O N T H E M AT H E M AT I C A L M O D E L L I N G O F S TA N D I N G WAV E S

I N TA U T W I R E S
james pollard

Solutions to the One Dimensional Wave Equation in Stiff Wires Held Under Tension
July 2015 version 0.1

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James Pollard: On the Mathematical Modelling of Standing Waves in Taut

Wires, Solutions to the One Dimensional Wave Equation in Stiff Wires
c July 2015
Held Under Tension,

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ABSTRACT

Short summary of the contents. . .

iii
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CONTENTS

i waves
1
1 an introduction to waves
3
1.1 The Definition of a Wave
3
1.2 The Wave Equation
6
2 solutions to the wave equation
9
2.1 General Solution
9
2.2 The First Case - Simple Waves
10
2.3 The Second Case - More Complicated Waves
10
2.4 The Third Case (Standing Wave): F(x) = G(x), F(x) 6=
0
10
ii the showcase
11
3 math test chapter
13
3.1 Some Formulas
13
3.2 Various Mathematical Examples
iii appendix
15
a appendix test
17
a.1 Appendix Section Test
17
a.2 Another Appendix Section Test
bibliography

14

18

19

v
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LIST OF FIGURES

vi
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L I S T O F TA B L E S

Table 1

Autem usu id

18

vii
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LISTINGS

Listing 1

A floating example

18

viii
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ACRONYMS

DRY

Dont Repeat Yourself

API

Application Programming Interface

UML

Unified Modeling Language

ix
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Part I
WAV E S
It would be remiss of the author not to introduce what is
meant by a wave when writing on the mathematical modelling of waves. In this section we explore the one dimensional wave equation, its derivation, and its solutions.

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A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O WAV E S

1.1

the definition of a wave

It is very hard to pin down a general, non-mathematical definition

of a wave; it might even be easier to skip straight to a mathematical
definition, but it is worthwhile considering what is meant by the term
wave, as it aids in the linking of abstract mathematical formul to
physical phenomena.
A wave can be defined simply as an oscillation that varies in space
and time. By this we mean that if we consider the wave at a single
point in time, if we move in one direction in space1 some value will
oscillate. In the same way, if we consider the wave at a single point in
space, as we move in one direction through time the same value will
oscillate. The two oscillations do not have to be identical.
A wave has a time period, T , the distance in the time dimension
between the same point on two subsequent oscillations, a wavelength,
, the distance in the spatial dimension between the same point on
two subsequent oscillations, and an amplitude, A, the maximum displacement from the undisturbed equilibrium position. We will also
define the frequency, f, as the number of oscillations which occur per
second, and so this is just the reciprocal of the time period. It is important to note that the oscillation does not have to be of a spatial
nature, such as the height of a point at a given spatial co-ordinate: it
could be the temperature, or the magnitude of the electric field, or
something else entirely.
We can attempt to define this mathematically by coming up with an
attempt at an equation for a wave. If we have some periodic function,
F, and y is the property which oscillates, then:
y(x, t) = F(kx t)

(1.1)

where:
x is the space co-ordinate
t

is the time co-ordinate

is the wave number2

is the angular frequency3

No one part of this equation is the wave. Rather the whole equation
defines a wave.
1 We shall only be considering waves in one dimension, as a wire may be considered
to be one dimensional for the purposes of mathematical modelling.
3 The function F may not necessarily have period 2, so the usual definition of wave
number may not hold
3 Strictly, this should be relative to 2, however it will be relative to the period of F.

