic waves will have sinusoidal forms Wave pulse: a single disturbance vs. Wave motion: a continuous disturbance Amplitude (A): the magnitude of maximum displacement from equilibrium; height of crest or depth of trough Wavelength ( ): distance between any two identical parts of a wave (usually crests or troughs) Period (T): time to complete one cycle Frequency (f): cycles per second (in Hz or 1 cycle/sec or s-); f = 1/T o Period and frequency are inverse Wave speed: v = = f T Types of Waves Transverse waves: particle motion is perpendicular to wave motion (e.g. in a swinging rope, the wave travels horizontally, but the particles of the rope move up and down); sometimes called a shear wave; only works with solids Longitudinal waves: particle motion is parallel to wave motion (e.g. sound waves); also called a compression waves, since the density of the particles is condensed or rarefied to create these waves Water waves possess both qualities: transverse walls of waves moving horizontally towards a beach front; longitudinal tiny ripples of water on a lake or pond Superposition and Interference The principle of superposition requires the vector addition (take into account the

signs of the pulses) of wave pulses; y = y1 + y2 Constructive interference: two waves combine to create a wave that is greater than that of either pulse Destructive interference: because one pulse may be negative, the combination of two waves is smaller than that of either pulse Total constructive interference: two waves combine to create a wave that is twice that of either pulse Total destructive interference: two waves of exactly opposite amplitudes cancel out, equaling zero; this is the principle behind noise cancelling headphones, etc. Reflection, Refraction, Dispersion, and Diffraction Reflection: wave meets a boundary o If the boundary is hard, such as wall, the wave will be inverted; for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction o If the boundary is soft, no inversion occurs When waves strike a boundary, its speed changes Refraction: Entering a medium at an angle causes the transmitted waves to move in different direction than the incident wave Dispersion: these waves depend on wavelength (frequency); they spread apart from one another; light is the prime example; light travels at many different frequencies (e.g. ROYGBIV) o Nondispersive waves do not depend on wavelength (frequency), and thus dont separate; sound is the prime example; at a concert, we hear all the instruments at the same time Diffraction: not related to refraction, these waves depend on wavelength (frequency); refers to the bending of waves around the edge of the object; the diffracting object, such as wall, is usually about the same or smaller than the wavelength; (e.g. youre not like to hear a whisper on the other side of a concrete wall; however, you may hear a scream) Standing Waves and Resonance Standing wave: when a group of particles is at the right frequency so that two identical, opposite waves form; because these waves are opposite, there is zero energy flow and the waves appear to be standing Nodes: the stationary point where the waves have canceled out (total destructive) Antinodes: the points of maximum amplitude (constructive interference); are separated by a half-wavelength ( /2) Resonant frequencies: frequencies that produce the largest-amplitude standing waves; require maximum energy

When the boundaries are fixed (a node at either end), count the number of crests; in the Fundamental, for instance, there is one crest; so we multiply 1 by /2

Fundamental/1st Harmonic

2nd Harmonic/1st Overtone

3rd Harmonic/2nd Overtone When the boundaries are open (antinode at either end), fold the ends together and count the number of crests; the 2nd Harmonic, for instance, there are two crests; so we multiply 2 by /2 In either case, because the two boundaries are the same (either fixed or open,

identical to identical) we can use wavelength

/2

the relationship between the length and the

However, if one end is closed (node) and the other is open (antinode), then we must use /4 1 crest = 2/4; the Fundamental, for instance, has a half crest; so (1/2)(2/4)=1/4

Sound Overview Caused by disturbances or vibrations Sound exists only with a medium Sounds in fluid mediums are usually longitudinal; in solids, however, sound can travel transversely; a tuning fork can create a sinusoid using contrasting highpressured condensations with low-pressure rarefactions Audible region of sound frequency spectrum (human range) 20 Hz 20 kHz Infrasonic region: <20 Hz vs. Ultrasonic region: >20kHz (e.g., sonar) Speed of Sound Speed of sound is about 2-4 x faster in solids than in fluids Since states of matter are dependent upon temperature, the speed of sound depends on the temperature; as temperature increases, so does speed of sound Speed of sound in dry air v = (331 + 0.6Tc) m/s Intensity

Intensity: the rate of energy transfer

int ensity = energy / time power = area area

For spherical sound waves : I= P P 2 = 2 [W / m ] A 4 R

The intensity of a point source of sound is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source; in other words, the greater the area, the lower the intensity; the smaller the area, the greater the intensity I1R12 = I2R22 Loudness: how we perceive intensity Threshold of hearing I0 = 10-12 W/m2 Threshold of pain Ip = 1.0 W/m2 I0 / 1p = 1012 Loudness doesnt double with intensity Sound intensities are categorized by levels; measured in decibels (dB); range from 0 to 120 dB I = 10 log Io Beats: two tones of nearly the same frequency interfere; the ear senses this pulsation in loudness called a beat The frequency of the beat is called the beat frequency: fbeat = |f1 - f2 | Doppler Effect: variation in perceived sound frequency due to the motion of the source; it is understood that sound waves bunch up at the front of the source and spread out behind it Pitch: perceived frequency; directly proportional to frequency

