DISPLACEMENT TIME GRAPH

One of the most interesting topics in physics is figuring out how to associate
the motion of an object, in one dimension, with a
corresponding displacementtime graph. This type of graph lists time (t) in
seconds on the x axis, and displacement (x) in meters on the y axis. Being
able to read such a graph effectively allows us to determine an object's
instantaneous and average velocities.

Lets consider an object that is moving along a straight path with a constant
velocity of 50 m/s. If we want to show the displacement of the object over time
graphically, we would draw a straight line as it is depicted in Figure 1 (below).
The line shows a continually growing displacement over time.

Now let us imagine a slightly different problem; how could we determine the
object's average and instantaneous velocity
from this graph if we did not know it? A key concept for this task is the notion
of the line's slope.
Velocity is defined as the distance traveled, or displacement, divided by the
time needed for this displacement to occur. In order to find the average
velocity (vaverage) from a graph, we simply need to divide the total
distance covered by the total time; in mathematical terms, this is:

where x2 is the final position of

the object and x1 is the initial one. The overall slope of a
displacementtime graph will therefore always provide the value of the
average velocity.
On the other
hand, if we want to calculate the object's velocity at a specific moment in time
(vinstantaneous)
then we need to take the derivative of the displacement with respect to time,
or in other words, the limit of

displacement as the time interval (t) becomes smaller and smaller thus
approaching
zero (0). In mathematical terms:

The
same overall concepts apply in a case where the velocity is not constant.
Figure 2 depicts an object that is moving with different velocities
along a straight path. For
the first 3 seconds it has a velocity of v1, from 3 < t 7
seconds it continues moving with v2 while, finally, from 7 < t 12 seconds it
moves with v3. Now, lets try and find the respective velocities v1, v2, and v3. As
mentioned earlier, velocities can be
calculated by the finding the slope of each line. Therefore:

Thus,
the
object under investigation initiated its motion with a velocity of 2.67
m/sec for the first 3 seconds, then it started moving with a velocity of
0.5 m/sec
for the next 4 seconds. Finally had a negative velocity, at -2 m/sec,
for the last 5 seconds. The object ultimately went back to its starting
point, because zero displacement has the physical meaning of being in the at
this point. Furthermore, a negative
velocity means the object was physically moving in the opposite
direction from the one it initially took!

Now, what is the total average velocity of the object under

investigation? It is zero! Bear in mind that the average velocity overall is the
slope of the imaginary line connecting the initial and
final displacement. In this case, they are both zero. Thus, x4-x1 = 0, producing
an overall
average
velocity of zero. If we wanted to find the average velocity
between t = 0
and t = 7 sec then we would have:

Now
let us assume that the motion of an object is defined by the equation:
x = 6t2 + t + 5.
What is the object's instantaneous velocity at t = 2 sec?

After finding the derivative of the equation, we can substitute t = 2 seconds.

This yields and instantaneous velocity of 12(2) + 1 = 25 m/sec.

Introduction to the Equations of Motion

Consider an object that is moving with a
constant acceleration along a line (e.g. a car that is speeding up). In this
case, acceleration does not depend on time since:

or

v = v0 + at

(1),

where v0 is the initial velocity at

time t = 0 s. On the other hand, if the acceleration is negative we have:
v = v0 - at

(2).

Equations (1) and (2) are first degree equations in that time is the main variable and is
only utilized to the first power. These equations
are therefore represented by a straight line in velocity-time graph, as depicted in the
example inFigure 1 (below).

The slope of the graph, as we have already learned from (1) and (2),
provides the value of the acceleration. Moreover, from previous lessons we know that
the average
velocity is equal to:

where x and x0 are the displacement values at time t and time zero, respectively.
If the object has a constant value of acceleration and had an initial displacement of
x0 and an initial velocity v0, then we can find the distance that it has covered in time t
using the equation:

(3). Equation (3) is of second

degree in terms of time, and therefore the corresponding displacementtime
graph is a curve. One possible example is depicted in Figure 2 (below).

Equations (1) and (3)

form the basis for calculations regarding the motion of an
object in a straight line, assuming that the object's acceleration is
constant. Other equations that are algebraically derived from these ones prove to be
extremely
helpful in our calculations if some quantities are unknown or simply not provided. For
instance, the equation:

(4) describes the relationship between velocity, acceleration, and displacement.

Equation (4) is independent
of time and can therefore be extremely useful in problems where we want to find, for
example, the initial velocity of an object without knowing the time it travels.
Another such equation is:

(5). Given
a problem where the value of acceleration is unknown, (5) is helpful
for determining, for example, the time or initial position of a moving object.
Finally,

if we want an equation describing a body in motion that excludes its initial velocity, we
can use the following:

(6). This equation is useful for calculating, as an example, displacement or velocity at a

specific time given the initial displacement value.
In general, for any exercise involving motion in a straight line in which the value of
acceleration is
known to be constant, we should always write down the quantities that are given and the
quantities that we are searching for. We can always return to the
equations (1) through (6), determine which is the most useful given what we know, and
calculate the correct result using the best equation. Let us try one example. Suppose a
car is
moving with an initial velocity of 72 km/hr, and we want to calculate the
displacement and the time required for this car to stop once it starts braking with
a deceleration of 10 m/s2. Our given quantities are the initial
velocity (v0), the final velocity of zero (v), and the deceleration (a); we want to know the
final
position (x) and the time (t) at which it is reached. First, we know that 72 km/hr is the
same as 20 m/s.

Using (2), we have:

v = v0 - at, which by substitution yields:

0 = 20 - 10 x t, which can be algebraically manipulated to yield t = 2 s as the time the

final position is reached.

Now, using (3), we have:

x - x0 = v0t + (1/2)at2, which by substitution yields:

x - x0 = 20(2) + (1/2)(-10)(22), which can be calculated out to yield a displacement of 40 20 = 20 m, assuming x0 is zero.

