You will also be introduced to the standards scientists use when they study physical quantities and the. The basic concepts discussed in this introductory package may be applied to all waves including the three shown below. Determine the appropriate number of significant figures in both addition and. In the previous chapter, we studied the motion of objects.
Jun 23, 2019 we begin our study of waves in this first unit of physics 7c with an introduction to waves and then a thorough development of the harmonic plane wave model, which we will use extensively to model and understand a wide variety of wave phenomena. Water waves at a gap as the gap enlarges, the two edges act as centres for circular waves. To motivate the introduction of complex numbers, we will begin by exhibiting the relation. Adjust frequency and amplitude, and observe the effects. Learn the fundamentals of waves and sound in this unit. A practical introduction to radio physics wireless communications make use of electromagnetic waves to send signals across long distances. Introduction to waves a bit of gossip starting in washington reaches new york. The goal of any study of kinematics is to develop sophisticated mental models that serve to describe and ultimately, explain the motion of realworld objects. May 11, 2018 for the love of physics walter lewin may 16, 2011 duration. They involve oscillations of constituent particles and depend on the elastic properties of the medium. Balancing concise mathematical analysis with the realworld examples and practical applications that inspire students, this textbook provides a clear and approachable introduction to the physics of waves. Transverse waves are like those on water, with the surface going up and down, and longitudinal waves are like of those of sound, consisting of alternating compressions and rarefactions in a medium. The list of the various types of electromagnetic waves, ranging from radio transmission waves to nuclear gammaray.
A sinusoidal wave of frequency 500 hz has a speed of 350 ms. The radio in your car receives the radio waves, decodes the information, and uses a speaker to change it back into a sound wave, bringing sweet music to your ears. The weak gravitational field approximation is first considered and the linearized einsteins equations. The fourth section uses the ideal string model to derive the onedimensional homogeneous wave equation. The most familiar type of waves such as waves on a string, water waves, sound waves, seismic waves, etc. A water wave is an example of a surface wave, which is a combination of transverse and longitudinal wave motions. To produce the sound waves we hear as music, a violin string has a displacement wave moving on it, and similar statements hold for other instruments.
We begin our study of waves in this first unit of physics 7c with an introduction to waves and then a thorough development of the harmonic plane wave model, which we will use extensively to model and understand a wide variety of wave phenomena. While a mechanical wave exists in a medium which on deformation is capable of producing elastic restoring forces waves ofproducing elastic restoring forces, waves of electromagnetic radiation and probably gravitational. Based on the successful multiedition book the physics of vibrations and waves by john pain, the authors carry over the simplicity and logic of the approach taken in the original first edition with its focus on the patterns underlying and connecting so many aspects of physical behavior, whilst bringing the subject up to date so it is relevant to teaching in the 21st century. Electromagnetic waves waves that do not need matter medium to transfer energy examples. Introduction to the physics of waves by tim freegarde. We hear via sound waves, and we see via electromagnetic waves in the frequency range we call light. A wave is a disturbance that propagates through space. This article is meant for students who have had an exposure to general relativity, but, results from general relativity used in the main discussion have been derived and discussed in the appendices. Waves are responsible for basically every form of communication we use. In this section we will familiarize ourselves with waves by concentrating on material waves. Most familiar are surface waves that travel on water, but sound, light, and the motion of subatomic particles all exhibit wavelike properties. Notice that the lengths of the wavefronts passing through the gap get wider. Displacement is the distance of a particle of the wave from its equilibrium position at any particular time amplitude a is the maximum displacement of a particle of the wave from its equilibrium position. Waves come in two kinds, longitudinal and transverse.
Introduction to vibrations and waves theoretical physics. While a mechanical wave exists in a medium which on deformation is capable of producing elastic restoring forces waves ofproducing elastic restoring forces, waves of. The disturbance or variation can be a change in pressure, electrical intensity or many other things. There are familiar, everyday sorts of waves in water, ropes and springs. The author shows through a broad approach how wave phenomena can be observed in a variety of physical situations and explains how their. Even more important, though only touched on in this book, is the wave phenomenon of quantum mechanics, built into the fabric of our space and time. In both signal processing and theoretical physics, it is usually more comfortable. Brown physics textbooks introductory physics i and ii a lecture note style textbook series intended to support the teaching of introductory physics, with calculus, at a level suitable for duke undergraduates. Introduction to waves henry county school district. Anyone who has played a stringed instrument has probably seen standing waves on the strings. There are less visible but equally pervasive sound waves and electromagnetic waves. In this article, i present an elementary introduction to the theory of gravitational waves. Sound creates pressure variations waves in matter, such as air or water, or your eardrum.
Sawtooth wave square wave sine wave waves are typically disturbances in some medium. Introduction waves occur in almost all branches of science. The formalism that has been developed to describe the saturation of a single. Like the student from cornell said, though, this text is completely indecipherable to a student. The physics classroom tutorial presents physics concepts and principles in an easytounderstand language. Introduction to the physics of waves available for download and read online in other formats. The physics of waves version date february 15, 2015. Explain the difference between a model and a theory. The goal of any study of kinematics is to develop sophisticated mental models that serve to describe and ultimately, explain the.
Request pdf introduction to the physics of waves preface. Introduction to waves general remarks we are bathed in waves, and two of our senses are wave detectors. Waves a wave is a disturbance that pppg gropagates through space and time, usually with transferrance of energy. From a user s perspective, wireless connections are not particularly different from any other network connection. In the simplest waves, the disturbance oscillates periodically see periodic motion with a fixed frequency and. Amplitude, period, phase shift and frequency physics index. Conceptual ideas develop logically and sequentially, ultimately leading into the mathematics of the topics. Introduction to the physics of waves request pdf researchgate. Physics 0702 hookes law and simple harmonic motion. Wave, propagation of disturbances from place to place in a regular and organized way.
