GENERAL PHYSI CS

ARY
ELEMENT

T
EXTBOOK

FOR COLLEGES

BY

H ENRY CR EW, PH D
.

R O F E SS O R O P H Y S I C S
N O R T H W E ST E R N U N I V E R S I TY

F A Y E R W E A TH E R
IN

W
2

N ew End:

TH E M A C M I L L A N

C O M PA N Y

1 9 08
A ll ri gh ts rrrrred

C OP
BY

Se t

A u gu s t

e ect

te

RIGH T

TH E MA C M I

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an

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,

19 08 ,

LLA N C O M P AN Y

P II bl I s h ed M ay ,

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C a sh i n g C o
N orw ood ,
.

B erw ick 85 Sm i th Go
M as s , U S A
.

PR EFACE

these d ays of n u mero u s te x t-bo o ks the a uthor wh o d a r e s

still f urther to incre a se the n u mbe r o wes t o the p u blic a t le a st
a n e x pl a n a tion in which he sh a ll set f o rth his p u rp o se howeve r
f a r sho r t of a cc o m plish m ent he m ay h a ve f a llen
A cco r dingly in this v o l u m e the a u tho r s hopes h a ve been
-b o o k a d a pted to the needs of r
T
i
o
x
p
r
ep
a
r
e
a
te
t
st
()
ye a r s t u d en t s i n physics a t N orthweste r n U nive r sity O n e
fe a r i n this connecti o n is th a t the transfer o f a c o u r se o f
lect u res fr o m e x ible m a nuscript t o r i gid type met a l m ay
cor r espond to th a t st age of develop m ent which in the life
history o f a n a ni m a l is known a s rigor m orti s This di fc u lty
it is hoped m a y be a voided by v a r yin g f ro m ye a r t o ye a r t h e
illustr a tive pheno m en a empl o yed in the lect u r e de m onst r ations
m
m
T
ii
o
keep
the
t
r
e
a
t
ent
ele
ent a r y a nd yet incl u de al l
( )
the f u nd a ment a l p r inciples o f physics ; a nd a t the s a m e ti me
to bind them t o gethe r with connective tiss u e in s u ch a w a y
the essenti a l unity of t h e
as t o m a ke cle a r to the st u dent
s u bject
m
m
m
b
ut
iii
N
ot
merely
or
e
ven
a
inly
to
i
p
a
rt
infor
a
ti
o
n
)
(
to s et before the st u dent a l a rge a nd co m p a ct body of tr u th
o bt a ined by a meth o d which sh a ll re m a in for him thro u gh o u t
life a p a ttern a n d norm of cle a r an d c o r r ect thinking
To s u cceed co m pletely in a n undert a kin g so a m biti o us as
th a t s u ggested by the th r eef o ld p u rpose j u st st a ted is m o r e
th a n the a u th o r d a r es to h o pe
T o m y friend M r Jo hn M a cke n z ie o f M inne a polis I am
indebted f o r th o se p a r a gra phs in C h a pte r II I w hich desc r ib
P r o fess or O sbo r ne R eyn o lds r em a r k a ble the o r y o f g r a vit a ti o n
Th e imperfecti o ns o f the p r esent te x t w o u ld h a ve been m a ny
m o re e x cept f o r the cleve r r evisi o n o f the pro o f by my col
le ag ue P r o fessor R R Ta tn a ll a nd by my f r iend P r o fesso r
A A Kn o wlt o n o f the A r m o u r I nstit u te
S peci al th anks are
d u e M r J H S pencer o f t he U nited S t a tes We a the r B u r e a u
IN

'

PRE FA CE

vi

an i on
to the You th s Comp
a nd to the D e La v a l S te a m Turbine
M r John A Fleming of the
C omp a ny for the u se o f cuts
C a rnegie I nstitution w a s good enou gh to revise those p a r a gr a ph s
d e a ling with the sec u l a r v a ri a tion o f the e a rth s m a gnetic eld
To my sister C a roline L C rew I a m indebted for the e x cision
o f m a ny a wkw a rd E nglish constructions

E A N T ON
V

pri l 8

H C

I L L IN O I S
1 908

OF CONTENTS

TABLE

PA

IN T R O D U C T O R Y

CH AP TE R

KI N E M A T I C S

Pos i t i on of P rt i cle
Posit ion of B ody
a

6-1 0

10

M e as u re m ent of L ength s Are as an d V ol u mes

A ngu l ar P os i t i on
C h ange of P osi ti on
A dd i t i on an d S u btrac ti on of V ec to r s
Degree s of F reedo m
V eloc i ty
A ng u l ar V eloc i ty
C h a nge of V eloc i ty
A cceler at i on
A ngu l ar A cceler ati on
S u m m ary of Ki ne mat i c s
,

CH AP TER

S I M LE
P

i ne r S B
a

A ng ul ar

M
SH M
.

1 0 1 2

12

14
14
18
2 02 6
27
9

32
41

42

II

H A R M ON I C M O T I ON
4 650

C o m po si t i on of

51

SH M
.

an

d Un

iform R ecti l i ne r M ot ion

a

CH AP TE R

III

S O M E G ENE R AL P R O E R T I E
P

I I nerti a

51

OF

M ATTE R
54

M ass an d L i ne ar M o m en tu m
Rot at i on al I nert i a an d Ang u l ar M omentu m
F orce an d T orq u e
S t at i cs
T he C o uple
C en tr if u gal F orce an d P recessi on
S yste m s of B od i es ; N ewton s T h i rd Law

vi i

5 76 3

64
66 7 2

73
75
76
79

T AB LE

viii
II

or

C O N T ENT S
PA

G r av i t ati on

of F reely F al l i ng B od ies
T h e P end u lu m S i m ple P hy si c al an d R ev ers i ble
U n i vers al G rav i tat i on
III M atter as a V eh i cle of E nergy
D e n i t i on s of W ork an d E nergy
D i ssi p ati on of E nergy
C onserv ati o n of E nergy
M e as ure of E nergy
C ond it ions of E qu i l i br i u m i n T er m s of E nergy
P ower
A ppl i c ati on of P r i nc i ple of E nergy t o M ach i nes
W ork of F r i cti on
I V E l ast i c ity
D i s ti ncti on betwee n S ol i ds F l u i ds an d G ases
S tr ai ns S tresse s an d M od u l i
Algebr ai c S u mm ary of D yn am i c s
,

87

9 2 98

99

1 04

1 051 07
1 08
109
1 1 0-1 1 3
1 13

1 15
1 1 6 12 1
12 2
12 7

C H AP TE R
P

12 9- 1 3 6
13 7

IV

SO M E S E C I AL PR O E R T I E
f

12 8

er
ties o

S OF

M A TTE R
13 9

Li q u id s

I H ydrost at i cs

13 9

D e n i t i on of Press u re
Si x P ropos i t i ons i ncl u d i ng P asc al s T h eore m
P ri nc i ple etc
I I H ydr au l i cs
T orr i cell i s T heore m
B erno u i ll i s T heore m
III S urf ace T ens i on C ap i ll ar i ty
P heno m en a an d E x pl an at i on s
L i q ui d Jets
Attract i on an d R ep u ls i on of F lo at i ng B od i es

140

pri

P ro

e t es o

B aro m eter

82

L aw s

P ro

Gases

Arch medes

1 4 0 1 4 5

14 6
14 7

149
15 2
1 5 3 15 7

15 8
1 60
16 3

M ano m e t er
C i rc u l at i on of the E arth s A t mosphere
C yclones
Appl i c ati on of P r i nc i p
les to P u mps
B oyle s Law
an d

1 64
1 67
169
1 72
1 77

C H AP TE R V
VVA V E S

D e n i ti on of W ave M oti on
( i ) W ater W aves
( i i) R i pples

184

1 85 1 8 9
1 9 0 19 1

TA B L E

OF

C O N T EN T S

ix
P AG E

(ii i ) T i d al W ave s
( i v ) W aves i n S tr i ngs
(v ) R eson an ce

1 9 2 - 1 95
1 96 2 02

2 02

D oppler s Pr i nc iple

05

CH AP TE R VI

SO

U ND

I n trod uc tory
(i )
(i i )
(iii )
(iv)
( v)
( vi )
( vii)
(v iii )
( ix )

2 09

W ave M ot i on
S t at i on ary W aves i n Ai r
G r aph i c al R epresent at i o n of S o u nd W aves
Re ecti on of S ou nd W aves
S peed of S o u nd W aves
Di st i nct i on between N o i se an d M u s i cal S o u nd
T hree C h aracteri st i c F e at ures of a M n si cal Note
Rel at i on of T ones to E ach O ther M u sic al Sc ale
T heory of M u s i c al I nstru ments
S o u nd

C H AP TER

T H EO RY

or

I ntrod u c tory
(i )
(ii )

ii
i
( )

(i v)

(v )

( )
vi

2 11
2 12
2 16
2 18
2

20

225
228
237
2 42

VI I
H EAT
2 47

D i st i nc ti on be twee n H e at a n d T e m per at u re
M e asu re m ent of T e m per at u re T her m o m etry
H i stor ic al D evelop m ent of T her m o meter
M e as u re m e nt of H i gh T e mperat u res
Q u ant i ty of H e at C a lori m etry
T rans fer of H e at
H e at C ond u ct i on
C onvect i on C u rrents
R ad i at i on of H e at
S o m e E ffects of He at
C h an ge of D i men si ons
(0 ) E x p ansi on of S ol i ds
E x p an s i on of L i q u i ds
( c) E x p an s i on of G ases
Ki neti c T heory o f G a se s
C h ange of M olec u l ar S tate
(a) M elt i ng
B
i
o
l
i
ng
b
)
(
N at u re of H e at
F i rst Law of T her modyn am i cs
S econd Law of T her m odyn a mi cs
A bsol u te S c ale of T e m per at ures
.

2 47
2 49
2 52
2

55

2 57
2 60
2 60

2 64
2 67
2 72
2

73

2 77
281
2

83

2 87
2

97

98

3 00

T AB L E

OF

C ONTENT S

C H AP TE R VI I I

M A GN E T I S M

(i)
( i i)
(i i i)
IV
( )
(v )
( vi )
( vi i )
(v iii )
(i x )
(x )

T he C o mp ass N eedle
M agneti c D ecl i n at i on
M agneti c D ip
Law of M agnet i c At trac ti on ; M agne ti c F i elds
T he E arth a G re at M agnet
T he E arth s Act ion a C o uple
E ff ect of H e at on M agneti c Q ual i ty
M agnet iz at i on a M olec u l ar P rope rty
M agnet i c I nd uct ion
M agnet i c Perm e ab i l ity

CH AP TE R
EL E C T

3 08
3 10
3 12
3 13
: 31 7

3 18

3 25

3 27

IX

R OST A T I CS

Prod ction of E lectr i c t ion

330

PA

C ond u ctors an d N oncond u ctors

T wo Ki nds of E lectri c at i on
Law of E lec t r i c F orce
C o u lo mb
E lectrost at i c I nd u ct i on
Eq u al i ty of I nd u ced C h arges
T he I de a of P ote n ti al
L i nes of F orce
T he I de a of E lectr i c al C ap ac ity
E nergy of a C h arged C ond u ctor
T he O sc i ll atory D i sch arge

332

333
334

3 39
3 42
3 46

3 50
3 53
3 55

3 56

CH AP TE R X
EL E C T R I C

C U R R EN TS

T he F u nd am ent al P heno menon

T he G alv anoscope
I T he Prod uct i on of E lectr i c C u rren ts
( a) T he V ol tai c C ell
( b) T he I nd u cti on of E lectr i c C u rren ts
(c) T he T her mop i le
II T he M e as u rem ent of E lectri c al Q uant iti e s
T he I de a of E lectro moti ve F orce
T he M e as ure ment of E lectr i c al C u rren t
T he I de a of R es i stance O h m s Law
E lectro-m agneti c U n i t of Q u ant i ty
E lectro-m agnet i c U n i t of C ap ac i ty

361
3 63

3 65
3 73
3 81

3 82
3 85
3 87
3 92
3 92

T AB L E
I II

OF

C ON T ENT S

E ffec t s of an E lectr i c C urrent

A C he m i c al E ff ect
F ar ad ay s L aw s of E lectrolysis
B H e at i ng E ffec t
Jo u le s L aws of H e at i ng
T he I nc ande scent L amp
0 M agne ti c E ect
T heory of the T ran sfor mer
T heory of the D yn am o an d M o tor
.

CH AP TE R

xi

PA

3 95

4 00
4 01

4 02
4 05
4 08
4 12
4 16

XI

LI G H T

Prel im i n ry D e n i ti ons
(i) R ect i l i ne r P rop g ti on
( i i ) S p ed of L i ght
( ii i ) L i gh t W ve M oti on
nsverse Pol r i ti on
( i ) L i ght W ves T ra
( v ) T he R e ect i on of L i gh t
H ygen P ri nc iple
(v i ) T he R efr ct i on of L i ght

S o me

a a

za

T heory of L enses
D i spers ion C olor
(v ii) I n terference an d D i ffrac ti on
T heory of the D iff rac ti on G r at i ng
.

CH AP TER
O P T I C A L I N ST

(i )
(ii )
( i ii )
( iv )
(v )
( vi )
( vi i )
(v iii )
(i x )

LI S T

or

IN D E X

42 4
42 5

42 9
43 3

43 7
4 40
44 3
4 50

458
47 3
4 78
488

XI I

R U M EN T S

T he P hotograph i c C am era
T he H u man E ye
T he P rojecti on L an ter n
T he S i mple M i croscope
T he C o mpo u nd M i croscope
T he Astrono mi c al T elescope
T he Opera G l as s
T he I nterfero m e ter
T he S pec tro scope
Pr i nc iples of Spectroscopy

5 13

TA B L E S

5 16

4 95
496
497
49 8
4 99
5 00
5 01

5 02
5 07

5 17

GE N ER AL P H Y SI CS
I N TR OD UCTOR Y
P H YS IC S ,

in the p r esent sense o f the w o rd is n o t a n a ncient

s cience bu t a cre a ti o n o f the l a st th r ee h u nd r ed ye a r s C om
p a r ed with a st r on o my a nd medicine it is a m e r e u pst a rt
\Vhen h o weve r o n e c o nsiders the w o rk o f the Egypti a ns in
h a ndlin g t r e m end o u s bl o cks of stone s u ch a s th o se u sed in the
c o nstr u cti o n of the py r a m ids o r the w o r k o f the G r eeks in
devising p o we r f ul c a t a p u lts o rthe w o r k o f the R o m a ns in d is
t r ib u ting w a te r thro u gh well const r u cted a qu ed u cts o r a ny one
o f their n u me r ous clever devices s u ch a s the steely a r ds l o cks
a nd s u r gic a l inst r u ments which h a ve been rec o ve r ed a t P o m peii
it beco m es evident th a t the a ncients we r e f a m ili a r with a wide
r a n ge of physic a l science
Th a t there we r e a m ong the m keen
obse r ve r s is p a tent to eve r y one wh o h a s c o nsidered the H e r m es
Th e S kill of
o f P r a x iteles o r the c o l u m ns o f the P a rthen o n
the a ncients in h u ntin g a nd the a cc u r a cy with which they oh
se r ved the motions o f the pl a nets a r e p r o ve r bi a l
N o r we r e they w a ntin g in the desi r e for a unit a r y view of
the wo r ld a bo u t them This se a r ch for u nity is evinced in the
ide a of H e r a clit u s th a t i gneo u s v a p o r ( r e ) w as the on e g r e a t
p r inciple in the ide a of Th a les th a t aq u e o u s v a p o r w a s the key
t o the sit u ati o n in the ide a of A n a x imenes th at a ir w a s the
essenti al p r inciple a nd in the n o ti o n of D e m oc r it u s th a t the
o r i gin of a ll things w a s t o be so u ght in the a t o m Th e f a il u r e
o f these v a r i o u s views g a ve rise t o the gene r a l o pinion th a t
f o u r ele m ents
e a r th a i r r e a nd w ate r constituted a n
i r red u cible mini m u m for the physic a l u niverse Th e P tole m aic
syste m o f c r yst a lline spheres cycles a nd epicycles is a n o ther
pr o d u ct o f their e a ge r ness for unity Well then in wh a t re
spect does mo de r n physic a l science differ f r o m the ancient ?
Why is the be ginnin g of this science s u pp o sed to lie only so m e
th r ee h u ndred ye a rs b a ck o f the p r esent
,

'

G EN E R A L

PHY S

IC S

Th e a nswer to this question like th a t to most othe r s which

,

begin with why is not e a sy ; a nd all th a t c a n be done here

is to point out brie y how a ncient differs from modern scienc e
r ather th a n to e x pl a in why this di fference e x ists
D uring the
fteenth century the r e seeme d to come over the minds o f
thinking men a ch a n ge m a rked especi a lly by a n incre ase d
fr eed o m f r om the tr a m m els of a u tho r ity
S u ch freedom h a d
a lre ady eve n as e a rly a s the f o urteenth century
m a de itsel f
evident in p a inting a rchitecture a nd m usic A new li te r a t u r e
h ad fo u nd e x p r ession in D a nte P etr a r ch a nd B o cc a ccio wh o se
wo r ks were now bein g d issemin a ted by the newly invented art
of printing A n inc r e a sed boldness w a s shown by n a vig a to r s
which c u lmin a ted in the discovery of A m eric a This s ame
cent u ry w a s m a rked by the birth of C opernic u s with P a r a
celsus a nd Leon a rdo d a V inci for contempor a ries With o u t
shedding a ny n ew light upon the c a use of this ch a nged at
t i t u d e of mind it m a y pe r h a ps be best described a s
the spiri t
o f the R en a iss a nce
P r e vi o us t o this ti m e those gre a t gen
er
al i z at i on s which we n o w c a ll
physic al l a ws seem t o h a ve
been r a the r f o rt u ito us a nd unf r u itful ; a fter this period the
se a r ch for l a w f o r the c o nst a nt elements i n the beh a vior o f
n a ture seems to h a ve been m o re a m a tter of deliber a te a n d
denite pl a n while the results of the se a rch h a ve been t r e
m en d o u sl y p r o lic of o ther impo r t a nt results
I t w as upon such a b a ckg r o und a s this a n d into s u ch a
ch a nged world a s this th a t on the 1 5 th of Febru a ry 1 5 64 a t
B ut
P is a in I t a ly the f o u nder of modern physics w a s b o r n
while a ll science is the cre a tion o f m a n it is eq u ally t r u e th at
n o science is the cre a ti o n o f a ny sin gle m a n I n wh a t sense
the r ef or e c a n Ga lile o be spoken of a s the f o u nder o f m o de r n
physics ? Just this b e it w a s who rst discovered the fund a
m ent a l p r incipl es of mode rn dyn a mics the one br a nch of le a rn
ing u p o n which the enti r e s u perstr u ct u re o f the physic a l sciences
h a s been erected H is f o r m u l a tion of these principles w as a s
we sh a ll l a ter see imperfect ; b u t his suggestion th a t b o dies
ch a n ge their m o tion when a nd only when a cted upon by some
e x te r n a l f o r ce o r if y ou plea se the s u bstitution of the con
tion
cep
f o rce in pl a ce of c a use of m otion h a s proven
to be the m o st fe r tile p r inciple a s well a s the rst f u nd am ent a l
a nd perfectly gener a l principle of m odern dyn a mics a principle

INTR OD U C T I ON

which nds its l a ter a nd more perfect e x pression in N ewton s

Three La ws of M o tion A mon g the a ncients A rchimedes
2 1 2 B C
h
w
o a pp r o a ch ed the
a
ppe
a
rs
to
be
the
one
m
a
n
2
8
7
)
(
m odern method in physics H e est a blished a r m fo u nd a ti o n
for the science of st a tics the conditi o ns of e qu ilibrium for
bodies a t rest ; bu t this is a ve r y speci al c a se of dyn a mics
a nd the a chievements of A rchimedes which e a r ly a ttr a cted the
a ttention o f G a lileo r e m a r k a ble a nd v a l u a ble a s they impress
b o r e little f r ui t until the ide a of f o rce a s the con
u s to d ay
dition for ch a nge of motion w a s introd u ced by the gre a t I t a l
i a n F r o m G a lileo s time o n m o tions ce a se to be cl a ssied a s

n a t u r a l a nd violent A ll m o ti o ns a r e hencefo r th n a t u r a l
a nd a re prope r s u bj ects forspeci a l investig a tion The f a ith a nd
skill in e x periment e x hibited by Ga lileo s et a new p a ce on e
whic h h a d possibly never before been re a ched a nd one which
h a s cert a inly seldom S ince been s u rp a ssed
The e x pe r iment a l meth o d once est ablished new f a cts a nd
new gener ali z a tions a ccum u l a ted with m a rvelo u s r a pidity ;
a nd the subject of n a tu r a l philos o phy en r iched by the l a bo r s o f
H o o ke B o yle a nd N ewton in E ngl a nd D esc a rtes a n d M er
senne in F r a nce H u ygens in H oll a nd Torricelli a nd othe r
p u pils of G a lileo in I t a ly bec a me s o bulky th a t cert a in n a t u r a l
cle a v a ge lines beg a n to a ppe a r
C ert a in pheno m en a were soon recogni z ed a s peculi a r to living
b o dies bodies which p o ssess the a bility t o a ssimil a te f o od
the p o wer of rep r od u ction sens a tion etc a nd these c a me to be
st u died u nder the he a d of n a t u r a l hist o ry a nd m edicine This
enti r e g r o u p includin g a s it now d o es bot a ny z oOl ogy physi
ol o gy a n a tomy p aleontology ( a s disting u ished fro m ge o l o gy )
b a cte r i o l o gy etc h as by wide consent been given the n a m e
o f the n atur a l s ci e n ces
A ll m a tter o ther th a n th a t of livin g
b o dies is s a id to be in a nim a te ; a nd it is with this cl a ss of
bodies especi a lly th a t the p h ys i cal s ci en ces h a ve t o do
I n the e a r ly d a ys ne a rly a ll the pheno m en a o f the physic a l
sciences we r e st u died under the he a d of Natur a l Ph i l os op h y a
te r m which w a s empl o yed in contr a distincti o n t o Natur al
Hi st or y a nd on e which incl u ded s u ch dive r se s u bjects a s the
moti o ns of the s o l a r syste m en gineerin g st r u ct u r es an d m ete o r
B u t P hysics o r N a t u r a l P hil o s o phy in its n a rr o w a nd
o lo gy
proper sense does not de a l with all the phenomen a of de a d

G ENE RA L

P HY S

IC S

m a tter There a re for inst a nce cert a i n bodies which a re so

dist a nt from us th a t they c a n be st u died only by speci a lly de
signed instr u ments such a s the telescope A ccord ingly the
st u dy of the x ed st a rs the pl a nets comets etc is p u rsued
under a speci a l dep a rtme nt o f physic a l science c alled Astron omy
There is a nother e x ceedi n gly l a rge a nd import a nt br a nch o f
physic a l science which de a ls especi a lly wit h those ch a nges
which occur in homogeneous bodies m a inly ch anges o f c o m
position The system a tic study of these ch a nges i s c a rried on
under the he a d of Ch emi stry
Those properties of in a nim a te bodies which a re not prim a rily
connected with a ch a nge in their chemic a l composition a r e then
the especi a l subjects of st u dy p u rsued under the he a d o f Ph ys i cs
B esides these there a re other import a nt b u t more speci a li z ed
br a nches of phy sic a l science which de a l with p a rticul a r gro u ps
o f bodies
Th u s the comp r ehensive science which t a kes u p
the
study of the e a rt h s crust f r om a physic a l a nd chem ic a l st a nd
poin t is c a lled Geol ogy ; while Meteorol ogy a science o f gre a t
S ignic a nce a nd of incre a sing pr actic a l v a lue de a ls e x cl u sively
h y s i cah p
h en om en a o f the e a rth s a tmosphere
with the p
B uilt upo n the physic a l a nd n a tur a l sciences is still a nother
gr oup of studi es disti n guished from the preceding p u re
sciences m a inly by the p u rp o se a nd a ttitude o f mind on the p a r t
o f the stude n
t S uch a re the v a r ious br a nches of engineering
which a re l a rgely br a nches of a pplied physics ; such a lso is the
study of modern m edicine a science which h a s become i mmed i
a tely dependent upon B iology C he mistry P hysics P hysiol o gy
a nd A n a tomy
I n a ttempting to ro u ghly loc a te P hysics a mong t h e v a rio u s
sciences we h a ve so f a r considered only those groups o f phenom
en a which a re a ssoci a ted wit h m a tter a nd h a ve left to one side
the phenomen a of mind als o the historic a l sciences which de a l
with the pu rp o ses a nd the contr o lling wills of individ u als a nd
n a tions T o o n e side a lso h a ve been left those sciences which
de a l with the c o nsensus of s a ne opin ion a nd with the e x pression
o f the will of the enti r e r a ce sciences wh ich M ii n s t er
berg c a lls
N orm a tive a nd which include Lo gic a nd M a them a tics
Th e pl a ce of P hysics in the f a mily of the sciences is then a
very modest one for i t de a ls only with a p a r tic u l a r group of
phen o m en a a ss o ci a ted with in a nim a te m a tter a nd li m ited essen
.