Vector vs Scalar Quantities

One of the elements that constitutes the basis of
physics and mathematics is the difference between a vector and a scalar
quantity, and a variety of topics are directly associated with these
two notions. A scalar quantity has only a value of magnitude. In
order to adequately describe such a quantity, we require two things: a numerical value
(magnitude) and the use of appropriate units. Examples of scalar quantities are
a mass (m) of 80 kg or a temperature (T) of 50oC. On the other hand,
in order to define a vector quantity we need both a magnitude and a direction.
For instance, when we refer to the velocity of the wind, we need to provide a value (30
miles per hour)
but also define its direction (north). A vector quantity always has a small
arrow on top that is used to distinguish it from a scalar quantity.
A plethora of notions in physics are described and defined by a
combination of both scalar and vector quantities. In such cases the multiplication or
division
of a scalar with a vector produces a new vector quantity. Momentum,

is a typical example; it is defined as the multiplication of mass (m), which is a scalar

quantity, and velocity,

which is a vector. Therefore, in order to adequately describe an object's momentum, we

need to define not only the magnitude but also the direction; hence the equation:

In order to represent vector quantities in a graph, we need to draw an arrow in such a

way that represents the direction by its position and magnitude by its length. As with
vectors in mathematics, we can add and subtract one vector from another. For instance,

suppose two cars are moving on the same axis and are approaching each other, one
with a velocity of

= 50 mph and one with

= 70 mph, as depicted in Figure A (below).

To find the total velocity of the system, we need to add the individual vector quantities.
However, one vector is opposing the direction of the other. Therefore, in our case we
will have:

where

represents the sum of the velocities (or system velocity) and

and

are the individual velocities of the two cars.

On the other hand, Figure B (above) depicts a force of

= 100 N that is positioned at an angle of 45 o with respect to the x axis.

Finally, Figure C (above) depicts the representation of two vector quantities on different
axes that, taken together, describe a third vector. In this case we have a displacement
of

= 6 cm in the positive direction along the x axis and a second displacement of

= 8 cm in the negative direction along the y axis.

In general when adding vectors, we initially draw the first one and then the second by
starting from the tip of the first. The resultant vector will then be the line that connects
the beginning of the first vector with the tip of the second one. In Figure C, the resulting
vector has a magnitude of 10 cm. In order to subtract vectors, we need to remember
that subtraction is the addition of a negative vector. That is, the vector will have the
same magnitude but use a 180o orientation relative to the positive direction.

The Use of Radio and Microwaves

Historical uses
While better understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum slowly came to light, so
have its potential uses. Historically speaking, microwaves were first used for radar
communications during the World War II while the use of radio waves as a
communication tool was already well established at the time. In fact, radio waves have
been used to transmit military and civilian messages since the late 1800s. Radio, as it
was later called, replaced the telegraph. It essentially revolutionized wireless technology.

Current uses

1) Commercial: One of the most well known uses of radio is broadcasting. Radio
stations broadcast songs, news, interviews, ads and sports events to its listeners.
Remote-controlled toys and unmanned aircrafts also rely on radio signals for
navigational control. Microwave technology, on the other hand, is used in hospitals for
sterilization and disinfection of reusable equipment. The microwaves produce friction of
water molecules resulting in vibrations and generation of heat that kill germs. Perhaps
its most famous application is in the kitchen in the form of the microwave oven where
it's used to evenly heat up food.

2) Human Services: Two way radios (walkie talkies) play an important role in emergency
situations requiring quick response before responders arrive at the scene. Policemen,
firemen and EMT personnel carry two way radios during duty hours.

3) Military: Airplanes rely on radio navigation signals to stay on course. Radar, a form of
radio, is used to guide and detect ships, submarines, and aircraft. Government
intelligence agencies make use of electronic devices called bugs that transmit radio
signals, to listen in on private conversations.
An important military application of microwave and radar technology is in the phasedarray radar. It is made up of groups of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of little radar
sets or antennas that emit microwaves with peaks that line up in a certain direction (see
picture below). When the relative spacing of the peaks are changed electronically, the
narrow beam can be steered anywhere in a fraction of a second, without any
mechanical motion. This technology is especially useful in missile tracking systems.
4) Medicine: Doctors use capsules that transmit radio signals for the diagnostic imaging
of the gastrointestinal tract, a procedure called wireless endoscopy. The capsule has a
tiny camera that sends back radio signals. Unlike traditional endoscopy, it does not use
flexible tubes. Microwaves have found a therapeutic application in benign prostate
hyperplasia. It is used to provide local heat to reduce excess tissues. Like radio waves, it
is also diagnostic tool. It detects tumors based on differences in tissue electrical
properties.
5) Civilian: Microwave technology is used in home alarm systems. Alarm devices send
off microwave signals continuously and when these wave patterns are disrupted by a
burglar, they set off an alarm to alert homeowners of intruders. Perhaps the most
popular civilian use of radio technology is in the form of mobile phones. They connect to
a cellular network provided by a mobile phone service provider (e.g. AT&T), allowing
access to the public telephone network for subscribers to make calls, send SMS, MMS,
etc.

Reviewing Motion in a Straight Line Graph

Three types
of motion can be described for an object that is moving along a straight line:
displacement, velocity, and acceleration. In a previous lesson, we initially
learned how to describe and calculate the average and instantaneous velocity from a
displacement-time graph. The key calculation for finding the average velocity is the
slope of the graph, that is:

which for a constant velocity translates to:

where x0 and t0 are the initial position and time.

Meanwhile, the instantaneous velocity can be found by taking the slope of a tangent to
the displacement-time curve at a given time:
vinstantaneous = xtangent/ttangent

In Figure 1 (above) we can see how to determine the instantaneous velocity at t = 7 s.

