Chapter 15

W A V ES

Basics...
Waves are caused by vibrating particles.
Progressive waves transfer energy.
Waves are called mechanical if they require

a medium to travel through them (i.e.

Sound)
Longitudinal Waves: parallel to the direction
moved by the wave (Sound waves)
Transverse Waves: at right angles to the
direction being moved in (Electromagnetic
Waves)

A Transverse W ave

Displacement: Distance from the equlibrium point to a point

on the wave
Wavelength: Maximum distance. One trough and one peak.
Amplitude: Point of Maximum displacement
Period: Time taken for one complete oscillation to occur
Frequency: The number of oscillations that pass through a
point in a given time.

D eriving v= f
Okay, so
And that

1
we know that:T f=
Wavelengt
wave speed=
h
Period

So we can combine the two and form:

v=f x

Phase D iff
erence
The amount that one wave lags from

another.
Measured in degrees
A and B have a phase difference of
180
D
A
B
C and D have a phase difference of
90C

Progressive W aves and Energy

Actual stuff or matter does not

move. Only the ENERGY is

transferred.
Each particle vibrates, this vibrates
the neighbour and so on.

Intensity
The rate of energy transmitted per unit area

at right angles to the wave velocity (Learn it)

Intensity=

Power
Cross-sectional
Area

Measured in Watt per Square metre (Wm-2 )

Intensity decreases as it travels along:
-wave may spread out (light bulb light)
-wave may be absorbed or scattered (Light through
atmosphere)

Intensity and Am plitude

As a wave spreads out the amplitude

decreases
Intensity Amplitude2
This suggests that a constant is involved
(How? I dont know)
Intensity

Constant =
Amplitude2
So, one wave has twice the amplitude of the

other and four times the intensity. So this

means that its carrying energy at four times
the rate.

Ripple Tanks! Yaaay!

Waves can be reflected (duh). They

change position when they meet a

barrier and cant go through...
The seperation between the lines is
the wavelength
Next slide shows some waves (You
have seen them before kids, these
pictures are from your physics
textbook)

Refraction!
W hoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

You can tell Im getting loopier 8)

Refraction happens when waves change

speed due to change in medium (air to

water or deep water to shallow water)
When waves move from deep to shallow
water,
Frequency remains constant
Wavelength and speed decrease
Ratio of speed is equal to that of
wavelength. i.e. If speed halved, then
wavelength halved

 You have now reached the end of

Chapter 15.
Pat yourself on the back and move
on. You have a lot to get through

Electrom agnetic W aves

Chapter 16

Basics
Speed of light: 3x108
c=f x
When light travels from a vacuum to

a medium, the speed decreases. But

frequency remains the same.
Therefore, wavelength must
decrease.

Radiation

Wavelength
range/m

Uses

Radio Waves

>106 to 10-1

Broadcasting
Radio Astronomy
MRI scanning

Microwaves

10-1 to 10-3

Cooking
Telecommunication
Radar

Infrared

10-3 to 7x10-7

Remote Controls
Mobile Phones
Cameras

Visible

7x10-7 to 4x10-7

Signalling
Photography

Ultraviolet

4x10-7 to 10-8

Sterilising
Security Tagging
Sun tanning

X-rays

10-8 to 10-13

Medical imaging and

treatment
Sterilisation

Gamma Rays

10-10 to 10-16

same as above

D angers ofU V light

UV-A causes wrinkles (think

A=Ageing and when you age, you

get a bit wrinkly)
UV-B damages your DNA
UV-C dunno but most is absorbed
anyway
All three cause skin damage, and
wearing sunscreen helps because it
absorbs the UV light. Wearing
glasses helps prevent cataract.

Polarisation
Its a property which allows us to distinguish

between longitudinal and transverse waves.

Transverse waves vibrate in all directions
Longitudinal only horizontally
If you have a rope and create a wave by
moving your wrist up and down, its
horizontally polarised
If you move your wrist side to side, its
vertically polarised
This is a PHENOMENON

Polarised Light

That awesome lesson which we spent looking through two square bits..

Light is transverse and this polarising

business proves it.

Light vibrates in all directions through
space and it can become polarised by a
polarising filter.
I need another slide to explain this

Plane Polarised
Polaroids are long chain molecules

that absorb energy (light)

If the molecules are arranged
vertically in the polaroid then the
horizontal vibrating light will be
absorbed and the vertical will pass
through.
This makes it Plane Polarised

 Plane polarised can be stopped by

adding a second piece of polaroid which

is 90 to the first. This will stop the
remaining waves from entering too
Reflected light is polarised in the
horizontal plane (think of the dirty
greenhouse shed thing in the
allotments)

M alusLaw
Okay, so we know that:
Light is plane polarised when it
passes through a polarising filter
By passing it through an analyser
(second sheet of polarising whatnot)
the remaining waves also get
absorbed.
The bits in between is where Malus
Law comes in

I= I0cos2
The incoming light is at an angle ()

to the vertical.
After passing through the analyser
the light may be vertically polarised
but is less intense.