3
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an introduction to waves

Through the use of Fourier Series, we may define any periodic

function as a (potentialy infinite) sum of sinusoidal and cosinusoidal
waves4 , and so we will simplify our definition considerably if we let
F(x) = sin(x), knowing that when we want to produce a more complicated wave, we are just summing together several sinusoidal waves
to form a new solution.5
Our new and simplified equation is just:
y(x, t) = A sin(kx t + )

(1.2)

with the same definitions as before.6 This time, however, we have included , a phase constant, to allow for the starting conditions of the
wave to be set. When we define a function we do not know anything
about, such as F, we have no need for this phase constant, as we can
imagine that F(x) = P(x + ), where P is some other function. Once
we define F(x) = sin(x) we must introduce a phase constant.
We shall now try link this equation to our physical understanding
of a wave, previously outlined. To begin with we shall try to work
out the amplitude. This is exceedingly simple: we know that as A is
a constant, the maximum will occur when sin(...) is at its maximum,
which is 1, and so the amplitude will be A 1, or just A.
Now we shall try to find the wavelength. As the wavelength is
purely a spatial phenomenon, we shall assume that the time co-ordinate
remains constant, and only allow the space co-ordinate to vary. To
make the calculations easier, we shall assume that t is fixed at 0, although it would not actually matter if it were something else, as long
as it is constant. We shall also assume that the phase is fixed at 0.
Again this is purely to make the calculations easier. This simplifies
out equation to just:
y(x) = A sin(kx)

(1.3)

We want to find the distance between the same point on two subsequent oscillations. If we let the first point be x0 , and the second point
be x0 + , then:
y(x0 ) = y(x0 + )

(1.4)

as to be the same point, they must have the same value. Hence:
sin(kx0 ) = sin(k(x0 + ))

4 Here, by wave is meant any oscillating function, not a wave as is the subject of our
discussion.
5 This principle of superposition only holds for a linear system.
6 This time the wavenumber and angular frequency will be relative to 2.

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1.1 the definition of a wave

as sine has a period of 2:

kx0 + 2 = kx0 + k
2 = k
 
 2 
=  
k

(1.5)

We can use the same technique to find the time period. By letting
x and be fixed at zero, as this time we are concerned with a time
based property, we can see that:
 
 2 
T =  
(1.6)

Trivially:

 
f= 
2

(1.7)

At this point it might be useful to calculate the velocity of the wave.

This is quite simple to do, as we can just use the relation s = vt. We
know that over one time period, one complete oscillation will occur,
and we know that two points on subsequent oscillations are separated
by the wavelength. One complete oscillation means that the wave has
cycled through once, and is at the same point on the next oscillation,
so over one time period the wave will have moved the distance of one
wavelength. We can substitute these into the equation, and we get:
s = vt
v
= vT (= )
f
2
2
= v
k

k 2

v = (= f)
k

v=

(1.8)

One point we have neglected to consider is the direction of motion

of the wave. We can treat velocity as a signed value rather than a vector per se as we are dealing purely in one dimension. Let us see what
happens if we plot y(x, t) = sin(x t). All we are looking for here
is the direction of motion, so we can remove any unnecessary coefficients and constants. As we can see, a negative t coefficient results
in motion towards the positive direction, hence resulting in a positive
velocity. As our equation has a built in minus sign, a positive value
of results in a positive velocity and so we dont need to alter the
signs in our velocity equation.

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an introduction to waves

1.2

the wave equation

We have succeeded in producing a mathematical equation that defines some sort of wave - it has a clearly defined amplitude, wavelength and time period, and we have said that we can use Fourier
Series to produce a general oscillation from a series of sinusoidal oscillations.
However, although our equation does define some sort of wave,
do all waves fit this definition? The answer is no; we need a more
fundamental mathematical definition.
In order to do this, we will consider our first equation, and calculate
its second partial derivatives with respect to space:
y(x, t) = F(kx t + )

(F(kx t + )) = kF 0 (kx t + )
x

kF 0 (kx t + ) = k2 F 00 (kx t + )
x
2 y
= k2 F 00 (kx t + )
x2

(1.9)

and time:
y(x, t) = F(kx t + )

(F(kx t + )) = F 0 (kx t + )
t

F 0 (kx t + ) = 2 F 00 (kx t + )
t
2 y
= 2 F 00 (kx t + )
t2

(1.10)

By taking out a factor of F 00 (kx t + ) we can see that:

1 2 y
1 2 y

k2 x2
2 t2
2 2 y
2 y

=
k2 x2
t2
(1.11)
and as v =
v2

k:

2 y
2 y
=
x2
t2
2
2 y
2 y
=
v

t2
x2

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(1.12)

1.2 the wave equation

This final result is known as the Wave Equation7 . As we derived it

from our first equation, we know that our first equation is a solution
to this equation. This equation defines every wave possible; any equation for a wave will be a particular solution to this equation and so
whenever we come up with what we think is an equation for a wave,
we can check whether it is indeed a wave by seeing if it is a solution
to the equation.