We draw the tangent line to the curve at t, then find two points on the tangent line in
order to find its slope.
vinstantaneous = xtangent/ttangent = (20 - 2) / (11 - 5) = 3 m/s.
Additional facts and conclusions can be reached by inspecting a velocity-time graph. In
particular, the average acceleration is found with the same methodology that we follow
in order to find the velocity from a displacement-time graph; that is, by calculating the
slope. Therefore, in mathematical terms, we have:

If a moving body is speeding up, acceleration is positive

and the slope has a positive value, whereas for an object that is
decelerating these values are negative.
Meanwhile, the area between the velocity-time curve or line and the x axis over a given
time interval defines the total displacement
traveled by an object.

Although it was not mentioned in other lessons, it is also possible to prepare

displacement-time andacceleration-time graphs from a velocity-time graph. Given a
moving object, let us suppose it produces the velocity-time graph shown in Figure
2 (below).

The
object speeds up under a constant acceleration, until its velocity reaches v = 50
m/s at t = 5 s. The velocity then becomes constant (a=0) until t = 10 s. Finally it starts
decelerating, producing a decreasing velocity until it
becomes v = 0 m/s at t = 15 s. Lets calculate the acceleration over time to
make the corresponding graph. According to the definition of average
acceleration, we know that:

Substituting the velocity values shown within Figure 1 for v2 and v1 over the three
different time intervals yields Table 1:

According to the values

in Table 1, we can reconstruct the corresponding accelerationtime graph, as shown in
Figure 3 (below).

We can also produce a corresponding displacement-time graph. We know

that displacement is found by calculating the area between the graph and the x axis.
The first and last segments are triangular, with a base length of 5 sec and a height of 50
m/s. The middle segment is a square with a base length of 5 sec and a height of 50
m/s. Therefore the overall displacement for each segment is as shown in Table 2:

Since the velocity increases for the first 5

seconds, the corresponding displacement-time graph will be shaped as an increasing
curve. In the middle, velocity is constant (zero), producing a straight line for
displacement. During the last 5 seconds, where the velocity decreases, the

corresponding displacement
time-graph will be a curve that slowly levels off, as depicted in Figure 4 (below).

Thus, by starting with a moving object's velocity-time graph, we can calculate and graph
all the details of the same object's acceleration and displacement.

Velocity - Time Graphs

Building on knowledge of displacement-time graphs, velocity-time graphs are useful in
physics because they can allow us to figure out displacement, velocity, and acceleration
from a single graph. Much as you may guess from the name, velocity-time graphs chart
time (t) on the x axis and velocity (v) on the y axis.

To better understand what we can learn from velocity-time graphs, let us assume that an
object is moving along a path with a constant velocity. A constant velocity implies that no
additional forces are acting upon the object, and hence it has zero acceleration. Much

like for the calculation of velocity from a displacementtime graph, the notion of slope is
central in calculating the acceleration from a velocitytime graph. Acceleration is defined
as a change in velocity over a specific amount of time, or in mathematical terms:

The units for velocity are m/s2. Constant velocity implies zero acceleration, because the
velocity is not changing over time.
Let us now consider an
object moving with a changing velocity. If the velocity increases then we
have a positive value of acceleration, and the object speeds up. Figure 1 (below) depicts
positive acceleration in a velocity-time graph.

On
the other hand, if the change in the velocity is negative, the
object is slowing down. An example of a resulting graph is shown in Figure 2 (below).

The slope of the graph reveals that acceleration is negative in this case. Moreover, in
both of the above figures, the object is moving in the positive direction, or
forward. Figure 3 shows an object that is moving with a negative velocity, indicated by
its position along the negative part of the y axis,
and increasingly negative acceleration, indicated by the decreasing slope of the graph.

If the line of the velocity-time graph is located in the negative region of our graph, we
know that the object is moving in reverse direction along its path.
Beyond average acceleration, we can also calculate the instantaneous acceleration by
taking the slope of a tangent to the velocity-time curve at a given time. In mathematical
terms:
ainstantaneous = vtangent/ttangent

In Figure 4 (above) we can see an example of how to determine the instantaneous

acceleration at t = 7 sec. We draw the tangent line to the curve at this time point, then
find two points on the tangent line in order to calculate its slope:
ainstantaneous = vtangent/ttangent = (20 - 2) / (11 - 5) = 3 m/s2
Instantaneous acceleration is always considered a constant value for our purposes.
Beyond the consideration of acceleration, a velocitytime graph can also reveal the
displacement of the object that is in motion. The total displacement distance is the
average velocity multiplied by the length of time that the average velocity was sustained;
mathematically, this is:

In graphical terms, the total displacement of the moving object is the same as the area
between the curve or line and the x axis. A
typical example is shown in Figure 5, below.

Here we can see that the object has an increasing velocity as time passes. The
average velocity over the five seconds measured here is (50 m/s - 0 m/sec)/2 = 25 m/s.
Multiplying this average velocity by the time measured (5 s) yields a total displacement
of 125 m. A velocity-time graph may have other shapes such as curves or trapezoids,
depending on the object's changes in velocity, but in all situations the area under the
line (or over it if the velocity is negative) indicates the total displacement.

Equations of Motion
In previous lessons we learned about the equations that describe the motion of an
object along a straight line:

These equations, together with the equations that define velocity and acceleration, can
allow us to calculate unknown values for initial or final displacement, initial or final
velocity, acceleration, or the time an object was moving under a certain set of
conditions. An object will accelerate if the the forces exerted upon do not sum to zero.
If acceleration is zero, the object's velocity will remain constant.

In many cases, we can also make these calculations when a second variable is
unknown. For instance, if faced with a problem that does not provide us with the value
of time, then we may be able to make use of (3) listed above, and if we are not given the
value of acceleration, we might use(4).

