IB Physics Waves and Light

Waves Introduction
A wave is a disturbance in a medium that caries energy without a net movement of particles. A wave: transfers energy. usually involves a periodic, repetitive movement. does not result in a net movement of the medium or particles in the medium (mechanical wave). There are some basic descriptors of a wave. Wavelength () is distance between an identical part of the wave. Amplitude is maximum displacement from neutral position. This represents the energy of the wave. Greater amplitude carries greater energy. Displacement is the position of a particular point in the medium as it moves as the wave passes. Maximum displacement is the amplitude of the wave. Frequency () is the number of repetitions per second in Hz, s-1 Period (T) is the time for one wavelength to pass a point. T = -1 The velocity (v) of the wave is the speed that a specific part of the wave passes a point. The speed of a light wave is c. We will deal with two types of waves: A transverse wave has the motion of the medium perpendicular to the movement of the wave pulse. A longitudinal wave has the motion of the medium parallel to the movement of the wave pulse. For most waves, the particles of the medium move in a repetitive way that results in no net displacement. A transverse wave has the displacement of the particles in the medium moving perpendicular to the direction of the waves movement

IB Physics Waves and Light Examples of transverse waves: Water waves (ripples of gravity waves, not sound through water) Light waves S-wave earthquake waves Stringed instruments Torsion wave The high point of a transverse wave is a crest. The low part is a trough. A longitudinal wave has the movement of the particles in the medium in the same dimension as the direction of movement of the wave. Examples of longitudinal waves: Sound waved P-type earthquake waves Compression wave Longitudinal waves create areas of compression where particles are pushed together (higher density), and rarefaction where particles are pulled apart (lower density) Sound waves are often represented by a transverse wave (sinusoidal wave). Both a transverse and longitudinal wave can be described with a displacement time graph. Why?

If a single point of the medium is examined over time, its motion will be periodic.

IB Physics Waves and Light The displacement position graph takes a picture of the medium at a specific time. The displacement is for the medium. The position is for the progress of the wave. Why does the same graph describe both types of waves?

As a wave passes a point, the speed of the wave will be measured by the repeated motion. If the time is measured between two crests in a wave, the speed is the wavelength divided by the period. Ex 1: A person is standing on a dock. The person starts a clock as one crest passes them. As the fifth crest passes, the watch reads 3.5 s. A crest takes 4.7s to pass along the 3.2 m of the dock. What can you describe quantitatively about the wave?

v=

! =!f T

p. 386, 15, 17, 19, 21 pp. 396-398, 44-48, 50, 75, 77, 79, 81, 83

IB Physics Waves and Light

Waves One dimensional Waves

We will examine one dimensional waves such as a transverse wave on a rope or spring, and longitudinal waves on a spring (slinky). As a mechanical wave reaches the end of its medium, it will reflect. The energy it contains will not just disappear. The reflection will vary for a hard (fixed) boundary, and for a soft (flexible or movable) boundary. The reflected wave will be upright for a soft boundary, and inverted for a fixed boundary.

A wave that reaches a change in its medium, will be have its speed changed as it passes into the new medium (refraction), and it will also reflect at the new medium (a type of boundary). Traveling into a slower medium is like a hard boundary. Traveling into a faster medium is like a soft boundary. Watch the speed of the refracted wave, and the nature of the reflected wave .

IB Physics Waves and Light If a continuous wave is moving along a rope, and is reflected, the wave will pass over itself. Two waves at the same point are combined by the principle of superposition.

Superposition
The displacement of each wave is added together to determine the displacement of the combined wave. The two waves are interfering with each other. Destructive interference occurs if a positive displacement and a negative displacement add together to make a smaller (or zero) displacement. Constructive interference occurs if a two displacements that are the same combine to make a larger displacement. This applet shows different types of sine waves interfering. Sketch examples of constructive and destructive interference.

IB Physics Waves and Light A reflected wave will interfere with itself and form a specific pattern. This pattern is called a standing wave. Note the differences between the type of reflection, and the differences in the standing wave that forms. Nodes are the points of zero displacement. Anti-nodes are points of maximum displacement.

A standing wave can be created whenever a continuous wave interferes with another continuous wave of the same frequency and wavelength. A standing wave is made up of moving waves. The phenomenon that results looks as if it is standing. pp. 396-399, 52-57, 67, 68, 84, 87

IB Physics Waves and Light

Waves Standing Sound waves

A sound wave is a longitudinal wave that is often drawn as a transverse sine wave. Standing sound waves are used in musical instruments. An instrument resonates. If an object can vibrate at a natural frequency, it can resonate if an oscillation causes it to vibrate at its natural frequency. The resonating object will amplify the affect of the original vibration. A musical instrument has a method to vary its resonant frequency. Resonance is an example of a standing wave. This wave can be of various harmonics. A harmonic describes how many standing waves are present. We will examine resonant standing waves in two situations: strings and pipes with air. A standing wave is a wave that is traveling back and forth and reflecting on a medium. The boundary conditions are important because it affects the way that the wave reflects. We will start with situations with both ends (reflection points) are hard reflectors (fixed): sinusoidal, longitudinal For a standing wave, this means the fixed ends will form a node. This is used in stringed instruments. The fundamental has a length of 1 = 2l v v f1 = = !1 2l For first harmonic: 2 = 2/2l,
f2 = v v = !2 l v nv = ! n 2l

For the nth harmonic: n = 2/nl,

fn =

A pipe that is open at both ends, will form a standing wave with a soft reflection at both ends. The formulas to calculate the frequencies are the same as for a double closed pipe. Why?