7 Specifically it is the one dimensional wave equation.

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S O L U T I O N S T O T H E WAV E E Q U AT I O N

2.1

general solution

We start with the equation we previously derived:

2
2 y
2 y
=
v

t2
x2

(2.1)

This is a linear, second order partial differential equation. If we

want to find the true general form of a wave, we must solve this
equation1 .
The general solution is as follows:
y(x, t) = F(x vt) + G(x + vt)

(2.2)

This two terms can be thought of as two waves: note that these
will both have the same magnitude of velocity, but they will travel
in opposite directions, as within each function, the t coefficient is of
opposite sign.
At first sight, it might look as though our original simplified guess
was off a different form, however using the relation v =
k , we can
rewrite our original guess as follows:
y(x, t) = A sin(k(x vt) + )

(2.3)

Having done this, it is clear that our original guess is of the form
of a solution, where:
F(x) = A sin(kx + )
G(x) = 0
Now that we have a general solution, shall temporarily move away
from the mathematical viewpoint, and see what actually happens
when we define F and G. There are three special cases, each of which
we shall consider:
1. F(x) 6= G(x), G(x) = 0
2. F(x) 6= G(x), F(x) 6= 0, G(x) 6= 0
3. F(x) = G(x), F(x) 6= 0

1 We are not actually going to solve this: this is a purely mathematical venture; it is
far more interesting to examine specific solutions to the equation, which is what we
shall do instead.

9
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10

solutions to the wave equation

2.2

the first case - simple waves

This is the most simple case.

2.3

the second case - more complicated waves

2.4

the third case (standing wave): F(x) = G(x), F(x) 6 = 0

This is perhaps the particularly interesting case. We shall devote the

most time to it as it is the case that applies to waves in strings, as we
shall see in a later chapter.

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Part II
THE SHOWCASE
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M AT H T E S T C H A P T E R

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augue est scelerisque sapien, venenatis congue nulla arcu et pede. Ut
suscipit enim vel sapien. Donec congue. Maecenas urna mi, suscipit
in, placerat ut, vestibulum ut, massa. Fusce ultrices nulla et nisl.
3.1

some formulas

Due to the statistical nature of ionisation energy loss, large fluctuations can occur in the amount of energy deposited by a particle
traversing an absorber element1 . Continuous processes such as multiple scattering and energy loss play a relevant role in the longitudinal
and lateral development of electromagnetic and hadronic showers,
and in the case of sampling calorimeters the measured resolution
can be significantly affected by such fluctuations in their active layers. The description of ionisation fluctuations is characterised by the
significance parameter , which is proportional to the ratio of mean
energy loss to the maximum allowed energy transfer in a single collision with an atomic electron:
=

Emax

(3.1)

Emax is the maximum transferable energy in a single collision with an

atomic electron.
Emax =

2me 2 2
1 + 2me /mx + (me /mx )2

where = E/mx , E is energy and mx the mass of the incident particle, 2 = 1 1/2 and me is the electron mass. comes from the
Rutherford scattering cross section and is defined as:
=

2z2 e4 NAv Zx
z2 Z
=
153.4
x keV,
me 2 c2 A
2 A

where

1 Examples taken from Walter Schmidts great gallery:

http://home.vrweb.de/~was/mathfonts.html

13
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You might get

unexpected results
using math in
chapter or section
heads. Consider the
pdfspacing option.