The equations of motion include variables that have both magnitude and direction; that
is, they are vector quantities. Hence, we need to define which axis will be the positive
one in order to determine the appropriate sign for the quantities used in such
calculations.

For example, given a ball which is thrown upwards from a height h, we can define the
positive direction as either the upward motion or as the direction of gravity. Usually, this
depends on what we are trying to calculate, and in all cases we need to be consistent
within the problem. In most cases the direction of gravity is taken as the positive
direction.

Now let us go one step further and examine what happens when an object's motion is
straight but occurs on inclined plane. An example is depicted in Figure 1 (below):

Suppose a ball is allowed to roll under the influence of gravity down an inclined plane
that has a 30oangle
with the x axis, and we want to calculate the time it will take for it to
reach the ground. We will assume here that friction can be ignored. The key point in
such exercises is to describe any

forces that are present as components that are parallel and perpendicular to
the inclined plane. Hence, this problem is similar to one of a falling object, but the usual
axis is rotated by an angle (here, 30o).

As we see, the gravity is

now made up of two components, gx and gy, where gx = g(sin ) and gy = g(cos ). Along
our new y axis, which is perpendicular to the surface
of the inclined plane, the sum of forces is zero. Since no force is pressing the ball into
the plane, the
object moves along its surface in accord with the force of gravity rather than remaining
stationary. That is, along the new x axis,
which is parallel to the inclined surface, the force g x dominates,
which means that the object will fall under the gravitational influence.

The only thing that

changes compared to equations of motion for an object falling directly downwards is the
insertion of the angle in the aforementioned
equations of motion. In our case, we can determine the time needed for the ball to reach
the end of the plane by using (2), taking the initial displacement x0 and the initial velocity
v0 as zero. Setting the direction of gx as positive, we can calculate t in terms of the length
of the inclined plane:

Introduction to Waves
All waves have two things in common: some property of the wave behaves
periodically (changing regularly) - something increases then decreases (an
oscillation) and energy is always transferred.

Types of waves: mechanical, electromagnetic, transverse, longitudinal/compression,

sound, light, water, seismic (earthquake), waves on long springs, Ultraviolet (UV),
Infrared(IR), X-rays, radio waves, microwaves and gamma rays.

Warning: waves are also sometimes called 'rays' or 'radiation'! For example, X-rays and
gamma rays are just different forms of transverse electromagnetic waves.

Wave movement: be clear exactly what movement you are talking about - ripples (water
waves) on the surface of a lake appear to be moving along the surface as well as going
up and down. The horizontal movement is the direction of travel (or propagation) of
the wave and is the direction energy is being transferred.

The up and down motion is the true direction of the oscillations of the water. An
object floating on the water only goes up and down and does not move along with the
direction of wave travel. This oscillation is perpendicular (at ninety degrees) to the
direction of wave travel and shows that water waves are an example of Transverse
waves.

A long metal spring laid on a flat surface and shaken it from side to side produces
a Transverse wave. Less obvious are Longitudinal (or compression) waves:
pushing sharply in the direction of the spring creates a compression wave travelling
(longitudinally) the length of the spring. Sound is a very important example of such a
wave.

Mechanical waves are any oscillations which transfer energy through physical
matter: matter is 'real stuff', liquids (water), solids (metal, wood, etc) and gases
(air). Ripples on a lake or surf on the sea are both transverse water waves and
mechanical waves.

The transverse and longitudinal waves on the metal spring are also mechanical
waves. If someone else holds the end opposite to you when you shake the spring they
will feel the effect of your wave 'hitting' their hand and this is the energy being
transferred from your end to theirs!

Seismic (earthquake generated) waves are also mechanical waves and can be
transverse or longitudinal.

Because we cannot see them it is easy to miss the fact that the oscillations of molecules
caused by Sound waves are also the longitudinal movement of matter!

Electromagnetic (EM) waves (or rays) are the transverse movement of invisible
electric and magnetic fields.
The EM spectrum includes radio waves, microwaves, Infra Red, visible light, Ultra Violet,
X-rays and gamma rays.

All can travel through empty space as well as through matter so we can see the sun,
planets and stars even though there is almost nothing material inbetween!

Electromagnetic waves all travel at the speed of light which is 3 X

108m/s (300,000km/s or about 186,000 miles per second) in a vacuum (like outer space)
- very fast!

Sound waves travel at about 340m/s in air and considerably faster in liquids or solids.

The speed of waves often depends on other conditions. E.g. the speed of water waves
depends on the depth of the water.

Wave speed is normally given in m/s unless otherwise specified.

All types of waves can be described by the same few parameters: speed (see above),
amplitude, wavelength and frequency.

Amplitude is half the separation between the maximum and minimum

displacement of the wave.

For a water wave it is half the displacement between the top of the wave (its peak
or crest) and the bottom (trough).
Alternatively think of it as from the 'middle of the wave to its biggest point'.

For a transverse wave on a metal spring it is half the total width of the wave; for a
longitudinal wave it is effectively the distance of the forward push.

In sound waves it is half the total displacement of the air molecules and is related
to the distance that a loudspeaker moves in and out when producing the sound wave.

Wavelength (in metres) is the separation between two similar points on adjacent
waves and is most easily measured between two peaks or troughs. .
Frequency is how many complete waves pass a certain point each second. One
(wave) per second = 1 Hertz.

The Wave Equation allows different parameters of a wave to be calculated knowing the
others:

Speed (m/s) = Wavelength (m) X Frequency (Hz)

Rearranging this will give any parameter needed: e.g. a radio wave of
wavelength 1,000m and speed of 300,000,000m/s will have a frequency of
300,000,000m/s / 1000m = 300,000Hz (or 300KHz).

