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Waves Cie

The document provides an overview of wave properties, including amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and speed, as well as types of waves such as transverse and longitudinal. It discusses phenomena like reflection, refraction, and diffraction, along with specific applications of light, optical fibers, and the electromagnetic spectrum. Additionally, it covers sound waves, their properties, and uses of ultrasound in various fields.

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12 views7 pages

Waves Cie

The document provides an overview of wave properties, including amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and speed, as well as types of waves such as transverse and longitudinal. It discusses phenomena like reflection, refraction, and diffraction, along with specific applications of light, optical fibers, and the electromagnetic spectrum. Additionally, it covers sound waves, their properties, and uses of ultrasound in various fields.

Uploaded by

jasonkevinkatamba
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WAVES

General wave properties:


Waves transfer energy without transferring matter, particles oscillate
about a fixed point.
Amplitude - distance from the equilibrium position to the
maximum displacement.
Wavelength - distance between a point on one wave and the
same point on the next wave.
Frequency - number of waves that pass a single point per
second.
Speed - distance travelled by a wave each second.

Speed is related to frequency and wavelength by:


Speed = frequency X wavelength i.e. v = f λ
Types of waves:
• Transverse waves
o Has peaks and troughs.
o Vibrations are at right angles to the direction of wave
travel.
o An example is light.

• Longitudinal waves
Consists of compressions (particles pushed together) and
rarefactions (particles moved apart)
Vibrations are in the same direction as the direction of travel.
An example is sound.
A wave front is a surface containing points affected in the same way by
a wave at a given time such as crests or troughs.
Reflection:
• Waves reflect off smooth, plane surfaces rather than getting
absorbed.
Angle of incidence = angle of reflection
• Rough surfaces scatter the light in all directions, so they appear
matte and unreflective.
• Frequency, wavelength and speed are all unchanged

Refraction:
• The speed of a wave changes when it enters a new medium.
• If the wave enters a more optically dense medium, its speed
decreases and it bends towards the normal.
• If the wave enters a less optically dense medium, its speed
increases and it bends away from the normal.
• In all cases, the frequency stays the same but the wavelength
changes.

Diffraction:
• Waves spread out when they go around the sides of an
obstacle or through a gap.
• The narrower the gap or the greater the wavelength, the more
the diffraction.
• Frequency, wavelength, and speed are all unchanged

LIGHT
Reflection:
When light is reflected off a plane mirror, it forms an image with
these characteristics.
• Upright
• Same distance from the mirror as the object
• Same size as object
• Virtual
Refraction:
• Refraction can be shown when light is passed through a glass
slab at an angle to its normal.
• When light enters a more optically dense medium, the angle of
incidence (the angle between the incident ray and the normal) is
greater than the angle of refraction (the angle between the
refracted ray and the normal). The opposite is true when light
enters a less optically dense medium.

• The refractive index n of a medium is defined as the ratio


between the speed of light in a vacuum and the speed of light in
the medium.
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑢𝑚
𝑛=
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚
• Snell’s law relates the angle of incidence and the angle of
refraction to the refractive index by:
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑖
n=
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑟
where i is the angle of incidence and r is the angle of refraction.

Total internal reflection


• At a certain angle of incidence called the critical angle, the light
will travel along the boundary between the two media.
• Total internal reflection occurs when the angle of incidence is
greater than the critical angle and the light reflects into the
medium.
• For total internal reflection to occur, the light must also be
travelling from a more optically dense medium into a less
optically dense medium (most common example is glass to air).
• The critical angle can be related to the refractive index by.
1
n=
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐
Optical Fibres
• An optical fibre is a long thin rod of glass surrounded by
cladding which uses total internal reflection to transfer
information by light, even when bent.
• Extensive use in medicine (endoscopes, inside-body
flexible cameras) and communications (high speed data
transfer).

Converging lens:
• A converging lens is a transparent block which brings light rays
together at a point called the principal focus by utilizing refraction.
• The focal length is the distance between the centre of the lens the
principal focus.
• The image formed by a converging lens can be either real or virtual.
o Real images are formed when the distance of the object from
the centre of the lens is greater than the focal length. They are
images where light actually converges to a position and can be
projected onto a screen.
o Virtual images are formed when the distance of the object
from the centre of the lens is smaller than the focal length.
They are images where light only appears to have converged
and they cannot be projected onto a screen.
• You can draw ray diagrams for real images (shown on the left below)
and virtual images (shown on the right below)

• The image formed is enlarged/same size/diminished and


upright/inverted.
o The image on the left above is diminished and inverted.
o The image on the right above is enlarged and upright.
• Converging lenses are used in magnifying glasses and binoculars (to
enlarge the image)
Dispersion
When white light is passed through a glass prism, it splits up into
its constituent colours. This happens because the different colours
travel at different speeds in the glass, so they refract by different
amounts.
• The seven colours in order of decreasing wavelength are
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet
(ROYGBIV).
• The greater the wavelength, the slower the speed in glass
and the greater the refractive index.
Light of a single frequency is described as monochromatic.

Electromagnetic spectrum
Properties of electromagnetic waves:
• Transverse waves
• Do not need a medium to travel.
• All electromagnetic waves travel with the same high speed of 3.0 x
108ms-1 in a vacuum and approximately the same speed in air.
You need to learn the main groups of the electromagnetic spectrum in order of
wavelength.

As speed is constant for all electromagnetic waves, as wavelength


decreases, frequency must increase. The higher the frequency of an EM
wave, the greater its energy.
Uses of electromagnetic waves:
• Radio waves are used for radio and television communications.
They have a long wavelength and are reflected by the ionosphere.
• Microwaves are used for satellite communication and in
microwave ovens. They pass through the ionosphere and
penetrate deep into food.
• Infrared radiation is used in remote controllers and infrared
cameras.
• Visible light is used in fibre optics.
• Ultraviolet light is used in tanning beds.
• X-rays are used in medical imaging and in security as they can
penetrate material easily.
• Gamma radiation is used in medical treatment due to its high
energy.
Hazards:
• Too much exposure of the skin to ultraviolet light increases the
risk of skin cancer.
o Sun cream prevents over-exposure in summer.
• X-rays and gamma rays are ionizing radiation that can cause
mutations leading to cancer.
o Exposure to these kinds of radiation should be minimized.
• Microwaves can cause internal heating of body tissues.
• Infrared radiation can cause skin burns.

Sound Waves
Sound waves are longitudinal waves created by vibrating sources. A
medium is needed to transmit sound waves (such as air).
• The greater the amplitude of a sound wave, the louder it is.
• The greater the frequency of a sound wave, the higher its pitch.
To measure the speed of sound in air, you can make a noise at a known,
large distance from a solid wall and record the time for the echo (reflected
sound) to be heard, then use speed = distance/time; considering the fact
that the sound had to go there and back.
The speed of sound in air is 343ms-1, the speed of sound in water is
1493ms-1, and the speed of sound in steel is 5130ms-1.
The range of audible frequencies for a healthy human ear is 20Hz to
20000Hz. Ultrasound is sound with a frequency greater than 20000Hz.
• When ultrasound reaches a boundary between two media it is
partially reflected. The remainder of the waves continue to pass
through.
• A transceiver can emit ultrasound and record the reflect waves to
find the distance of things below the surface.
• Ultrasound is used for things such as SONAR and for medical
imaging without using ionizing radiation.

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