IB Physics Waves and Light A pipe with one end closed is the most common for instruments. It had one hard reflection and one soft reflection. The first harmonic has a node at the closed end and an anti-node at the open end. 1 = 4l The fundamental has a length of 1 = 4l
f1 = v v = !1 4l

For first harmonic: 2 = 4/3l,

f2 = v 3v = !2 4 l

For the nth harmonic: n = 4/2nl,

fn =

2n " 1 v v = !n 4l

How does a pipe organ have different harmonics for different notes?

How does a flute or a trumpet have different harmonics for different notes?

What is the sweet spot on a bat or club?

pp. 424-427, 31, 37, 38, 41, 48, 50, 51, 54, 57, 62, 71, 75, 76, 77 8

IB Physics Waves and Light

Doppler Effect
Frequency of a wave can also vary due to the movement of the source of the wave or the receiver of the wave. If the source or receiver of a wave are moving together, the wave will decrease its wavelength and increase its frequency. If the source or receiver are moving apart, the wavelength will be longer and the frequency will be lower. For a moving source of the sound the equation for the observed frequency is: If the source is moving towards the observer than the - is used. If the source is moving away from the observer the + is used. For a moving observer the frequency of the observed sound is: If the observer is moving towards the source than the + is used. If the observer is moving away from the observer the - is used. Example 1: Calculate the range of frequencies of an ambulance siren that holds a frequency of 330 Hz if the ambulance drives past you at 38 m/s. What is the range if you drive by the stationary ambulance at the same speed?

" v % f!= f $ ' # v us &

" v uo % f!= f $ ' # v &

IB Physics Waves and Light A potentially dangerous application of the Doppler effect occurs when an object travels at the speed of sound. A layer of compressed air develops just in front of the object. The sound wave can not get ahead of the object. In order for the object (airplane) to pass through this pressure wave, there must be adaptations made to the plane.

The Doppler effect also applies to light. A star that is moving towards us will have its light observed at a higher frequency (blue shift). A star that is moving away from us has its light observed at a longer wavelength (red shift). This lets us judge the speed of a star based on the red or blue shift of the spectral lines in the light from that star. The equations for the Doppler effect with light are slightly different and very complex. There is no medium for light to travel through, and relativity shows that the speed of the light is constant for all observers. For low velocities (relative to light, v << c) the equation can be approximated quite well with: Applications of the Doppler effect:

!f =

v f c

Blood flow analysis

Radar/laser speed detectors

Universe expansion

Rotating objects (galaxies)

p. 409, 7-10 pp. 424-428, 34, 45, 68-70 p. 447, 14-17, p. 454, 69 10

IB Physics Waves and Light

Waves Two dimensional waves

Two dimensional waves behave according to the same rules as one dimensional waves; however, the applications can be more complex. We will examine water waves initially to discuss two dimensional waves. A two dimensional wave is drawn by showing the wave crests and/or the direction of the waves motion. The simplest wave is from a point source. The wave spreads in all directions radially from the source. Water waves move in wave fronts. One example of a wave front is a linear wave.

The activity you are going to complete today will require you to sketch the ripples in a wave tank in several different circumstances. Water waves propagates more slowly in shallow water. In an oblique refraction, part of the wave slows before the rest of the wave. If part of the wave slows, the wave will change direction. How can you simulate this with people walking in a line? Using the waves-tanks, You should diagram the following situations: 1. Reflection at various angles 2. Refractions (change depth of water) 3. Diffraction past an obstacle on one side with different wavelengths 4. Diffraction of waves around different sized objects (relative to wavelength). 5. Diffraction of waves through different sized opening (relative to wavelength).

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IB Physics Waves and Light

Optics Nature of Light

Light is a transverse wave. An electric field and a magnetic field change orthogonally to the direction of the light wave. The electromagnetic radiation does not require a medium to propagate itself. It can travel through a vacuum and many other media. In a vacuum, the speed of light is a constant, c = 3.00 x 108 m/s. Light will travel slower through different media. Light waves follow the wave equation: c = f where c = speed of light.

Light waves with different frequencies will also have different wavelengths. The energy of the photons of light carry varies with frequency. Higher energy light has a higher frequency and a shorter wavelength. In the visible part of the spectrum, violet light has the highest energy and frequency and shortest wavelength. Red light has the lowest energy and frequency, and longest wavelength.

The colours of visible light are a construct of our brain. Different cells in our retina are sensitive to different colours. By combining the ratio of inputs from the different cells, the brain generates colour information. An emission devise uses combinations of red, green, and blue (rgb) to produce all the colors. An absorption devise (printer) uses cyan, yellow, magenta and black (cymk) to produce most of the colors.

