Waves

Progressive waves

Carry information from one place to another without transferring any actual material
Caused by something making particles or fields oscillate at a source
These oscillations pass through the medium/ field as the wave travels and carries energy with it
Wave transfers energy away from its source and so source of wave loses energy

Evidence for waves carrying energy include

- Electromagnetic waves cause things to heat up

- X-rays and gamma rays knock electrons out of their orbits causing ionisation
- Wave power can be used to generate electricity
- Loud sounds cause large oscillations of air particles which can make things vibrate

Measuringwaves
Displacement (m) is how far a point on a wave
has moved from its undisturbed position
Amplitude (m) maximum magnitude of
displacement. Distance from equilibrium line point
of maximum displacement
Wavelength (m) the length of one whole wave
oscillation
Period (s) time taken for one whole wave cycle
Frequency (Hz) is the number of whole wave
oscillations passing a single point per second
Phase is a measurement of the position of a
certain point along the wave cycle
Phase difference is the amount by which one wave lags behind the other

Frequency is the inverse of the time period:

1
f= t

Wavespeed
d
C= t C = f C= ms-1 d= m t= s

The wave speed is a measure of how fast a point on the wave pattern moves rather than how fast a physical point moves
Transversewaves

Displacement of the particles or field is at right angles to the direction of energy propagation
Travel as vibrations through mediums and fields (water waves and s-waves)

Can be shown on both distance-time and

displacement-distance graphs
On the left graph , distance between crests = time period
These graphs give the movement of one particular point on
a wave over time
Gradient would give vertical speed of one point on the wave

LongitudinalWaves

Displacement of the particles or fields is along the direction of energy propagation

Consists of alternate compressions and rarefactions of the medium its travelling through, explaining why sound
cannot travel in a vacuum (p-waves are also longitudinal)
As the wave moves in the
direction its travelling, the
compressions also move in this
direction.
Means that any point on the
wave that is in between centre of
compression and rarefaction on right of
compression will move opposite to
direction of wave movement
Any point to the left of a compression between centre of rarefaction will move in the direction of energy transfer
Wavelength is the distance between compressions (or rarefactions)

Polarisedwaves
Polarised wave- a wave that oscillates in one direction only
Unpolarised waves vibrate in all directions on the plane perpendicular to the direction of motion
Ordinary light waves are a mixture of different directions of vibration. Polarising filter can be used to polarise light
and other waves as it only transmits vibrations in one direction.
If you have 2 polarising filters, at right angles to each other, no light will be able to get through
Only light with vibrations in line with
the filters transmission axis will pass through
If a polarising filter was rotated in
front of a vertically polarised wave, the graph
below shows how at 0 and 180, maximum
light passes through but at 270 and 90, filters
transmission opposite to wave direction so no
light passes through
 Between rotations, light intensity decreases and increases due to
varying amounts of light being allowed through the filter
Light intensity is just the number of photons per second that are
released from a source

Polarisation can only happen for transverse waves and provides

evidence for their nature
Cannot happen with longitudinal because oscillations parallel to
energy transfer and occur in x-z plane rather than x-y. Hence can
travel through any gaps in filters

GlareReduction
Most light we see is unpolarised and vibrations are possible in all directions but light reflected off some surfaces is
partially polarised (some made to vibrate in the same direction).
The amount of light polarised is dependent upon the angle of incident light.
When light is reflected by surfaces such as tarmac, water and glass and enters eye, it can cause glare.
We can therefore use polarising filters in which the transmission axis is
perpendicular to direction of polarised light to try and reduce intensity of light
hitting the eye while still letting through light which vibrates at angle of
filter

ImprovingTVandradiosignals

TV signals are polarised by the orientation of the rods on the transmitting aerial.
To receive a strong signal, you have to line up the rods on the receiving aerial with the rods on the transmitting
aerial. If they are not aligned, signal strength will be lower so rods on TV aerials are all horizontal
Same principle applies to radio (tuning a radio by moving around ariel causes signal to change as transmitting
and receiving aerials go in and out of alignment)

Superpositionandinterference
Superposition- when 2 or more waves pass through each other
Instant that waves cross, displacement due to each wave combines and so principle of superposition says that when
two or more waves cross, resultant displacement = vector sum of individual displacements (takes into account direction)
Constructive/destructiveinterference
1. When two waves meet, if their displacements are in the same direction, the displacements combine to form a
bigger displacement = constructive interference
2. If a wave with positive displacement meets negative displacement, they cancel each other out = destructive
interference

Amplitude = scalar
Displacement = vector

Phasedifference

In phase - same point in the wave cycle

When superposed, points on the wave that are in phase
will interfere constructively with each other (points in
phase have same displacement and velocity)