INTROD U C T ION

to those ch a n ges in which the composition of the v a rious

s u bst a nces involved rem a ins un a lte r ed With in this limited
dom a in the purpose of the physicist is to discover a nd to
d escribe the univers a l an d const a nt modes i n the beh a vio r of
n a tu r e V ery often these results c a n be given a S imple a nd
a cc u r a te m a the m a tic a l form u l a tion
With w h a t splendid suc
cess this w o rk h a s been pushed forw a rd will a ppe a r when we
come to stu dy in m ore det a il the work of the m en who h a ve
followed the gre a t Ga lileo m en such a s N e wton F a r a d ay a nd
M a x well in E n gl a nd ; F resnel a nd A mp ere i n F r a nce ; Ga u ss
Weber Kirchhoff H elmholt z a nd H ertz in G erm a ny ; V olt a
a nd M el l on i in I t a ly ; Fr a nkl i n H enry a nd R owl a nd in
Americ a
t i al l y

CH APTER I
K I N E M A TI C S

POSIT I O N

distinguished G erm a n physicist

rst cle a rly pointed out th a t the a im of the physicist is to
desc ribe the m o tions of bodies completely a nd i n the s i mples t
possible m a nner B ut since a body is a limited po r tion o f
m a tter whic h we m a y consider a s m a de up o f a n u m ber of sm a ll
p a r ticles it will be si m pler to consider rst the m o tion o f a p
ar
ti cl e a nd then p a ss to the c o nsi d er a tion o f bod i es in moti o n
H owever since m o tion is merely ch a nge of p o sition i t will be
c o nvenient rst to le a rn how the position o f a p a r ticle i s dened
The w o rd p a rticle is used a lw ays to denote a body so sm a ll th a t
its dimensions m a y be neglected in comp a r is o n with other dis
t a nces inv o lved Th u s a b a seb all m a y be conside r ed a p a rticle
when on e is thinking only o f its p a th through the a ir ; bu t in the
pitcher s h a nds it becomes a b o dy of very a pp r eci a ble si z e a
b o dy which he sets int o r o t a tion a bo u t a denite a x is in o r der
t o g i ve it a ny desired
cu r ve
1

Ki rchh o ( 1 8 2 4

PO S ITIO N

or

P A R T IC L E

IN A

P LAN E

W hen geogr a phers describe the position o f a to wn they

a ss u me th a t the re a der a lre a dy knows the position o f s o m e point
on the e a r th which m ay be c a lled a p o int o f reference S uch a
point o f reference f o r the s u rface o f the e a rth i s the intersecti o n
of the meridi a n through G r eenwich with the eq u a t o r This
x ed the loc a tion of a to w n is denitely described when two
things a re known a bo u t it ; n a mely its l a ti tu d e a nd its l on gi tu d e
'
Th u s the isl a nd o f S t H elen a is in 1 5 55 south l a tit u de a nd
'
5 4 3 west longitude
A simil a r method is f r equently used i n physics ; e g the
p o sition of a p o int P ( F ig
with reference to a nother p o int
0 i n t he s ame p
l an e is described whe n two m u tu a lly rect a n gu
2

K I NE M A T IC S

l a r str a i ght lines a re d r a wn th r o u gh the point 0 a nd the

perpendic u l a r dist a nces of the p o int P from these tw o lines
respectively a r e given Th e p
ef er en ce 0 i s ge n er al l y
oi n t of r
Th e h or i zon t al l i n e of ref eren ce 0X ( F ig 1 )
cal l ed t h e or i gi n
i s ge n er al l y calle d t h e ax is of
X ; an d th e v erti cal l i n e of
referen ce O Y t h e ax is of Y
oi n t
: of the p
Th e l on gi tu d e a
P i s ca lle d i t s ab s ciss a ; while
t h e l atitu d e y i s kn own as i t s
A bsciss a s a r e posi
or di n at e
tive when d r awn to the r ight
f ro m t h ax is o f Y ; ne ga tive
W hen d r a wn to the left O rdi
n a tes a re p o sitive when d r a wn
upw a r d f r o m t h e a x is of X ;
ne ga tive whe n d r a wn d o wn
S h w in
meth d f l
1
t i ng
g
w a r d These q u a ntities a: a nd
mt
p
91
r
ect an
a
r
e
kn
o
wn
a
s
the
2
y
n t P ; they a re a speci a l kind of
ul
r
r
in
tes
o
f
the
poi
a
c
d
a
o
o
g
C a r tesi a n co Ord i n at es so c alled a fter D esc a rtes wh o r st em
pl o yed a n a l geb r a o f this kind
I n the l a b o r a t o ry we h a ve f r eq u ent occ a si o ns t o dr a w c u r ves
a nd this is gene r a lly d o ne by l o c a ting p o ints on coOrd i n at e
p a per i n the m a nne r j u st d escribed
N a vig a tors a nd s u rvey o r s gene r a lly empl o y a di fferent meth o d
o f loc a tin g o n e p o int with
reference to a n o ther in the
s a me pl a ne Th ey gi ve the
str ai gh t l i n e d istan ce from
t h e rst p oin t t o t h e se con d
h
n
i
h
en
t
h
e
i
ve
t
d
re
c
ti
o
t
e
g
y
X
F IG 2 A sec n d meth d f l c ti n g
oi n i n g t h e p oi nts
of t h e line j
p i nt i p l ne
Th l s meth od als o 1 3 fre
que n tl y u sed i n p
h y s i cs an d i s kn own as t h e meth od of p ol ar
r d i n ates Th e ide a will be cle a r f r o m Fig 2 where 0 is the
coo
p o int o f refe r ence a nd 0X a ny kn o wn direction There is no
d o u bt a bo u t the e x a ct p o siti o n o f a p a rticle a t P a s soon a s we
know the dist a nce r between the points 0 an d P a nd the a n gl e
6 between the lines 0P a n d OK
Th e an gu l ar d i st an ce 0 w e
,

'

on e

"1 3

oc a

n a

o a

a.

GENERAL PHYS IC S

l al w ay s con si der p
os i t i v e w h en meas ur ed i n a d i r
ect i on
contr ar y t o t h at i n w hi ch t h e h an d s of a cl ock m ov e a d ir
ecti on
I n like m a nner 6 is con
w h ich i s cal led cou n t er -cl ockwi s e
neg a tive when me a sured in a clockwise sense The
ed
sid er
line 0X we m a y c a ll the line of reference
sh al

A P A R T IC LE I N S PA C E
I f a point on the e a rth s surf a ce is to be described still
3
m ore completely we m a y choose the se a level a s a pl a n e of
reference a nd give the a ltitude of the point S o in m a the
mat i cs a nd physics one freq u ently d escribes a point by loc a ting
it rst in a cert a in pl a ne a s de
scribed i n the preceding sections
a nd then st a tin g the position o f
this pl a ne with respect to some
other pl a ne of reference I t will
be observed th a t in gene r a l t hree
POSITIO N

OF

p
l
l
d
r
ib
t
h
i
i
p y
p
i
i
w
h
r
r
f
p
s

eci

et e

F IG

o n

ar
e

es c

ca t on s

n eed ed

os

to

e e en ce

to

on

co

on e

an other;

when the num e r ic a l v al u es

o f these three co ordin a tes a re once known t h e positi o n o f the
point is given witho u t a mbig u ity Thus if t h e rect an gul ar
co Or
d i n at es of a p a rticle in sp a ce h a ve the v a lues
.

a nd

'

c a n proceed to loc a te it a s indic a ted in

on e

Fi g 3
.

PO S IT I O N V EC TO R S

third a nd simpler w a y to think of the position of

a point is to consider it a s completely specied by a sin gle
str a ight l ine running from the p o int of reference t o the point
under conside r a ti o n I f in Fig 4 we know n o t only the
len gth but also the direction a nd sense of th e str a i ght line
0P we know a ll th a t c a n p o ssibly be known a bo u t the posi
tion of the p a rticle a t P
To an y q u an t i ty s u ch as 0P p oss es s i n g d i r ecti on sen se an d

This cl a ss of q u a n
amou n t t h e n am e v ect or h as been gi v en
tities includes m a ny of the most i m port a nt studied in physics
4

B ut

K I NE M A TIC S

vector qu a ntity is simply on e which resembl es a l imi ted

s tr
a i ht li n e in three p a rticul a rs ; n a m ely i n t he
osses si on o
g
p
f
A

d i recti on ,

sen s e, an

nu

meri ca l magn i tu d e

vector which loc a tes on e p o int with

reference to a nother a s in Fig 4 is
c alled a position vector a nd is a type of
vect o r qu a ntities in gener al of which we
sh all meet m a ny e x a mples in l a ter p a ges
The u sefulness of the vector in rep
re
senting the positi o n of a point lies i n its
cle a rness a nd si m plicity for p u r poses of
numeric a l c a lcul a tion it h a s sm a ll v a lue
A

FI G 4

D I GR ESS I O N

ON

S C ALA R Q U AN T I T I ES

The mere length of a str a ight line is the s a me in wh a t

ever direction the line m ay lie The l en gt h of a str a ight line i s
therefore n ot a vect o r qu a ntity I t is independent of direction
Q u an t i t i e s w h i ch do n ot h ave d i r ect i on are call ed s cal ars
This dis
P hil a delphi a is a city 9 0 miles fr o m N ew York
t a nce is a sc a l a r qu a ntity The inform a tion cont a ined in this
st a tement tells me only th a t P hil a delphi a lies s o m ewhere on a
circle of 9 0 miles r a dius described with N ew Yo r k a s a center
But
9 0 miles southwest of N ew Yo r k
ives
me
a
vect
o
r
g
qu a ntity which loc a tes the position of P hil a delphi a with o u t
A po u nd of s u g a r three y a rds of c a lico two
a mbig u ity
g a llons of w a ter a vol u me of a nything a ny a mount of m a tter
a re illustr a tions of sc a l a rs
5

S U MM A R Y
6

S umm a ri z i n g then the position

,

a lw ays

described by
methods

on e or

the other

of
of

p a rticle is ne a rly
the three following
a

in which the position of a point

is de ned by givin g its dist a nce from e a ch of three mutu ally
perpendicul a r pl a nes These dist a nces a re c alled the rect an gu
l a r coOrd i n at es of th e p a rticle a nd a re us u a lly denoted by x g z
The three mut u a lly pe r pendic u l a r refe r ence pl a nes a re indi
cat ed in Fi
3
by
Z
a
nd
X
O
Z
X
Y
Y
O
O
g
(i)

R ectan gu l arcoord i n ates,

GENERAL PHYS IC S

10

d
i
n ates in which the position o f a p a rticle is
ii
ol ar coor
P
( )
described by its dist a nce rfrom the origin a nd by its l a titude
a nd lo n gitude on a S phere whose center is a t the origin a nd
whose r a dius is the dist a nce r j ust described These three
qu a ntities a re c alled the pol a r coOrd i n at es of the p a rticle a nd
) respectively
e usu ally den o ted by t h e letters r 0 a nd 4
ar
iii
a
gr
a
phic
a
l
method
in
which
the
position
of
a
ector
s
V
( )
of a single str a ight
rticle
is
loc
a
ted
a
s
the
termin
a
l
point
a
p
line dr a wn in a denite sense a nd in a denite direction from
the origin
'

'

POSIT IO N

OF

B OD Y

Ha ving thus f a r considered the position of a arti cl e only ,

we n o w t a ke u the position of a body which h a s a lre a dy been
dened a s a limited portion of m a tter For the present let u s
de a l only with perfectly rigid solids th a t i s with bodies whose
S i z e a nd sh a pe a re e a ch const a nt
I f we consider a body merely
a s a syste m of rigidly connecte d p a rticles it is evident th a t its
positi o n is completely dened only when the position of each
p a rticle in the system is k n own B u t since the body is rigid
this is equiv alent to s aying th a t its position is co m pletely de
t erm i n ed when we know the positions of a ny th ree points in
the body pr o vided of course th a t these points do not lie in the
s a me str a ight line I n other w o rds if a str a ight line a nd one
point o utside this line be loc a ted in a body the positi o n of the
enti r e body is completely dened I t is cle a r theref o re th a t a
b o dy m a y h a ve m a ny di ff erent positi o ns in which two points in
the body a re x ed ; f o r unde r this condition it m a y be rot a te d
thro u gh a ny a n gle a bo u t the str a ight line joining these t wo
points A s we sh a ll see l a ter it is often quite a s necess a r y to
consider the a ng u l a r a s well a s the line a r position of a body ;
while fora S ingle p a rticle a ngul a r position is a term which h a s
no me a ning
7

M EAS U R E M E N T

OF

L EN G T H S

The a ctu a l determin a ti o n of the position of a ny point i n

t h world a bout us le a ds a t o nce t o the me a s u rement of a d i s
t a nce by which is me a nt simply th e c o m p a rison of a ny a ssigned
dist a n ce with a given dist a nce which we a gree to t a ke as unity
8

KI NE MA T IC S
As

11

l a ter e x perience will show comp a rison is the essenti a l fe a

Ten y a rds of cloth i s S imply a piece
t u re o f a ll me a s u rement
of cloth which is ten ti m es as long as a cert a in piece of wood
c a lled a y a rd stick
,

U N ITS
.

tr

C EN T IM E T E R

FOO T

ti c w orl d h as agreed t o tak e as t he

d l en gt h t h e d i stan ce betwee n t w o m ar ks on a certai n
s tan d ar
l ati n u m iri di u m barp reserv ed i n t h e I n t ern ati on al M etri c B ur eau
p
vres n e ar Par i s Th is d i s tan ce i s call ed a m eter Th e on e
at S e
h un d re d th p art of t h e d istan ce betw een t h ese tw o m ar k s i s taken as
F o r m a ny l a bor a tory me a s
t h e u n it an d i s ca lle d a centi meter
ur
em en t s this sm a lle r unit will be fo u n d mo r e convenient th a n
the meter
I t will be observed th a t this denition is p u rely a rbitr a ry a
mere m a tter of c o nvention The f a ct th a t the meter is so
ch o sen a s to be n e a rly eq u a l to on e ten -millionth of the dist a nce
from the e a rth s equ at o r t o its north pole is interesting ; bu t it
d o es not enter into the deniti o n o f the unit o f le n gth A s a
m a tter o f f a ct the length of t h e e a rth s q u a dr a nt h a s been
found to be m ore ne a r ly
mete r s The student
who is not f a mili a r with the metric system will nd it interest
ing to esti m a te h is o w n height in centimete r s a lso to g u ess a t
the len gth a nd width of this p a ge in centimete r s ; an d then
test the a cc u r a cy of his estim a tes by a ct u a l me a s u rement with
a meter stick
E nglish a nd A meric a n en gineers gener ally employ the y a rd
a s the st a nd a rd o f length a nd the f oot a s the u nit of len gth
I n G re a t B r it a in the y a rd is by deniti o n the dist a nce b e
tween tw o r u lings on a ce r t a in br o n z e b a r preserved in the
S t a nd a rds O f ce a t Lond o n I n the U nited S t ates the y a rd is
dened as
of the st a nd a rd meter a t S ev r es
9

Al most

LEN GT H

OF

t h e en i e

s ci en

'

M EAS U R E M EN T

OF

A R EAS

U NIT

OF

settled upon the centimeter a s a u nit of length

the simplest possible unit of a re a is the a re a of on e squ a re
centimeter I n consider a ti o n of this f a ct the u nit o f a re a
a l m ost u nivers a lly e m ployed in science is the s q u are cen t i m et er
V ery seldom indeed a re a re as me a s u red by direct com
10

H a ving

A R EA
,

GENERAL PHYS IC S

12

p a rison with a unit of a re a M ore frequently it will be found

convenient to me a sure the l i n ear dimensions of the surf a ce in
u t e by geometry the a re a o f
question an d from these to comp
the s u rf a ce E ngineers of course e m ploy the squ a re foot a s
the unit of a re a
.

OF

V O L U M ES

M EAS U R E M EN T

V OLUM E

OE

volume s uch a s the b u shel the q u a rt the

cubic fo o t a re a lre a dy f a mili a r I n sci en ti c w ork t h e cubi c
t ed as t h e u n i t of v olume a nd for the s a me
cen ti met er i s ad op
re a sons th a t led to the a doption of the squ a re centimeter a s the
unit of a re a A n a cq u a int a nce with the metric system m a kes
the wisdom of this choice a t once a pp a rent
I n the c a se of volumes whose line a r dimensions can be
ip
ar
me a sured e g a p
al l eIO p
ed on or a sphere
it is frequ ently
more convenient to compute the volume th a n to me a sure it
directly
A N G U LA R P O S I T I O N
U N IT AN GLE
11

S t a nd a rds

U N IT

of

Wh en

tr ai gh t l in e s d o n ot coi n ci d e in d i r ect i on t h ey
e s ai d t o h av e d iffere n t an gul ar p os i ti on s
Th e d iffere n ce of
ar
t h ei r d i r ect i ons i s t h e an gu l ar d i s p l ace me n t of on e l in e wi t h r
e
This a n gu
sp
ect t o t h e ot h er
l a r displ a ce m ent is e x pressed
by surveyors a nd a stronomers
in degrees B u t n a vig a tors

use points of the comp ass

or
I n physics
as units
an d m a them a tics the unit o f
a ngle m ostly empl o yed in the
description a nd disc u ssion bf
phenomen a is different f r om
eithe r o f these I t is dened
a
s
follows
I f two str a i ght
5
F
U n i t n gle
lines lyin g i n the s a me pl a ne
di ff er in di r ection they will intersect A bout the point of inter
secti o n a s center a nd in the pl a ne of these tw o lines d r a w a ci r
cle Th ese l i n es are s ai d t o i n clu de a un i t an gl e w h en t h e y i nt er
cep t an ar
c of t h i s ci r cle eq u al i n l en gt h t o i t s r ad i u s
S ee Fi g 5
Th i s u n i t an gl e i s cal l ed t h e rad i an
12

t wo s

IG

K I NE M A T IC S

13

I t is evident since t he circumfe r ence of a circle is a length

e q u a l to 2 7r times the r a dius th a t in on e right a ngle there wil l
,

be

qu a rter

on e

of

71

r a d i a ns

7r

t e

rad l an s

C ompute ,

a nd

degrees in

on e

the m a rgin of this p a ge reco r d the number

r a di a n

of

on

P rob l e m s

E x pl ai n j u st h ow it i s th at an y l i mited s trai gh t l i ne i s a vec tor

qu ant i ty w h i le the lengt h of s u ch a l i ne i s a sc al ar qu ant i ty

2
W h at l i ght doe s the ety m ology of t he word vector shed u pon i ts
presen t m e an i ng ?
3
H ow m any r ad ians i n the angle s ub te nded by a se m i c i rcle ?
4
T he vol um e of a c u be i s 92 1 c c F i nd the are a of one f ace of t he c ube
5
D raw a p ai r of ax es at ri gh t angles to e ach other W i th reference to
these ax es loc ate the poi n ts A B an d C wh ich h ave ab sc i ssas an d ordi n ate s
as foll ow s :
P O INT
A CI A
O R IN AT
1