Optics Overview Reflection explains the behavior of mirrors Refraction explains the behavior of lenses Wave Fronts and Waves Wave front: line/surface defined by adjacent portions of a wave that are in phase Plane wave front: is used when the curvature because very small (e.g., we can oftentimes represent the earth as being locally flat) Ray: drawn perpendicular to wave fronts; point in the direction of the energy flow of the wave Reflection Reflection: involves the absorption an reemission of light Law of Reflection: i = r the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection Both of theses angles are measured relative to the normal; both angles are on opposite sides of the normal; and both line on the same plane

Regular reflection: require a smooth surface; the reflected rays from the incident rays will be parallel Irregular reflection: because of the rough surface, the reflected rays are not parallel Refraction Refraction refers to the change in direction of a wave at a boundary This change in direction is the result of light traveling at different speeds in different media The relationship between the angle of incidence 1 and the angle of refraction 2 is described using Snells Law n1sin1 = n2sin2 where n is the index of refraction *the greater the angle of incidence, the greater the angle of refraction Index of refraction describes the ration between speed of light in a vacuum compared to in another medium; in other words, it is used to see how optically dense one substance is compared to another; the greater the index, the greater the density, the slower the speed of light Light travels through vacuum and air about the same
n= c ( speed of light in a vacuum ) v ( speed of light in a medium )

c = 3 x10 8 m / s

Ray deviation o If second medium is more optically dense (n2 > n1), the ray is refracted towards the normal o If second medium is less optically dense (n2 < n1), the ray is refracted away from the normal Total Internal Reflection The limit of lights refraction is at the critical angle (c), which is 90; an equation describing critical angle can be derived from Snells Law, making sure 90 is plugged in for the second angle If the angle of incidence is greater than 90, then the light isnt refracted but undergoes total internal reflection Total internal reflection only works with rays moving from a more dense to a less dense medium Mirrors and Lenses Plane Mirrors Mirrors are smooth reflecting surfaces, usually coated with a metallic substance An image is the visual counterpart of an object Plane mirror: a mirror with a flat surface; images appear to come from inside the mirror; this is called a virtual image; actually we are seeing the reflection of all the rays of light coming from an object facing the mirror The object distance and image distance are the same do = di

Magnification factor (M) describes the ratio between the image height (hi) and the object height (ho) and between the image distance (di) and object distance (do)

M=

image height hi image dis tan ce d = = = i object height ho object dis tan ce do

Magnification: for an object to be the same size as its image the image height and the object height must be equal in magnitude so that the result is 1 Orientation: for plane mirrors, the image is always upright; for an object to retain its orientation the image height and the object height must have the same sign (positive or negative) so that the quotient is positive Reviewing characteristics of plane mirrors do = di M = +1 (virtual, upright, unmagnified) Spherical Mirrors Real image: images are projected in front of the mirror; light actually passes through these images Concave mirror: reflections are on the inside of the mirror (almost like looking into a cave); the reflected rays converge at the focal point Convex mirror: reflections on the outside of the mirror; the reflected rays diverge at the focal point Ray Diagrams are used to locate the image (see Ray Diagram examples) o Parallel ray: drawn parallel to optical axis, reflected through focal point o Chief ray: drawn through the center o Focal ray: drawn through the focal point, reflected out parallel to optical axis Reflections occur at the point of contact with the mirror ! Spherical-mirror equation can also be used to locate image (see chart below) 1 1 1 + = , where f is the focal length do d i f Lenses Biconvex lenses are made of two convex surfaces; also called converging lenses since light rays converge at the focal point on the image side () Ray Diagrams are used to locate image o Parallel ray: parallel to optical axis on incident side and passes through focal point on the image side of converging lens o Chief ray: passes through the center of the lens o Focal ray: goes through focus of incident side, then travels parallel to optical axis Biconcave lenses are made of two concave surfaces; also called diverging lenses since light rays appear to be diverging from the focal point on the incident side )( Ray Diagram: o Parallel ray: parallel to optical axis on incident side and passes through focal point on the incident side of converging lens

o Chief ray: passes through the center of the lens o Focal ray: goes through focus of image side, then travels parallel to optical axis upon reaching the lens Reflections occur at point of contact with the lens! Lenses use the same magnification and distance-focal equations Predicting Location of Image in Mirrors and Lenses Analytically