Two points that are in phase have a phase difference of

0 or 2 (0 or 360) etc
Points with a phase difference of , 3 /4 (180 or 540)
etc are exactly out of phase (antiphase)

The phase difference between two waves is the amount

that one wave lags behind the other (in phase 0/2). More often than not, waves that are in phase come from the same
oscillator
Waves do not need the same amplitude to be in phase but do need the same frequency and wavelength

StationaryWaves

A stationary wave is the superposition of two progressive waves with

the same frequency, wavelength and amplitude, moving in opposite
directions.
No energy is transmitted by a stationary wave

This can be demonstrated by using an oscillator in which a force

is applied to a stretched string and wave is reflected back and
forth.
If the oscillator produces an exact number of waves in the time it takes for a wave to travel down string and be reflected
back again, then waves reinforce each other
Frequencies at which this happens are called resonant frequencies and it causes a stationary wave
Nodes are points on the wave where the amplitude of vibration is 0 and antinodes are points on the wave at maximum
amplitude

A stationary wave is the superposition of two progressive waves

- At node, total destructive interference
- At antinode, constructive interference

ResonantFrequencies
A stationary wave is only formed at a resonant frequency (exact number of half wavelengths fits on the string) and each
resonant frequency has a name:

First Harmonic (fundamental)

Stationary wave is vibrating at its lowest possible resonant frequency. One
loop with a node at each end and one half wavelength fits onto string -
wavelength is twice the length of the string

Second Harmonic
Twice the frequency of the first harmonic and 2 loops with a node in the
middle

Third Harmonic
Three times the frequency of the 1st harmonic and has 3 loops with 2
nodes in the middle

Nth harmonic has n + 1 antinodes (loops)

You can calculate resonant frequency at Nth harmonic by doing N x first
harmonic frequency
In reality , some energy will be lost in systems such as a guitar string, causing
stationary wave to become distorted

StationaryMicrowaves

Reflecting a microwave beam at a metal plate and the superposition of this

wave and its reflection creates a stationary wave. You can find nodes and
antinodes by moving probe between transmitter and reflecting plate. The
meter or loudspeaker receives no signal at nodes but maximum signal at
antinodes.

StationarySoundwaves

Powder in a tube of air can show stationary sound waves. Loudspeaker produces
stationary sound waves in the glass tube. Powder laid along the bottom of the
tube is shaken away from the antinodes but left undisturbed on the nodes

Speed of sound = frequency x wavelength Therefore speed of sound = frequency of signal generator x 2(distance
between piles of powder)
Investigatingresonance
Required practical 1
Investigate how changing the mass, length and tension of the string changes resonant frequencies.
Move bridge so that length of string is 1 m
Turn on generator and increase frequency until strong vibrates at first harmonic. Read frequency on dial
Repeat but move bridge so that length of string decreases by 0.1m and repeat until 0.5m reached
Repeat experiment and find a mean for each frequency
Plot graph of mean 1/f against length
Draw line of best fit and calculate gradient
Speed of wave c = f and so first harmonic = c = f(2 x length)
Gradient = 1/fl and so 2/gradient = f2L = c
Speed is also given by (T/m) where T=
tension in string (N) and m is mass per unit length
(kgm-1)
Weigh 1.5m length of string, convert to kg
and divide by 1.5 to get mass per m
Tension = 0.981N (0.1kg x 9.81)
Doubling frequency but keeping l, t, m
constant will cause string to vibrate at second
harmonic. Tripling it would cause third harmonic and
so on
The formula for calculating the first harmonic of a
string is given by:

1 T
f= 2l
f= Hz L= m T= N = kgm-1

Diffraction
Diffraction - the way waves spread out as they come through a narrow gap or round obstacles
Noticeable diffraction occurs when diffraction occurs through a gap several wavelengths wide but most diffraction
occurs when gap is some size as the wavelength
If gap is smaller than wavelength, the waves are normally just reflected back
You can easily hear a person out of your line of sight (around a doorway) because doorway roughly same size as
wavelength of sound but much bigger than wavelength of light

- When a wave meets an obstacle, you get diffraction around the edges and behind the obstacle is a shadow
where the wave is blocked.
- The wider the obstacle compared to the wavelength, the less diffraction you get, so the greater the
shadow

Single-slitexperiment
To observe a clear diffraction pattern, light should be coherent and monochromatic
Coherent- in phase and same frequency
Monochromatic- single wavelength, single colour, single frequency

You could use a colour filter in front of white light to make it single wavelength, however, laser will produce a clearer
diffraction pattern.
If wavelength of light it roughly same size as slit, you will get a diffraction pattern of light and dark fringes


The pattern has a bright central

fringe (central maximum) with
alternating bright and dark fringes
on either side due to interference

