Unit: 5 Waves

Wave definition: It is a disturbance created in a medium which carries energy and momentum with it.
The root cause of waves is vibration and oscillation.

●​ Frequency(f): (mew)it is the number of oscillations per unit time/it is the number of waves per unit
time.

SI UNIT:( s^-1 )or (Hz) hertz

f= 1/T

●​ The pitch of a sound wave depends on the frequency

The higher the frequency lesser the wavelength (inverse relation)

●​ Time period: (T) is the time taken to complete one full oscillation.

SI UNIT: seconds
T= 1/f

●​ Amplitude: (A) it is the maximum displacement of a particle from its mean position.

SI UNIT: Metre
Mean position: it is the position of the particles when there is no wave propagation.

●​ Amplitude is independent of frequency. The Loudness of a wave is due to the amplitude

●​ Wave Length:(lambda) The distance between 2 consecutive crests or troughs.

SI UNIT: M
The higher the frequency lesser the wavelength (inverse relation)

●​ Wave Velocity: the speed at which the waves move.

Types of waves

●​ Longitudinal: It is a wave in which the particles of the medium oscillate parallel to the propagation of
the wave

Example: sound wave, a slinky if moved left and right

●​ Transverse: It is a wave in which the particles of the medium oscillate perpendicularly to the
propagation of the wave.

Examples: radio waves, vibrations on a guitar string, light

EM Waves: when the body is in motion and the electrical and magnetic charges are oscillating.
The frequency of the EM wave can make the type of wave differ.
Waves which do not require a medium for their propagation.
Light is a form of EM waves.
Radio wave frequency- should oscillate at 3000 per second
Wave Equation formula:
Speed= distance/time
Velocity= wavelength/time period
v= lambda/ T
v(lambda)= T
t= 1/f
v= lambda x frequency
Frequency= number of oscillations / total time (secs)
Mechanical waves: do require a medium for their propagation.

●​ Sound waves
●​ Ripples
●​ Wave in a string

Sound waves

●​ Longitudinal wave
●​ Non-rectilinear motion
●​ Sound waves also follow the law of refraction
●​ Sound propagation (how sound reaches our ear?)
●​ Doppler effect (Doppler effect in physics is defined as the increase (or decrease) in the frequency of
sound, or other waves as the source and observer move towards or away from each other.)
●​ Sound does not travel in space(there’s no medium)
●​ Speed of sound

In which medium does sound travel faster(solid - liquid - gas)

Why?- because the particles in solids are tightly packed together which makes the transfer of energy faster and
easier.

●​ Factors
●​ Humidity (increases because gas to liquid)
●​ Temperature(increases because the energy can be sped up by heat)
●​ State
●​ Nature of material
●​ Echo
●​ Returns back in 1/10th of a second ( the sound persists in the brain till 1/10th of a second)
●​ 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz limit
●​ Any 2 sounds which come in 0.1 seconds will sound the same.
●​ 17.2 meters = minimum distance for an echo
●​ Formula: s= 2d/t

Echolocation

●​ Echolocation is the process where sound waves and echoes are used to determine objects in space.
Echolocation is used by bats to navigate and find their food in the dark.
 ●​ Bats send out sound waves from their mouth and nose, which then hit the objects in their vicinity
producing echoes, which are then received by the bats.
●​ The nature of the echo helps them determine the object’s size, shape and distance
●​
●​ Sonar
●​ Sound navigation and ranging is a technique in which sound waves are used to navigate, detect and
communicate under the water’s surface.

Compression
It is that region in the medium where the particles are very close to each other.

●​ The density of the medium will be higher than when there is no wave propagation in the same medium.

Rarefaction
It is that region of the medium where the particles are further apart than each other.

●​ The density will be lesser than when there is no wave propagation in the same medium.

For a longitudinal wave the wavelength: The distance between 2 consecutive compressions or rarefactions.
Phenomenon

●​ Reflection: it is the phenomenon in which a wave bounces back into the same medium after being
incident on a reflective surface.

Law 1: the incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal to the reflecting surface at the point of incidence lie on
the same plane.
Law 2: the angle of incidence is always equal to the angle of reflection.
Ray: is the direction in which a wave propagates.
Wavefront: it is a combination of all the points which are in phase with each other.
The angle of incidence can also be the angle formed between the incident wavefront and the mirror.

●​ The wavefronts and the ray are perpendicular to each other.

●​ Refraction
●​ It is a phenomenon in which a wave bends whenever it travels from one medium to another
●​ A wave bends whenever there is a change in the medium because there will be a change in the speed of
the wave in different media.
●​ Because of the change in speed, the wavelength will be affected.
●​ 1st law: the incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal lie on the plane.
●​ 2nd law, Snell’s laws: the ratio of the sin of the angle of incidence and the sin of the angle of refraction
for a given pair of media is always a constant and is called as the refractive index of the second medium
with respect to the first medium.

Formula : Sin i / sin r = n2 / n1 = v1 / v2

N1(sin i ) = N2 (sin r)
The first medium is the one with the incident ray.
Higher the refractive index, the Lower the speed of the wave and the denser the medium
Lesser the value of the refractive index Higher the speed of the wave and the rarer the medium
If the n1 > n2
Then, i < r
What is a reactive index? : it is the ability of a medium to bend the wave.(NO SI UNIT)

●​ Away from the normal: r > i

●​ Sin r > sin i
●​ 1 > sin i/ sin r
●​ 1 > v1/v2
●​ V2 > v1
●​ 1 > n2/n1
●​ N1 > n2
●​ Towards the normal: r < i
●​ Sin r < sin i
●​ 1 < sin I/sin r
●​ 1 < v1 / v2
●​ V2 < v1
●​ 1 < n2/n1
●​ N1 < n2

Rare medium: a rare medium has a lower refractive index than the denser medium.
Denser medium: has a higher refractive index than the rarer medium.
Whenever Light travels from the denser medium to the rare medium it will bend away from the normal.
Whenever Light travels from the rarer medium to the denser medium it will bend towards from the normal.
Normal incidence: when the incidence angle is 0 and the refraction angle is 0
It is that angle of incidence for which the corresponding angle of refraction is 90 degrees.: Critical Angle

●​ Total internal reflection

beyond a certain angle of incidence, there is no light which is getting refracted the entire light is getting reflected

●​ For TIR
●​ The light should travel from a denser medium to a rarer medium
●​ The angle of incidence should be greater than the critical angle
●​ Dispersion: it is the phenomenon in which polychromatic light splits into its monochromatic
constituents
●​ Refraction is the base of dispersion
●​ Different colours of light get refracted at different angles
●​ Formula - f x lamba / f x lamba2
●​ The wavelength and the refractive index are inversely proportional

Red(least)(most wavelength)
Violet(most)(least wavelength) (most
deviation)

●​ Diffraction: is a phenomenon in which a wave ‘ spread’ whenever it comes across an obstacle or a slit
 ●​ For diffraction to be effective the size of the obstacle or the slit should be comparable to the wavelength
of a wave
●​ The brighter the light / lower the sound higher the amplitude

​ •​ ​ •​ No change in wavelength