Mathematical

Physics
MP205
Vibrations and Waves
Lecture 15 - 16
Lecturer: Dr. Ji Vala
Oce: Room 1.9, Mathema<cal Physics,
Science Building, North Campus
Phone: (1) 708 3553
E-Mail: jiri.vala@nuim.ie
FOURIER ANALYSIS

A string of length L fixed at its two ends should be able (subject to certain assump-
tions) to vibrate in any of an infinite number of normal modes. We shall put
nx
yn(x, t) = An sin cos (nt n)
L

We can imagine that all these modes are permitted to be present, so that the motion
of the string is specified by the equation

nx
y(x, t) = An sin cos (nt n)
L
n=1

For a fixed specified time t0, the quantities cos nt0 n can be treated as a set of
fixed numbers, and the displacement of the string at any x is given as

nx
y(x) = Bn sin (1)
L
n=1
where

Bn = An cos nt0 n

We make the following assertions (Fourier 1807):

It is possible to take any form of the profile of the string described by y as a function
of x between x = 0 and x = L (subject tot he conditions y = 0 at x = 0 and x = L and
analyze it into an infinite series of sine functions as given by Eq. 1.
We will consider the continuous string as the limit for N of a row of N connected
particles (We are translating our problem from the world of physics to the world of
mathematics).

Before proceeding, we point another result in our solution for vibrating system:

Consider the general transverse motion of the continuous string:

1) the frequencies n = n1, where n is a positive integer;
2) on a particular fixed value of x, we can write An sin(nx/L) = Cn which is a con-
stant and thus have


y(t) = Cn cos (nt n)
n=1
This states:

that any possible motion of any point on the string is periodic in the time 2/1

and that

this periodic motion can be written as a combination, with suitable amplitudes and
phases of pure sinusoidal vibrations comprising all possible harmonics of 1,
that is as

a Fourier analysis in time

(rather than space).
Fourier analysis in action

We must be able to determine the coefficients of the component sine and cosine
functions, that is, we must perform harmonic analysis.

Consider the expansion for y(x)

nx
y(x) = Bn sin
L
n=1
Suppose we want the amplitude associated with a particular value of n, lets say n1:

to find it we multiply both sides of the equation by sin (n1x/L) and integrate w.r.t.
x over the range from 0 to L:
 L n x L nx n x
1
y(x) sin dx = Bn sin sin 1 dx
0 L 0 L L
n=1
for any two angles and , we have

cos( ) = cos cos + sin sin

cos( + ) = cos cos sin sin
and therefore
1
sin sin = cos( ) cos( + )
2
Hence we can put
nx n x 1 (n n )x
(n + n1)x

1 1
sin sin = cos cos
L L 2 L L
Therefore
nx n x
L (n n )x L (n + n )x
sin sin 1 dx = sin 1
sin 1
L L 2(n n1) L 2(n + n1) L

If we insert the limits x = 0 and x = L, the values of sin(n n1)x/L are all zero, but
the quantity (n n1) appears in the denominator of one of the integrals, i.e. leading
to 00 for n = n1.

For n = n1, the integral that is nonzero is

L n x L
1 2n x
sin2 1 dx = 1 cos 1
dx
0 L 2 0 L
The cosine term contributes nothing but the other part gives L/2, thus we arrive at
L nx L
y(x) sin dx = Bn
0 L 2

that is
nx
2 L
Bn = y(x) sin dx
L 0 L

This equation determines the amplitude Bn associated with any given value of n in
the harmonic analysis of y(x).
If y(x) is a purely empirical curve, the evaluation of the Fourier coefficients Bn is done
numerically but if y(x) is given as an analytical function, Bns can be obtained in a
form of a general formula.
Example:
nx
2 L
Bn = kx sin dx
L 0 L
nx L L L nx
2k L
= x cos + cos dx
L n L 0 n 0 L
nx L L nx L
2k
= x cos + sin
n L 0 n L 0
2kL cos n
=
n
Bn falls into two categories, according to whether n is odd or even (cos(n) alternates
between +1 and 1):
n odd:
2kL
Bn =
n
n even:
2kL
Bn =
n

and by combining both expressions, we get

2kL
Bn = (1)n+1
n
It is easy to tabulate the various amplitudes.

n Bn/kL

1 2 = 0.636

2 1 = 0.318

3 2 = 0.212
3

4 1
2 = 0.159

5 2 = 0.127
5
Our description of the triangular profile becomes

2kL x 1 2x 1 3x
y(x) = sin sin + sin ...
L 2 L 3 L
The sine curves in terms of which the Fourier analysis is made represent an example
of orthogonal functions. This orthogonality is described by
L n x n x
1
sin sin 2 dx = 0
0 L L
for n1 n2.

What is the connection with orthogonality we know from the context of geometry?

