4.

3 IB Wave Characteristics
 Wave fronts and Rays
Name the wave behaviors shown.

• Reflection • Diffraction • Refraction

Look at the wave fronts.

Which are similar? Which are different? Explain.
 Energy of Wave Determines
• Loudness - Sound
• Brightness - Light

• Energy received by observer depends on

distance to source.

It’s radiated out in all directions.

Amplitude and intensity
Intensity is the rate energy is being transmitted per unit area and is
measured in (W m-2).

I = power / area definition of intensity I

1: A 200. watt speaker projects sound in a spherical wave. Find the

intensity of the sound at a distance of 1.0 m and 2.0 m from the speaker.
Whatever power is in the wave front is spread out over a larger area as
it expands.

The area of a sphere of radius x is A = 4x2.

For x = 1 m: I = P / (4x2) = 200 / (41.02) = 16 W m-2.
For x = 2 m: I = P / (4x2) = 200 / (42.02) = 4.0 W m-2.
Doubling your distance reduces the intensity by 75%!
 Amplitude and intensity
Intensity is the rate energy is being transmitted per unit area and is
measured in (W m-2).
I = power / area definition of intensity I

A = 4x2 for a spherical wave, we can rewrite our intensity formula.

I = power / 4x2 I  x -2 Intensity I vs. distance x

Total energy ET of a particle in SHM was ET = (1/2)kxo2, where xo was the
amplitude A of the oscillation.

Since P = ET / time, clearly P  ET so that P  A2.

But I = power / area so :

I  A2 Intensity I vs. amplitude A

Solving problems involving amplitude and intensity
2: At a distance of 18.5 m from a sound source the intensity is
2.0010 -1 W m-2.
(a) Find its intensity at a distance of 26.5 m.

SOLUTION: We can just use I  x -2 and dispense with finding the

actual power as an intermediate step.
Then I1  x1-2 and I2  x2-2 so that
I2 / I1 = x2-2 / x1-2
= x12 / x22
= (x1 / x2)2.
Thus
I2 = I1 (x1 / x2)2
= 2.0010 -1 (18.5 / 26.5)2 = 0.0975 W m -2.
 Solving problems involving amplitude and intensity

2: At a distance of 18.5 m from a sound source the intensity is 2.0010 -1

W m-2.

(b) Compare the amplitudes of the sound at 18.5 m and 26.5 m.

SOLUTION: We can use I  A 2 and I1 and I2.
Then I1  A12 and I2  A22 so that
I1 / I2 = A12/ A22.
Then
A1 / A2 = I1 / I2

= 2.0010 −1 / 0.0975
= 1.43.
A1 is 1.43 times A2.
 Superposition

3: Two waves P and Q reach the same point at the same time, as in the graph.
The amplitude of the resulting wave is:

A. 0.0 mm. B. 1.0 mm. C. 1.4 mm. D. 2.0 mm.

 4.3 – Superposition
Fourier series are examples of the superposition principle.
any waveform can be represented by summing up sine
waves!

y 5
1
2
y = 
n=1
y n
y5 = -
1
5
sin 5t

1
4

0 t
T 2T

- 1
4

-1 y3 = - 1 sin 3t
2 3 y4 = - 1 sin 4t
4
y2 = - 1 sin 2t
2
y1 = - 1 sin t
1

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/fourier
 Polarization
transverse waves - oscillations are
perpendicular to the propagation of the
traveling wave.

longitudinal waves oscillate parallel to motion.

Transverse waves can have infinitely many modes of

oscillation, each perpendicular to the propagation,
longitudinal can only have a single mode.

Because of these allowed modes, the phenomenon of

polarization only applies to transverse waves.

We consider EM waves.

 Polarization
Light is a transverse wave with two types of oscillation.

EM radiation consists

of perpendicular oscillating electric
and magnetic fields.

Focusing on electric field.

 Polarization
An oscillating electric charge produces EM waves.