Sound Energy
Sound energy is produced by a vibrating object which releases a longitudinal wave of kinetic
energy that can move through solids, liquids and gases.
The speed of sound is dependent on the density of the material it is travelling through (fastest in
solids and slowest in gases). Regardless of the vibrating object, the medium particles through
which the sound travels are oscillating in a back and forth motion. The number of back and forth
oscillations of particles of any given medium per unit of time is called the frequency of the wave.
A common unit for wave frequency is the Hertz (abbreviated Hz = 1 wave/sec).
The denser the matter the sound is traveling through the better the sound energy is conducted,
that is more sound goes further. Whales are known to be able to communicate with
low frequency sound over thousands of kilometers of ocean. The best conductors are dense
hard solids like steel.
The Speed of Sound in dry air at 20oC is 343.2 metres per second or 1,236 kilometres per hour.
The auditory perception of frequency is referred to as the pitch of a sound. A high pitch sound is
associated with a high frequency sound wave and a low pitch sound corresponds to a low
frequency sound wave. Some natural examples of low and high frequency sounds can be
associated with ocean waves: as low as 1 wave every 10 seconds (0.1Hz), a musical note (around
50Hz) and a whistle as high as 15,000Hz.
The ears of a human (and other animals) are capable of detecting of a wide range of frequencies
ranging between 20Hz and 20 000Hz. Sound with frequency below the audible range of hearing
is known as infrasound and a sound with frequencies above the audible range of hearing is
known asultrasound.
Humans are not the only mammals that can detect a wide range of frequencies. Dogs are capable
of detecting frequencies as low as 50Hz and as high as 45 000Hz and dolphins can detect
frequencies as high as 200 000Hz. Elephants possess the rare ability to detect infrasound, with an
audible range of frequencies ranging from approximately 5Hz to approximately 10 000Hz.
The energy transferred to the medium by a vibrating object is reflected in the amplitude of the
sound waves it creates. The energy transported through a specific area of the medium per unit of
time is called the intensity/loudness of the sound wave. The greater the amplitude, the more

intense/loud the sound wave is. Sound intensity is simply the power/area. Commonly used units
for expressing the intensity of a sound wave are Watts/meter2.
Sensitive human ears are capable of detecting sound waves of extremely low intensity. The
faintest sound detectable by human ear has an intensity of 1 x 10-12 W/m2 (this intensity represents
the human threshold of hearing). The scale for measuring intensity is the decibel scale. The
threshold of hearing in humans is assigned a sound level of 0 decibels (0 dB). A sound that is 10
times more intense (1 x 10-11 W/m2) is assigned a sound level of 10 dB and so on. So a jet engine
at 30m, which has a loudness of 140dB, is 10 (140-20)/10 = 1012 or 1 000 000 000 000 times louder than
a whisper.
The level of sound intensity is commonly expressed as:

LI = 10 log(I / Iref)

where

LI = sound intensity level (dB)

I = sound intensity (W/m2)
Iref = 10-12 - the threshold of hearing (W/m2)

The logarithmic scale of the sound intensity is constructed to match the scope of human
hearing. By doubling the intensity of any sound, the sound will become 3 dB louder (10
log (2)).

The Dual Nature of Light

Early Theories about the Nature of Light

Since the ancient times philosophers and early scientists were trying to understand and
explain the nature of light. The ancient Greeks were the first to suggest that the solar
light consists of molecules that are able to move with a huge velocity and once they
reach the human eyes stimulate vision.

It was exactly those thoughts that initiated Isaac Newton to describe the particle model
of light and, hence, to formulate the "Law of Conservation of Energy" and the "Law of
Reflection". However, the Newton's particle theory was met with severe criticism by
Hooke who believed that light was a wave.
Further experiments with the diffraction of light provided the reasoning for Christian
Huygens, during the 17th century, and Tomas Young, on the dawn of the 19th, to
suggest that light possesses a wave nature and, more specifically, that these waves are
transmitted in a transverse way relevant to the axis of their propagation.

The Electromagnetic Theory

However, it was not until 1865 that Maxwell introduced his electromagnetic theory which
provided adequate explanations about the wave nature of light. According to Maxwell
"light is composed of transverse waves which commence from a starting point and
become distributed to every direction".

Maxwell also proved that when an electric charge oscillates it produces electromagnetic
waves moving with the speed of light, that consist of one electric and one magnetic
wave, perpendicular or at 900 to each other and to the axis of the waves propagation or
direction of movement.

The intensity of the electrical field (E) and the intensity of the magnetic field (B) are in
phase which means that they will mutually reach their maximum or minimum values at
the same time.

That is the classic theory of physics, regarding light, and is still considered valid.
However, it is only half of the truth.

The Quantum Theory of Light

During the early part of the 20th century Max Planck proposed the Quantum Theory and
suggested that the radiation emitted by a black body (an idealized physical body that
absorbs all incident electromagnetic radiation) can be explained if we take into
consideration that light is not a wave but also a sum of many particles behaving in the
same way as a wave.

According to Plank's Quantum Theory, atoms and molecules emit certain amounts of
energy packets (electromagnetic radiation) which he named quanta or photons and
travel with the speed of light c = x f.
Therefore, light consists of energized quanta which have a characteristic frequency and
energy connected by

eqn. 1, where h is a constant named after Planck and is equal to 6.63 x 10 -34 Jsec and
is its angular frequency. The great difference is that photons have a localized energy
whereas in the wave nature of light it was accepted that the energy of the wave was
simply spread through the wave, like a wave in the sea.

The Photoelectric Effect

This theory was supported by Albert Einstein. That brilliant scientist is best known for
his general and special theories of relativity. However, the only Nobel of Physics that he
has received was regarding his work on the photoelectric effect. According to this
phenomenon, once light, of very short wavelength hits a metal surface, the
corresponding energy of the photons will be absorbed by electrons which, in turn, will be
emitted. Photoelectric effect is schematically depicted in figure 1.

