15 WAVES WAVE MOTION: ‘Thus, a wave is a form of disturbance and its propagation from one region of space to another region is called wave motion. Waves which require a material medium for their propagation are called mechanical waves. The most familiar type of wave such as water waves, waves on a string, sound waves and seismic waves are mechanical waves. These waves cannot propagate through vacuum. They involves oscillations of the particles of the medium and depend on the elastic properties of the medium. The waves which do not require a material medium for their propagation are called non- mechanical waves or electromagnetic waves. They can travel through vacuum. Light, ultra violet rays, X-rays, microwaves, radio waves are all electromagnetic waves. They travel through vacuum with the common speed of 3x10" ms". Based on the way the waves spread, waves are classified into three types (i) Waves which travel along a straight line are called one-dimensional waves. Example: Waves along a stretched string. (ii) Waves which travel on a surface are called two-dimensional waves. Example: Waves on the still surface of water in a pond. (iii) Waves which travel in space and spread in all directions around the source are called three-dimensional waves. Example: Sound waves in air. ‘TRANSVERSE AND LONGITUDINAL WAVES: Mechanical waves are classified into two types depending on the direction of vibration of the particles of the medium through which they propagate. They are (i) Transverse waves and (ii) Longitudinal waves. Transverse Waves: A wave in which the particles of the medium oscillate about their mean position perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the wave is called transverse wave. Example: Wave along a stretched string. trough Mechanical Transverse waves are possible in solids and string (under tension) but not in fluids. -Longitudinal Wa ‘A wave in which the particles of the medium oscillate about their mean position along the direction of propagation of the wave is called longitudinal wave. Example: (i) Sound waves travelling through air. (ii) Vibrations of air column in organ pipes. Longitudinal waves in an elastic medium propagate in the form of a series of alternate compressions and rarefactions, Compressions are regions of higher density and rarefactions are regions of lower density. Sound waves are longitudinal waves and they are produced by a vibrating body. When a body vibrates, series of alternate compressions and rarefactions are formed in air which travels in all directions. When these reach our ear, we hear sound. Logitudinal waves can propagate through solids, liquids and gases. BASIC TERMS CONNECTED WITH WAVE MOTION: (i) Amplitude: When a wave propagates in a medium, the maximum displacement of a particles from its mean position is called amplitude of the wave. (ii) Wave period (T): Wave period is the time during which one complete wave is set up in the medium. It is equal to the time taken by a particle in the medium to complete one oscillation (iii) Wave frequency (v): The number of waves set up in the medium in one cond is called wave frequency. It is equal to the number of oscillations made by a particle in one second. Wave frequency (v) is equal to the reciprocal of the wave period. That is v= ; (iv) Phase: Phase of a vibrating particle at any instant indicates its state of vibration: When a wave propagates through a medium, phase of any particle is given by the fraction of the period that has elapsed since the particle last passed through its mean position in the positive direction. Thus, in fig. if the phase of the particle at A is taken as zero, the phase of the particle at B is T/4, the phase of the particles at C, D and E are T/2, 3T/4 and T respectively. Since the angular displacement is 2x during one simple harmonic oscillation of a particle in a time equal to period T, the phase can also be expressed as a fraction of 2x. For example, the phases corresponding to the particles A, B, C, D and E in fig. are 0, x/2, x, 3x/2, and 2x respectively. -169-(v) Wavelength( 8 E 3n Wavelength is defined as the distance between two consecutive particles in the medium which are vibrating in the same phase. It is also equal to the distance travelled by the wave in a time equal to one wave period. In the case of transverse waves, the distance between any two consecutive crests or any two consecutive troughs is equal to wavelength (fig.)In the case of longitudinal waves, the