Q 6,page 176
Light which is polarised vertically is incident on a polaroid

whose axis is at 45 to the vertical. If the intensity of the

incident light is 200 Wm -2, what will be the intensity of the
transmitted light? How will it be polarised?
Intensity is calculated using Malus law, so thats

I=I0cos2
We know that the incident light (I0 ) has an intensity of

200Wm-2 and is 45
So, you take out your calculator and stick in:
200(cos45) 2 = 100Wm-2
How is it polarised? Well, its polarised at 45 to the
vertical

Superposition of W aves
Chapter 17

The Principle (Learn it and use

it)
When two or more waves meet at a

point, the resultant displacement is

the algebraic sum of the
displacements of the individual
waves

Calculating the displacem ent

Okay, so..

D iff
raction
Diffraction is basically the spreading of a

wave as it passes through a gap or over an

edge
The amount that the waves diffract by
depend on the width of the gap.
If the gap is much larger than the
wavelength, then the wave wont be
diffracted as much
If the gap is the same size as the
wavelength, then it will be diffracted the
most

Q uick D efi
nitions
Interference: formation of points resulting in the

addition of cancellation of individual waves

Coherence: Two sources are coherent when they
emit waves with the same phase difference
Path Difference: Distance travelled by two
waves from a coherent source at a particular
point
Phase Difference: Fraction of a cycle between
the oscillations of two particles, expressed in
degrees (source: Glossary of your textbook)

Interference
There are two types, constructive

and destructive.
Constructive Interference: When the
individual waves add up
Destructive Interference: When they
cancel out

 A) Constructive
B)Destructive
C) Constructive

Experim ents
There are a few experiments that

you need to know in relation to

interference:
Light
Microwaves
Sound

Light
Direct a beam of light through two slits

which are separated by a fraction of a

millimetre.
The light is diffracted through these slits
onto a screen and a series of equally spaced
dots can be seen. These are called fringes.
The dots are formed due to Constructive
interference (Waves arriving in phase)
The dark bits are formed due to Destructive
interference (Waves arriving out of phase)

Note: If you cover up one slit up,

the light will come out as a broad
band. But if you uncover it, the
dots appear again.
This is because the two beams
that come through each slit
interfere and form the regions of
light and dark

M icrow aves
Microwave Transmitter directed

through a gap between two metal

sheet
The microwaves are transmitted by
the gap into the region beyond
The probe can be moved around to
detect the microwaves by connecting
it to a meter or loudspeaker.

Sound
Connect two loudspeakers to one

source that emits coherent sound

waves.
The space around the loudspeakers
will give regions of loud and quiet.
Loud: Constructive Interference
Quiet: Destructive Interference

Interference and path/phase diff

erence
For Constructive Interference, the

path difference has to be a whole

number
n
For Destructive Interference, the
path difference has to be half a
wavelength
(n + 0.5)

Youngs D ouble Slit

Experim ent
The original experiment conducted

to prove the wave nature of light.

He did this by shining light through
two parallel slits that are right angles
to the light.
Light Diffracts through the slits and
interference and fringes are achieved
beyond the slits.

Explaining the Physics behind

it
Okay, the awesome physics behind
it!
- The waves have to be coherent,
and their wavelength and
frequency must be the same.
-The phase difference must remain
constant
- As the light spreads out beyond
the double slit, it diffracts
-The diffraction from each slit
overlaps creating constructive
interference (hence the fringes)
-The intensity is greatest in the
middle, so its brightest here.

W hy use a double slit and not tw o lasers?

Firstly because its too expensive for the physics department, but lets
not say that in the exam.

Secondly, because if two separate lasers

were to be used, then one cannot

guarantee coherence and all wed really
see is a band of light which isnt very
exciting and nor does it prove much.
By adding the double slit, youre
effectively creating two coherent sources
using one beam!
Genius :)

Explaining the pattern

Point A is equidistant from
points 1 and 2. This means they
have both travelled the same
distance. Their path difference
is 0 and should be in phase.
Hence bright light due to
Constructive
Interference.
Point B is in the middle of the
dark region. The light from
point 1 has to travel slightly
further than the light from point
2 which means that there is
now a path difference.
Point C is the next one along, and although the light from point 1
Therefore antiphase can be
has travelled further, it has travelled a whole wavelength. The
expected to, resulting in a
path difference is a whole number and therefore theyre in the
destructive interference
same phase. Which means Constructive interference!