Bright fringes - constructive

interference (waves from across
width of the slit and arrive at the
screen in phase
Dark fringes - total destructive interference where waves from across slit arrive at
the slit completely out of phase

Whitelightdiffraction
When white light is shone through a single, narrow slit, all of the different wavelengths are diffracted by different amounts.
Means instead of getting clear fringes, you get a spectra of colours
Central maximum is the brightest because intensity of light is highest in the
centre
Intensity - power per unit area
For monochromatic light, all photons have the same energy so increased
intensity means increased number of photons hitting screen per second, more
photons per unit area hitting central max that other bright areas
Width of central maximum varies by;
-Increasing slit width decreases diffraction so central maximum is narrow but
more intense (woder slit lets more light through, adding to increased intensity)
-Increasing wavelength increases diffraction so central maximum wider but
intensity lower

Two-SourceInterference
When waves from two sources interfere to produce a pattern.
In order to get clear interference patterns, the waves from the two sources must be monochromatic and coherent
Coherent - same wavelength and frequency with a fixed phase difference between them
Monochromatic - constant frequency
If a light source is coherent, the troughs and crests line up, this causes constructive interference and a very intense beam

Visiblelight Laserlight-coherent







Whether you get constructive or destructive interference depends on how much further one wave has travelled than the
other to get to that point, this is called the path difference.
At any points an equal distance from two sources in phase will give constructive interference (maxima)
You also get constructive interference at any point where the path difference is a whole number of wavelengths (two
waves are in phase and reinforce each other)
At points where path difference in /2, 3/2 etc, the waves arrive out of phase and you get total destructive
interference (minima)
Demonstratingtwosourceinterference
In general:

Constructive interference occurs when path difference =

n

Destructive interference occurs when path difference =

(n+1/2)

We can use either sound or water because they have wavelengths of an appropriate size to measure.
For water, dippers moved in and out of the water and for sound, loudspeakers used shown in diagram above. Having
someone walk along black line or have a receiver move along will show areas of loud and quiet sound and by marking the
position of these areas, you can measure the spacing between maximums with a metre rule in order to calculate
wavelength of the source waves.

This can also be demonstrated using microwaves by attaching two microwave

transmitter cones to the same signal generator and move probe in a straight line.
An alternating path of strong and weak signals will be produced.

Doubleslitexperiment
To see two source interference with light, you can either use two coherent light sources or shine a laser through a
double slit. Light from a laser is coherent and monochromatic so shining it through a double slit, effectively creates two
coherent light sources
Slits have to be about the same size as the wavelength of light that is diffracted.
Young first carried out this experiment using white light, which would still give a pattern, just less intense and contain
different colours with a central white fringe due to different frequencies of light being diffracted a different amount due to
their varying wavelengths

There are a number of precautions that must

be taken when dealing with lasers

Never shine the laser towards a person

Wear laser safety goggles (green tinted)
Avoid shining beam at a reflective surface
Have a warning sign on display
Turn laser off when it is not needed
The fringe spacing, wavelength, spacing between slits and the distance from the slits to the screen are all related by
Youngs double slit formula

D
W = s
D= distance between slits and screen (m) s= distance between slits (m)
W= fringe spacing (distance between 2 adjacent maxima)

(note W would have to be much bigger than s for the pattern to be seen)

We can investigate variables such as how varying D affects W, how distance between slits effects w, how wavelength
affects w.
Measuring over several fringes and dividing by number of spaces gives a lower percentage error than measuring
one fringe

Although reflection and refraction can be explained by the photon model of light, diffraction and interference can only
we explained using light as a wave (wave-particle duality)

DiffractionGratings

You can carry out single source double-slit type experiments using
diffraction gratings which contain lots of equally spaced slits very close
together. You get a very sharp interference pattern because there are
so many beams reinforcing each other.
For monochromatic light, all the maxima in pattern formed as sharp lines.
Plane transmission diffraction grating - lets light through and
grating lines are on a plane surface

1. First order maximum occurs when waves are in

phase and so central wave shown in one wavelength behind
lower wave
2. Using Z rule on parallel lines and then triangle
geometry, lower angle shown =
3. Therefore sin = /d
4. n is placed into equation because path difference
and be 2, 3, 4 etc and waves still in phase at maxima
5. Therefore would be multiplied by 1,2,3...n

d sin = n
All in (m)

As wavelength increases, increases so pattern becomes more spread out

As d increases, decreases so pattern becomes closer together
Sin greater than one is impossible

Using diffraction gratings on white light causes each order to become a spectrum with red on the outside and violet at
n=1, with n=0 as white light
When you split up white light using a star diffraction grating, you see line absorption spectra with dark lines corresponding
to wavelengths of light absorbed
Astronomers can analyse spectra of stars and chemists of certain materials and see what elements are present using this
technique. Other uses include firing x-rays through crystalline solids that have roughly same spacing between atoms as
wavelength of this radiation. DNA structure was discovered this way.