BS

SS

10

8
6

H ow m any

c u b i c ce nti me ters i n the vol u m e of

he m i sphere of

r ad iu s ?
7 D raw three m ut u ally rec tang u l ar ax es of coord i n at es an d loc ate t h e
4 ) an d
e
2
3
l
5
t wo po i n t s whose co ord i n ates ar
8
F i nd th e length of the vector jo i n i ng the two po i nts wh ose pos iti on s
e g i ven i n the preced i ng pro ble m
ar
9
W h i ch of the t wo follow i ng po i n t s i s f arther fro m the or i gi n
9 ) or
1 0 T he t w o m ut u ally perpend i c u l ar s i des of a r
igh ta n gl ed t r i angle are
F i nd the are a of the tri angl e
9 an d 2 0 cen t i meters respect i vely i n len gth
i n squ are cent i m eters an d the lengt h of the hypothen u se i n cent i m e ters
11
C o mp ute t he n u mber of second s of arc i n one r ad i an
'

'

12

t e the followi ng po i tion vec t r

L oc a

o s

3 0, 9

15

3 0, 6

3 45

1 95

3 0, 9

'

2:

C onsi dered as a u n it of vol um e wh at adv antage h as the c ub i c cen ti

m ete r over the c u b i c i nch ?
14
I nd ic ate i n t hree d i me n si ons the positi on of a poi n t w hose pol ar
6
S
ee
cobr
di n at es are r 2 5 0
;

4
L oc atet he two follow i ng po i n ts by u se of pol ar co ord i n ates an d de
15
ter mi ne wh i ch of the m i s ne arer to t h e l i ne of reference (r 1 2 0
13

an d

(r

6, 0

GENERAL PHYS IC S

14

C H AN G E
I

PO S I T I O N
P a rti cl e

position of a p a rticle c a n alw ays be de ned by

a str a i ght line of a denite length dr a wn in a denite d irection
it i s evident th a t if the p a rticle m o ves to a n ew positi o n the
in gener a l
n ew line which describes this new p o s i tion will
d i ffer f r o m the old one in its two ch a r a cteristic fe a t u res vi z in
length a nd in a ng u l ar position B ut this line m a y ch a nge in
length o nly ; in which c a se the
p a rticle moves a long a str a ight
line I t m ay ch a nge in a ng u l a r
position only ; in which c a se we
h a ve m otion on the surf a ce of a
sphere
S u ppose now th a t a p a rticle a t
P ( F ig 6 ) h a s moved t o a point
Q such th a t the line 0P h a s
ch a nged in length a nd a lso in
a ngul a r p o sition
I f we t a ke
the ol d positi o n of the p a rticle
F
C h n g e f p s i ti n
ntity P a s a n ew point o f refe r ence
6
q
h v in g d i recti n
it is then cle a r th a t the chan ge
o f position will be described by the str a ight line
P Q j oining
the new a nd old positions
E vidently then we m a y describe the n ew position Q o f the
p a rticle either by giving the two str a i ght lines GP a nd P Q or
by simply giving the o n e str a ight line 0 Q Fo r by either
process we denitely l o c a te the new p o siti o n Q
Th e u p s h ot of t h e w h ol e matt er i s t h at ch an ge of p os i t ion i s
d es cri be d i n ex actl y t h e s am e w ay as i s p
osit i on i tself ; n a m el y b y
s t atin g t h e l en gth se n se an d d ir ect i on of a str
ai gh t l i n e
13

S ince

Cas e

OF

the

IG

ua

D igressi on

on

the A dd i t ion an d

S u btra cti on

Vectors

to Fig 7 let us denote the vector 0P by pthe

vector P Q by g a nd the vector 0 Q by r Then it w ill be cle a r
th a t the new position Q of the p a rticle m a y be loc a ted in either
o n e of two di ff erent bu t strictly equiv a lent m ethods
B y on e
method the p a rticle a t Q is loc a ted a s the termin a l point of the
14

R eferring
,

K I NE M A T IC S

15

vector r B y the other method it is the termin a l point of two

vectors pa nd g pl a ced end t o end with their a r r o ws in the s a me
sense An d s i n ce P l ocat es t h e p
oi n t Q at t h e same di st an ce an d
i n t h e s ame d i r ect i on fr om t h e
F i s s ai d t o be t h e r
or i gi n
e
s ul t an t or v e ct or s u m of
an d
w h i l e pan d g are s ai d t o be
I n the
t h e comp
on en t s of r
a l geb r a o f vectors this f a ct is
e x pressed by writing
.

pq

Eq

r,

an

equ a ti o n which cont a ins the

wh o le sto r y of vect o r a ddition
I n o r din a ry a l gebr a which de a ls
only with sc a l a r q u a ntities we
s hould h a ve
.

FI G

ector

ad d i

ti on

+ q > r,

but this i neq ua tion refers merely to lengths a nd not a t al l to

directions
The result a nt of a ny number of vectors is obt a ined by pre
c i s el y the s a me process n a m ely pl a cing these vect o r s end to en d
in a ny o r der bu t a ll i n the same sen se a nd then joining the initi a l
point of the rst vect o r to the termin a l point of the l a st vector
This g r a ph i c al method gives rise t o the vect o r p o ly g o n a s
ill u st r ated in Fig 8 where r1 8 the res ult a nt o f the vect o rs
a
nd
F
r
om
wh
a
t
precedes
it
will
be
seen
th
a
t
vect
o
r
a
ddi
S
q
tion me a ns n o thing more th a n
wh a t is implied in t he st ate m ent
th a t so f a r a s m ere tr a nsport a
tion is concerned it i s a ll t h e
s a me whether on e tr a vels by
tr a in directly from Chic a go to
P ittsb u r g o rg o es rst fr o m C hi
c a go to Toledo thence to C leve
F

8
P l Sg
l a nd a nd thence t o P ittsb u r g
S ince the S ign of a vect o r determines its sense o n e sees th a t
the subt r a ction of a ny given vector fr o m a n o ther is precisely
the s a me a s a dding this v ector to the other h a ving rst re
versed its sense
.

p
,

IG

0n 0

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

16

When a p a rticle receives a displ a cement which is represented

by a ny given vector say 0P Fig 9 the qu estion ofte n a rises
a s to wh a t the a mo u nt o f the displ a ceme nt is in some other
directi o n s a y OH
This is found by letting f all from
the termin a l p o int P a p
en d i cu
er
p
l a r upon the line 011 I f R denote
the foot of this perpendic u l a r we
m a y consider the vector 0P a s
b r oken up into two components
F
9 Ill str ti n g the res l t i n
OR a nd R P of whi ch the former
f
vect r
l i es e n t i rely a long 011 the l a tter
h a s no component a long OH F r om the denition of a cosine
I t I s ev i dent th a t
,

IG

o u

0R

11

ca se

OP

C OS

Eq

R igi d B ody

h a s been o bserved
the position of a rigid
body is x ed whe n a ny three points in the body not lying i n
the s a me str a ight line a re x ed A ccordingly we see th a t the
positions of bodies ch a nge in sever a l ap
ar
en t ly di fferent w a ys
p
( 1 ) I f only two points a re x ed in the body a s f o r inst a nce
a wheel a nd a x le held between tw o pivot points AA ( Fig
t hen the body is free t o rot a te a b o ut the line joinin g th ese two
Th e m oti on of a r i gi d bod y about a x ed ax i s i s cal l ed
points
ure rot ati on A bicycle wheel
a p
lifted fr o m the ground a nd sp u n is
a n inst a nce
2
I
t
m
a
y
h
a
ppen
th
a
t
o
nly
o
ne
( )
point is x ed in the body a s in the
c a se of a w a lking -stick with its
lower end on the gr o und H e r e the
body is free to rot a te a b o ut man y
diff erent lines a s a x es
I t m a y F 10 A c se f p re r t ti n
indeed rot a te a bout a ny str a ight
line p a ssin g thro u gh the lower end of the stick
u t th a t
3
I
t
m
a
y
be
th
a
t
no
point
in
the
body
is

x
ed
b
( )
oi n t o
the body is c o mpelled to m o ve in s u ch a w a y th at ea ch p
f
15

As

IG.

o a

the bod y d es cribes

ot her

o in

a th e u a l

an

si mil ar

S u ch a m otion is c a lled a

to t he

ur
p

a th o

t ran sl at ion

ever
y
.

It

K I NE M A T IC S

17

occurs in the piston rod of a ste a m engine A sled sliding to

a nd fro in its o w n tr a cks a lso represents the motion
an d t r a nsl ated
a
s
ly
a
body
m
a
y
be
rot
a
ted
simul
4
L
t
( )
S uch a c a se is rep r esented in the wheel of a bicycle
t an eo u sl y
while being ridden
The st u dent who pursues this s u bject f a rther will nd th a t
a rigid body m a y be ch a nged from a ny on e position to a ny
o ther position by simply tr a nsl a ting it a long a cert a in str a ight
line an d rot a ting it thro u gh a denite a ngle a bout a de n ite
a x is
C onseq u ently the rst three c a ses j u st considered a re
speci al c a ses of the fourth The f a ct then is th a t eve ry m o ti o n
o f a ny rigid b o dy t u r ns o u t t o be either a pure t r a nsl a ti o n or a
p u re rot a tion or a c o mbin a tion o f these t w o in other w o rds a
ri gid body m ay s u ffer a line a r displ a cement or a n a ngul a r d i s
pl a cement or a combin a ti o n of the two
A s we h a ve a lre a dy seen line a r displ a cements a re rep
re
s ented by vecto r s ; so also a re a ngul a r displ a cements
F or
i magine the r o u gh outline in F ig 1 1 to rep r esent a ny rigid
b o dy h a ving o n e point 0
x ed
T a ke this point a s
ori gin I m a gine the b o dy to
be t u rned thro u gh an y a ngle
w
r
6 a bo u t a n a x is 0P
S uch
a n a ng u l a r displ a cement is
wh a t we h a ve j u st c a lled a
p u r e r o t a tion
I t req u ires
fo r its description three speci
Z
cat i on s
n a mely ( i ) the F 1 1 An l r d i spl c ment vect r
g
directi o n of the a x is of rot a
ti o n ( ii ) the a mo u nt of rot a tion i e the a ngle th ro ugh which
the body h as t u rned a nd ( i i i) the sense of rot a tion I n short
this a ng u l a r displ a cement requires a vect o r to rep r esent i t
Th u s if a grindstone be r o t a ted throu gh
its a n gu l a r
displ a cement wo u ld be I ep
resen t ed by a vector dr a wn in the
direction of the a x is of the grindstone a nd of a length
the
.

'

e a

IG

u a

a e

'

sense bein g s u ch th a t if one looks in the direction

Th e student

of

the a r ro w

s attent ion is here es pec ially d irected to the f act th at i n ad d

i n g vectors wh i c h re p r
esent an gul ar d is p l ace ment the resultant is n ot i nde
p endent oi the order i n wh ich the vectors are added e x ce p t when the an gular
d is p l ace men ts are i n n ites i mal
9*

GENERAL PHYS IC S

18

the vector the stone will a ppe a r to rot a te in a clockwise

direction S u ch a rel at i on betw een t h e d irect i on of t h e vector
otati on i s e x actl y t h at w h i ch ex i s t s
an d t h e d ire ct i on of t h e r
between t h e d ir ect i on of ad v an ce an d t h e d i re ct i on of r
otat i on i n
I t i s h en ce calle d t h e ri gh t-h an d ed
an or d in ar y w ood s crew
s crew r el at i on
I t is import a nt t o o bse r ve th a t the r u le for
the a dditi o n o f vectors a pplies to a ngul a r displ a cemen ts only
when these a re ve r y sm a ll
I n the l a ter p a rts o f physics we sh a ll meet m a ny qu a nti
ties occ u rring i n p a irs simil a r to these two a n a l o go u s displ a ce
m ents line a r a nd a ngul a r which we h a ve j ust been considering
on

D E GR EES
I

OF

Case

FR EE D O M

P a rti cl e

is interesting to obse r ve th a t when a p a rticle is fre e

to ch a nge its position by moving i n a ny direction wh a teve r
it c a n move in three a nd only three directions such th a t its
motion a l o ng a ny one o f these di r ections h a s no component
a long either o f the o ther tw o
A nd it is eviden t th a t these
three directions a re m utu a lly perpendic u l a r for if they were
inclined a t a ny a ngle other th a n
a displ a cement r
s ay 6
a long o n e a x is would h a ve a c o mponent rcos 6 a long the othe r
These three directions a re represented theref ore by a ny three
rect a ng ul a r ax es I n vie w of these f a cts a p a rticle is s a id to
h a ve three d e grees of free dom I n other words a p a rticle h a s
three possibil ities in the w a y of tr a nsl a tion al m o tion I t c a n
n o t rot a te bec a use by denition i t h a s no a ppreci a ble di m e h
S i ons
16

It

II

Case

R igi d B ody

The c a se is quite di ff erent with a n e xtended body Con

sider a coin a m et a l cylinder or a ny r igid body wh a tever ; if
it is perfectly f r ee it c a n be tr a nsl a ted p a r a llel to a ny of th e
three rect a ngu l a r a x es Like the p a rticle it h a s three degrees
of tr a nsl a ti o n a l freedom N o w im a gine this body s u pported
o n a sin gle piv o t in the s a me m a nner a s a spinning top
H ere
an sl a
o n e point is x e d s o th a t the body h a s no f r eed o m o f t r
yet it is cle a rly possible for the body to rot a te a bo u t a ny
ti on
ee m utu a l ly perpendicul a r axes p a ssing through this
o n e of th r
17

K I NE M A T IC S

19

x ed point A r o t a tion a bo u t a ny one of these a x es will h a ve

n o co m ponent of rot a tion a bout eithe r of the o the r ax es A
rigid body n o t constr a ined in a ny w a y is s a id therefo r e t o
h a ve three degrees of f r eedo m of r o t a ti o n m akin g in all si x
de grees of freed o m for a ny u nh a mpered b o dy n a mely thre e
of t r a nsl a tion a nd three o f rot a tion
The st u dent will nd it both interesting a nd import a nt t o
d isc o ver in a ny p a rtic u l a r c a se of c o nstr a ined motion just
h w m a ny d egrees o f f r eedom a b o dy h a s ; for the a dv a nced
st u dent will nd l a te r th a t the wh o le beh a vi o r of a body m a y
be described by u se o f a s few cobrd in at es a s the body h a s de
grees of freed o m
.

I n teresti n g S

eci a l

Ca se

Un i l an arM oti on

When the motion is in a single pl a n e the ri g id body

c a n be tr ansferred f r o m a ny o ne position t o a ny other p o siti o n
l
in
th
a
t
p
a
ne
of
co
u
rse
by
a
pure
)
(
rot a ti o n a lone
To pr o ve this theorem consider
a ny two positions o f the b o dy a s
'
represented by A B a nd A B in
F ig 1 2 B isect A A a nd a lso B B
D r a w perpendicul a rs th r o u gh these
p o ints of bisecti o n D enote by 0
en d i cu
the p o i n t where these p
er
p
l ar s inte r sect Then th e a x is a bout
which the body A B m u st be rot a ted
F
12
I
ll
str
t
i n g t h m st
t o b r ing it into t h e positi o n A B
m t n
gener l m p l n
18 pe r pend i c u l a r to t h e pl a ne
a nd
p a sses thro ugh the point 0 For evidently the t r i a n gle A OB
m a y be rot a ted a bo u t this a x is u ntil it is e x a ctly superposed
upon the congr u ent tri angle A OB
18

IG

st

o io

'

P ro b l em s

H ow m any de grees of freedo m h as a p art i cle wh i ch i s co m pelled t o

move i n a pl a ne ?
2
A m arb le free to roll o n a oor bu t n ot free to le ave t he oor has
h o w m any degree s of freedo m
3
Des i gn a ri gi d body h avm g one degree of freedo m of tran sl ation an d
one of rotat i on
1

GENERAL PHYS IC S

20

H ow many degrees of freedo m h as one of the b all s on the gov ernor of

a ste am eng i ne ?
M ost m o ti ons th at are e mp l oyed i n ac tu al m ach i nery are cons trai ned
5
W h at i n yo u r e st i m at i on
i e they h ave le ss th an si x degrees of freedo m
i s t he Spec i al c ase wh i c h occ u rs m o st freq u ently i n m ach i nes ?
4

I n t he follow i ng m ot i on s of ri gi d bodi es d i sti ng ui sh cle arly wh i ch are

c ase s of p u re tr an sl at i on wh i ch are c ases of p u re rotat ion an d wh i c h are

c ases i nvolv i ng bot h tr an sl ati on an d rotati on
i T he m ot i on of a door on i ts h i nges
i i T he m ot i on of a c arr i age wheel w i th reference t o i ts ax l e
i i i T he mot i on of a c arr i age whee l w i th refere nce to the ro ad on w h i ch i t
travel s
i v T he m oti on of a rock i ng-ch ai r as one rock s i n i t
v T he moti on of the eyep i ece as one foc u ses a p air of oper a gl asses
T he m ot i on of t he bl ade w ith reference to the h andle when one ope ns
vi
a po cketkn i fe
7 W h at vec t or w i ll de scr i be the n al pos iti on of a m an who w alk s
1 0 m i les N W th en t u rns an d w alks 1 0 m i les S W ?
,

'

T wo bo ats s ai l fro m the sam e port ;

traveled 50 m i d ue E t h e other V 5 000 m i
represen t the i r rel ati ve posi t i ons
8

T he coord i n ates of two po i n t s are

the vector w h i ch join s th i s p air of po i nts
9

th e end of 5 ho rs one h
S E
W h t vector w i ll the n
A
5 0 m i les d
S
2
d
1
F i nd
3)
at

as

ue

n s.

an

p art i cle m ove s i n a c ircle starti ng fro m a g i ven po i nt wh i ch we

F i n d t he vector wh i ch descr i bes the posi ti on of the
may c all t he ori g i n
p art i cle when r
, of t he c irc u mference h as bee n tr aversed
10

11
a

P lot th e follow i ng fo r po i nts

u

p ar allelogram :

an d S

4, + 1

ho w th at they

ar
e

th e corners of

3,

2,

W h at are the rec tang ul ar co m ponen ts of the vector wh i ch jo i ns the

follow i ng t wo po i nts :
10
7
12

RAT E

O F C H AN G E O F P O S I T I O N V EL O CI T Y
1 9 I t is to be c a refully o bserved th a t up
to t hi s p
oi n t we
h a ve been concerned n o t a t a ll with the history of the b o dy be
tween the ti m e of its le a vin g its old position a nd the time o f
its re a ching its new position We do not c a re h o w long a b o dy
m ay h a ve been in ch a nging its position nor does it m a tter
throu gh wh a t c a use it m a y h a ve ch a nged its position We
h a ve been concerned only with a m ethod fo r describing most
simply a nd most completely the ch a nge in p o sition of the
body When howe ve r it is a sked how this ch a nge occurred
we a re led t o the consider a tion of Ti me a nd Vel oci ty
.

K I NE M A T IC S

21

In

the world a bo u t us we nd motion to be a st a te of m a tter

which is quite a s n a t u r a l perh a ps even more n a t u r a l th a n
rest D ispl a cement m a y be considered as the res u lt of moti o n
B u t very often we S h a ll be concerned r a ther with the r a te o f
motion A ccordingly we must now consider the method of
describing a r a te of motion i e a velocity
When a m an b u ys a r a ilro a d ticket f r om N ew O rle a ns to
B oston he p a ys for
displ a cement a nd in gener al the price
o f a r a ilro a d ticket v a ries di r ectly a s the a mo u nt o f displ a ce
ment B u t o n e s choice of a train depends l a rgely u pon its
speed or r a te of displ a cement The di ff erence in price between
a go o d w a tch a nd a p o or o n e depends princip a lly upon the r a te
a t which the a n g ul a r p o sition of the h a nds ch a n ge
I f this
r a te is v ery u nif or m the w a tch is well m a de if the h a nds do
not move a t a f a i r ly c o nst a nt r a te th e w a tch is p o o r ly m ade
While etym o logic ally the s a me the words r a te a nd r a tio
n o w h a ve di ff e r ent me a nings ; the former is a speci a l c a se of

the l a tter Fo rwhi l e r a tio den o tes the quotient of an y on e

qu a ntity by a nother r a te i s e m ployed in physics to me a n
only the r a ti o of some q u antity to a time R a te u nless othe r
wise specied is a lw ays an e x a ct syn o nym of ti me rate; time
a lw a ys a ppe a rs in the d en omi n ator o f a ny r a te
The r a te of
inte r est i s the a m o u nt o f m o ney on e p ays fo r the use of a doll a r
divided by the nu m ber of ye a rs h e h a s used the d o ll a r The
de a th r a te is the t o t a l n u mbe r of de a ths a mon g a tho u s a nd
people d u r ing a ny period divided by the number o f ye a r s in
th a t period
B ut befo r e we c a n me a sure time r a tes we m ust decide u pon a
st an d a r d a nd a u nit of time These a re described in the f o llow
ing p a r a gr a ph
.

