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What are waves?
A wave is a periodic disturbance in a material (medium) or
space.

Each particle of the medium vibrates, or oscillates, about a

fixed position. Energy is transferred outwards from the source
of the wave.

Waves that move outwards from their source are called

progressive (travelling) waves. The two types of
progressive wave are transverse and longitudinal.

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Transverse waves
In transverse waves, each particle oscillates perpendicular to
the direction of propagation of the wave. There is no
horizontal movement.

Transverse waves can be modelled by moving one end of a

Slinky up and down. Each coil represents a particle.

source moves coils vibrate

up and down up and down

direction of wave
propagation
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Longitudinal waves
In longitudinal waves, each particle oscillates parallel to the
direction of propagation of the wave. There is no vertical
movement.

Longitudinal waves can be modelled by moving one end of a

Slinky back and forth. Each coil represents a particle.

source moves coils vibrate

left and right left and right

direction of wave

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Sections of longitudinal waves
Within longitudinal waves, regions in which the particles are
relatively close together are called compressions, and regions
where they are relatively far apart are called rarefactions.

compression

rarefaction

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Transverse and longitudinal waves

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Mechanical vs. EM waves
Mechanical waves are the oscillation of particles in a
physical medium. They cannot transmit energy in a vacuum.
They can be either transverse or longitudinal.

Examples include sound waves, earthquake P and S waves

and water waves.

Electromagnetic (EM) waves are produced by the

acceleration of charged particles, and, unlike mechanical
waves, can transmit energy through a vacuum. They are
always transverse waves.

Examples include microwaves, X-rays and visible light.

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Examples of waves

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Transverse or longitudinal?

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Describing waves

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Polarization

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Maluss law
If a beam of plane-polarized light is shone through a polarizer,
its subsequent intensity, I, is calculated as follows:

I = I0cos2

where:
I0 = initial intensity of light
= angle of polarizer relative to position of initial
polarized light
This is Maluss law, named after tienne-Louis Malus, a
French physicist, mathematician and officer.

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Uses of polarization
Polarizing filters in objects such as sunglasses can reduce
glare by reducing the partially plane-polarized light created
when light is reflected by transparent materials like water.

Polarizing filters are used by photographers to alter the

appearance of the sky. This is because particles in the
atmosphere cause partial polarization by scattering sunlight.

Polarization can be used in

stress and strain analysis of
certain plastics, such as
Perspex. Polarized light
micrography is a useful
technique in the analysis of
crystal structures.

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Wave terminology

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Period and frequency
Waves can be drawn to show displacement as a function of
time rather than distance from the source.

period The period is the

displacement

time (in seconds)

taken for a wave
time peak to travel the
distance of one
wavelength.

The frequency is the number of

complete cycles per second. It is 1
frequency =
measured in Hertz (Hz), where period
1Hz = 1 complete wave per second.

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Wave calculations: worked examples

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Wave calculations

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Phase difference

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Reflection and phase difference
When waves hit a barrier or boundary that they cannot
pass through, they are reflected.

incident wave

reflected wave

When reflected, waves undergo a phase change of 180,

or radians.

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Whats the phase difference?

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What is superposition?
When two or more waves overlap, the resultant displacement
at a point is equal to the sum of the individual displacements
at that point. This is the principle of superposition.

Displacement is a vector quantity, so the sign is important.

At the point of overlap:

if both waves have the same sign displacement (i.e. both

positive or both negative) constructive interference
(reinforcement) will occur.

At the point of overlap, if one wave has a positive

displacement and the other has a negative displacement,
destructive interference (cancellation) will occur.

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Investigating superposition

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Interference patterns
An interference pattern can be produced from two coherent
wave sources.

At the green cross, the waves

from A arrive one full wavelength A
ahead of those from B.

The path difference is 1 and

the waves are 2 radians out of B
phase (i.e. in phase), so
constructive interference occurs.

Constructive interference occurs whenever the path difference

between coherent sources is n, where n is a whole number.

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Interference patterns
At the red cross, the waves
from A arrive half a wavelength
ahead of those from B.
A

The path difference is and

the waves are radians out of
phase (i.e. in antiphase), so B
destructive interference
(cancellation) occurs.

Cancellation occurs whenever the path difference between

coherent sources is n / 2, where n is a whole number.

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Interference patterns
Lines connecting points where
the path difference is n, are lines
of maxima, as they indicate
where displacement reaches a A
maximum.

Lines connecting points where

B
the path difference is n / 2 are
lines of minima, as they indicate
where displacement is zero.

Interference patterns can be seen in many types of wave, such

as water waves, sound waves and electromagnetic waves.

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Two point interference patterns

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Double slit interference patterns

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The double slit experiment

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Progressive and stationary waves
If two progressive waves of the same frequency travel in
opposite directions, a stationary (or standing) wave is
produced.
antinode maximum
displacement occurs

node no
displacement occurs

Stationary waves are not literally stationary, but in contrast to

progressive waves, energy is stored and not transmitted.

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Investigating stationary waves

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Fundamental frequencies

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Measuring the speed of sound

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Stationary waves: true or false?

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Glossary

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Whats the keyword?

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Multiple-choice quiz

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