RefractiveIndex

Light goes fastest in a vacuum and slower in other materials because it interacts with the particles in them. The more
optically dense a material is, the more light slows when it enters it. The optical density of a material is measured by the
refractive index.
The absolute refractive index of a material n is the ratio between the speed of light in a vacuum and speed of light in
that material

C
n= Cs The speed of light in air is only a tiny bit smaller than 3x108 and so nair = 1

The relative refractive index between 2 materials 1n2 is the ratio of the speed of light in material one to the speed
in light in material 2

C1 n2 C
n =
1 2 C2 1n2 = n1 second equation is derived from placing n= Cs into equation (c cancels)

A relative refractive index is a property of the boundary/ interface between two materials

SnellsLaw

n1 sin1 = n2 sin2
As light moves across a boundary between two materials of different
optical densities, the light changes speed.
If this light hits boundary at an angle, this change in speed will cause a
change in direction
Less dense more dense = towards normal
More dense less dense = away from normal
Criticalangle
As light is shone from less optically dense material to more optically dense and angle of incidence is increased,
eventually, the critical angle is reached where light is refracted along the boundary.
This can happen at any boundary where light is passed from material of lower optical density to higher optical density
(lower refractive index)

n1 sin1 = n2 sin2 when light hits at the critical angle, angle of incidence = 90

sinc n2
sin 90 = n1 sin 90 = 1 and so

n2
sinc = n1

Which can also be simplified to n2 =

1 when the light travels from air to material because the refractive index of air can be
considered to be one
TotalInternalReflection
Angles of incidence greater than the critical angle of a material, refraction cannot occur, so all light it reflected back into
the material at the boundary.

Partial reflection also occurs when light travels from a more optically dense to a less optically dense material

Opticalfibres
An optical fibre is a very thin flexible tube of glass or plastic fibre that can carry signals over long distances and round
corners using total internal reflection.
Step-index optical fibres have a high refractive index core surrounded by cladding with a lower refractive index to allow
TIR.
The cladding also protects the fibre from scratches which could allow the light to escape

Light is shone in at one end of the fibre and the fibre is

so narrow than the light always hits the boundary
between core and cladding at an angle greater than the
critical angle.
All light is therefore totally internally reflected from boundary to boundary until it reaches the other end.
This technique is used to transmit phone and TV signals over long distances instead of old system of electricity through
copper wires as the advantages include:
Signal can carry more information because light has higher frequency
Light does not heat up fibre so almost no energy lost as heat
No electrical interference
Fibre- optic cables much cheaper to produce
 Signal can travel a long way, very quickly and with minimal signal loss

SignalDegradationinopticalfibres
Information is sent down optical fibres as pulses of light that make up a signal.
Signal can be degraded by absorption or by dispersion which can cause information to be lost

Absorption
Some of the signal's energy is absorbed by the material of the fibre and so amplitude of signal is reduced

Dispersion
The two types of dispersion which can call signal degradation are material and modal.
Both types cause pulse broadening where received signal is broader than initial signal. Broadening pulses overlap each
other, leading to information loss.

Modal dispersion is caused by light taking different paths down the fibre. Light which travels straight down centre of
core (axial ray) reaches receiver quicker than
light which is reflected off boundary (non-axial
rays).

Material dispersion is caused by different wavelengths of light

slowing down by different amounts when they enter fibre and refracting
by different amounts as a consequence. Monochromatic light can be used
to prevent this as only one wavelength.
Optical fibre repeaters can be used to regenerate signal every so often to help reduce degradation by both absorption
and dispersion
Wave dispersion in optical fibres

Waves can be degraded in optical fibres 2 ways: absorption and dispersion

Absorption occurs when the material that the optical fibre is made if absorbs some of the energy of the signal and causes
the amplitude of the signal to decrease- information is lost
Dispersion causes the pulse broadening of the wave in which signals can overlap and information is lost.
Material dispersion is caused by the light slowing down by different amounts when the wave enters the fibre. Thereofre,
the different wavelengths are refracted by different amounts
Modal dispersion occurs whent he light takes different paths down the fibre. The axial ray takes the shortest amount of
time to reach reciever by non - axial rays take longer

Signal repeaters, using thin core and monochromatic light reduces the impact of these

Optical fibres are better than eletricity in copper wires because

Cheaper
Higher frequency so can carry more information
No electrical interference
Light does not heat up fibre so little heat loss/ energy loss