TI M

U N IT

OF

TI M

i ed by t h e sun i n on e
e ) ti m e occu p
app ar
en t r
ev oluti on about t h e eart h i s kn ow n as t h e me an s ol a r
This interv a l is univers ally e m ployed a s the st a nd a r d of
d ay
tim e Th e R i m, p art of a me an sol ar day i s calle d a s econ d
an d i s us ed by t h e s ci en ti c w orl d as t h e u n i t of ti m e
I nterv a ls of time c a n be co m p a r ed with m a rvelous a ccu r a cy
by me a ns of w a tches clocks o r chronogr a phs
20

Th e mean (i e
.

ag
t h e a er

GENERAL PHYS IC S

22

O F S PEE D

D EFI N ITION
M ore

th a n a cent u ry a go it w a s proved by La voisier t h e

gre a t French chemist th a t a ll m a tter h a s a continu o us e x ist
ence ; from which f a ct it follows th a t as a p a rticle moves fr o m
to a nothe r it m u st occupy every intermedi a te
o n e point
position a l o n g the ro u te This r o ute is then a contin u o us
geo m etric a l curve A ccordingly the p ath of a p a r ticle i s de
ned a s the contin u ous locus of a ll the successive pos itions
which it occ upies We a re n o w a ble to dene cle a rly wh a t is
me a nt by s p eed n a m ely t h e rat e at w h i ch a p
art i cle m ove s al on g
D irection of moti o n it will be observed d o es n o t
at h
it s p
enter into this denition A m a n who d u ring fteen minutes
w a lks a mile a long a winding C o wp a th tr a vels with precisely
the s a m e a ver a ge S peed a s a nother m a n who w a lks a mile in
fteen minutes al o ng a str a ight city p a vement
the dist a nce which a p a rticle h a s moved
Let us denote by p
a long a ny p a th d u ring the ti me t Then for purposes o f com
put a ti o n the a ver a ge speed of the p a rticle is e x pressed a s
follows
21

A ver a ge S peed

Eq

if the speed of the p a rticle is v a rying from point to point

a s is usu a lly the c a se in n a ture the n denote by p
the
dist
a
nc
e
1
tr a versed by the p a rticle a t the end o f the time t 1 ; a nd by p
h
e
t
2
dist a nce tr a ve r sed by the end o f the time t2 N o w if t1
a nd t2 be so chosen th a t tl is very little e a rlier th a n t a nd t2 a
very little l a ter th a n t the speed a t a ny inst a nt t will be t h e
B ut

limit a ppro a ched by the r a ti o

S peed a t inst a nt

t = St

t2

ti

A ccordingly

one write s
Eq

1 1

where the subsc r ipt tz tl indic a tes th a t t2 a ppro a ches i n

den itely ne a r to t1
The necessity fo r some e x pression of this kind will a ppe a r
when one a sks such a q u esti o n a s Wh a t is the speed o f a
b aseb all thr o wn vertic ally into the a ir ?
The q u estion h as n o
me a ning u nless o n e species s o m e p a rtic u l a r inst a nt o f time ;
for the b all has every speed from the initi a l speed with which
.

K I NE MA T IC S

23

it left the h a nd of the thrower to z ero which is its speed a t the

o f i ts p a th
t op
S peed is therefore re a lly a li m i t
The conception of a
limit is s o methin g which e a ch st u dent sho u ld b r ing with him
f r o m a st u dy of element a ry geomet r y or not h a ving a cq u i red
it there he sho uld now m a ster it o nce for a ll S ince the ide a is
one which is ess enti a l even in ele m ent a ry physics
,

U N IT

O F S PEE D

Ha ving a dopted the centimeter as the unit of length a nd

the sec o nd a s the u nit of time we h a ve n o tr o u ble in settling
u pon t h e p r op er s cienti c unit of s p ee d ; n amel y a s p ee d of on e
Th e en gi n eer , h ow ever gen er all y emp l oys
centimeter p er se con d
t h e f oot p er s econ d forh i s unit of s p ee d
22

P ro b l e m s

F i nd the average speed i n m i les per ho u r of a s teamer w h i ch m ake s

the p ass age from N ew Y ork to L i verpool 3 03 2 m i i n 6 d a
2
A 2 4ho u r trai n fro m N ew Y ork to C h i c ago 92 6 m i mu st m ake
Wh at average speed ?
3
A shot tr avels a d i s tance of 4 k i lo m eters i n
F i nd i ts average
sec
s peed i n m eters per second
4
A spe ed of 1 ft per second is equ i v alen t t o a speed of how m an y
cent i met er s per second ?
5
A gun i s red at a d i stan ce Of 1 k i lom eter ; the report i s h eard
sec l ater F ro m t h i s obse rv ati on co m pu te t he Speed of so u nd i n ai r
6
L i gh t tr avels fro m t he su n to t he e arth i n abo u t 8 m i n
Th e di s
t ance of the su n fro m the e arth i s abo u t 9 5 m ill i on m i F i nd the ap
pro x i m ate speed of l i ght i n m i le s per second W h at is th e v al u e of t h i s
spe ed i n me ters per second ?
7
O n e m an w alks at the r ate of 3 m i per ho u r ; anot her w al k s at th e
rate of 7 km per hou r W h i ch one travels f aster ?
8
A ss u m i ng th at t h e c i rc u mference of the e ar t h at the equ ator is
m i nd the Speed of a p art i cle on the eq u ator ro tat i ng once i n 2 4
ho u rs E x pre ss th is speed i n m i les per second al so i n me ters per second
1

D EF I N IT I O N

OF

V ELO CI T Y

is evident f r om the preceding e x a m ples th a t speed

a lone is not s u f cient to dete r m ine the r a te a t which a p article
is ch a ngin g p
os i ti on
C onsider for inst a nce a p a rticle which
23

It

GENERAL PHYS IC S

24

m oves through a sm a ll dist a nce f r om P 2 to P 3 a l o ng the curved

p a th indic a ted in Fi g 1 3 where P 2 is loc a ted by the vector r2
a nd P 3 by the vector r3
I n order to describe the r a te of
ch ange of p
os i ti on
it is necess a r y to
know n o t only how
f a r the p a rticle
moved in p a ssing
from P 2 to P 3 bu t
a lso i n wh a t d i rec
tion the line joining
P 2 a nd P 3 lies
I t is cl e a r of
course th a t when
a p a rticle moves it
a lw a ys moves a t
a ny p a rticul a r i n
F
st a nt i n s o me on e
To completely describe the
direction an d in some on e sense
motion a t a ny inst a nt it is necess a ry therefore to know n o t only
the speed but a lso the direction a nd the sense of the motion a t th a t
inst a nt This c a n be most conveniently done by u se o f a ve ctor

v el oci ty w h i ch h as t h e s ame d i r ect i on an d se n s e as th at

call ed
of t h e m oti on an d w h i ch h as a len gt h equ al t o t h e s p ee d of th e
S uch a vector completely describes the velocity of the
mot i on
p a rticle a t the p a rtic u l a r inst a nt under consider a tion V elocity
is therefore a vector qu a ntity a nd speed a sc al a r To
illustr a te : A bo a t le a ves her pier a n d ste a ms in a str a i ght
line a t a speed of 1 0 m iles a n h o ur for 3 hours
From this
inform a ti o n a ll th a t we know o f the bo a t s position is th a t sh e
n o w lies s o mewhere o n a circle of 3 0 m iles r a di u s h a ving the
wh a rf for center I f h o wever her velocity ( inste a d o f her
S peed ) h a d been g iven by s a yin g th a t she ste a med for 3 h o u rs
a t a 1 0 mile r a te in a northe a sterly d irection
her present
positi o n wo u ld be a ccur a tely kn o wn Vel oci t y is a ccordingly
dened a s the t i me rat e of ch an ge of p
os i t i on o f the p a rticle
O r in terms of a lgebr a if we denote velocities by V
.

IG

Eq

K I NE M A T IC S

25

N ote c a refully the di ff erence between this equ ation which

,

denes velocity a nd E q 4 which denes speed the numer a t o r

in ( 5 ) is a vector while the n u mer a tor in ( 4 ) i s a sc a l a r
From this foll o ws the
.

E T W EEN S PEE D A N D V E L O CI T Y
2 4 S peed represents me r ely the r a pidity of motion while
velocity represents r a pidity direction a nd sense S peed is
dened by a single n umber while velocity dem a nds three
specic a tions ; n a mely a m o u nt direction a nd sense I mag
ine tw o t r a ins t r a veling a long the s am e piece of do u ble
t r a ck the o n e goin g n o rth 3 0 miles a n ho u r the othe r
going s o u th 3 0 m iles a n hou r B oth tr a ins h a ve the s a me
speed a nd the s a me direction ; bu t their vel o cities a r e a s di ffer
ent a s they c a n be for they a re directly opposite in S ign i e
in sense
V E L OC I T Y O F A B O D Y
25
We le a ve now t h e disc u ssion of a p a rticle a nd p a ss to
the c o nsider a ti o n o f a n e x tended body i e o f a body wh o se
dimensi o ns c a nnot be neglected in comp a ris o n with other
1 5 ) th a t
q u a ntities involved A nd since we h ave fo u nd
a ny ch a nge in the position of a b o dy c a n be dened by n o t less
th a n two vect o rs a t r a nsl a tion a nd a rot a tion it f o ll o ws th a t
the rate a t which a b o dy ch a nges position will req u i r e for its
description two velocities
I f the moti o n of the b o dy is o ne of tr a nsl a ti o n o nly it is
the s a me a s th a t of a c a r a long a str a ight piece of r a il r o a d ;
the line a r vel o city i s the s a m e f o r eve r y p a rticle in the c a r ;
a nd this vel o city i s completely described when the speed o f
a ny one point on the c a r a nd the direction of the tr a ck a re
given
B u t s u ppose the c a r i s pl a ced o n a t u rnt a ble ( Fi g
a nd
the t able then m a de to r ot a te ; p a rticles ne a r the end of the
c a r will move r a pidly th o se ne a r the center will move slowly
I n gene r a l the speed of a p a rticle will v a ry a s the dist a nce
f r om the ax is o f the turnt a ble H ow sh all we describe a mo
tion whi ch is a pp a rently so complic a ted ? This is ve r y e a sily
done when we rec a ll th a t pr a ctic ally the only qu a ntity ch a n g
i n g is the a n g u l a r positi o n o f the c a r a n d th a t this ch a n ge i s
the s a me fo r eve r y p a r t of the c a r
D I STI N C T IO N

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

26

I m a gine
r a di a ns

this c a r to h a ve t u rned through a n a ngle of

C onsider

ne x t a ny horiz on tal line dr a wn in the c a r the b a ck

of a se a t or the edge of a window sill e a ch h a s been t u rned
thro u gh the s a me a ngle 6 I ndeed the new position of the
c a r is denitely x ed when the motion is one of rot a tion only
,

FI G 1 4
.

by s aying th a t

t he

a xi s o

rotati on i s

ver
ti ca l ,

the

am ou n t o

rota

Th e r a te a t which the a ngle 6 v a ries with ti m e is

c alled the an gul ar s p ee d o f the c a r ( reg a rdless of the ax is a bout
which the rot a tion t akes pl a ce )
6

t i on ,

A N G U LA R

in gener al if 6 1 be the a ng u l a r position of a ny line

in a body a t a time t1 a nd 62 its a n gul a r position a t time t2
then its a ver a ge a ngul a r speed
is dened a nd completely
desc r ibed by the following e q u a tio n
26

A nd ,

S PE E D

a)

e nn e

t2

t1

t n
n

D i g q ua io
fo raverag e a gu
l ar
d

sp ee

Eq

ul ar s p
eed i s ev i d entl y t h at w i t h w h i ch a b od y mu s t
rotate i n or d er t o d e s cr i be on e r ad i an p er se con d
The e n gineer gene r a lly empl o ys a unit of a ng u l a r speed
which is only a bo u t on e tenth a s l a rge a s this n a mely on e revo
l u ti on p
er mi n u t e; for which he uses the symbol
I f inste a d o f the a ver a ge a n g u l a r speed we wish to me a s u re
the a ctu a l a ngul a r S peed a t a ny p a rticul a r inst a nt we m u st then
t ake the a ver a ge speed over a n indenitely sm all interv a l of
U ni t

an g

K I NE MA T IC S
time including this p a rticul a r instant
cated in the following n o t a tion
,

27

This opera tion is indi

nn e t n
l r s p ee

D e i g q u a i o
f o ran g u a
d
a t a n y i ns ta n t

I I = 12

Eq

A N G U L A R V E LO CI T Y

The numeric al v a lue of ( in E q 7) together with the

di r ecti o n a nd sense of the ax is a bo u t which the rot a tion o cc u r s
a re the three S pecic a tions which describe a ny a n gu l a r velocity
I t is evi d ent then th a t on e specic a ti o n is sufcient t o dene
a n g ul a r speed bu t th r ee specic a tions a re req u i r ed to dene
a ng u l a r vel o city
The gr a phic a l represent a ti o n of a ng u l a r vel o city is q u ite a s
simple a s th a t of line a r velocity ; fo r we h a ve only t o l ay O ff
a long the a x is of r ot a ti o n a s m a ny u nits of length ( centimeters )
a s there a r e r a di a ns per second in the a ng u l a r speed
With th is conve n ti on t h e strai gh t li n e 0X ( Fi g 1 5 ) com
l et el y re p resents an an gul ar vel ocit y ; f ori t s l en gth measur es t h e
p
an gul ar s p ee d an d i t s d ire cti on i s t h e d i r ect i on of t h e ax is of
rot ati on w h ile t h e arr ow i n d i cat es t h e
otati on
s e n s e of r
A n a ng u l a r v elocity is s a id to be
positive when o n l o o king al o n g the
p o sitiv e di r ecti o n of the a x is OK the
bo dy a ppe a rs t o r o t a te in the s a m e
sense th a t a ri ght -h a nded sc r ew ap
pe a rs to rot a te when on e l o o ks a l o ng
the di r ection of its a dv a nce When F 1 5 R p
r
f
t ti
i y by
t r i sh t
g l r l m
the rot a ti o n is in the opposite sense
f
km
it is c alled neg a tive
Th e r a te a t which the a ng ul a r vel o city o f the e a r th is ch a ng
ing is f a irly well kn o w n ; f o r its ax is ch a n ges direction a t a
c o nst a nt r ate a nd desc r ibes a co mplete ci r cle in the sky once
in every
ye a rs N o v a ri a ti o n in the a ng u l ar sp
eed o f the
e a r th h a s h o wever ce r t a inly been detected ; a lth o u gh it is well
known th a t the f r icti o n o f the tides m u st be slowin g u pthe
ea r th
to so m e slight th o u gh a s yet u nme a s u r a ble e x tent
This phenome n o n is be au tifu lly ill u st r a ted by spinning a ny
o rdin a ry top
F rom E q s 4 a nd 6 it is cle a r th a t a n gu l a r speed
27

a)

IG

an

u a

ve

es en

as

on o
a

G EN ER A L

28

PHY S

ICS

is a qu a ntity which i s strictly a n alogous to line a r speed ; while

E q s 5 a nd 7 S how th a t line a r a nd a n gul a r velocities a re like
wise strictly a n a logo u s
.

E T W EEN L I NEA R A N D A N G U L A R S PEE D

2 8 C onsider an y p o int P ( Fig 1 6 ) in a rigid body rot a t
ing about a ny x ed a x is a wheel on its a xle fo rinst a nce Let
the perpendicul a r dist a nce of this point
from the a x is of rot a ti o n be r I f t h e
a ng u l a r speed o f the body i s
it will
R E L A TI O N

co,

rot a te once I n

'

71

seconds

to

while the body performs on e rot a

tion the p a rticle a t P h a s move d over a
dist a nce of 2 7rr
b etween
I ts a ver a ge l in earspeed is therefore
B ut
,

16

"

Re1at i on

l inearan d an gu l ar speed

D ist a nce

7 7

Time
se of a x e d ax is t h e an gul ar s p ee d of t h e body an d
el at ed by
e t h er ef or e r
t h e li n e ar s p e ed of an y p art i cle on i t ar
t h e f oll ow i n g equ at i on :
I n the

ca

rm

Eq

P ro b l em s

boy attaches a s m all stone to the end of a str i ng wh i ch i s 8 0 cen t i

m eters long an d then sw i ngs i t ab o u t h i s he ad at the r ate of 3 t u rn s per
W h at i s the l i ne ar speed of the s tone i n cent i m eters per second ?
s econd
1

T he belt of a dr iv i ng p u lley tr avel s at a speed of 1 5 I n per second

T he p u lley rot ate s 1 0 t i m es per second A ss u mi ng th at the belt does not
sl i p on t h e f ace of t h e p u lley co mp u te the d i am e ter of t he p u lley
2

A ns

75

cm

"

71

3
an

I n the c ase of a w atch co mp ute the ang ul ar speeds of the secon d h and

the ho u r h and respecti vely

,

Am

1
30

an d

7r

2 1 6 00

W h at i s the ang u l ar speed of a b i cycle w h eel m ak i ng 3 0 revol uti ons

Ans
7rr ad i ans per second
Perm i n u te ?
5
T he fron t wheel of a b i cycle is 2 8 i n i n d i am eter F i nd the ang u l ar
speed of the wheel abou t i ts ax le when it i s r i dde n at the r ate of 12 m i per
ho u r
r ad i ans per second
Ans
4

KI
6

av i g a c
ve l c ity
h

ons ta n t

29

eg top
r d i n ar y p
be u sed to i l l u st rate t h e c as e of a body
an gu l a r sp
eed bu t at t h e sa m e i n s t a n t a v ar i a b l e an u l ar
g

H o w m ay t he

NEM ATI C S

il l

w hee l of an en gi n e w hen
n u l ar v e l o c i ty wh i c h i s u n i f o r m i n
g

a
a

Sh o w th t t h e y

th e

st e am

is

off,

cut

s t rates an
d i re c t i o n b ut v ar i abl e
i n sp
eed
8
W h at i s th e ai m of t h e cl ock m ake r t o p
r od u ce an i n str ume n t wh i c h
eed orc on s t an t an gu l ar v e l oc ity ?
wil l gi ve c on s t an t a n gu l a r sp
u

CHANG E

V E L O C I TY

OF

V E L O C I TI E S

OF

pto this p

A ND S U B TR A C TI O N

A DD I TI O N

i t we have c on sidered a p a rticle which i s

urged o n ly by on e si n gle velocity It ofte n h a ppe n s however
th a t a particle h a s i mpressed upo n it two or more d i eren t
velocities at the same t ime For i n sta n ce if a m a n be sitti n g
i n a movi n g street car his motio n with respect to the e a rth i s
d irectly al o n g the rails
If h o wever he ch a n ge h i s seat to on e
directly opposite o n the other side of the c a r his motio n with
respect t o the earth as he walks acr o ss the c a r is n ot alo n g th e
rails n or acr o ss the r a ils but i n a di a go n a l directio n A O as
i n dicated i n F ig 1 7 AB is a straight li n e which i n dicates t h e
29

o n

RAIL

RAIL
.

FIG

17

Ad d i t i on

of

vel oci t i es

velocity of the car ; B C is a straight li n e which represe n t s

the velocity of the /m an with respect to the car These vectors
a re a dded a s a re all o ther vectors an d A O is said to be the
resu l tan t vel oci ty of the omp
on en t s A B an d B C
A O i s there
f ore the straight li n e which represe n ts the ma n s m oti on with
respec t t o the earth
S i ce vel o city is a vect o r qu a n tity it is evide n t that we may
at o ce a pply to it the ge er a l rules for vect o r a dditio n a d
subtracti on For these see 14 a b ove Thus h a vi n g give n
a particle wh ose speed is v an d wh o se directi on is de n ed by 6
its vel o city will be the vector 0P i n Fig 1 8 L et us supp ose
the motio n to take place i n the X Y plan e The n i f we desire
.

G EN E R AL

30

HY SI C S

the velocity of the particle i n a directi o n parallel to the axis

7
o f X it is o n ly n ecess a ry to proj ect 0P o n the axis of 6 2
We thus obt a i n 5 ? a s the required velocity I n like m a n n er
H P will be the velocity p a rallel to the axis of Y ; or i n terms
of algebra
OH
0P cos 6
.