distance between any two consecutive compressions or any two consecutive rarefactions is equal to the wavelength . (vi) Wave velocity (v): It is the distance travelled by the wave in one second. Relation between velocity, frequency and wavelength of a wave: Consider a wave of j, wavelength and frequency v propagating through a medium with velocity v Wave velocity » is the distance travelled by the wave in one second. The wave travel a distance equal to one wavelength jin a time interval equal the wave period T. Therefore, Distance _Wavelength 9. _ wave velocity = “Time “Wave period ‘The wave frequency vis equal to the reciprocal of the wave period T. 1 7 ‘Therefore y=vi- Characteristics of a progressive wav A disturbance which propagates continuously in a medium in the same direction with constant amplitude is called a progressive wave. Following are characteristics of a progressive wave. 1. The wave is propagated through the medium by the repeated and periodic vibrations of the particles of the medium about their mean position. ‘There is no bodily movement of the medium in the direction of the wave. ‘That is, -170-2. There is transfer of energy in the direction of propagation. Energy is transferred from one particle to another in the form of disturbance, 3. In a homogeneous medium the wave propagates with a constant velocity called wave velocity. The wave velocity is different from particle velocity. Particle velocities. Particle velocities are different at different instants of time. 4. All particles of the medium vibrate with the same amplitude and same frequency. 5. Different particles are vibrating in different phase. No two neighbouring particles have same phase. 6. No particle in the medium is permanently at rest. ‘The waves can undergo reflection, refraction, interference and diffraction. 8. Transverse waves can undergo polarisation. However, longitudinal waves cannot undergo polarisation. DISPLACEMENT RELATION IN A PROGRESSIVE WAVE (EQUATION FOR A PROGRESSIVE WAVE): x In other words, the displacement of the particle at P at a time t will be the same x as the displacement of the particle at O at a time (2) and it is represented as ° a) Since eq (1) represents the displacement of a particle at any distance x from the origin at any instant time, it represents the equation of a progressive wave propagating along the positive X - direction. From eq. (1), y-Asin(ot- 2) or y=Asin (ot -kx) - (2) where k ° is called propagation constant or angular wave number. Qn a Substituting ©="7=2mvand v=vk=% in eq, (1), we get -171-(3) em Equation (1), (2), (3) and (4) represent different forms of equation for a progressive wave, and y= (4) Equations for a wave travelling in the negative X - direction are y Asino(t -2) y=Asin (ot + kx) t_x Qn Asin min tox saat a $ *) and y=Asin2 (ot+x) Speed of transverse wave on a stretched string: IT “vad, mm Where C is a constant ‘The exact derivation shows that C = 1 The speed of transverse waves on a stretched string is given by U= tn Speed of sound in a gas: Newton’s formula: For an ideal gas, the pressure P, voltme V and temperature T are related as PV = nRT where n is the number of moles of the gas and R is the universal gas constant. Newton assumed that when sound propagates through a gas, the changes in volume and pressure take place isothermally or at constant temperature. For isothermal process, ideal gas satisfies the relation PV = constant. d(Pv) ap i ‘i te, Pave Differentiating both sides with respect to V, “7 =0 Le. a dP. P dV + VaP = 0 or PaV = -VAP or P. (& Hence, for a gas, bulk modulus during isothermal process is -172-P ‘Therefore, the velocity of sound in a gas is ¥ & This relation is called Newton’s formula for speed of sound in a gas. For air at STP, P=1.013x10"Pa and =1.293kgm", Using these values, the speed of 1.01310" 1.293 But the experimental value is found to be 332 ms". Thus, the Newton’s formula does not give the accurate value of speed of sound in air. Laplace’s correction: Laplace pointed out that when sound waves propagate through a gas, the changes in pressure and volume take place so fast that there is no time for heat flow to maintain temperature constant. Therefore, these variations are adiabatic and not isothermal. For aidabatic process, ideal gas satisfies the relation. PV! = constant, where y is the ratio of the two specific heats of the gas. Differentiating both sides with respect to V, IP . sound is obtained as 0 -£ = = 280 ms ae 