The momentum of photons is described by

eqn. 2.
The kinetic energy of the resultant electrons is associated with the energy of photons as:
eqn. 3 where is the work function which is characteristic for each metal.
The photo - electric effect is a very easy way to produce electricity from a source that
will never end, solar energy. Therefore, the development of photo-voltaic cells has
allowed for an inexpensive method of taking advantage of the photo-electric effect.
The wave and particle nature of light

However, which theory is correct or more correct than the other? The answer is that both
theories are correct, or at least partly correct. The theory that unified both ideas is
quantum mechanics, which incorporates both the wave and particle nature of light.

Conduction of Heat
Conduction is defined as the transfer of heat between two objects that are in thermal
contact with each other, by the vibration of particles without the particles actually moving
from their position. This can happen when a solid is physically touching another solid, a
liquid is physically touching another liquid, or a solid is physically touching a liquid.

Conduction can occur at solid/gas and liquid/gas interfaces at a molecular scale, like the
hot air above a bitumen road, but the resulting "hot" gas molecules soon transfer their
heat as convection, so the conduction of heat in gases is not considered here.
Because particles can move around in fluids (liquids and gases) convection becomes
the most important way of moving heat in fluids, it is only in solids that conduction is the
main way of transferring heat energy. Conduction is typically most important in solids.
All substances have particles (molecules and atoms) which move and vibrate. How fast
they move and vibrate is dependent on how much kinetic energy they have. The more
kinetic energy they have, the faster they move. When the moving particles of an object
come into physical contact with the particles of another object or substance, they bump
into each other, transferring their kinetic energy. When the particle that received the
energy vibrates, it bumps into more particles within its own object, passing that energy
further along. This transfer of heat is known as conduction.
Heat can only be transferred from the higher temperature (particles with more kinetic
energy) substance to the lower temperature (particles with less kinetic energy)
substance.
Some materials are better at conducting heat than other materials. Materials that allow
heat to easily move through them are called conductors, and materials that impede the
heat transferring process are called insulators. Metals tend to be very good
conductors, while materials such as glass, wood, plastics and ceramics tend to be very
good insulators.
Conductors tend to have particles that are tightly packed together and can vibrate a lot,
this describes metals very well and all the best conductors are metals. The very best
thermal conductors are; silver, copper, gold and aluminium, all metals.
Insulators on the other hand tend to have loosely packed or entangled particles that
cannot vibrate much. This describes the large long particles in wood, plastics, ceramics
and glass well, hence they are not good conductors of heat. The very best insulators are
foams with plenty of spaces full of air in a matrix of plastic or ceramic; fiberglass
polystyrene foam, brick, cork and wood for example.
An everyday example of conduction is a spoon in a hot cup of coffee. Since the

spoon has a lower temperature than the coffee, heat energy is transferred from the
coffee to the spoon, so the spoon will heat up as the coffee cools down. Because the
coffee is hot, its particles are moving fast and have a lot of kinetic energy. As the
particles in the coffee bump into the spoon particles, the energy is transferred to the
spoon. When the spoon and coffee reach the same temperature, conduction stops. Of
course, its important to remember that because the coffee and spoon is not a closed
system, heat isn't only transferred to the spoon, heat can also be transferred to the air,
cup and surface it is sitting on.
Now lets say you have a metal rod, one end of which is being held over a heat source,
such as a flame. At first, the end of the rod held over the flame gets very hot and the
other end is cool. But as time goes on, the heat makes its way down to the cool end of
the rod, until it is also hot. The particles in the end of the rod over the heat source start
to become very energetic and move very fast, due to taking energy from the heat
source. As they bump and bounce around, they hit the particles further down the rod,
towards the cool end, transferring their energy to those particles, which become more
energetic, move around more, and transfer their energy further down the rod, to the less
energetic particles, and so on, until the whole rod is the same temperature.
Thermal conductivity is a measure of the rate of flow of thermal energy through a
material, it is measured in Watts of energy per meter of material per difference in
temperature in Kelvin, K: W.m-1.K-1.
Some examples of Thermal conductivity in W.m-1.K-1 are:
Silver 430
Aluminium 240
Steel 46
Water 0.6
Cork 0.05
Air 0.024
Fat 0.021
The higher the number the better the material is as a conductor, from these numbers
you can calculate that silver is a much better conductor that water by a factor of: 430/0.6
= 717 times better!

Convection of Heat

Convection is the primary form of heat transfer

in gases and liquids and is sometimes also called "convective heat
transfer". The process of convection heat transfer involves both diffusion (dispersion)
and
advection (transport). In other words, it is the sum of transport by heat diffusion and heat
transfer. The movement of convection is driven by variations in density.
As heated particles expand they become buoyant and rise. However as the rise their
heat is transferred. As the heated particles cool they sink back down along the sides,
because they cannot sink through the more dense liquid below. After sinking down
along the sides (see image) they are heated again and the cycle continues.
The image below demonstrates two convection cells. Convection cells are patterns of
cold and hot liquid flow.

The Process of Convection

Diffusion is one means of heat transfer that causes mixing or mass transport. Diffusion
transports material by molecular motion. Diffusion will always occur, unless physically
stopped. During the process of diffusion particles move from regions of high
concentration to low concentration.

Random Brownian motion refers to the movement of particles in a fluid after combining
with fast moving molecules or atoms in a gas or liquid. In the 1800s botanist Robert
Brown found that pollen grains were actually particles that moved. Now, Brownian
motion refers to the fact that all atoms, ions and molecules are constantly moving about
in a random pattern (even the atoms and molecules in a solid). The random path of a
particle in the heat or convection diffusion equation is dependent on density.

Heat spreads through different objects and substances at different rates. The Thermal
Diffusivity, the rate of diffusion, can be calculated. The diffusivity of a material does not
alter depending on how much material there is, it remains constant. Think about a
marble table left in the sun all day versus a iron table. The iron will become hot much
faster than the marble. Maple wood has a thermal diffusivity of 0.00128, whereas iron
has a thermal diffusivity of 0.2034.