HP
OE

0P

HP

si n

Eq

6,

like m an n er if it is desired to fi n d the compo n e n t of the

velocity 0P resolved i n an y other directio n say alo n g the li n e
0R which makes an a n gle 95 with 0P we h ave
In

OR

0P

Eq

cos

10

This s a me re
sul t m ay be ex
pressed gr a phic
al ly by s ay i n g
th a t the c om p o
n e n t of a vel city
an
in
y given
directio n is the
projecti n o f the
vect o r which rep
rese n ts th a t v e
l ocit y u p o n
a
straight lin e
dra wn in the
give n directi
resolved i n precisely
o

FI G

on

A n gul a r
the s a m e

velocities are comp o u n ded

m a n n er as li n e a r velocities

an

A LL M O TI ON R E L A TI VE

the case a b o ve co n sidered where a m an cha n ges his

se a t fro m on e side of a c a r to the other the questi o n might have
bee n a sked What is his moti o wi th resp
The
ect to t he ar?
a n swer w ould the n have bee n that his velocity with respect to
the c a r is co m pletely represe n ted by the straight li n e B 0 Fig
30

In

17

KI

NEM ATI C S

31

Whether the n the ma n s velocity is repre se n ted by A O o rE U

depe n ds e tirely upo n whether we take the earth or the car as
our refere n ce poi n t
E ach o n e is a ve loc ity w ith
A n d so it is with all velocities
refere n ce to s ome poi n t which for the time bei n g we co n sider as
xed If a m an be seated i n a railway c a r which is tra velin g
a t the r a te of 3 0 miles an hour we m ay say that t he m an i s at
rest or i n motio n accordi n g as we take for our refe re nc e po in t
some part of the car or some part of the ea rth

P
1

ea st

t he

ep
re s e t
t t h r a te

by

r ate o f

1 mi

of

4 mi

an

a d iagram

ve l oc i ty o f a boat wh i c h is bein g ro wed

h o u r w h i l e t h e c u rre n t i s c arryi n g i t so ut h at

an

ou

r o b l em s

th e
,

w h eel m an i s r i d i n g n or th at t h e r ate o f 8 m i an h ou r aga i ns t a

head w i n d w hi c h i s retar d in g h i m at t he r a te of 2 mi an h ou r W hat
sp
eed w o u l d h e m a ke i f t h ere w e r e n o w i n d ?
2

W h at s p
eed w o u l d
r od e w i t h t h e w i n d ?
3

am
t ow

thi

s sam e w heel m an

a ke i f he t r ed ar
u n

ou n d an d

c a n al boat is to w ed at t h e rate of 3 m i an h ou r H o w f a s t m u s t
w alk i ts deck i n or de r t h at he m ay re m a i n at re s t w i t h re sp
e c t to t h e

an

a th ?
p

wh eel r id er t ra ve ls e as t at t h e rate o f 6 m i p
er h ou r w h i l e t h e
i s b l o w i n g f r o m t h e n o r th w i t h a s p
ee d of 6 m i p
From
er h o u r
d i re c t i o n w i ll t h e w i n d a p
e ar t o s t r i k e t h e r i d e r ?
p
A

win d
w h at

ri v e r so t h at i t s s p
eed i n sti ll w ater w oul d be
6 m i a n h ou r
S up
o s e t h e r i v er o ws at t h e r a te o f 4 m i
an h ou r
p
M ak e a d i agr a m s h ow i n g th e d i re c ti o n i n w h i c h t h e boat m u s t h ead i n o r de r
t h a t i ts m ot i on w i t h r efe re n c e t o t h e b ot t o m o f t h e ri v e r m ay be at r ight
an gl es t o t h e c u rren t
6

A b a t i s r we d
o

on

t he

'

F in d

w h ee l h avi n g a d i a mete r of 2 8 i n ch e s r ev o lve s on ce i n t wo sec o n d s

t h e d i s t a n c e t r av e rs ed i n o n e h ou r by a p
ar t i cle on th e ci rc um feren ce
A

sa m e le n gth a re ru n n in g w it h t h e s ame s eed o n

Th ei r c o mb i n e d le n gth i s 8 00 ft
aralle l t racks b u t i n op
o s i te d i r ec t i o n s
p
p
a n d t h ey
a ss e ac h other i n 6 sec W h at i s t he ve l oc i ty of t h e t rain s rel a
p
t i v e t o t he t r ack ?
Fr om Shearer s N otes an d Q uestion s i n P hysics
8

Two t ra i n s

of

t he

49

e x re ss t rai r s d
rt h f r m C h i c ag t M i l w a k ee t t h
r at f 50 m i
h r d ri g a w e s t w i d w hi c h i s b l w i g t t h rate f
2 5 mi
h
r
F i d t h d i re ct i
s m ke w h ic h l av e s th
f th
l c m tive
9

An

e o

o o

an

ou

an

ou

ue n o

un

on

GENERA L

32

F i n d t h e re s u l ta n t
wh i ch m ak e t h e an gle s
10

Of

th e

PH

Y SI C S

f ollo w i n g t hree ve lo c i t ies 1 0 6 an d I ox/

2
an d
3 0 re sp
e c t i v e ly w i t h t h e h o r i z o n t a l
An s
i n a h or iz on t a l d i re c t i o n
,

11

Two

e ee

b tw

ve l itie s ea c h
oc

th m

R AT E

Fin d

16

res u l t an t

C H AN G E

OF

pr sec
e

cl ude

an

a gle

of

12 0

V EL OC IT Y

OF

on d

A CC ELER A TI O N

co n sidered three fu n dame n tal ideas ( posi

tio n cha n ge O f p o sitio n an d velocity ) we proceed to the study
O f a fourth fu n dame n tal qua n tity ; n amely rate O f cha n ge O f
velocity
If all the motio n s we e n cou n ter i n n ature had velocitie s
which were u n iform both i n directio n an d i n speed the vo cabu
lary O f physics would be eve n smaller th a n it n ow i s Although
the beh a vior O f a good clock or the rotatio n O f the e a rth on its
axis are marvelously close a p
proximatio n s t o c on sta n t a n gular
S peeds it is an i n teresti n g fact th a t n o i n st a n ce of perfectly con
sta n t Speed h as yet bee n discovered i n n ature or i n ve n ted by man
The motio n O f a cutti n g tool on a Shaper i s fairly co n sta n t so
far as d i rect i on i s co n cer n ed ; but its Speed is by n o mean s
co n sta n t
31

H avi n g

th e

of

n ow

D EF I N I TI O N

OF

LINEA R

A CC ELER A T I O N

If the velocity of a particle is n ot u n iform it m ust be

because either the directio n of the m otio n or the speed of t h e
m otio n is ch a n gi n g or both For these are the o n ly two con
t i n uou sl y variable eleme n ts i n vel o city
Whe n either or both
o f these ch a n ges O ccur i e whe n
the vel o city Of the particle i s
cha n gi n g the m otio n is said to
be accelerated ( ad el ero)
If the vector OP I ( Fig 1 9 )
represe n ts the velocity of the
particle a t a time t 1 an d the
vect or 0P represe n ts it at a
time t we k n ow from the prop
F
19
er
t i es O f vectors that the t o tal
cha n ge i n velocity duri n g the i n terval t2 t1 is represe n ted by the
vector P 1 P 2 I n other w o rds t h e str a igh t li n e joi n i n g P I an d
P 2 is as m a n y ce n timeters lo n g as there are u n its O f speed i n the
32

IG

2,

K I NEMA T IC S

33

O f velocity P I P
N ot o n ly s o but t h e directio n O f
this str a ight li n e is the sa me as that O f the a dded ve l ocity

i n cremen t

To the rate i g
,

has bee n give n the

Let
12 ,

us

de n ote this acceleratio n by

ame

the chan ge

a,

el erati on

acc

velocity by

in

the n
D e [ n eq u t ml
for i e age
c el er
at i on
'

di g zd

v
o

t2

t1

t2

t1

Eq

11

i mp
l y t h e r at e at w h i ch t h e p
ti cl e is
ar
This r a te is n ot a lways c on stan t ;
gai n i n g or l osi n g vel ocit y
co n seque n tly the a verage a cceleratio n will depe n d i n such a
case upo n h o w l o n g an i n terval t2 t1 is covered by the average
I n order to get the a ctu a l a cceler a tio n at an y p a rticul a r poi n t of
time t we must t a ke the average over an i n de n itely sm a ll
i n terval O f time i n cludi n g t
Accel er ati on , t h en , i s

t
Ei

Eq

an y

,t

m s tan t

12

is accor d i n gl y t h e li mit ap
r oa che d by t h e rati o
p
on d i n g i n cr
emen t
betw ee n an i n cr eme n t of v el ocit y an d t h e corr es p
If therefore a particle is m o vi n g with u n if o rm
i n ti me
vel ocity its a cceler a tio n is zer o Whether t h e particle is
movi n g fast or sl o wly makes n o di ffere n ce S O lo n g as its
velocity is n ot cha n gi n g its acceleratio n is zero
Acceler ati on

U N IT

OF

A CC ELER A TI O N

From this de n i n g equ a tio n our u n it O f acceleratio n

is Obtai n ed ex a ctly a s we obtai n ed our u n it O f velocity v i we
make each O f the terms i n the rigl t han d member u ity the n
a m ust be u n ity
We thus a rrive a t the followi n g de n itio n :
ati on i s an accel erati on i n w h i ch u n it ch an ge of vel ce
U n it accel er
i ty is p
r od u ce d i n u n it of t ime
S i n ce i n pure scie n ce the ce n ti m eter per seco n d is the u n it
O f vel o city the n atural u n it O f acceleratio n is th e cen tim t er
2
er secon d
s
con
O
fte
n
writte
n
c
Thus
a
projectile
r
m
e
e
d
c
se
/
p
p
red fr o m a g u n gai n s duri n g each seco n d a vel ocity of appr o x
i m at el y 9 8 1 ce n ti meters per seco n d toward the ce n ter of the
earth A ccordi n gly the accelerati o of a body f alli n g freely
u n der gr a vity is said to be 9 8 1 cm /
sec 2 I n e gi n eers u n its
2
this qu a n tity would read appr o xi mately
ft /
sec
33

GENERA L PHYS IC S

34

A N G U L A R A CC ELE R A TI O N

velocity like li n ear depe n ds for its value up on

two vari a bles n a mely the directio n O f the axis O f rotatio n an d
r a te of r otatio n If i n an y spi n n i n g body either O f these two
variables ch a ges the body is said t o have an a n gular accelera
ti o n Thus the shaft O f a turbi n e steamer m a y be r o tated with
a c on st a n t a ngular Speed bu t if the ste a mer is cha n gi n g he r
c o urse the a n gul a r velocity O f the shaft is ch a n gi n g an d the
If a t a n other
Sh a ft is s a id t o have an a n gul a r a cceler a tio n
ti me the boat be movi n g i n a perfectly str a ight li n e an d the
speed O f the turbi n e be varyi n g the motio n Of the shaft is also
s a id to h a ve an a n gular acceleratio n
I n ge n eral the velocity O f a spi n n i g body varies fro m i n st a n t
to i st a n t ; a s forex a mple t h e y wheel O f a statio n ary e gi e ;
S O th a t if we wish to O btai n the a n gular velocity at a p a rticular
i n sta n t t we must choose t2 an d t 1 i n such a w a y th a t t shall
be a time a very little l a ter th a n t a d t1 a ti m e a very little
e a rlier th a n t The n if we de n ote by 1 the a gular velocity
at the i n st a t t 1 an d by , the a gular vel o city a t the i n st a n t t2
the a n gular a cceler a tio n at an y i n st a n t t will be the limit ap
t
t
r
o ach e
d
by
A
a
s
o a ches zero
a
ppr
p
l
D i g q at i
f r g l r
acc l ra i
S i ce the n umerat o r i n the right h a n d member is a vector qua n
ti t y while the de n o m i n a tor is a Sc al a r it f ollows th a t the
a n gul a r a cceleratio n A is also a vect o r qu a n tity a d is there
f ore compou n ded an d resolved a s a re o ther vector qua n tities
34

A n gul a r

a)

co

n n

an

e e

on

u a

t on

TW O

S P EC I A L C A S ES

co n sidered i n some detail the three fu n da

m e t a l c on ceptio n s o f ki n ematics n a m ely positi on velocity
an d a cceler a tio n
we pro ceed to the study O f t w o highly i n ter
esti n g speci a l cases
35

H avi n g

IMPO RT A NT

n ow

CA SE

M oti on of

D i rect i on
36

OP I

P a rti cl e

S tra ight L i n e :

eed

Va ri a bl e

a particle be ch an ged from

P 2 all lyi n g on the sam e

of

f Vel oci ty Con stan t ; S

If i n Fig 2 0 the velocity

t o 0P ( the poi n ts 0 P I
,

a l on g

K IN E MA TIC S

35

straight li n e ) the n the acceler a tio n results from a cha n ge o f

sp
eed o n ly For the vel o city of the particle i s all the whil e
alo g the straight li n e 0P 2
H ere the a cceler a t io n is i n
the s a me directio n a s the
motio n O f the p a rticle
L et us imagi n e th a t the
speed of a p a rticle ch a n ges
fro m 0P 1 t o 0P 2 i n a y
i n terv a l O f time t an d that
Fm 20
through o ut the motio n the O
a t i on i s con sta n t
L et u S c a ll the acceler a tio n a ; the n t he
acc l er
p a rticle will g a i n a u n its O f speed duri n g each seco n d Th e
to ta l gai n of sp
eed duri n g an
time
t
is
therefore
give
by
the
n
y
followi n g expressio n
,

at

Eq

14

If n o w we h a ppe n t o k n ow the speed O f the particle at t h e

begi n n i n g of the i terv a l an d call it S O the n the a ctual speed at
the en d O f the i n terval will be the origi n al speed p
lus the spee d
g a i n ed V i
SO
S
8
or
,

8 0+

at

This equatio n is very useful ; for it n ot o n ly describes the

v a ri a ble Speed S a t e a ch i n st a n t O f ti m e but it also e n a bles us
t o c o mpute the v a lue o f an y on e O f the four qua n tities i n v o lved
as s o o n a s we k n ow the o ther three
I c a se a particle loses speed the n we h a ve a n egative value
,

fo r s ,

For

an d

he n ce a n eg a tive value for

the equatio n

in

8
a

E
.

these problems t is always positive

N o t i n freque n tly we Shall wa n t t o k n ow so methi n g mor e
about the moti o n O f the p a rticle th a n its mere Speed We
O fte n wa n t to k n ow wh a t the positio n of the p a rticle is after a
cert a i n i n terv al duri n g which its motio n h a s bee n a cceler a te d
If the acceler a tio n a is a co sta n t the n the gai n i n speed as
time goes on will be proporti on a l to the time
in

at

the m an speed of the p a rticle from the begi n n i n g to en d

O f the i n terval is t he value of the speed at the middle of t his

An d

GENERA L PHYS IC S

36

i n terval viz the speed represe n ted by the li n e

but this speed is by de n itio n the me a n of
.

which is

S0 +

C all

this average speed

take this average value of the speed

2 1 thus O bta i n i n g
Eq 3
.

S0

at

V
I , i n F ig 2 1 ,
LZ

an

S0 +

an d

'

at,

We may

n ow

substitute it for

S in

= st =

01

t,

S ot

at

Eq

16

where p
is the l e n gth of p a th (or simply the dista n ce ) covered
by the movi n g p a rticle
For the special c a se which we are co n sideri n g n amely
motio n i n a straight li n e thi s equatio n together with E q 1 5
S
at
S0
tells the
m mm
m m
wh ol e story
On e
gives us the speed of
the particle whe n we
k n ow the acceleratio n
an d the durati on of its
actio n the other gives
n ge
i
us
the
cha
n
the
1
n
:
5
2
{
positio n of the particle
FIG 2 1
If betwee n these t w o
e quatio n s we elimi n ate t we get a n other useful expressio n giv
i n g us the spe ed O f a particle i n terms of its acceleratio n an d
the dista n ce traversed n amely
.

C M'

TO sol ve

2
0

Eq

17

problem the n u n der this special case which w e

have just bee n co n sideri n g (directi on of velocity co n st a n t
o n e has merely to O bserve which O f the ab o ve
s peed vari a ble
)
an d
ve qu a n tities (S So a t an d p
are
give
which
required
)
l a stly which O f these three equatio n s co n t a i n s the desired an d
the k n ow n qua n tities H e has the n on e equatio n to solve for
the u n k n ow n qu a n tity
an y

P o b em s

r ide r s t ar t f rom r est at t h e top

At t h e en d of
o f a h i ll
1 6 s e c on d s t h e f oo t o f t h e h i ll i s re a c he d w i t h a sp
ee d of 6 40 cm p
ers e c o n d
Fi n d t h e av e r age a cce l er at i on of t h e w hee l d u r i n g t he d esc en t of t h e h i l l
Her e S S0 an d t a re gi v e n
40
An s a
1

Ab

i cycle

an

K I NEMA T IC S
2
of

av i

comp
u te d

Of

th e

to

s to

on

his

an d

u se

un n n

accele rati

the

eed
p

th e

foot

the

at

i ll t c mpte t h le gt h f th h il l
A
m
A t r ai r
i g t 3 6 km prh r i s st p
ed by a s dd e ap
l i c at i
p
p
b r ke
W h at acc el er ati m t b p
r d c e d by t h b r a k e s i
r de r
pt h tr ai i 8 sec ? H ere agai S S d t are giv e

th e h
3

37

on

ou

n s.

us

:c

on

o,

an

Ans

12 5

W h en steam i s tu r n ed on agai n a c on s tan t accele r a tion of 5 0 u n i ts

is p
rod u ced H o w l o n g w ill i t be bef ore t h e t r ai n h as agai n acqu i red i t s
erh ou r ?
o r i gi n a l s p
Ans 2 0 sec
eed of 3 6 km p
4

re st

er

w h at d i s t an c e w i ll
t h e t hi r d p
rob lem ?
Ov

in

th

i s t r ai

wh

i le

c omi n g
Ans

agai acq i r i

H ow

e t r av e le d

h av

f ar w i ll t h e t r ai n t r avel w h i le
r ob l em ?
t h e f ou r t h p
6

in

g i ts

to

40 m

r igin al sp
ee d
An s

100 m

f ootb a ll p
l ayer r u n n in g n or th at th e r ate O f 8 m p
er s e c on d r
e
v e rs es h i s vel oc i ty an d i n an i n ter val of 2 see i s agai n r u n n i n g t h i s t i me
er se c o n d
F i n d h i s me an acc el er at ion d u ri n g
ee d o f 8 m
s o u t h w i th a s p
p
v al
An s a
8 00
t h e i n ter
7

i s s i m l t a e sly rged t m ve w ith sp

eed s f 40 1 5 d
2 0 re s p
e c t i v e l y C i t r e m ai t r e s t ?
i f rm ly acc elerated star ts f r m re st d t t h
9 A t r ai w h i c h i s
acq red a sp
ee d w i th w h i c h i t w l d t rave l t h r gh 1 km
d f 3 se c h
e xt 5 mi F i d th acce ler ati
i th
1 0 Tw
b d ie s w h s e re sp
ec tiv e ve l c it i s are accele rat d i every
c d by 3 0 d 5 0 m pr s c d begi t m ve t w ar d eac h th r t
art d h ave i it ial ve l c ity
At rs t t h y a r e 2 km ap
t h s a me i s t a t
A f te r h w m a y s e c d s w i ll t h y m ee t ?
11
e d i t w d ire c ti s i cl i ed
A b dy t e d s t m v e w i t h e q al sp
Fi d it p
ath d r es l ta t v l c ity
t e a ch t h e r t
8

A bo d y

an

en

un

e n

12

At t h e
h o ur ,
B to

an d

13

ou

an

an

i s st a d i
n

e s

no

on

e o

a pi t 1 500 ft eas t f a th r m B
s ta r t t w al k e a s t B t t h r at e f 4 mi
mi
h
r H w l g wi ll b r eq i r d f r

at

o n

ou

an

an

on

no

an
o

a rt i cl e
p

on

st an t b ot h m en
at t h e r ate O f 3

v e r t ak e

acc el r ati
i 1 5 se c ?
n

an

s ame

on

O n e m an A

e on

an

on

an

ou

s e on

ui

as

n a

ou

of

i i t ial sp
eed f
prs ec d every sec

h as
cm

an

on

on

20

a sec d d recei v e s
W h at d i t a ce w i ll i t tr av el

cm

on

an

an

w in d i s b l o w i n g f r o m a p
oi n t i n te r me di at e b e t wee n n o r t h an d
east The n or th erly c omp
o n en t o f i t s v e l o c i t y i s 10 m i an h o ur an d t h e
e a sterly comp
F i n d t h e w h o l e v e l oc i ty
o n e n t i s 3 6 m i an h o u r
14

1 6,

e c i al f o r m
W ri te i n t h e m ar gi n of you r b ook th e sp
an d 1 7 ass u me w h en t h e p
art icle s t a rt s from rest

15

wh

ic h

Eq s

1 5,

C AS E

II

Un iform M oti on i n

Circl e : D i recti on of Vel oci ty

S eed Con st an t

Va ria bl e ;

If however i n Fig 2 2 the velocity O f a particle be

cha ged fro m 0P 2 t 0P 3 where the vect o r @3 43 c n st a n tly
equ a l i n le n gth to 0P 2 there i s n o chan geT i n sp
e d ; bu t t her
e is
37

a chan ge

vel oci ty

fore

i n t he d i recti on

The moti on

a ccel er
ated

S uch

t he

i s there
,

t a kes plac e
whe n a p a rticle m o ves i n a
circle at a u n iform speed
It is approxim a ted i n the
followi n g i n sta n ces whe n a
22
F
b oy w hirls ab o ut his he a d a
small mass a tt a ched to the en d of a stri n g a s m all particle O f
gravel sticki n g to the wheel of a bicycle i n moti on the earth
i n its revolutio n a bout the su n ; the motio n O f the moo n i n its
orbit about the earth each particle which goes t o m a ke up the
y wheel O f an e n gi n e
I n each O f these cases let us co n sider the ce n ter of t h e
circul a r path 0 ( Fig 2 3 ) as a xed p oi n t O f refere ce
A n d let us draw a straight li n e from 0 through the poi n t wher e
the p a rticle lies whe n we rst m m
EC T R
begi n to O bserve its motio n
C a ll this li n e Off
For a cle a r u derstan di n g O f
this motio n it is n ext esse n tial
th a t the stude n t disti guish care
fully betwee n the p ositi on the
iE
E
path an d the velocity O f the
movi n g p a rticle
The positio n O f a particle P a t
F
23
a y i n sta n t t i s c om pletely give n
whe n we k n ow the p a rticul a r r a dius which j oi n s the particl e
an d the ce ter 0 at th a t i n st a n t
B y the path O f a p a rticle is me a n t
2 1 ) the li n e which i s
made up O f the successive positio n s of the p a rticle
The velocity O f the p a rticle a t an y i st a n t is evide n tly i n a
d i rectio n which i s t a ge t to the circle at the poi n t where th e
p a rticle is at th a t particul a r i st a t
a

m oti o n

IG

L
RE

K I N E MA T IC S

39

Imagi n e the particle at an y time to be at the poin t P i n Fi g

The directi on O f the velocity will there be perpe dicul a r
23
A n d the s a me is true at an y other i n sta n t
t o the radius 0P
for i circul ar m o tio n the str a ight li n e which represe n ts the
velocity an d t h e rad i u s which represe n ts the positio n O f the
p a rticle are a l w ays at right an gles to each other
If we wis h to represe n t the velocity co m pletely we must
choose for the co n st a n t le n gth O f this tan ge n t li n e as ma n y
ce n timeters as there are u n its i n
the co n st a n t Speed o f the p a rticle
I n F ig 24 let P I P 2 P 3 et c
represe n t positio n s O f a partic l e
P at s m all i n terv als O f time t
Im a gi n e the p a rticle to be mov
i n g with u n if o rm speed i n a cir
cle O VI 0 V2 C VS ( dr a w n a t
right a n gles to 0P 1 0P 2 0P 3
re
respectively ) may the n rep
se n t the vel ci ti es O f t h e particle
Fm 24
i n its positio n s P I P 2 P 3 respecti vely
We can n ow determi e at o n ce the acceleratio n O f t h e
particle For if the a n gular speed of the radius OP I be
so that the speed O f the particle P is S
12 the n the an gu
lar speed of O VI is also
because it keeps a lways just 9 0
ahe a d O f 0P 1 ; an d the p o i n t VI will describe a circle Of r a diu s
S with a speed
N O W t h e total ch a n ge i n the vel city o f
the particle P remember there is n o cha n ge i n speed dur
i n g t h e time t is c o mpletely represe n ted by the li n e
Fo r
is the velocity which must be added to the vel ocity
O Vl to give the velocity 0 V2
A n d he n ce by de n iti on
,

'

to,

(0

to ,

A cceleratio n
B ut

VI V2
t

Of

the particle

Vl VZ

measures the speed of the po i n t

V
,

an

is

he n c e

equal to mS i n a directi on at right a n gles to C V

H e n ce the acceler a tio n O f a p a rticle movi n g with S peed S
I n a circle is completely described by s a y n g th a t the directi o
of the accelerati on is parallel to P 0 an d the amou n t Of t h e
acceler a ti on is equ a l to S O rwe may s a y the acce l erati on i s
alw ay s t ow ar d th e cen t eran d i s n u meri call y eq u al t o w S
,