0 iets vi So, or Pyv"' dv +VidP=0. PydV=-VaP. vaPp___aP a” (avy) For a gas the bulk modulus during adiabatic process is B= ye where (wv is the ratio of the two specific heats of the gas. Therefore, the speed of e ‘This modification of Newton's formula is known as Laplace’s correction. sound in a gas is given by © 7 For air y=. Using this value, the speed of sound in air at STP is obtained as 331.2 ms" which agrees with the measured value. -173-Factors affecting velocity of sound in (i) Effect of change in pressu: Pm At constant temperature, PV = constant or ~~ = Constant where m is the mass of the gas and p is its density P For a given mass of the gas, 5 =constant, Hence, speed o- fe = constant , So, if the temperature is constant, speed of sound in a gas is independent of change in pressure. (ii) Effect of change in temperature: At constant pressure, as temperature increases, the density of the gas decreases. Hence, speed of sound in a gas increases with temperature. M y_ Where M is the molecular mass and V is the volume. For one mole of a gas, p oa PE eT “Ye VM M* Thus, v«JT ‘The speed of sound in gas is directly proportional to the square root of its absolute temperature. If v, is the speed of sound in a gas at T, K and v, is the speed of sound at T, K, RT, RE uy. fh 0, = FRE and v, Me Then yy ROM UY Principle of Superposition of Waves: ‘The principle of superposition of waves is stated as follows: When a medium is disturbed simultaneously by any number of waves, the instantaneous displacement of the medium at every point and at every instant is the algebraic sum of the displacement of the medium due to individual waves in the absence of others. Let Y.) Yor Vs point in the medium, The resultant displacement y at that point is given by Y"Yit Yat Yat * Consider two progressive harmonic waves of the same frequency, same wavelength travelling in the same direction in a medium. The waves may be represented as . be the displacement due to each wave acting individually at a -174-y, = A, sin (kx - wt) and y, = A, sin [(kx-ot)+4] where A, and A, are the amplitudes of the two waves and ¢ is the phase difference between them. When these waves superpose, the resultant displacement at any point is given by Y=y,+y,=A, sin(ot—kx)+A, sin(ot-kx+4)=Asin[(ot-kx)+a] where A is the resultant amplitude, given by A=JA?+AZ+2A\A, cos and the phase difference «a. is given by A,sing tana=—2209 — Tj+Kacost* when §=0,2r, 4z......2nx, the resultant amplitude is maximum and it is given by Aux = Ay + Ag When =$=8,31,5%).0.s0c(2n+l)" the resultant amplitude is minimum and it is given by Aan Ar Ay iE A, > A Following are the important phenomena explained on the basis of principle of superposition. 1) Interference of light: In this case the two light waves of equal frequency moving in the same direction superpose. 2) Beats: In this case two sound waves of slightly different frequencies moving in the same direction superpose. 3) Stationary waves: In this case two waves of equal frequency moving in the opposite direction superpose. Reflection of Waves: Whenever a mechanical wave reaches a rigid boundary, it gets reflected. There is a change in the path of the wave and the wave is turned back into the same medium, obeying the usual laws of reflection. If the boundary is not completely rigid or is an interface between two elastic media, a part of the incident wave is reflected and a part is transmitted into the second medium. If the wave is incident obliquely on the boundary between the two media, transmitted wave changes direction and it is called refracted wave. The incident and refracted waves obey Snell’s law of refraction, whereas the incident and reflected waves obey the laws of reflection. If the boundary is rigid, the disturbance must have zero displacement at all times at the boundary. By the principle of superposition, this is possible only if reflected and incident waves have a phase difference of x so that the resultant displacement is zero. On other words, a progressive wave reflected at a rigid boundary undergoes a phase change of x. -175-On the other hand, if the boundary is not rigid, but completely free to move as in the case of open end of an organ pipe, the reflected wave has the same phase and practically same amplitude-as the incident wave. In other words, there is no phase change when reflection of the wave takes place at a free boundary. ‘These results can be expressed mathematically as follows: Let the incident