Advection is the transport of a quantity of substance or energy. In the process of

advection, a fluid transports this energy or what have you via bulk flow. Advection heat
transfer requires an outside force, like a current or wind.

A basic example of advection would be the transport of ink in a river from upstream to
down river. As the water in river moves the ink moves downstream with it and the
movement of the water acts as the transport. If the ink were poured into a lake instead, it
would just diffuse into the surrounding water. Similarly, in the case of energy, water or air
would contain the transported thermal energy.

There are two basic forms of convection, spontaneous (sometimes referred to as

natural, or free) convection and forced convection.
Forced convection refers an artificial current achieved by artificial or mechanical
means such as a water pump or cooling fan.

When a fluid has temperature variations or gradients the fluid surrounding a heat source
becomes less dense and rises, this is natural convection. Then the cooler surrounding

fluid moves down from gravity acceleration to replace the less dense fluid. When this
fluid is heated it too moves, transferring heat from the bottom of the convection cell
upward. This is a convection current.

So the differences in fluid density- buoyancy- drives this type of convection. Surface
tension and the exposed surface area is also important for convection.

Convection on Earth

Convection is the primary method of thermal energy transfer in our atmosphere.

Nearly all weather systems involve convection cells in the atmosphere. Just like in liquid,
when air is warm it rises, which lowers the air pressure, resulting in a low pressure zone.
This creates wind as rising air sucks in air around it. Air travels along the top of the
troposphere and becomes cooler, the air becomes denser and sinks back down to the
earth, creating a high pressure zone.

Convection and rising air can also come from fire, sun warmed land and water, oceanic
currents, sea wind formation, atmospheric circulation, updrafts, mountain winds are all
effected by convection processes. Mantle convection drives plate tectonics, and outer
core convection helps to generate the earth's magnetic field.

Oceanic currents move heat from different locations by the mass motion of advection.
This heat transfer of convection currents is what drives oceanic currents. Because
heated fluid expands when it loses density, the less dense fluid moves away from the
source of heat. The convection cycle (similar to that of air currents) drives the Gulf
Stream and pulls cold polar water down from high latitudes, sinking it and moving it
toward the equator while less dense warm water rises to the surface.

Calculating Convection

Newton's Law of Cooling describes convective heating or cooling in some conditions.

This Law states that "the rate of heat loss of a body is proportional to the difference in
temperatures between the body and its surroundings."

Below is an equation for convection.

q = hc A dT
q = heat transferred per unit time (W)
A = heat transfer area of the surface (m2)
hc= convective heat transfer coefficient of the process (W/m 2K or W/m2oC)
dT = temperature difference between the surface and the bulk fluid (K or oC)

Radiation of Heat
Anything that gives off heat is emitting Thermal Radiation. Atoms contain protons and
electrons which have a charge. When these charged particles move electromagnetic
radiation is emitted. Energy emitted by matter as electromagnetic waves is thermal
radiation. Thus it is caused by the motion of atoms and molecules in matter (and their
charged particles). Thermal radiation is the only form of heat transfer that can occur
through empty space, at a distance.

Electromagnetic radiation, or EMR, is a generalized form that includes many different

types of energy. In fact, any energy that is visible, can be felt, or measured is
EMR. Visible light and X-rays are both forms of electromagnetic radiation, though they
seem disparate. Infrared is less energetic than visible light, but it too is electromagnetic
radiation, only with longer wavelengths than light that is visible. Every object around you
is actually radiating electromagnetic energy, but you cannot see it because it is in the
infrared part of the EMR spectrum.

Visible and infrared light therefore are both types of thermal radiation. Sunlight is
actually thermal radiation created from the Sun's hot plasma. Of the energy that then
hits the earth, 527 watts is in the form of infrared radiation, 1445 watts is visible light,
and 32 is ultraviolet radiation.

You might not realize that the Earth too emits thermal radiation, albeit at a lower
intensity than the Sun. The Earth's thermal radiation isn't visible, because it has a
different spectral distribution in the infrared. The Earth absorbs the Sun's radiation, and
emits its own thermal radiation and these processes affect the Earth's climate and
temperature.

Infrared includes most of the thermal radiation emitted by things at room temperature.
Infrared light has long wavelengths, at 0.74 to 0.3 mm. When molecules changes
rotational vibrational movements infrared light is emitted or absorbed. This is how night
vision goggles work. The goggles pick up on infrared light emitted by an object or animal
and convert it to the visible spectrum where it is displayed on a screen.

There is an inverse relationship between the temperature of matter and EMR type. The
hotter the temperature, the shorter and more energetic the wavelength. As the
temperature of an object increases, it emits more and more light. Also the hotter an
object gets, the light is emitted at increasingly higher energies with shorter wavelengths.
This relationship is called the Planck Law, named after the German physicist who
discovered it, Max Planck.

Things that radiate heat well typically absorb heat well, too. Another name for thermal
radiation isBlackbody radiation, and a body that absorbs all radiation incident to it is
called a blackbody. The sun is considered a blackbody.

Every body at an absolute temperature T radiates energy. This energy is proportional to

the fourth power of the absolute temperature.

This is known as the Stefan-Boltzmann law, and is written mathematically as:

Q = e AT4t .
where
Q is the thermal energy emitted
e is the emissivity of the body, which can vary only from 0 to 1,
is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant
A is the area of the emitting body
T is the absolute temperature of the body, and
t is time.