Consider vectors A and B . The condition that they are orthogonal to each other,
B
A , is that their scalar product is zero:
3

A x B x + Ay By + Az Bz = ApBp = 0
p=1
Replacing, the continuous integral above by sum
N n p n p
L 1
sin sin 2 =0
N N N
p=1
for n1 n2, reveals that in purely formal sense, the difference between both expres-
sions is merely that one of them involves quantities described by three components
and the other has n components (and in the limit, infinitely many components).

Analyzing an arbitrary function in terms of a set of orthogonal functions is one of

the most important and widely used techniques in physics.
Normal modes and orthogonal functions

A few remarks on actual physical systems:

(i) normal modes, described by orthogonal functions, exist independently of all the
others;
(ii) they are orthogonal (independent) also dynamically: the total energy of a string
vibrating in a superposition of its normal modes is just the sum of the energies for
the modes individually;

the sum of kinetic and potential energy for a small segment of the string at some
x consists of two terms, involving:
(1) square of sines and cosines of the same argument (mode);
(2) cross terms from different modes which all yield zero due to orthogonality.

orthogonality = independence = normal (mode)

Fourier series are very useful tools indeed, but they have their limits when applied to
functions which are discontinuous. Consider a square wave of period 1 which, in the
interval [0,1], is 1 for 1/4 < x < 3/4 and 0 elsewhere. Below is an animation which
shows the sequential addition of the first 100 nonzero terms in the Fourier expansion:

The sum gets closer and closer to the actual square wave everywhere except at the
discontinuities x=1/4 and x=3/4, where there is always an over/undershoot. This is
unavoidable, and persists no matter how many terms you include in the Fourier
expansion. This is called the Gibbs phenomenon (after the American physicist Josiah
Willard Gibbs).
VII. PROGRESSIVE WAVES

A condition of some kind is transmitted from one place to another by means of a

medium, but the medium itself is not transported.

All material media solids, liquids, and gases can carry energy and information by
means of waves.

Our focus will be on a simple system: the stretched string.

Normal modes and traveling waves

How do we excite a particular normal mode?

(i) set up the shape of the string for a particular mode at the maximum amplitude and
release it.
(ii) drive the string from one end by harmonic motion.
Formal analysis

We start with the normal modes of a stretched string fixed at both ends. For the
string of the length L, the tension T and the linear density we get for a given mode
number n = 1, 2, 3 , etc. the displacement
nx
yn(x, t) = An sin cos nt
L

n T 1/2
n =
L

Using some elementary mathematics:

sin ( + ) + sin ( ) = 2 sin cos
1
sin cos = sin ( + ) + sin ( )
2
Does the new expression for yn(x, t) describe two traveling waves going in opposite
directions?

We focus on the first of the two terms:

2 2L
y(x, t) = A sin (x vt) =
n
At any instant of time this is a sine wave with a wavelength .

Where will a value of y, corresponding to certain values of x and t, be found at a

slightly later instant t + t?
If the appropriate location is x + x, we have
y(x, t) = y(x + x, t + t)

2 2
sin (x vt) = sin [(x + x) v (t + t)]

x
x vt = 0 i.e. =v
t
thus the wave moves in positive direction.

In the expression for the displacement of the n-th normal mode

1 2 1 2
yn(x, t) = An sin (x vt) + An sin (x + vt)
2 2

the first term corresponds to a wave moving in positive direction with the velocity
v and the second to a wave moving in negative direction with the velocity v.
Suppose we take

2
y(x, t) = A sin (x + vt)


y 2 2
= A cos (x + vt)
x

y 2v 2
= A cos (x + vt)
t
and then we get x = + 1v t .
y y

However by forming the second derivatives, we arrive at EOM for (transverse) sine
waves traveling in either direction (the equation we studied in the context of Normal
modes of continuous systems):
2 y 1 2 y
= 2 2 (1)
x 2 v t

Comments: Regarding v = p/?
The general gas equation for a mass of an effectively ideal gas of molecular mass M
is
m
pV = RT
M
where R is the gas constant and T is the absolute temperature. Since m/V = then

RT
v=
M

Thus the velocity of sound would be

(a) independent of pressure or density,
(b) proportional to T , and
(c) inversely proportional to M .
Results (a) and (b) are correct for any given gas over a wide range of p and T , and (c)
is borne out if we compare various gases of the same molecular type, e.g. diatomic.
Since both waves have the same velocity v, the combined disturbance moves like a
structure of unchanging shape. The shape of the combination is easily considered
at t = 0

2x 2x
y = A sin + sin
1 2

Indeed, this is a beat phenomenon, though the modulation of the amplitude is here
a function of x (instead of t).

Now it is extremely convenient to introduce the reciprocal of the wavelength, called

the wave number, which corresponds to the number of complete wavelengths per
unit distance
1
k=