wave along the positive x - axis be represented by y, = A sin (wt~—kx). At the rigid boundary, the reflected wave is given by y,=Asin(ot ~kx + z)=~ Asin(ot ~kx) along the negative x - axis. At the open or free boundary, the reflected wave is given by Ys Clearly, at the rigid boundary, the resultant displacement is y = y, + y, = 0 and at a free or open boundary, the resultant displacement is ¥=y, +9, =Asin(ot ~_kx)+ Asin (ot ~ kx). =2A sin(ot—kx). Echo and reverberation: Sharp sounds created in front of distant walls or cliffs get reflected and after some time, we hear back our own sound as reflected from these obstacles, The sound heard after they are reflected at distant rigid boundaries such as walls, buildings or cliffs is called echo. Any sharp sound we hear persists for 0.1 second even after the source stops producing sound. Taking the speed of sound in air to be 340 ms’, sound travels 34 m in 0.1 second. That mean echo is heard if the rigid boundary reflecting sound is at a distance more than 17 m away from us. In a small room, the distance of rigid boundary such as walls, roof and the floor are less than 17 m away. Hence no echo is heard. But in this case, the reflected sound keep coming to the ear even after the source has stopped producing sound. In other words, we keep hearing sound for some more time even after the source has stopped producing sound. This persistence of sound after the source has stopped producing sound is called reverberation. Standing waves: ‘When two progressive waves of the same wavelength and same amplitude travel with the same speed through a medium in opposite directions and superpose upon each other, the resultant wave pattern appears steady or stationary and it is called standing wave or stationary wave. Consider two progressive harmonic waves of the same amplitude A, same wavelength 3, and same speed » travelling in opposite directions, say one along the positive x - axis and the other along negative x - axis. These waves are represented as _y,=Asin(ot—kx) ... sworn (1) -176- sin(ot-kx +0)=Asin(ot—kx) along the negative x - axis.Doppler Effect: ‘The apparent change in pitch or frequency of the sound heard by the observer due to the relative motion between the source and the observer is called Doppler effect. For a person on a railway platform, the pitch of the whistle of a stationary railway engine heard will be the same as the pitch of the whistle emitted by the engine. When the engine moves towards the person, the pitch of the whistle for the person appears to be higher and when the engine moves away from the person the pitch of the whistle appears to be lower. But for the driver of the engine, the pitch of the sound heard is same in all the cases. Similarly when a car moves past a person on the roadside at high speed, the pitch of the horn for the person appears to be higher when the car approaches the person and the pitch of the horn appears to be lower when the car moves away from the person. But for the driver of the car, the pitch of the horn heard is always the same. Doppler effect when source and observer both are in motion: Consider a source S emitting sound waves of frequency v and wavelength 3. approaching (moving towards) an observer O with a velocity v,. Let the observer O move towards the source S with a velocity v,.The source $ emits v waves in one second, These waves travel with velocity v towards the observer O. Since the source travels a distance v,in one second, the v waves occupy the length (v —v,). Therefore, the apparent wavelength of the waves is % mo ‘The waves with this modified wavelength 4' move towards the observer with velocity » . But the observer is moving towards the source with velocity v,. Therefore, the relative velocity with which sound waves approach the observer is v'=(0+0,) ‘Thus, the apparent frequency of sound waves received by the observer is i ( ) or v'=v| . Applications of Doppler effec (i) Doppler effect is used in the estimation of the speed of distant starts, with respect to the earth. -186-(ii) (iii) liv) ) wi) Doppler effect is used by police to check the over - speeding vehicles. Doppler effect is used in estimating the velocities of submarines with the help of sonar. Doppler effect is used in estimating the velocities of aeroplanes with the help of Radar. Doppler effect is used in airports to guide aircrafts. ‘The technique called sonography uses Doppler effect to detect speed of blood flow and heart beats.