 In light sources like the sun, a glowing gas, or an

incandescent filament, the charges can oscillate in any
direction, so produce random and continuous orientations
of the electric field.

c
 Polarization
Random orientations of electric fields in a
light source make up unpolarized light.
Unpolarized light

A simplified sketch shows only he fields at a

single point:

 Polaroid, a manmade film can take

unpolarized light, and absorb all rays of Unpolarized light
(simplified view)
light whose electric fields are not oriented
in a certain line.

The E-fields of the light that passes through

Polaroid
are all oriented in a single direction and are filter
polarized.
If un-polarized light is passed through the Polaroid film it
will absorb all the rays not oriented with the film.

Polaroid film
unpolarized light

linearly-polarized light

POLARIZER
The object used to polarize unpolarized light is called a
polarizer.
 Polarization

Polaroid is made of very long, parallel

molecules. A simple model is a slotted
disk. Only electric fields oriented in the
proper manner are allow to pass. The
rest are absorbed.

One would think that the electric field

would be allowed to pass through the
“molecular chain” only if parallel to
them, but only perpendicular E-fields
can pass through.

The light that makes it through

Polaroid molecules looks like this:
 Polarization
This is un-polarized light passing through a linear polarizer. (The
light is traveling from right to left.)

Linear-polarized is also called plane-polarized.

The 1st filter is the polarizer, the 2nd is the analyzer.
Two Polaroid filters are placed in a
Polarization
beam of un-polarized light.

What happens to the intensity of

the light when the second filter is
rotated through 90º?

The first filter plane-polarizes the

incoming light.

The second filter, originally

oriented to allow passage, is now
oriented to completely block the
polarized beam.
 Solving problems involving Malus’s law
Analyzer and Polarizer at angles
Polarizing filters are sketched with lines showing the orientation of the
E-field allowed through (unlike molecular chains):

 is the angle between the orientations of polarizer P and analyzer A.

Only a component of the E-field can pass.
 Solving problems involving Malus’s law
The intensity of a wave is proportional to the square of its amplitude.

The intensity of the light that comes out of the analyzer is:

I = I0 cos2 
Malus’s law
I0 is the original intensity of the light and  is the
angle of the analyzer.

polarized light E (from direction of allowed E-

polarizer)  field (by analyzer)

E cos 

angle through which

E-field allowed to
analyzer has been
pass
turned
 Solving problems involving Malus’s law
Ex 1: The directions of two sheets of Polaroid are initially parallel.

(a) Calculate the angle through which one sheet needs to be turned
in order to reduce the amplitude of the observed E-field to half its
original value.

(b) Calculate the effect this rotation has on the intensity.

(c) Calculate the rotation angle needed to halve the intensity from its
original value.

(a) Solve cos  = 1 / 2   = 60º.

(b) I = I0 cos2  = I0(1/2)2 = I0 / 4.
(c) Let Io = 1.
I0 / 2 = I0 cos2   cos2  = 1 / 2. Thus
cos  = (1 / 2)1/2   = 45º.
Solving problems involving Malus’s law

Use I = I0 cos2 . Then

I = I0 cos2 60º

I = 0.25I0
Solving problems involving Malus’s law

I0 cos2 0º = I0
I0 cos2 60º = 0.25I0

I0 cos2 90º = 0
I0 cos2 120º = 0.25I0
I0 cos2 180º = I0
Polaroid is not the only way to polarize light. For
example, if light reflects off of the surface of a liquid or
passes through a liquid or other solids it can become
partially or fully polarized.

Polaroid sunglasses block much of the horizontal light.

Polarization by reflection – Brewster’s law.
It turns out that if the refracted and reflected rays make a
90º angle then the reflected ray will be totally linearly
polarized.
If refl + refr = 90º then the reflected ray Brewster’s law
will be completely plane-polarized.
( Or inc + refr = 90º )
The particular angle of incidence at which this total
polarization occurs is called Brewster’s angle.

PRACTICE: Use the simplified method

to draw an unpolarized inc reflray
incident
becoming completely polarized by
reflection.
refr
Liquid Crystals can change polarization direction as a
function of applied voltage.
 3 – D glasses and 3 – D movies.
• 4:21
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9oZ1-
2L6vc
Hwk Formative assessment 4.3