GENERA L PHYS IC S

40

si n ce ( Eq 8 2 8 ) S
18 we m a y also write
2
A ccelerat i o n of a p a rt i cle
3
Z
ms
R
Eq 1 8
P movi n g i n a circle
R
I f we de n ote the ti me of on e revolutio n Of a particle i n a C l Cl e

n
n
n
by T the n
i
terv
a
l
k
ow
as
the
eri
of
the
motio
o
d
n
n
a
p
g:
in E q 1 8
an d he n ce substituti n g fo r
w e have T
An d

(0

(D

a)

(I)

A cceleratio n

towards ce n ter

We have n ow a complete descriptio n O f the m o tio n O f a

n iform speed i n
article
which
moves
with
u
a
circle
The
p
s tude n t should be a ble to put i n to words the mea n i g of each
For ex a mple the l a st form
O f these di ff ere n t expressio n s
.

says that

the acceler a tio n

a particle m o vi n g with

Of

u ifo rm speed i n a circle is co n sta n t an d is u m erically equ a l

to the li n e a r speed of the p a rticle s q uared an d divided by the
radius O f the path
G E N E R A L C A S E O F L I N E A R A CC ELER A TI O N
38
We h a ve n ow co n sidered i n some det a il two special
i n on e O f which the speed alo n e varies
c ases O f acceleratio n
i n the other of which the directio n a lo n e varies
The import a n ce which a tt a ches t o these t w o c a ses arises
artly fr o m the f a ct th a t the a cceleratio n of a y particle what
p
e ver movi n g a t an y give n i n sta n t i n an y p a th however t o rtu
ous may always be resol ved i n to t w o comp on e n ts on e alo n g
t h e path an d on e n orm a l t o the path ; an d these two c o mpo
n en t s bel on g respectively to the t w o special cases which we
h a ve j ust studied W e thus have the ge n er a l result
V ector s u m of the a cceler a t io n a lo n g
Tot al acceler a tio n O f
the p a th a d the acceleratio n n orm a l
an y particle
to the p a th
The adva n ced stude n t will disc o ver i n V ector A n a lysis a
m uch more eleg a n t method of treati n g this subject
n

A DD ITI O N

AND

SUB TR A C TI O N

OF

S i n ce

A CC ELE R A TI O N S

a cceler ati on i s a ve ctor q u an tity i t foll ows at on ce th at

accelerati on s ar
e a dd e d an d su btra cte d i n t h e s am e m an n er as
S ee 1 4
v el oci t i es an d oth er ve ct ors
,

K I NEMA T IC S
D EF I N I TI O N

A N G U L A R A CC ELE R A TI O N

OF

spi n n i n g body such a s the propeller shaft

i n a steamer a top the e a rth the y wheel O f an e n gi n e or a
gri n dsto n e It is at o n ce cle a r that the a n gul a r velocity with
which an y of these rigid bodies I S rotati n g may ch a n ge i n either
3 4 n amely
on e of two ways as already i n timated i n
( i ) The a n gul a r speed of the body a bout its axis m a y c h a n ge
( as for i n sta n ce th a t of a y wheel whe n the e n gi n e is just
starti n g O rstoppi n g ) an d
ii
The
directio
n O f the axis o f r o tatio n may ch a n ge
( as
( )
for i n sta n ce that of the propeller shaft whe n the stea m er i s
tur n i n g a rou n d without slowi g up her e gi n es ) A body
which is Ch a n gi n g i n ei ther on e O f these two respects is said t o
have an an gul araccel er ati on This qu a n ti t y is a vect o r an d a
D e n oti n g a n gul a r v el o c
strict a n alogue O f li n ear acceleratio
ities by ml an d 2 an d an gul a r acceleratio n by A we h a v e
already
3 4 ) O btai n ed the de n i n g equatio n
39

C o n sider

41

an y

(0

Eq

U N IT
.

radi an

pr
e

el er ati on

acc

secon d

is

w h i ch a body is r otati n g chan ges by on e

d ur i n g ea ch s e con d t h e v al u e of i t s a n gul ar

n ity

at

TW O
41

A N G U L A R A CC ELER A TI O N

OF

Wh en the r ate

40

13

I MPOR T A NT

S P EC I A L C A S E S

C orrespo n di n g t o

rati on

CASE

the two Special cases of li n ear a ccel

we have here also two Speci a l c a ses
.

D i rection

A xi s of S i n Con stan t ; R a te of S i n
Vari a bl e

the wh ole story is t old by three si mple equ a ti on s

which a re ide n tical i n f orm with E q s 1 5 1 6 a d 1 7 3 6
D e oti n g a n gles by 0 a n gul a r Speeds by
a n gular accelerati o
by A an d time by t on e has
42

H ere

a) ,

a)

6
2

(0

(0

t
o

to

At

1
3,

At

z
,

Eq

15

16

17

'

GE NERA L PHYS IC S

42

C ASE

II

R ate

f Axi s of S

S i n Con sta n t ; D i recti on

in

Va ria bl e

agai n the a n a log u e is complete ; the axis about

w hich the a cceler a ti o n occurs is at right a n gles to the axis O f
spi n ; an d the amou t O f acceleratio n is give n by an expressio n
which is ide n tical i n form with E q 1 8 3 7 n amely
A cceleratio n ab o ut
axis n or m al to axis
Eq 1 8
A
O f spi n
where as before
is the an gular speed with which the body
is spi n n i n g while 0 is the a n gular speed with which the axis
O f S pi n is ch a n gi n g directio n
This case is well illustrated by the ordi n ary gyroscope ; a lso
by the moti on of the earth a body i n which the co n sta n t rate
O f S pi n
is 2 r a dian s a day an d i n which the a xis O f Spi n
has its directio n ch a n ged a t the r a te Q by the pull O f the moo n
upo n the equatorial belt Of the earth O bserve th a t j ust a s in
E q 1 8 the three qua n tities a S an d w a re vectors each at right
an d
a n gles to the other two so here i n E q
are
A
three mutu a lly recta n gular vectors
The stude n t will n d it an i n teresti g exercise to prove that
nt
ng
a gular an d li n ear a cceleratio n s at a
poi
o
n
a
rotati
y
rigid body are co n n ected by the follo wi n g equatio n
43

H ere

to

a)

71

a)

rA,

Eq

'

equ a ti on which is strictly a al ogous to E q 8 p 2 8

This subj ect is o e wh o se det a iled discussi on at th is p oi n t
would le a d us too f a r a eld ; but it is hoped th a t every stude n t
will a t le a st get a f a ir gr a sp of the exact a n alogy betwee n
tra n sl a tio n an d rotatio n i n Ki n e m atics an d thus reduce the
c om plexity O f the subj ect by a t least on e h a lf

an

A L G E B R A I C S U MM A R Y

OF

KI N E M A TI C S

Li n ear

An gu l

Fu n d a men ta l

L e n gth

an

time ;

an d

ar

Q u an ti ti es
A n gle

an

ti m e ;

an

d t

K INEMAT IC S

43

An gul ar
osi ti on

P
D e n ed

D e n ed by a vector whos e
by a vector whose
le n gth measures a dista n ce
le n gth measures an a n gle
.

Veloci ty
V

P 1P 2

t1

t2

V = ra)

i a ti

A ccel erati on

"

tes t;

(I

rA

eci a l

Case I

p
S

Ca se I I

eci a l

co

P ro b

D i rect i on Va ri abl e :

d Con s tan t

ee

0 a)

l em s

c u rren t i s tu r n ed o n an ele c tr i c m oto r t h e

arm at u re s tart i n g f rom r es t h as acqu ired an an gu l a r s p
eed o f 6 000 radi an s
F i n d t h e av er age an gu l a r acc el er at i o n
ers e c o n d
p
2
Th e y w h ee l of an e n gi n e i s s u bj e c t t o a n egat i ve an gu l a r acce l e r a
t i on o f 4 r ad i a ns p
er s e c on d
I f t he w hee l i s m ak i n g 2 2 0 R P M
er se c o n d p
w h en s team i s s h u t O h ow l on g w i ll i t ta k e t h e y w heel to c ome to re st ?
1

Twe n ty se c on d s a f te r

+ A t,

2
=
m
w0 + 2 A 9

Va ria bl e

eed

Sm

ai

= S 2 + 2
0

Di recti on Con stan t :

ta

S = S 0 + at ,
= S t + a l z,
0
%
2

th e

Ap
ar ticl e i s accel e rat d ve rt i c ally p
w a rd w ith
acc l e rat i f 3
d h r iz
t ally e a s t w a r d w i t h
acc le r ati f 4 F i d t h t ta l a cc eler a
ti
f th p
article
4
A p
arti cle t h s r f ac e f a y w heel f 12 0 m r ad i s r t t i g
w i th
a g l ar s p
ee d f 4 r ad ia s pr s c d i s accele r at d t w ard t h
c e t r t w h a t r at ?
5
H w f as t m st a b i c ycle w h e l b m ad t rev lv e i
r der t h at a s m all
f
ar ti cl f m d at ta c hed t t h t ire m y e x p
erie ce
a cce lerati
p
12 m
I t i s a ss me d t h at t h d i a m et r f t h w h e l i 7 0 m
3

an

an

on

on O

on

an

n e

on o

on

e on

o a

an

n o

an

on

GENERA L PHYS IC S

44

W h at d at a wou l d yo u n eed i n or de r t o c omp

u te t he a cc e l e r at i on Of t h e
m oon to w ar d t he e a rt h as i t r evolve s about t h e e ar t h i n an or bi t w h i c h is
r ac t i c a lly a c ircl e ?
p
eed O f 3 r ad i an s p
7 A gr i n d s to n e i s set i n m ot i on w i th an an gul a r s p
er
sec on d Whe n l e ft t o i t sel f i t r otates t h r ou gh an a n gle of 60 r ad i a n s be f ore
s top
in g F in d t he an gu l a r acc el er ation
p
6

'

The Sh a ft of a hoi sti n g W i n d l ass is set i n to mot i on ( sta rt in g f ro m re st )

er sec on d p
ers e c o n d
W h at
u n de r an a n gu l a r a cc e l e r at i on O f 2 00 r a d i an s p
an gle wi ll i t h ave t urn ed t hrou gh by t he en d Of 3 sec on d s ?
8

R efe

M A XWE L L
M AC H

c en

D GE

JE A N S

L A TE

D U FF
t

nt

on

Chr i st ia

a s by M C rm
E x c lle t c h ap
te r

a n i cs,

tr

ack

on

Theoreti ca l M echan ics

pC

e e

Kn owl d g ) ,

Lon d on ) ,
B o st o n ) ,

en

ou

p2 08 Pr ic e
p
t r I
p
p3 64 C h ap
.

ers I I V

FR A N KL I N

an d

p
p
.

p
p
p

M C N U TT

AND

E l emen ts

M e a s u re s
2 9 9 , C h a te rs I an d I I
P r i n ci l es of M ech an i c s (M a c mi ll a n ) ,
2 67 , C h a
i men ta l M echan ics ( M a c m i ll an ) ,
E l emen tar
y E x er
t
ar

Weigh t s

( Cham bers
(G in n

rt Pub
G al i leo s achieve m en t s
(O

E lemen tary M echa n i cs

E n cy B rit ,
.

e o

M oti on (Soc P r om ot

an d

p
p12 8 Pr i ce 40 ce
S i c f M ch
p
p5 3 4 Pri c e
p
p12 8 1 55
.

M atter

ren c es

l
n ,
c
a
c
i
l
a
M
e
h
a
n ics
M
m
f
(
)

p
p2 8 3
.

C H APTER II
M O TI O N

S IM PLE H A RM O N I C

C AS E

L I N EA R

M OTI O N

There i s an other motio n with which all stude n ts eve n

begi n n ers are already f a miliar i n a ge n er a l way but which few
begi n n ers are able to describe i n a m an n er i n telligible to others
or useful t othemselves This motio n is typied by th a t O f -a
particle P ( Fig 2 5 ) supported by a vertical spiral
spri n g an d vibr a ti n g freely i n a vertical str a ight li n e
The motio n Of an y poi t on a guit a r stri n g which h a s
just bee n plucked an d let gO furn ishes a n other illus
If a body be suspe n ded by a
t rat i on O f this m o tio n
r ubber b a n d an d the n slightly displaced up or dow n
an d sudde n ly released
its motio n also will be that
which w e are a bout to study
I n e a ch of these cases observe that whe n the body
vibr a tes freely
( a) The m o ti on is o n e O f tra n slatio n because the
particles O f the b ody describe equ a l an d simil a r p a ths
b
The
path
is
a
limited
straight
li
n
e
x
)
(
3
( c) The particle moves most rapidly at t h e middle
O f its path an d c om es to rest at each en d O f its p a th
( d ) The moti o n gradu a lly dies down u n less kept up by
some outside mea n s
S uch would be a popular an d qu a litative descriptio n O f the
m oti on
C A S E II A N G U L A R M O TI O N
45 I n the case O f solid bodies havi n g a xed axis of rot a tio n
we freque n tly meet a similar m otio n an d on e with which agai
all stude n ts are fa m iliar i n a ge n er a l way
The pe n dulum of a clock is approxim a tely a rigid body
wh ose a n gul a r positio n is c on sta n tly cha n gi g I t typies the
motio n we are about to describe The m o tio n O f the bala n ce
44

rJ

45

GENE RA L PHYS IC S

46

wheel i n a watch moveme n t also illustrates the m otio n u n der

co n sideratio n If a sle n der lath be cl a mped at on e en d while
the free en d i s pulled aside an d sudde n ly let gO this free e d
will vibrate with practically the same m otio n as th a t of a p
en
d ulum left to itself
O bserve that i n each c a se whe n the body vibrates freely
Its
m
o ti o n is an a n gular o n e
a
( )
n t O f swi n g ( a n gular displaceme n t ) n ever ex
The
amou
b
( )
ceed s i n an y on e case a cert a i n limited a n gle
The
a
n gular speed is most rapid at the middle
an d
)
(
ceases altogether at the en d O f the swi n g
d
n
n less kept up by
The
vibr
a
tio
n
gradually
ies
dow
u
d
( )
s ome me a n s exter n al to the system we are studyi n g as for
i nsta n ce by the weight Of the clock or the coiled Spri n g of
the watch
These two m otio n s the li n ear an d the a n gular are e a ch close
a pproximatio n s to what is called S i mp
l e H ar mon i c M oti on an d
a re O fte n i n dic a ted by the letters S H M
Th e stude n t Should n ote here o n ce for all that a mere n ame
of a physic a l qua n tity or phe n o me n o n such as the above whil e
exceedi n gly co n ve n ie n t does n ot de n e it We n ow proceed
to the exact
.

O F L I N E A R S I M P LE H A R M O N I C M O TI O N
46
Im a gi n e a p o i n t P ( Fig 2 6 ) t o move with u n iform
speed i n the circumfere n ce of
a circle Imagi n e an y dia m e
ter draw n i n the circle A n d
fr o m the p o i n t P i n e a ch O f
its successive p
os i t i o n s i m a i n e
g
a perpe n d icul a r let fa ll u p on
this di a meter The m o ti on O f
the foo t of th is perpe n dicular
H to an d fro al on g the di a me
le harm on ic m oti on
t er is a sim p
It is evide n t th a t the Speed of
the poi n t H n ear either en d Of
the di a meter will be much less
F I G 26 Si mp
l H rm i c M t i
tha n at the ce n ter 0 I n thi s
respect t h e m ot i on Of H i s like that Of a pe n dulum bob
D E F I N ITI O N
.

on

on

'

S IM PL E HARM O N IC M O T I O N

47

The same de n itio n m a y be put m o re elegan t ly a s foll ows

l e h ar
mon i c moti on is t h e
cir cul ar
S i mp
on a d i ameter of t h e cir cl e
We shall prese tly see
moti on up
t h a t this motio n can be accurately described ( de n ed) i n a
m a n n er eve n Si m pler th an this
The stude n t freque n tly co n fou n ds S imple h a rmo n ic with cir
therefore at this poi t carefully
an d should
c ul ar m o ti o n
d isti n guish betwee n these two motio n s
The actu al motio n Of
ar
o n e O f Jupiter s moo n s is very n early circul a r while i t s ap
p
A S these moo n s
en t moti on i s practic a lly simple h a rmo n ic
revolve ab o ut J upiter we see them move alter n ately to the
right an d t o the left but we do n ot O bserve their motio n
toward u s or away from us H e n ce their m otio n is app a re n tly
For S H M is merely u n iform circular
S imple harmo n ic
motio n see n edgewise
,

C I R C LE

OF

R E F E RE N C E

ir cle i n w h i ch w e h av e i magi n ed t h e p
oi n t P ( Fig
2 6 ) t o m ov e w i t h un ifor m s p
cl e of r
ef er en ce
ee d i s call ed t h e ci r
We shall also employ the ce n ter O f this circle 0 as our poi n t
O f refere n ce
A M P L IT U D E O F S H M
48 Th e radius O f the circle of refere n ce is the m a ximum
dista n ce to which H can recede from 0 i n either directi o
This m a ximu m dist a n ce which will be de o ted by A is called
the am p
litude of
li tud e o f the S B M
Accor d i n gl y t h e am p
efer en ce
S H M i s d e n e d as t h e ra d i u s of t h e cir cle of r
47

Th e

P ER I O D

S H M

OF

L et u s de n o te by S the u n iform Speed O f the p o i n t P i n

the circle O f refere n ce I n o n e c om plete rev olutio n O f t he
circle this poi n t will travel a dist a n ce 2 A The ti m e re
49

Z77 A

seco n d s
quired for this r o u n d trip will theref ore , be
S
This i terv a l o f ti m e ge n er ally de n oted by T is a c o st a n t
a n d is c a lled the
Accor d i n gl y t h e P er i od
eri od o f the
p
i s d e n e d as t h e time occup
ie d i n on e r ou d t ri pof t h e actu al
m ovi n g p
oi n t H t o an d f r
os s t h e d iameter of t h e cir cle
o acr
The reciprocal of the period T is c alled the freq ue n cy an d is
ge n erally d en oted by n
.

'

GENERA L PHYS IC S

48

PHA SE

OF S H M
5 0 The a n gul a r positio n of the r a dius vector 0P at an y
i n sta n t t is measured by the a n gle 6 ( Fig 2 7) which this
radius m a kes with the li n e
Of
refere n ce OK
This
a n gle 6 expressed i n ra di
is
called
the
an s
h as e Of
p
x
the S H M a t the ti m e t
is t h er e
P h ase of S H M
for e d e n ed as t h e an gl e be
27
F
tw ee n t h e li n e of refer en ce
an d t h e r
oi n t movi n g i n t h e circl e of
adi u s v ect or d r
aw n t o t h e p
r efere n ce
Imagi n e the poi n t to start from D at the time t O an d
move about the circle O f refere n ce i n a cou n ter -clockwise se n se
the phase will i n crease from O to 2 n ; but if the moti o n i s
clockwise i e n egative the phase will decrease from 0 to
2
E vide n tly the phase i s co n ti n u a lly ch a n gi n g as time
g oes on It i s therefore a variable qu a n tity ; an d whe n the
a n gle an d the ti m e a re e a ch me a sured from the li n e of refer
e n ce CX it is very easy to express the a n gle 6 i n terms of the
time t by s ay i n g
.

IG

where

a)

is the a n gular speed

wt,

the radius

Of

E P OC H

B ut let us n ow supp o se th a t the li n e O f refere n ce from

which the a gl e 6 is measured is n ot CX but s o me li n e 0R
suc h as i n dic a ted i n Fig 2 7 while the li n e O f refere n ce fo r
times rem a i n s the s a me L et de n ote the a n gle betwee n the
refere ce li e for a n gles an d the refere n ce li n e for times i e
let the a n gle R CX be i dicated by
The n the pr oper ex
pressio n fo rthe ph a se will be n ot w t but t
Th is an gle 6
whi ch is t h e v al ue of t h e p
h as e at t h e ti me t 0 is cal le d t h e
51

ou

e och of

the S H
.

D I S P L A C EM E N T
52

s en ted

The

p
i

o nt

w hi ch i s

by H i n Fig 2 7
.

a ctu a l l

Th e

OF

S H M
.

e r
e
m
ovi n g w i th S H M i s r
y

d istan ce

of

th i s m ovi n g p
arti cl e

S I MPL E HARM O N IC M O T I O N

49

stan t from t h e cen ter of t h e ci rcl e of r efer en ce i s cal le d

l acem en t We sh a ll de n ote this displ a ce m e n t OR by
i t s Di s p
The n i the right -an gled tri a n gle UP I I Fig 2 7 it is evi
de n t from the de n itio n O f a m em e that
at an y

in

C OS

or

a:

co s

B ut by the de n itio n of co n sta n t a n gular speed we have

,

an d

he n ce

(0 t ,

a:

cos (c t

Eq

O r if

21

a n gles be measured from some li n e 0R Fig 2 7 i n ste a d

we have the m o st ge n eral expression for
Of
n a mely
Eq 2 2
:5
A cos ( wt
.

This equ a ti on tells the wh ol e st ory co n cer n i n g the displace

me n t E very possible value which x c an a ssume is easily com
n di n g value O f the
d
oo n
n
as
s
a
s
we
k
ow
the
correspo
u
t
e
p
vari a ble t a d O f the co n sta n ts A
a d
TO completely describe a y S H M we must the n tell the
followi n g four thi n gs ab out it
litu d e A i e the radius O f the circle O f refer
( 1 ) The amp
e n ce
for
i od T or what is the s a me
er
( 2 ) The p
.

a) ,

2 71

'

a)

h as e at an y time t n amely (at

( 3 ) The p
( 4 ) Th e d ire cti on of moti on of the poi n t
,

e.

