Wave Interactions

Wave Interactions
 Reflection—the bouncing back of a
wave after striking a barrier.
 Refraction—the bending of a wave as it
moves from one medium into another.
 Diffraction—the bending of a wave
around the edge of a barrier.
 Interference—the distortion of a wave
when waves overlap.
Reflection
Reflection
 When a wave bounces back
from a surface, it changes
direction according to the Law of
Reflection:
 The angle of incidence equals
the angle of reflection.
Reflection

The Law of Reflection

The Angle of Incidence equals
the Angle of Reflection

Angle of Reflection
Barrier

Angle
of Normal
Incidence
Refraction

 Refraction is the bending of a wave

as it travels from one medium to
another.
 Example: Light traveling from air to
water
Refraction
Refraction

Normal

Air

Water
Refraction
Diffraction:
Waves Around a Jetty
Diffraction: Water Waves
(From Google Earth)
Diffraction

 Diffraction is the bending of waves

around the edge of a barrier.
 This allows you to hear sounds without a
direct “line of sight”.
 Light waves are also diffracted
Diffraction
Interference
 Interaction between two waves can be either
constructive or destructive.
 Constructive interference:
 Crest + crest
 Trough + trough
 Amplitudes add together
 Destructive interference:
 Crest + Trough
 Trough + Crest
 Amplitudes subtract
Interference
Wave #1
Wave #2
Wave #1 + Wave #2

C onstructive Interference Destructive Interference

Crests overlap Crests Crests overlap Troughs
Amplitude Increased Amplitude Decreased
Interference

 Interference Animation
 http://physics.bu.edu/~duffy/semester1/c21_i
nterference.html
Beat Frequency Applet

 http://www.walter-
fendt.de/ph14e/beats.htm
Beat Frequency

 When two tones of close frequency are

played together, a beat frequency occurs.

fbeat=|f1-f2|
Beat Frequency

 When two tones of close frequency are

played together, a beat frequency occurs.

fbeat=|f1-f2|

f=440 Hz
Beat Frequency

 When two tones of close frequency are

played together, a beat frequency occurs.

fbeat=|f1-f2|

f=442 Hz
Beat Frequency

 When two tones of close frequency are

played together, a beat frequency occurs.

fbeat=|f1-f2|

440 Hz & 442 Hz

Standing Waves

 A type of wave interference where a

wave reflects off a barrier and interferes
with incoming waves.
 Remember the slinky & snakey waves.
 Antinodes- places of Maximum
displacement.
 Nodes- places of Minimum
displacement.
The Doppler Effect
Doppler Effect

 Plane:
 http://www.lon-
capa.org/~mmp/applist/doppler/d.htm
The Doppler Effect
 When the source of a wave is moving, the
waves will bunch up in front of the source and
spread out behind the source.
 Similarly, when an observer is moving towards
or away from a source, the waves “hit” the
observer either faster or slower.
 These effects cause the frequency of the wave
to be HIGHER when the source and/or
observer are moving towards each other and
LOWER when they are moving away from
each other.
The Doppler Effect

 Police Car Animation

 http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/applet
s/doppler.html
 Ambulance:
 http://www.walter-
fendt.de/ph14e/dopplereff.htm
Calculating the Doppler Effect
 The observed frequency can be calculated using the
following equation:

 v + vobs 
f observed = f actual  
 v − vsource 

 fobserved → Observed Frequency of wave

 factual → Actual Frequency of wave from source
 v→ Velocity of the wave through the medium
 vobs → Velocity of the observer
 vs → Velocity of the wave source
 For this Doppler equation, we will use positive values
of vs and vobs if the motion is towards, and negative
values if the motion is away.
Example: The Doppler Effect
 A truck is moving towards you at 20 m/s. Its horn is
blowing with a frequency of 440 Hz. What frequency
do you hear? (Assume you are at rest, and the speed
of sound in air is 340 m/s.)

 v + vobs 
f observed = f actual  
 v − vsource 

 340 + 0 
f o = (440) 
 340 − (+ 20 ) 
f o = 468 Hz
Example: The Doppler Effect
 What if it were moving AWAY?
 A truck is moving AWAY from you at 20 m/s. Its horn
is blowing with a frequency of 440 Hz. What frequency
do you hear? (Assume you are at rest, and the speed
of sound in air is 340 m/s.)
 v + vobs 
f observed = f actual  
 v − vsource 

 340 + 0 
f o = (440) 
 340 − (− 20 ) 
f o = 416 Hz