Electrostatics
Electrostatics is the area in physics that studies non-moving electric charges. It explores
the properties and applications of electricity at rest.
A good example to demonstrate this concept is a CD rubbed against a silk cloth that
attracts pieces of paper. The friction between the two different materials created
electrical charges on the CD and the cloth that attracted those pieces of paper.
What is happening when the CD is rubbed with the silk cloth is that electrons on the
surface of the CD are either being rubbed of, or on to, the surface by friction with the
cloth. The material with the greater ability to attract electrons will become
negatively charged and the other positively charges.

The large charge on the CD then induces an opposite charge on the nearest ends of the
pieces of paper which then causes the paper to be attracted to the CD. For this to occur
both objects need to be insulators.

Three fundamental concepts of electrostatic energy

Coulomb's law: This law demonstrates the magnitude of the electrostatic
force (F) between electrically charged particles. It states that the force of
attraction or repulsion between two charges is directly proportional to the
product of magnitude of each charge and inversely proportional to the square
of distance between them.

This relationship follows the equation:

where
F = electrostatic force
q1 and q2 = charges
r = distance between the charges
k = proportionality constant
It should be noted here that like charges; + and + or - and - repel each other
and unlike charges + and - attract. These are the same forces that hold atoms
in molecules and molecules together in matter: The electromagnetic force.
Electric Field:
An electric field that surrounds the electrically charged particles is a concept
introduced by Michael Faraday. When a small positive test charge is brought
closer to a large positive charge, it experiences a large force directed away
from the large charge. On the other hand, a distant small test charge will
experience the same electrostatic force but lesser in magnitude. This

relationship between direction and magnitude of an electrostatic force due to a

fixed charge or set of fixed charges makes up the electrostatic field.

Gauss's Law: This law relates the distribution of electric charge to the resulting electric
field. It states that the electric flux through any closed surface is proportional to the
enclosed electric charge.
Electric flux is is a measure of the strength of an electric field.

Conductors and insulators

Substances with free moving electrons or mobile ions that allow charges to
move relatively freely through them are called conductors. Examples include
metals which have freely moving electrons and salt water with mobile ions.
On the other hand, substances that do not allow charges to move through
them are called insulators. The electrons and ions in insulators are bound
within their respective structures and cannot be move easily. Examples of
insulators include rubber polymers, ceramics, paper and plastics. Ceramic
insulators are used to support electric power distribution or transmission lines
on utility poles and transmission towers without allowing current through
themselves.

Lasers
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of
Radiation, or LASER, is an optical device that emits light of high

temporal and spatial coherence. That is that the photons emitted by the laser are in
phase to each other.

Lasers are used in a variety of applications from hard industry (cutting metals) and
medicine (eye operations) to electronics, military applications, research, fingerprint
identification etc.
One of the most common applications where lasers are used is the CD/DVDs. CD/DVDs
have on their surface a series of bumps and divots that they form a binary code. These
anomalies on the surface of the disk are read by a laser beam which is then reflected
onto an optical reader. Therefore, the binary code creates a digital signal which is then
translated into sound and vision.
Stimulated Radiation Emission
Albert Einstein in 1917 had first indicated the possibility of producing stimulated
radiation emission, but it wasnt until 1960 that the first LASER, that used ruby as the
active medium, was constructed.
The basic principle that underlies LASERs is stimulated emission. Let us consider two
electron energy levels E1 and E2 the excited state, (where E2>E1) as depicted in figure
1a.

Once the electron decays or drops from the higher energy level to the lower level, then a
photon will be emitted with energy that is equal to

eqn. 1, where h is the Plancks constant and this is called spontaneous emission.

Consider, now, figure 1.b above where the electron is already at the excited state.
Moreover, assume that an electromagnetic wave is aimed at our atom and that has a
frequency which is equal to the corresponding spontaneously emitted. The electron will
once again drop to the lower energy level E1, however, due to this aforementioned
equality, the emitted radiation will have the same phase with the incident one and it will
add up to the same direction. This process is called stimulated emission and it is
responsible for the properties exhibited by laser beams.

In order to simplify this theory imagine that one photon can cause an electron to drop to
a lower energy level and during this drop another photon, of the same frequency, phase
and direction, is emitted. These emitted photons can in turn stimulate the emission of
more photons. This increasing stimulation will eventually provoke a situation where there
are higher numbers of atoms/electrons that exist on the excited state than in the resting
one (E1). This environment is described as population inversion and it is a prerequisite
for the production of the laser beam.

A typical laser consists of a gain (active) medium and an optical cavity (1), where the
stimulated emission occurs, two mirrors at each one end of the cavity and the pumping
mechanism (2) as it is depicted in the figure below. One of the two mirrors has high
reflectivity (3), whereas, the other one is partially transparent (4) (and it is where the
laser beam comes out (5)). The pumping mechanism is responsible for the supply of
energy into the gain medium.

Lasers are classified according to the nature if the gain medium; gas, solid state,
chemical, liquid etc. Lasers are also classified as continuous wave (cw) or pulsed
according to whether the power output is continuous or takes the form of pulses of some
repetition rate.

There are three main properties for laser beams:

First, the laser beam is monochromatic, that is it possesses only one wavelength (or to
be more realistic, a very narrow bandwidth of wavelengths).

Secondly, the beam is coherent since the light waves are in total temporal and spatial
phase and,

Third, the beam is collimated, thus, it has a high degree of directionality (very small
divergence). In most cases the outcome of the beam has a Gaussian profile and its
divergence will be

=/,

- eqn. 3,

Where w is the beam waist (the narrowest point of the beam).

Its brightness will be =(/4)2

eqn. 4, where and are the planar and the solid angle respectively as it is shown in
figure 3.
Finally, lasers do not emit light only within the visible range of the spectrum but also
within the invisible (A ND:YAG laser emits at 1064 nm in the infrared). Therefore, the
laser beam cannot be seen and, depending on its power, it might burn the retina of the
eye. Therefore, when someone works with lasers they should wear the appropriate
goggles that will block the appropriate wavelength from reaching their eyes.