This book is intended as a general introduction to modern physics for science and engineering students. Physics form 5 introduction to waves page 7 for plane boundaries, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. Kinematics is the science of describing the motion of objects using words, diagrams, numbers, graphs, and equations. Motion of the wave s energy motion of individual molecules of the wave transverse waves two motions are perpendicular waves on a string, water surface waves longitudinal waves two motions are parallel sound waves waves can have both transverse and longitudinal motion. The evolution of physics a wave is a transfer of energy without the transfer of matter. I hope to emphasize that the physics of standing waves is the same. In a mechanical wave, stress and strain fields oscillate about a mechanical equilibrium. Whether youre talking out loud or texting on your phone, theres going to be a wave transmitting information. The opening session of the physics degree course at imperial college includes an introduction to vibrations and waves where the stress is laid on the underlying unity of. The material discussed here includes probability, relativity, quantum me. Based on the successful multiedition book the physics of vibrations and waves by john pain, the authors carry over the simplicity and logic of the approach taken in the original first edition with its focus on the patterns underlying and connecting so many aspects of physical behavior, whilst bringing the subject uptodate so it is relevant to teaching in the 21 st century. Waves that have the direction of oscillation the same as the direction of travel are called transverse waves. A traveling mechanical wave is a local deformation strain in some physical medium that propagates from particle to particle by creating local stresses that cause. Department of physical sciencesand engineering prince georges community college largo, maryland.
Only a solid can support transverse waves, since it requires shear force. The wavelength of the reflected wave is the same of that of the wavelength of the incident wave. Longitudinal waves two different motions to describe in a wave. Waves in which the medium moves at right angles to the direction of the wave. The types of waves most commonly studied in physics are mechanical and electromagnetic. Conversely, radio waves are electromagnetic waves, like visible light, infrared, ultraviolet, xrays, and gamma rays. In taking a bath or going for a swim, we are literally. This book provides an introduction to the eld of optics from a physics perspective. The high point of a transverse wave is a called the crest, and the low point is called the trough. Introduction to quantum mechanics harvard university. Traveling waves appear only after a thorough exploration of onedimensional standing waves. It focuses primarily on the wave and ray descriptions of light, but also includes a brief intro duction to the quantum description of light. Quantum mechanics can be thought of roughly as the study of physics on very small length scales, although there are also certain macroscopic systems it directly applies to. Motion of the wave s energy motion of individual molecules of the wave transverse waves two motions are perpendicular waves on a string, water surface waves longitudinal waves two motions are parallel sound waves.
Physics 0610 entropy and the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Pdf introduction to the physics of waves download full. It is written at a level which presurnes a prior tull years course in classical physics, and a knowledge of elementary differential and integral calculus. Speech and sound, for example, which enabled communication among ourselves. Make waves with a dripping faucet, audio speaker, or laser. Introduction and types a wave is a transfer of energy through a medium from one point to another. It is observed that the circular waves have smaller crests than the plane waves passing through the middle. Introduction to the physics of waves and sound uvic.
In taking a bath or going for a swim, we are literally bathed by water waves. The physics classroom physics tutorial vibrations and waves. As a physics major at a school with a very rigorous program, i have already proven myself competent by surviving, and enjoying, my first year of physics courses. While it does not require a background in physics to understand, it is assumed that the reader has at least high school level linear algebra, calculus, and trigonometry. Each lesson includes informative graphics, occasional animations and videos, and check your understanding sections that allow the user to practice what is taught. Physics 0703 sound, speed, frequency, and wavelength. Introduction to the mechanics of waves mihir sen department of aerospace and mechanical engineering.
Chapter 1 introduction humans have interacted with some form of waves for a very long time, though of course they were not known as such. Standing waves a standing wave is a wave that appears to move sideways, but doesnt appear to be traveling along the spring. We begin our study of waves in this first unit of physics 7c with an introduction to waves and then a thorough development of the harmonic plane wave model, which we will use extensively to model and understand a wide variety of wave phenomena in this section we will familiarize ourselves with waves by concentrating on material waves. Hear the sound produced by the speaker, and discover what determines the color of light. Waves and wave properties presentation pdf teach engineering. A wave is a disturbance that moves through space or matter. I am using this book as part of a physics course as an introduction to wave behavior. Standing waves are actually multiple waves that are interfering with each other. Lecture notes presenting an elementary introduction to the theory of gravitational waves.
To be submitted to resonance, journal of science education with a lesser mathematical content. Longitudinal compressional waves with your free hand, grasp the spring about 50 cm from the end. For the love of physics walter lewin may 16, 2011 duration. The higher the frequency, the more energy in the wave. The beauty of a coral reef, the warm radiance of sunshine, the sting of sunburn, the xray revealing a broken bone, even microwave popcornall are brought to us by electromagnetic waves. Explain the difference between a principle and a law.
Freegardes text on waves allows construction of a more cohesive physics curriculum, one with significant scaffolding, designed to revisit, reinforce and refine student understanding of core concepts, both within the bounds of this foundational course and, quite naturally, in subsequent courses that follow within the physics major. Period t is the time for one complete oscillation of. This physics textbook is designed to support my personal teaching activities at duke university, in particular teaching its physics 141142, 151152, or 161162 series introductory physics for life science majors, engineers, or potential physics majors, respectively. A physics revision video introducing the concepts of waves. The basic concepts discussed in this introductory package may be applied to all waves. A wave is any kind of disturbance that moves through space or matter. Download pdf introduction to the physics of waves book full free.
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