D eterm ining W avelength

This can be done using the equation

Where a is the slit separation (can be measured

using a travelling microscope apparently

X is the fringe separation. Measuring ten fringes
and then working out an average will be easier
for thee (a ruler will do for measuring)
D is the slit to screen distance, again a ruler
will be sufficient

M onochrom atic Light

Another experiment!
Right, so here you basically do the following:
Use white light and shine it through a

monochromatic filter. This only lets one

wavelength of light to pass through.
A single slit first diffracts the light which arrives
in phase at the double slit.
This ensures that the double slit can act as a
coherent source.
There is a screen that is placed about a metre
away from which you can observe the
interference

Factors to consider
Do it in a dark room, as the intensity is low

and fringes hard to see

The slits need to be a width of a fraction of
a mm. This is because if wavelength is tiny
and if the slit is any narrower then the
intensity would be too low to see anything
They need to separated by a mm. Any more
and the fringes would be indistinguishable
Screen needs to be about a metre away to
be able to see the interference clearly

Laser or light?
Lasers already have a high intensity

monochromatic light making the

fringes clearer and further apart
(reducing percentage error)

D iff
raction G rating
Pretty much the same thing but more than two slits.
Consists of LOTS of equally spaced lines on a glass

slide, each line capable of diffracting light. By lots I

mean, like 10000 on one cm.
Now light is shone at the slide, it diffracts and the
fringes are formed.
Unlike with the double slits, the grating provides
angles that can be measured rather than the distance
between the fringes.
Central fringe is called the zeroth maxima, first is
called the first order
Symmetrical pattern which means that there are two
first-order maxima

D eterm ining W avelength

You have the angles for a reason.

The reason is for an equation.

n = d sin
n- order of maxima. Always a whole
number
d- adjacent distance between the
lines on the glass slide
- the angle between the maxima

W hy?!

Good point, I think the same about a lot of things.

Anyhoo, diffraction grating gives sharper

and bright maxima

With two slits, there is a possibility of great
inaccuracy in measuring the slit separation
Diffraction grating has many slits so d can
be measured accurately.
Maxima are spread out more, so the angle
can be measured more accurately.
Wavelength is more Precise when using a
diffraction grating.

Standing W aves
Chapter 18

YAY
My favourite topic! :D
Okay, standing waves DO NOT

transfer energy.
They occur when two progressive
waves from opposite ends
superimpose
Nodes: Point at which there is zero
displacement
Antinodes: Point at which there is
maximum amplitude

N odes and Antinodes

You can work out the
distance between each
node and antinode by
the following
conclusions:
You cannot have two
nodes together or two
antinodes together.
There will ALWAYS be a
difference of 0.5
between two nodes or
two antinodes.
There will ALWAYS be a
difference of 0.25
between a node and an
antinode.

Standing W aves vs.Progressive W aves

Standing Wave

Progressive Wave

No energy is transferred

Energy is transferred

There are some points which

always have 0 displacement

There are no points where there

is 0 displacement

All points are in phase at

adjacent points of the wave

There is a phase difference

between adjacent pointes of the
wave

Amplitude varies

All points of the same

amplitude

Does not have a speed

Has speed

Experim ents!
Yes, theres more. But these are

more fun
You can observe stationary waves
using
Stretched String
Microwaves
Air columns

Stretched Spring (M eldes Experim ent)

A sting is attached at one end to a

vibration generator that is connected

to a signal generator.
Other end hangs over a pulley with
masses attached which maintain the
tension
The generator is turned on and the
vibrations create a stationary wave
because both ends are acting as
nodes.

M icrow aves
Direct microwave transmitter at metal sheet. The

point on the sheet is a node.

Move the probe up and down the distance
between the sheet and transmitter and youll
observe points of high and low intensity.
High Intensity: Antinode
Low Intensity: Node
If you measure the distance between the point of
highest intensity and lowest intensity, its the
distance between a node and antinode, which is
half a wavelength. Double it and you have the
wavelength!

Air Colum n (ResonanceTube)

Here, you place a glass tube in a cylinder of water

and hold a vibrating tuning fork over the tube.

The air column is forced to vibrate and the sound is
louder (thats the phenomenon called resonance)
You have to adjust the tube so that you can actually
hear it loudly. At this point, the bottom of the
column must be a node and the open end an
antinode.
The length of the air column must be a quarter of a
wavelength because we know that the distance
between a node and an antinode is 0.25

Fundam entalm ode of

vibration
This is when you pluck a string and

you produce an antinode in the

middle with two nodes at either end.
Fundamental Frequency is the
minimum frequency of a standing
wave for a given system or
arrangement.

Fundam entaland H arm onics

Finding the speed ofsound

If we know the frequency of the

tuning fork and we work out the

wavelength using the patterns and
ideas discussed in the previous
slides, we can work out the speed
using the famous c =f equation.
Slight glitch in working out
wavelength due to end correction...

End Correction
The end correction creates a
problem when trying to accurately
work out the wavelength. But by
involving a bit of maths, it can all
be solved!
1) We know that 0.25 is L1 +c
2) We also know that 0.75 is L2 +c
3) Subtracting the first equation
from the second gives 0.5 L2-L1
4) And therefore

= 2(L2-L1)

And now
We finally come to the end of

Waves :)
Worksheets, SAQs and Past Papers is
the way forward for an A in AS
Physics, G482

Chapters 9-14 and 19-20 coming

soon! :D

Good Luck!