14

math test chapter

charge of the incident particle

NAv

Avogadros number

atomic number of the material

atomic weight of the material

density

x
thickness of the material
measures the contribution of the collisions with energy transfer
close to Emax . For a given absorber, tends towards large values if x
is large and/or if is small. Likewise, tends towards zero if x is
small and/or if approaches 1.
The value of distinguishes two regimes which occur in the description of ionisation fluctuations:
1. A large number of collisions involving the loss of all or most of
the incident particle energy during the traversal of an absorber.
As the total energy transfer is composed of a multitude of small
energy losses, we can apply the central limit theorem and describe the fluctuations by a Gaussian distribution. This case is
applicable to non-relativistic particles and is described by the
inequality > 10 (i. e., when the mean energy loss in the absorber is greater than the maximum energy transfer in a single
collision).
2. Particles traversing thin counters and incident electrons under
any conditions.
The relevant inequalities and distributions are 0.01 < < 10,
Vavilov distribution, and < 0.01, Landau distribution.
3.2

various mathematical examples

If n > 2, the identity



t[u1 , . . . , un ] = t t[u1 , . . . , un1 ], t[u2 , . . . , un ]
defines t[u1 , . . . , un ] recursively, and it can be shown that the alternative definition


t[u1 , . . . , un ] = t t[u1 , u2 ], . . . , t[un1 , un ]
gives the same result.

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Part III
APPENDIX

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[ June 28, 2015 at 22:39 classicthesis version 0.1 ]

APPENDIX TEST

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Mauris porttitor pharetra tortor. Sed fringilla justo sed mauris. Mauris tellus. Sed non leo. Nullam elementum, magna in cursus sodales,
augue est scelerisque sapien, venenatis congue nulla arcu et pede. Ut
suscipit enim vel sapien. Donec congue. Maecenas urna mi, suscipit
in, placerat ut, vestibulum ut, massa. Fusce ultrices nulla et nisl.
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nulla. Vestibulum rhoncus molestie odio. Sed lobortis, justo et pretium
lobortis, mauris turpis condimentum augue, nec ultricies nibh arcu
pretium enim. Nunc purus neque, placerat id, imperdiet sed, pellentesque nec, nisl. Vestibulum imperdiet neque non sem accumsan
laoreet. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Etiam condimentum facilisis libero. Suspendisse in elit quis nisl aliquam dapibus. Pellentesque
auctor sapien. Sed egestas sapien nec lectus. Pellentesque vel dui vel
neque bibendum viverra. Aliquam porttitor nisl nec pede. Proin mattis libero vel turpis. Donec rutrum mauris et libero. Proin euismod
porta felis. Nam lobortis, metus quis elementum commodo, nunc lectus elementum mauris, eget vulputate ligula tellus eu neque. Vivamus eu dolor.
a.1

appendix section test

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vulputate magna et leo. Nam vestibulum ullamcorper leo. Vestibulum condimentum rutrum mauris. Donec id mauris. Morbi molestie
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17
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More dummy text

18

appendix test

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que vista

human

fastidii ea ius

germano

demonstratea

suscipit instructior

titulo

personas

quaestio philosophia

facto

demonstrated

Table 1: Autem usu id.

Listing 1: A floating example
1 for i:=maxint to 0 do

begin
{ do nothing }
end;

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eu, facilisis vel, arcu.
a.2

another appendix section test

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pede tincidunt porta. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Etiam congue neque id dolor.
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libero. Sed sem justo, laoreet vitae, fringilla at, adipiscing ut, nibh.
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mauris porta vulputate. Integer porta neque vitae massa. Maecenas
tempus libero a libero posuere dictum. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis
in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Aenean quis
mauris sed elit commodo placerat. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad
litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos hymenaeos. Vivamus
rhoncus tincidunt libero. Etiam elementum pretium justo. Vivamus
est. Morbi a tellus eget pede tristique commodo. Nulla nisl. Vestibulum sed nisl eu sapien cursus rutrum.

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D E C L A R AT I O N

Put your declaration here.

Manchester, July 2015

James Pollard, June 28, 2015

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