P in

the circle of

refere n ce i e the Sig n O f must be give n

These havi n g bee n give n n othi n g can be added th a t will
m a ke the descriptio n more de ite
,

(0

LINE A R

A CC ELER A TI O N

OF

S H M
.

previ ous study O f circular motio n we fou n d th a t

whe n ever a particle moves i n a circle with u n iform speed it i s
a lways ac celerated tow a rd the ce ter
Th e a m o u n t of this
2
o
n
n
accelerati we f ou d
3 7 ) to be
1 1 where A is the radius
O f the circle an d
is its a n gular Speed
53

In

ou r

(0

a)

GENE RA L PHYS I C S

50

other words t h e acceleratio n

i n u n iform circular motio n is rep
rese n ted by a vector O f le n gth
2
P 0 draw n to 0 i n the d irec
tio n P 0
H e n ce
the acceleratio n i n
which is the proj ectio n
O f u n iform circular motio n
is rep
rese n ted by the proj ectio n O f this
vector that is by a vect r of
2
le n gth
H 0 d raw n to 0 i n t h e
In

(0

FIG

28

t i on
Acc el era

Of

SB M
.

(0

directi o H 0 S ee E q 2 1 4
L et us de n o te by a this a cceleratio n of
n

m P 0 CO S
2

w2 P

the n

Eq

23

This equ a ti on S h o ws us whe n o n ce we k n ow the di sp

l a c men t
O f an y
h o w to O bt a i n the c o rrespo n di n g a c el era t ion
This is the f u n dame n t al equatio n O f
an d may perhaps
be writte n i n the foll o wi n g form
A cceler a ti n
A n eg a tive co n sta n t
D spl a ce m e n t
r op
l ace
d s t h e accel er ati on i s p
I n ot h er w or
orti on al t o t h e d is p
me n t an d op
osite i n se n s e
p
The relatio n bet w ee n displ a ceme n t velocity a d acceleratio n
will be clear from Fig 2 9
e

=+
d

a an

s: a

9)

(1

T=

an d w

(1 )

On

amp
lit

acc

ou n t

u de O f

a:

Of

a ll

+
.

This equ a tio n ( 2 3 ) a lso gives us

ressi on forthe period O f a S E M
p
Z

o s i t e s i gn s
lway s h av e op
p
FI G 2 9
.

exceedi n gly useful ex

Fo r si n ce

an

we have T

Eq

24

a p
i g s c h as t h at d t f ri c t i al r si s ta ce t h
t
s e x c ep
l v i br t ry m t i
t t h s e i w h i c h e e rgy i s

d m

ac u a

ue

on

on

S I MP L E HARM O N IC M O T I O N

51

u t s i d e t h e v i b r at i n g sy stem c on t i n u a lly d i m i n is h e s
su p
l
ie
f
r
o
m
o
d
H en c e
p
w e do n ot meet an y mot i o n s i n n a tu re w h i ch ar e acc u r at ely s i mp
l e h ar mon i c ;
ro xi m at i on i s SO cl ose t h at i n t reat i n g
b u t i n t h ou s a n d s o f c a s e s t h e ap
p
u n i ty u se t h e la ws o f S H M
t hese c as e s w e may w it h i m p
,

A N G U L A R S I M P LE H A R M O N I C M O TI O N

we have a lready see n

bodies rotati n g a bout a xe d
axis may have a a n gul a r motio n which is a n al o gous to t h e
li n e a r motio n which we have j ust bee n studyi n g A mos t
excelle t illustrati on is to be fou n d i n the m otio n of th e b a la n c e
wheel O f a watch
The a n gular displ a ceme n t 6 O f such a body is described i n
ter m s of three co n st a n ts an d the time exactly as i n the c a se of
li n ear S H M Thus
As

CO S

Eq

( wt

where the co n sta n ts are

O
maxi m um a n gular displaceme n t or amplitude
,

to

where T period of oscillatio n

22

phase a t time t 0
while the variables a re 6 a d t
Just as i n the case of li n e a r S H M it was show n ( E q 24 )
th a t the period depe ds o n ly u p
On the r a tio o f displ a ceme n t t o
acceler a ti on so here it m ay be Sh o wn i n the s a m e w a y that
e

T= 2

Eq

24

'

th er w or ds the criteri on of an gul ar S H M is tha t t h e

an gul ar accelerati on s h all b e p
r op
lace
or t i on al t o t h e a n gulard is p
me n t but op
osite i n se n s e
p
In

TH E

H A R M ON I C

C U R V E O R TH E C O M P O S ITI O N
R E C TI L I N E A R M O TI O N W IT H A S H M
DI RE C TI O N A T R I G H T A N G LE S
,

OF

U N I F O RM

IN

If on e walks a l o n g the smo o th s a n d O f the l a ke sh ore or

the o ce a n be a ch dr a ggi n g his w a lki n g stick behi n d him an d
at the s a m e time vibr a ti n g it t o an d fro sidewise he will tr a c e
upo n the s a n d a w a ve -shaped li n e which is O f c o n sider a ble i m
portan ce i n P hysics an d which i s k n own as the H armo n ic C urv e
54

GENERA L PHYS IC S

52

It is the resulta n t of two m otio n s which are at right a n gles

to each other an d which are described by the followi n g equa t io n s
n ic M otio n
t
H
i
cos
S
imple
armo
A
()
c
o

an d
n iform R ectili n ear M otio n
ii
at
U
V
t
)
(
E limi n ati n g t betwee n these two equatio n s O f motio n we
have the equatio n O f the path n amely
.

cos

Eq

H armo n ic C urve 2 5

Of

Such a motio n is evide n tly periodic the sam e value of

,

recurri n g whe n ever

FI G

cha n ges by 2

as illust ra ted

7r
,

F ig

in

30

a r s l t i g fr m S B M d i f r m r c t i l i ar m t i
This curve is also k n ow n i n mathematics as the cosi n e or
s i n e -curve
.

30

P th

e u

an

un

ne

on

P
1

( Fi g

i s z er
2

an

eithe r gr ap
h i c a lly
2 8) i s p
ass i g t h ce ter
Sh o w ,

al geb r aic a lly t hat w he

d h a s i t max i m m s p
eed

or

an

r o b l em s
the

t he

art i cle
p

acceler ati

H
on

hat whe
i s ta t s t a

Sh ow t

d foran

art i cle H
p

rea ch e s t h e en d of i ts sw i n g
n d s s t i ll t h e a cc e l e r at i o n i s max i m um
3
l ace m en t i n a ce r ta i n
Th e d i s p
At
32
S H M at a giv e n i n s ta n t i s
t h e s a m e i n s t an t t he a cc el e r ati on i s
F i n d th e p
er i o d O f t h e S B M

the

( Fi g

2 8)

A n s 1 6 7r
.

eri
p

a S H M is
s c ds
t a gi v e
d t h a cce le rat i
i s t a t i s 4 W ha t i s t h d i s p
l ac e
me t t t h s a m e i s t a t ?
5
I
is th d i
y S B M whe
l ac e me t m axi m m ? W h e i s it a
p
mi i m m ?
6
At w h at p
ar t f i t p
at h d e s a
FI G 3 1
ar ti cle i S H M m ve m st r ap
id ly ?
p
w alks at a u i f r m r ate i a c i rc l a r t r a ck A B C D Fi g 3 1
s tar ts f r m A t t h sa me ti m e d w a lks al g t h d i a meter
4

The

e on

an

Of

an

er m

an

An o th

A m an

on

od
e

an

on

SI M PL E

H AR M ON I C

M OTI O

53

hat t h l i e j i i g th em i s prp
e d i c l ar t A C W h a t k i d f
w i ll th s ec d m h ave ? W here w il l he w alk th f a st e st ? Th
m ti
rst g s clear ar
d i 2 0 mi
te s
W h at i s h i a g l ar sped \Vh t
i s t h pri d i c t i me f th se c d m
Shea r e r s Q
ti
4 07
Fi
1
m
8
i
D
r
a
w
a
c
rv
e
t
h
t
i
m
e
a
s
d
d
i
s
t
a
c
e
f
M
3
f
r
w
i
)
(
g
)
(
0 as y
(ii ) D r aw t h c rre sp d i g t i m e vel c ity c rv e
( iii ) D ra w t h c rr e sp di g t i m e acce l er at i c rv e
ti
4 10
Sh eare r Q
AC
o

so

on

n u

x , an

an

on

an

on

ou n

oe

o n n

ues

on s

on

on

on

u es

on s

C HAPTER III
O F M A TTER

P R O P ER TI ES

S O M E G E N ER AL

n
to
this
poi
t we have bee n co n sideri n g some of the
p
motio n s of particles or bodies an d have co n n ed our atte n tio n
e n tirely to the motio n n ot at all to the m ovi n g O bj ect W e
n ext proceed to study some of those properties which all pieces
of matter have i n commo n ; properties possessed alike by
bodies at rest an d by bodies i n motio n an d by bodies Of e very
possible chemical compositio n P roperties O f this ki n d are
called ge n er al p
r op
erti es
We sh all c on sider four O f these vi z In erti a Gravitati on
a cit y for En ergy an d Elasticit y A fterwards we shall i n
Cap
eci al p
r op
erti es O f i n a n imate matter
v es t i gat e so m e O f the s p
such as hard ess m a g n etic quality tra n spare n cy color an d we
shall the n s ee how these Speci a l properties are employed to
cl a ssify the di ffere n t ki n ds of bodies
M a tter i s somethi n g with which we are familiar i n a gen eral
way fro m our e a rliest ye a rs ; on the other ha d i n vestig a t o rs
i n physic a l scie n ce have spe n t ce n turies i n studyi n g the various
peculiarities O f matter an d have n ot yet succeeded i n de n i n g
it i n ter m s O f a n ythi n g simpler M uc h has rece n tly bee n dis
covered to comme n d the v iew that matter will ultimately be
f o u n d to co n sist O f elec t ricity i n motio n ; but at prese n t this
idea is merely a suggestive hypothesis

55

I N ER TI A

the commo n est experie n ces O f life is that of

a body by pushi g pulli n g o r hefti n g it
S izi n g up
Whe n on e sees a barrel bei n g rolled alo n g the street he can
a lways tell whether it is empty or is lled wi t h s om ethi n g th a t h a s
co n siderable weight The empty b a rrel rebou n ds t o a greater
exte n t as it p a sses over a small st on e a d is m ore e a sily tur n ed
a side from a straight course
E ve n a w a go n dr aw n by a te a m behaves SO di ffere n tly whe n
56

On e

Of

54

S O ME GENERA L PR O PE R T IE S

OF

MA TTE R

55

empty an d whe n loaded that an O bserver does n ot n eed to look

i n t o the bo x of the wag o n to see whether it co n tai ns a load
or n ot
Imagi n e three balls each Six i n ches i n diameter each pai n ted
bl a ck on e a rubber football on e a woode n ball from a bowli g
alley on e an iro n can n on b a ll Imagi n e them all started roll
i n g with the same speed over a moderately smooth sidewalk
A n y boy or girl can tell i n st an tly by O bservi n g the beh a vior
O f the three balls which on e is lled with air which on e is
made O f wood an d which on e Of iro n
E verybody k n ows that the empty barrel is m ore eas ily set i n
motio n th a n the full o n e an d th a t it is m ore e a sily stopped than
the full on e A n y on e can tell by kicki n g the barrel whether
it is full or empty I n like m a n n er an y o n e can go up t o the
three black b alls each of the same size an d color each a t rest
by a push with the foot
o n the grou n d an d can disti n guish
the iro n b a ll from the w o ode n ball the woode n ball fro m t h e
f o otball B ut j ust h ow is on e able t o a rrive so quickly at t h e
correct co n clusi o n
The a n swer is th a t every on e k n ows from
his previ o us experie n ce with matter these two facts
t
n to motio n whe n
i
Th
a
t
it
requires
an e or
to
put
matt
r
i
e
()

the m atter is a lre a dy a t rest th a t it requires an e ff ort to st op

m a tter after it h a s o n ce bee n set i n m otio n
ii
Th
a
t
with
an
give
n
body
the
ou n t O f e ffort
is
a
m
y
( )
gre a ter in prop ortio n as the chan ge O f motio n is greater an d
th a t for a y give n chan ge O f m otio n the amou n t O f effort is
greater i n proportio n as the amou n t of matter in the body i s
gre a ter
The rst O f these f a cts is described by sayi n g that al l m att er
N o w i n ertia i s simply the L ati n word fo r
ossesses i n er t i a
p
l a zi n ess ; but this lazi n ess O f m atter di ffers i n o e esse n ti a l
respect from th a t exhibited by ourselves o n cert a i n more or
less rare occ a si on s i n th a t matter hesit a tes quite as much t o
st op whe n o n ce i n motio n as to st a rt whe n o n ce at rest D oes
your ow n experie n ce i n dic a te that liquids an d gases as well
as solids p o ssess i n ertia ?
I n a ll the experie n ce O f the hu m a
race n o exceptio n h a s
bee n fou n d t o the s t a te m e n t that al l matter p ossesses i ertia
H o w the n Sh a ll we expl a i n the f a ct th a t a m a rble st a rted r oll
i g on a level bl a n ket s o soo n s t Op
H ere the bla n ket f o rms
s ?
.

GENERA L PHYS IC S

56

light hill i n fro n t O f the m arble an d he n ce exerts an e ffort

so to S peak agai n st the marble
But suppose the marble put
i n to motio n o a smoo t h level table here the marble r olls m uch
farther before it stops but the very Slight rough n ess O f the
table is su fcie n t to bri n g the marble to rest The e ff ort which
a S heet of level pl a te gl a ss can O pp o se to the moti o n o f the mar
ble is slighter still yet su fcie n t to stop the m a rble by an d by
The smoother the r o a d an d the freer the beari n gs a re fro m fric
tio the lo n ger a bicycle will ru n whe n co a sti n g on level grou n d
S uppose n o w that a bicycle wheel is e n tirely free fro m fric
tio n n ot o ly the frictio n O f the beari gs b ut t h e frictio n Of the
air H ow lo n g will it co n ti ue t o spi n whe n the frame is held
a bove the grou n d a d the wheel set i n m o tio n
Al l ou rex p
er
i
e n ce goes t o s h ow that u nd er these i d eal con d iti on s t h e wheel
w oul d n ever st 0p Th e ear t h i n its rot a tio n on its a xis comes
very n early bei n g such a b ody ; the earth is i n deed SO per
fect l y free fr o m an y e ffort to stop it that it keeps on movi n g
year after year with esse n tially the s a me Speed
H w early c s t a t t h i s s p
eed f r t at i i s m y b j d ged f r m t h
es t i m ate f Sir G e rge D a rw i ( E y B rit Art Tid es S
t h at t h
effec t f th t id e s i ret r di g t h m ti f t h e ar th i s pr h ap
s
s c d
i a c e t ry
I like ma n n er if a body has a motio n O f pure tra n slatio n
the n atur a l an d logical i fere n ce is th a t the body
will keep on movi n g i de n itely if n o e ort i s ex erted agai n st i t
This i n fere n ce w a s rst m a de by Ga lileo on the gr o u n d O f the
followi n g experime n t
A body is allowed to roll dow n the i n cli n ed pl a n e A F of
xed height AB ( Fig
Th e body on reachi n g t h e foot of
the pla e AF with a co n sta n t an d
C D
E
de n ite velocity i s all owed to r oll
up a seco n d i n cli n e O f v a ri a ble
G a lile o O bserved th a t as
Sl o pe
nd
the
slope
seco
pl
an e
O f the
F 3 2
G m
mm ml
m
p
i
dimi
ished
it
required
a
lo
n ger
; c f rt h p
r cp
l f I rt a
an d lo n ger ti m e fo r the b a ll t o
reach an elev a tio n equal to A B Fro m this he argued that if
frictio n were elimi a t ed an d the b all were a llowed t o r oll a lo n g
a perfectly sm oo th an d horiz on t a l pla n e P G the ti m e required
would be i ite I other words there w o uld be n o ret a r
a S

on

nc

on

on o

ec

e
e

e on

'

en

eo i

in

et
i

e o

fn

ne

SO

ME G ENER A L P R OP ER TI E S

M A TTE R

OF

57

datio n a lo n g such a pla e an d he n ce the m otio n would be

u ifo rm i n directio n a d Speed
5 7 B ut as a mat ter of fa ct i n al l c ases of actu al m oti on we
n d t h at there is s ome outsi d e i n ue n ce at w or k whi ch in terferes
wi th the u n if ormity of the m oti on Thus i n the case of a
bullet red vertic ally upw a rds we n d that the bullet does n ot
co n ti n ue t o m o ve upw a rds forever but s oo n return s t o the
e a rth I n the c a se of a kite on the other ha n d the combi n ed
effort O f the stri n g an d the weight O f the kite a re n ot sufcie n t
t o bri n g the kite d o w n
A n equally peculi a r c a se is th a t O f an
e m pty b o ttle corked an d the n i mm ersed u n der w a ter The
b o ttle a t on ce rises to the surface
I n o rder t o expl a i n such v a rious m otio n s i n a re a lly S i mple
an d c om prehe sive w a y it will be n ecess a ry rst to de n e t w o
n ew terms v i
M ass an d M omen tu m
n

C OMPA RI S O N

OF

M A SSES

the precedi n g par a graphs it h a s bee n poi n ted out th a t

we a ll k ow so m ethi n g a b o ut estim a ti n g the a mou n t O f m a tte r
i n a body by the di fculty O f starti g o rstoppi g it
It is customary i n the p
hysi cal scie n ces t o e mp
l oy the w or d

mass t o d e n ote t h e i n ertia or if y ou p

refer a mou n t of matt er i n
a bod y ; an d w e Sh all here a f t e r use the word m ass t me a n
S i m ply the i n erti a or am o u n t O f mat t er i n a body n othi n g m o re
n o thi n g less
The n ext problem which arises i s t o n d so m e qu a n tit a tive
method for esti m a ti n g the m a ss O f a body The s olutio n m ay
pr ob a bly be best Obtai ed by co sideri n g some simple ex p
i
er
me n t such a s the f oll owi n g L et t w o s m a ll iro n wago s or a
p a ir of roller Sk a tes be pl a ced on a s m ooth horizo n t a l t a ble an d
att a ched to e a ch o t her by me a n s O f a stretched rubber b a n d AB
58

In

F d am t al m h d f rm s r m t f mass
as i n dic a ted i n Fig 3 3 L et the m be held a part a t a dist a n ce
If n ow the
O f 1 00 ce n timeters by me a n s of a meter stick
w a g on s a re m a de to ru n with very litt le fricti o n we m a y a ssu m e
FI G 3 3
.

un

en

et

ea u e

en

GENERA L PHYS IC S

58

wh e n the meter stick is quickly removed an d the wago n s ap

pr oach each other
Th
a
t
the
o
n l y exter n al i n ue n ce at work is that of the
i
()
co n tracti n g rubber ba n d an d
n d pulls equally hard upo n each of
ii
That
this
rubber
ba
( )
the wago n s
These a re at this stage pure assumptio n s ; but they are n ot
viole n t assumptio n s ; an d they are amply j ustied by the ex p
e
rien ce of every on e
From the mo me n t whe n the wago n s are rele a se d u n til they
collide they will acquire an i n cre a si n g an d he n ce accelerated
L et us i n dic a te by M A an d M the respective m a sses
m otio n
of the wago n s an d their lo a ds an d by a a d b the respective
acceleratio n s which the wago s h a ve at a y i n sta n t The n by
de n itio n i e by co n ve n tio n of the scie n tic world the ratio of
,

the masses

MA

an d

M 1, i s

a fact more easily

equal to the ratio

expressed by the followi n g equatio n

MA
MB

D
rat i
e

quat i on
o o f ma sses
n in g e

for

26

si n ce the time duri n g which the stretched rubber acts is

the same for each wago n we may i n view of E q 1 6 substitut e
B ut

for the ratio 9 the ratio

,

the distan ces which the respective

Of

w a go n s traverse before collisio n

L et u s O bserve the n the
poi n t on the meter st ick at which the collisio n occurs an d
esp
ec
de n ote by p
A an d pthe dista n ce from this po i n t to the r
tive e n ds Of the meter We Sh all the n h a ve
.

a
_

he n ce

p
I

b
an

PA
1,

An ot h er

MA
MB

scrib i n g

e u

at i
rat

on

the

de

io

27

a
ss
s
PA
From E q 1 5 it follows that we might h a ve O btai n ed the ratio
of these t w o masses from the velocities of the respective
w a go n s j ust before collisio n For Si n ce the acceleratio n s a an d
b are i n the same ratio a s the velocities acquired duri n g an y
time t we Should have
of

MA

VB

t wo

S O ME GE N ERAL PR O PE R TI ES

MA TT ER

OF

59

where V an d V are the velocities ( me a sured with respect to

the table ) with which the wago n s collide
A bal a n ce for meas uri n g the velocities of collisio n a d thus
co m pari n g m asses on this pri ciple h a s bee n devised by the
For descrip t io n see D u ff s M e
E n glish physicist H icks
p 80
chan i s
U N IT O F M AS S
H avi n g o n ce lear n ed how t o co m p a re ( i e me a sure )
59
mas ses we have o n ly to select a cert a i n st a n d a rd of m a ss i n
O rder t o be able t o determi n e the m ass of a y b o dy whatever
There is a piece of m a tter preserved i n the I ter ati on al
B ure a u o f Weights a d M e a sures a t S evres n e a r P a ris a piece
of plati n um -iridiu m weighi n g a b o ut two p u ds which the
s cie tic world h a s arbitrarily agreed to call the st a d a rd kilo
gr a m i e 1 000 gr a ms Th e gram whi ch is t herefore on e
t h ou sa n d t h p
art of t hi s s tan d ard of m ass is take n as t h e u n it
of mass
Whe n hereafter we sh all spe a k of the m ass of a body as 2 5
gr a ms we sh a ll m ea n th a t the b o dy h a s 2 5 ti m es a s much
matter i n it a s there i s i n o e gr a m ; th at the e ffort req u ired
to st a rt it m ovi n g with a give n speed is 2 5 ti m es th a t required
to start on e gram movi n g with the same speed ; or wh a t hap
pe n s to be the same thi n g that it weighs 2 5 times as much
as on e gram
B

DI G RE S S I O N

ON

FU ND A M E N T A L

AND

D ER I V E D U N IT S

The stan d a rd of mass an d also the st a dards of le n gth

an d time have bee n de n ed i n a purely arbitrary way
See
9 an d 2 0
They do n ot depe n d u po n an y other sta d a rds
fo r their v a lue
A un it whi ch is ch ose n i n jhi s ar
bi tr
g y man
n er with out r
efere n ce t o oth er u n its is calle d a fu n d ame n tal u n it
I n m od er n p
racti cally on l y th r ee fu n d ame n tal
h ysics th ere are p
u n its viz the u n it of mass t h e u n it of l en gt h an d the u n it of
time
A l l other u n its are o n a d i eren t basis as will be see n by
co n sideri n g o e of them say the u n it of speed The whole
scie n tic world uses as u n i t S peed th a t speed with which a
particle will traverse u n it dist an ce i n u n it time I n the m etric
system we say u n it speed is on e ce n timete r a sec on d The
60

GENERA L PHYS IC S

60

u n it of Speed thus depe n ds upo n the u n its of time an d le n gth

It i s therefore said to be a deri ved un it
en d f ort h eir v al u e
e d e n e d as t h ose w h i ch d ep
Deriv ed u n its ar
I n like m a n n er the u n it of a ccel
up
on t h e fu n d ame n t al u n its
cr a tio n the u n it O f are a an d the u n it of volume a re a ll derived
u n its S O are all the u n its employed i n this text -book except
the three fu n da m e n tal o n es j ust m e n tio n ed U n its which a re
b a sed u po n the ce n timeter gram an d seco n d are spoke n of a s
C G S u n its
The e n gi eer uses a di ffere n t set of fu n dam e n tal u n its
n a m ely l n gt h for e an d t im e
We have n ot yet studied the
subject of force ; but it will be allowable here to a n ticipate
merely to say that the e n g i n eer s u n it of force is the weight O f
a cert a i n mass O f m etal preserved i n the Sta n d a rds O fce at
Westmi n ster L o n do n an d called the S tan d ard P oun d
M a ss i n e gi n eeri n g practice is therefore a derived u n it ;
times the m a ss of the
a n d the S ize O f this u n it is about
st a n dard pou n d It is n ot O fte n used ; but whe n used is i re
que n tly c alled the slu g
.