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IB Physics Waves and Light

The human eye will interpret equal amounts of red, green, and blue as white. True white light has equal amounts off the entire visible spectrum.

pp. 452-453, 33-36, 48-51, 54, 58

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IB Physics Waves and Light

Optics Reflection
A light ray that encounters a change in media will: reflect, and/or refract (pass through), and/or be absorbed. A reflection can occur in an organized way (smooth surface) or in a random way (rough surface). Most of the things we see are due to random reflections from rough surfaces. Some of the light reflected reaches our eye and forms an image in our eye. A coloured surface will absorb some of the colours and reflect the colours that we observe. A reflection from a smooth surface will be organized and produce an image. The key is that the light wave reflects at the same angle that it approaches the reflector (mirror). Angles are measured from a line that is normal to the surface of the mirror. The incoming ray is the incident ray. The reflected ray is also measured from the normal to the mirror. Where would your eye see the object?

Optics Refraction
A light ray that enters a new medium can refract because it changes its speed in the new medium. The change in speed is described by the index of refraction (n). c c = speed of light in a vacuum n= v v = velocity of light in medium This is a specific application of Snells Law for refraction of waves as they change speed at a boundry. If the light slows, it will change direction towards the normal. If the light speeds up, it will change direction away from the normal.

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IB Physics Waves and Light The variables in this relationship can be described by Snells Law.
n1 sin !1 = n2 sin ! 2

Angles must be measured from the normal to the surface. n is the index of refraction for the media involved. Example 1: A light ray is moving from crown glass to water with an incident angle of 35. What is the refracted angle?

Example 2: A surface wave in a liquid changes from 62 to 48 upon traveling from one liquid into another liquid. What is the relative velocities of the waves in these two liquids?

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IB Physics Waves and Light

Optics - Single-Slit Diffraction

Light of a single wavelength that passes through a single opening (slit), will diffract as it passes through the slit. However, the light from one part can travel a different distance than the light from another part of the slit. The reason for the pattern is that as the light travels a different length to the screen, some of the waves will be out of phase and destructively interfere with each other. Path length determines the pattern.

The ratio of the wavelength of the light and the size of the slit are determining factors in the spacing of the diffraction pattern.

The calculation of the spacing for the maxima and minima is based on the geometry of the deflection. If the path length from one edge is one wavelength longer than the path length from the other edge there will be a minima.

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IB Physics Waves and Light For the first minima, D = For small angles, sin (radians)

" D% " (% sin ! = $ ' = $ ' # d & # d&

# "& !=% ( $ d'

Example 1: A green laser has a wavelength of 520 nm. It passes through a single slit of width 0.085 mm. The diffraction pattern is observed on a screen 2.0 m away. What is the size of the diffraction pattern?

p. 526, 16-20 p. 538, 63

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IB Physics Waves and Light

Optics - Resolution
Two resolve two separate objects they must be seen as discrete points. If these two light sources are diffracted through a single slit, the diffraction patterns may overlap and not be resolvable.

Two point sources are just resolvable is the first minima of one source falls on the central maxima of the second source. For a circular aperture, the smallest angle of separation that can be resolved is: Example 1: A Radio telescope has a diameter of 75m. It is observing two stars 100 light years away that are 0.050 light years apart using radio waves of 5.0 GHz. Can it resolve these two stars?

# "& ! = 1.22 % ( $ b'

What implications of resolution are there for: Laser disks (blue-ray) Human vision Cameras Light microscope Electron microscope pp. 537-9, 55, 57, 61, 64

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IB Physics Waves and Light

Optics - Polarization
Light waves have a magnetic field and an electric field that are perpendicular. However, normally the waves can have any orientation to other waves. A polarizer will only allow light rays with a specific orientation to pass through. Here is an example of a linear polarizing filter.

For a certain angle of incidence, light was 100% polarized upon reflection. The refracted beam was partially polarized, but the reflected beam was completely polarized parallel to the reflecting surface. At this angle of incidence, the reflected and refracted beams were perpendicular If the first substance is air (n=1) then Brewsters equation becomes n = tan

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IB Physics Waves and Light A polarimeter is a device that polarizes light, passes it through a sample, then polarizes it again with an analyzer. The intensity of the transmitted light from the analyzer is described by Maluss Law: I = Io cos2

An optically active substance is one that will rotate the plane of polarized light and alter the angle of maximum intensity measured by the polarimeter.

An particular optically active substance will rotate the plane of polarized light depending on the length of the cell, and the concentration of the sample. A well calibrated polarimeter can measure the concentration of a known optically active sample very accurately.

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IB Physics Waves and Light Example 1: Two polarizing sheets are held such that only half of the light that passes through the first sheet passes through the second. What is the angle between the plane of polarization between the two sheets?

Polarized light can be used to analyze stress in glass and some plastics. Areas of higher stress will show as different colours.

LCDs are a common use of polarizing technology. A voltage applied to the liquid crystal causes it to rotate the plane of the polarized light.

pp. 453-4, 47, 61, 62 p. 455, 10 p. 444, challenge

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