Waves
Mechanical & Electromagnetic
Disturbance in matter (medium) that carries energy from one place to the next.
Wavelength for
a) Transverse wave?
b) Longitudinal wave?
Amplitude?
Period?
Frequency?
Speed of Wave?
Reflection
Refraction
• Wave changes speed as it enters/leaves one medium into another. Causes it to change direction (bend).
Refraction cont…
Dispersion
Diffraction
Bending or spreading of a wave as it passes an obstacle or passes through a gap.
Waves spread more when the wavelength is longer.
Interference
Standing Waves
• Created when a wave is reflected back onto itself.
• Multiple of half wavelengths fit into length of string.
• Only occur at specific frequencies known as resonant frequencies.
Standing Waves cont….
Sound
Pitch & Loudness
Doppler Effect
Electromagnetic Waves
• Consist of a changing magnetic and electric field positioned at 90º to one another.
• Created by a moving charge.• Can travel through a medium
and a vacuum.• Travel at 3.00 x 108 meters
per second in a vacuum.
Electromagnetic Waves cont….
• Behave as a wave (form an interference pattern when they pass through slits)
• Behave as a particle (photon) according to the photoelectric effect.
• Range of waves which are all electromagnetic in nature.• They only differ by their frequency and wavelength.• The higher their frequency the more energy they have
and the more dangerous they are.
Polarization
Top Related