D IM ENSI ON S
Th e

pwers

OF

U N I TS

which the thre e fu n d ame n tal u n its e n te r

d ime n si on s
i n to t h e vari ous d erive d u n its are calle d t h e
of
Thus if we de n ote the u its of le n gth mass
t h e d erive d u n its
an d ti m e by L M a d T respectively we m a y write the fol
lowi g table at o n ce from the de n i n g equatio n s for the qua n
tities there listed
61

to

Q U A NTI TY

DN

i ar sp
ee d
Li e a r a cc e l e r at i
A g l a r d i sp
l a c em e
A g l a r sp
ed
A g l a r a cc l e r a t i
L

LI

ne

on

E N SI O N S

on

T2

The idea of dime n sio n s is useful pri n cipally i n detecti n g an y

l a ck o f homoge n eity i n the equ a tio n s of physics Thus t a ke
E q 1 6 or an y other equ a tio n i n this bo o k a n d it will be fou n d
that i n each term of the equ a tio n the fu n d a me n tal u n its e n ter
.

S OM E

G ENE R A L

P R O PER T I ES

the s a me power Thus if

ory the expressio n for p( E q

to

12

OF

MA TTE R

61

attempti n g t o write from

o n e were to put do wn

in

S 0t +

m em

at

he could at o n ce detect the error ; fore a ch of the terms o the

right -h a n d side must be of the s a me dime n sio n s as pn amely
2
I
n
n
o
w
n
while
a
s
the
expressio
sta
ds
the
term
t
S o h as the
L ;
l
l
di m e n sio n s L T
D ime n si on al equ a ti on s are ge n erally writte n i n square brack
ets thus [V ]
n

D I G R E SS I O N

D E N S IT Y

ON

From the e a rliest ti m es it m ust h a ve bee n Observed that

there are certai n bodies which o at on w a ter while others si n k
more or less r a pidly an d also th a t whether or n ot a body o a ts
depe n ds n ot a t a ll upo n its S ize Thus it i s well k n ow n th a t
le a d volume for volu me is a heavier subst a n ce tha n w ood
But n ote carefully that this st a teme n t d o es n ot i m ply that an y
p a rticular piece of lead h a s a greater m a ss tha n s om e particul a r
piece of wood
To describe the m a n n er i n which mass an d volume a re re
l a ted the term de n sity h a s bee n i n t rod u ced an d i s de n ed
a s f ll o ws Th e aver age d e n sity of an y body is si mp
ly t h e rati o

of its mass t o its v ol u me

I f we de n ote the m a ss of a b ody by M i t s volu m e by V an d
its d en si t by D the n
M D i g q ti f r
2
E
8
D
q
v rag d s y
V
62

n n

ua

en

on

The gr a m w a s i n te n ded t o be an d is very n early equ a l

to the m a ss of on e cubic ce tim eter O f w a ter at a te m per a ture
of 4
The mass o f a y b ody of wa t er i s theref ore n umer
C
i cal l y equ a l t o i t s v l u me provided we u se the ce n timeter an d
the gr a m a s u its
I n terms o f E q 2 8 M
V i n the case of water ; an d he n ce
the de n sity o f water is very a pproxi m a tely u n ity M ore ac
,

cur
at el

y,

cubic ce n timeter

w a ter a t

of

Con g res i n tern ati on a l d e P hy s i q u e

*9

t i ty

O r,

as

N wt
e

f matter

co n oi n tl y

on

ps
ut

i t , in t h e

i s th e m eas u r
e

rs t
th e

gram

96

The gu an
l in es of t h e P r i n c ip
ia
s ame ar i s i n g f r om i ts d en si ty a n d bu l k
t wo

G ENERA L

62

PHYS IC S

O N M O M E N T O F M A SS A N D C E N T E R O F M A SS
63
Let us co n sider an y rigid body of mass M as m a de up
of a large n umber of particles C all the m a sses o f these p a rti
cles m1 m2 m3 etc their positio n s i n the body may be st a ted
by me an s of recta n gular coOrd in at es ( x l y l z l ) ( x2 y2 2 2 ) ( x3 y 3 z 3 )
etc respectively Next form the sums i n dic a ted i n the three
followi n g equatio n s
DI G R E SS I O N
.

ml x l

m2 x2

m3 r3

ml y 1

m2 y2

m3 y 3

ml e1

mzz 2

771 2

3 3

etc
etc
etc

( )
( my )
e
ni c

E ach

Eq

28 A

of these products i s called a mome n t O f mass

Those
i n t h e rst equati on are the mome n ts of mass with respect to
the YZ pl a n e ; those i n the seco n d equ a tio n a re the m om e n ts
of mass with respect t o the XZ-pla n e ; while t h e mo m e n ts of
mass for each particle with respect to the X Ypla n e are
give n i n the third equatio n
L e t u s n ow choose a poi n t whose dista n ce a from the YZ
pl a n e 1 8 such that

2
23

an

whose distan ce

y,

28 B

from the XZ-plan e is such that

6

In

Eq

like ma n n er make the distan ce from the X Y-plan e such that

,

2
z

( me)
M

The poi n t thus determi n ed by these three recta n gular coOrd i

n a tes
E
B
is c a lled the ce n ter of m ass of the b ody
( y
If the origi n of coOrd i n at es be chose n at the ce n ter of mass
it follows th a t a: y z 0 an d he n ce
,

z)
m
(

Eq

28 C

It follows therefore from E q 2 8 C that the cen ter of mass of

an y bod y i s t h e p
oi n t about w h i ch t h e momen t of mass i s zer o
If we p a ss a pla n e through the ce n ter O f mass it d Oes n ot fol
low that th ere are as ma n y particles of u n it mass on on e side
,

SO ME

G EN E RA L P R O P ER T IE S

MA T T ER

OF

63

pl a n e a s the other ; but it d es follow th a t the mome n t of

m a ss of the p a rticles o n o n e S ide is the same as the m ome n t of
those on the o ther A briefer an d clearer w a y o f viewi n g this
followi n g L et e a ch particle m be
s ubject is perhaps the
c o m pletely loc a ted
with refere n ce to an y xed origi n by
m ea n s of a positio n vector
The n the positi on vector of the
ce n ter of mass R is by den itio n expressed i n the followi n g
equatio n
t he

( in ? )
M

Eq

28 D

will be see n l a ter i n the discussio n of gravitatio n the

c e n ter of
mass is practically ide n tical with the ce n ter of
gravity
D E F I N ITI O N O F L I N E A R M O M E NT U M
64 Th e p
rod uct ob t ai n e d by multi p
lyi ng t h e mass of a bod y
by its l in ear vel ocity is on e s o freque n tl y em p
h y si cs
l oye d i n p
t h at a s p
e cial n ame h as bee n give n t o it viz Li n e arM ome n tum
S i n ce velocity is a vect o r qu a n tity an d mass a scalar qua n
tity it is evide n t th a t their pr o duct mome n tum is a vector
quan tity an d that its directi on is the sa m e as that O f the
velocity factor The product of the m a ss an d li n ear sp
e d of
a body gives t h e merely n umerical part
the scalar factor of
mome n tu m
The mome n tum of a bicycle ridde n n orth at the rate of Six
m iles an hour is by n o mea n s the same as that of the same wheel
ridde n east at Si x miles an hour The mere n umerical values of
these two mo m e n t a are the same ; the di ff ere n ce of mome n ta
i n t hese two cases is kee n ly appreciated whe n we co n sider the
di fculty i n volved i n avoidi g a collisio n with a n other wheel
g oi g sout h For i n sta n ce i n a crowded street whe n the wheels
are proceedi n g fr om n orth t o south on e after a n other the d an
ger t o an other wheel movi n g east or west six miles an hour is
e n ormously greater th a n the da n ger to the same wheel goi n g
n o rth o r sou t h S i x miles an hour
L et m de n ote the mass of a particle an d 27 its vel ocity the n
D ig q fr
L i n ear mome n tum of a particle mv l i r m
Eq 2 9
As

n n

n ea

m en t um

The reaso n able n ess O f this de n itio n will be see n whe n we

recall th a t the mass of a body is on e of the f a ctors which

GENERA L PHYS IC S

64

m easure

the dif culty of starti n g or st oppi n g the body But

as every on e k n ows the di fculty o f st a rti n g or stoppi n g a body
i n tr a n slatio n depe n ds also up o n how f a st y o u st a rt it g o i n g o r
upo n h ow f a s t it i s m ovi n g whe n you a ttempt to stop it It
depe n ds a s N ewto n said ( D e n itio n 2 P rin cip
the
i a) upo
qu a n tity of motio n i n it or as we n o w say upo n its lin ear
m ome n tu m
S i n ce the n the dif culty of stoppi n g a body i n tra n slatio n
depe n ds both upo n its mass an d u po its velocity we say
.

Li n ear

mome n tum

M ass

R O T A TI O N A L I N ER TI A A N D

V elocity

A NG UL A R M OM ENTU M

Two childre n who are seesawi n g o n e at each en d of a

bo a rd k o w very well that the sees a wi g goes on m ore smoothly
a n d wi t h greate r u n iformity whe n they are out n e a r the e n ds o f
the bo a rd th a n whe n they a re i n n ear the middle B u t whe n
they a re n ear t he middle the b o ard is much more quickly
st a rted or st opped by a third p a rty t a ki n g h old of the e d
The m a ss of the bo a rd an d the childre n is the same i n each case ;
o n ly the distributi on of the mass is differe n t
The childre n an d the b o a rd co n stitute a typic a l rotati n g
system The axis of rotatio n is the li n e of co n tact of the b oa rd
The p oi n t t o
a n d the log o ver w hich the board i s bala n ced
which atte n ti on is here directed is th a t t h e resista n ce which a
bod y off ers t o bei n g set i n r otati on i e its r otati on al i n er t ia is
on the di s
e d by its mass merely but d e p
n ot measu r
en d s als o u p
i but i on of i t s mass i e upo n the positi o n of the m a ss
tr
I m a gi n e two y wheels to h a ve equ a l m a sses I n the rst
c a se we Shall suppose the mass to be distributed mostly n ear the
axis of r ot a tio n i n the seco n d c a se the m a ss is pl a ced f a r o u t
mostly n e a r the rim of the wheel Which wheel is more e a sily
set i n to rot a tio n
The f a rther aw a y a particle is from the a xis of rotatio n t h e
greater its leverage
C on seque n tly it is fou n d whe n we
attempt t o impress a lin ear speed v upo n an y p a rticle rot a ti n g
about a xed axis th a t the effect i v en ess of the p a rticle i n resist
i g us is me a sured by the product of its li n e a r m o m e n tu m mv
Thus the a bility
a n d its dist a n ce r from the a xis o f r o t a tio n
of a particle to keep a y wheel i n rotatio n i s me a sured by
65

SOME

G E N ERA L

PR O PER T I ES

MA TT E R

OF

65

the distan ce of the p a rticle from the sh a ft a s well as by its

li n e a r m o m e n tu m
r oduct mo r is calle d the an gul ar m ome nt um of the
Th e p
particle m
A n gul a r m o me n tum
mv r
,

B ut

An d

i ce

S n

we m a y write
A n gular mome n tu m
rw,

j ust as we de n e
L i n ear mo m e n tum

z
r a)

D ig q
a g l rm
e

n n

u a

for

Eq

men t um

L i n e a r i n erti a

30

L i n ear velocity

we may d en e

so

An gul ar

m ome n tu m

R otatio n al

E mpl oyi n g

i n ertia

A n gular

velocity

this a n alogy which we sh a ll n d a mply j us t ied as

we a dv a n ce it f ollows that the rotatio n al i n erti a of a p a rticle is
me a sured by rn rz where m is the mass of the p a rticle an d r its
dista n ce from the axis of r o tatio n This product which m e a s
ures the rotatio n al i n ertia of an y p a rticle i s ge n erally th o u gh
with little pr opriety k n o wn as the m ome n t of in ertia a d is
usu a lly de n oted by I O bserve that the r o t a ti on a l i erti a O f a
p a rticle is n ot i n variable a s is its li n e a r i ertia but depe n ds
upo n the positio n of the axis o f rotatio n with refere n ce to the
r ot a ti n g m a ss
P a ssi n g fro m a particle to a rigid body it i s fou n d by ex p
i
er
me n t that the mo m e n t o f i n erti a of a body is the s u m of the
mom e n ts of i n erti a of a ll the p a rticles of the b o dy a result
w hich may be most briey expressed by the followi n g equ a tio n
,

R otatio n al

i n erti a

A n gular m ome n tu m

m
r
)
(
2

Eq

I a)

Eq

31

32

r
1
H ow i s i t t h at i n a y w h ee l w ei gh i n g on e ton t h e eff ec t o f t h e w h ee l
i n s teadyi n g t h e m o ti o n of t h e e n gi n e i s v e ry m u c h in cre as e d by p
l ac i n g
m os t o f t h e ma ss o u t n e a r t h e ri m of t h e w h eel ?
P o b l em s

If

hub ?
3

lac
p

ex t r a p d i s t
gr a t r h i d r a c e
ou n

an

t o be t h e

a e
s t art i

b e dd d to
to

g,

a bi cycle w h eel w he re w ill i t p

r ve
w he p
l ac d i th t i re r i th
o

\ Vhy ?

Why i s

ed

i t t h t in t h e b

i n t h e ri m

of

t he

al a c e w h e l

w h eel ?

of

a w at c h m s t
o

of

a ri al i s

t he m te

GENERA L PHYS IC S

66
4

An

ir

h pc i rc l ar i s hap
e d v ery thi weigh s 2 00 g I t
m
F i d i t r tat i a l i er ti a ab t
ax i w hi c h p
a sse
ce t r f t h h p d i s prp
e d ic l ar t t h p
la e f t h

on

r ad i u s i s 1 5
t hr ou gh t h e
c i rcl e

oo

on

an

ou

an

oo

n,

an

The

it s
i e r ti a

un
n

I ts

a g l ar m me t m f a c r tai y w hee l i s
a g l a r sp
eed i s 2 0 r adia s pr se c d F i
o

on

CGS
.

i ts m om

nd

of

the begi n n i n g of this ch a pter we cited some f a milia r

i n st a n ces of the behavior of m a tter i n moti on
We the n
digressed for a mo m e n t to i n cre a se our vocabulary by the d en i
tio n of four very importan t physical qua n tities n a m ely
66

At

1
M
a
ss
)
(

( Lin e ar

I erti a )
2
n t of I n ertia
M
ome
R
otatio
n
al
I
n
ertia
( )
(
)
L
i
n e a r M ome n tu m
3
( )
4
A
n gular M ome n tum
( )
n

R et ur n i n g

to the co n sideratio n Of i n erti a we S hall trea t

rst the behavior of a body which is left to itself
n ow

CA SE

No

E XT ER N A L I NF L U E N C E

N ewt on

AT

WO R K

f M oti on

Fi rst L aw

n
n
we
a
ll
k
ow
it
is
n
o
t
a
e
a
sy
m
a
tter
to le a ve a
67
body to itself ; but G a lile o an d N ewto n have c o rrectly i n
ferred the beh a vi o r of a body whe n left t o itself an d have de
scribed this beh a vi o r i n the f oll owi n g Si m ple way
If a bod y is i n tra n slati on u n d er n o e x ter n al i n ue n ce i t s
li n ear m ome n tu m remai n s con sta n t This f a ct is ge n erally
c alled N ewto n s First L aw of M ti on an d i s described algebr a
i cal l y by the foll o wi n g equ a tio n

As

co n sta n t
I n like ma n n er if a b od y is i n r otati on u n der
en ces i t s a n gular m ome n tum remai n s con st an t
mv

Eq

co sta n t
n

e x tern al i n u
O r m ore briey
,

Eq

E xperi m e n t

33

no

I o)

34

shows that these two stateme ts a re true for

bodies at rest as well a s for bodies i moti on a d th a t they a re
true fo r a body of an y S ize Shape o r co m posi t i o
B ut they
a re true o n ly u n der the co n diti on s stated n a m ely th a t the b dy
or system O f bodies i s aff ected by n o outside actio n Before on e
n

S O ME G E NERA L P R O PERT IE S

OF

MA TT E R

67

whether or n ot a body i s acted upo n by outs ide i n u

en ces he must be very careful to de n e j ust what the body is
which he is studyi n g This do n e the d isti n ctio n betwee n i n
ter n al an d extern al i n ue ces is e a sy

If therefore a he a vy y wheel set i n rot a tio n an d left to

itself gr a du ally di m i n is hes i n a n gular speed we m a y f a irly
expect to n d the wheel i s n ot re a lly left to itself an d is n ot en
I n such an expect a tio n n o
t i rel y free fro m exter n al i n u e n ces
on e h as yet bee n disappoi n ted
If a skat er coasti g on level ice n ds h imself m o vi n g more
an d m o re slowly he s u spects resista n ce t o his m otio n i n the air
an d i n the fric t io n a l resista n ce betwee n the ice an d the skates
If a baseb a ll thro w n vertic a lly i n to the a ir ch a ges its
the n s toppi n g an d the n
Vel o city ( as it does rst dimi n ishi n g
in creasin g i n speed ) we m a y rest s a t ised th a t an o utside i n
flue n ce is at w o rk
o pul a rly c a lled
gravity
I n this c a se it is p
S i n ce the n bodies left to themselves move with u iform
velocity we m ay say tha t motio n is a state of matter quite a s
n atural as rest
For bo dies i n motio n an d left alo n e keep i n
motio n ; whi le bodies at rest an d left alo n e remai n a t rest
can say
,

C A SE

II

Force

E XT ER N A L I NF L U E N C E

AN
an d

Torq ue

Newton

AT

WO R K

S econ d L aw

the precedi g p a ges we h a ve freque n tly bee n com

l
o speak of the motio n of a body as i n ue n ced by
r
t
l
e
d
e
e
p
by exter a l actio n by some o utside i n flue n ce
s i st an ce

some exter n al e ff ort

These ter m s have a ll bee n used
o r by
to express the same idea but suc h loose v a gue an d varyi n g
n a m es a re n ot i n keepi n g with the S pirit O f moder n physics
\Ve a cc o rdi gly t a ke the rst opportu n ity t o de e ex a ctly
what is mea n t by the se vari ous e x ter n al i n ue n ces whi ch ch an ge
the m ome n tum of a bod y Fo rthe co mm o n fe a ture o f a ll these
a cti on s which a ffect a b ody from with o ut is th a t they do n ot
per m it the bo dy to move with u n chan ged m o me n tu m ; they
c on ti n u ally alter the velocity of the body an d he n ce cha n ge its
mo m e n tum
It is n ow n e a rly three hu n dred years si n ce m e beg a to
observe th a t ch a n ges o f m o m e tum a re brought ab out a lw a ys
by the i n ter a cti on of on e body up o n an other ; that the tr a i n of
68

In

G EN E RA L

68

PHYS IC S

circumsta n ces which precedes a y p a rticular cha n ge of motio n

is i n ge n eral complicated an d f a r -reachi n g The cause of
mo t io n i n other words usually prese n ts i n surm ou n table d i f
A ccordi n gly
c u l t i es
an d le a ds to metaphysical obscurities
physic al scie n ce at a very e a rly stage of its history cut loose

e n tirely from all co n sideratio n s of the c a use O f m otio n i e

of these exter n al i n ue n ces which we Spe a k of as produci n g
ch a n ge o f mome n tum an d a d opted i n its stead the ide a s of

f o rce an d torque
Al l these e x ter n al i n u e n ces h ow ever
il
licated an d w h atever th eir n ature whether m agn etic cap
com p
lar y or gravitati on al are al l gr ou p
e d u n d er t w o hea d s Th e y
e calle d F or ces if the y ch a n ge the li n ear m ome n tum of the b od y
ar
an d Torques (or M ome n ts of Force ) if t h ey cha n ge t h e an gul ar
mome n tum of the body
Thus a t a si n gle stroke physical scie n ce rids itself of all
h a zy metaphysical co n sideratio n s a d co n n es its atte n ti on to
observable an d measurable qua n tities such as masses an d
velocities This achieveme n t is due largely to G alileo an d
N ewto
I n the future theref o re whe n we speak O f bodies
a cted upo n by forces we shall u dersta n d that these f orces
are merely n ames which cover o u r ig n ora n ce of the re a l causes
of motio n but we must n ot fo rget th a t these f o rces st a n d fo r
de n ite physical qua n tities which can be a ccur a tely me a sured
an d can be use d to predict future results with a precisio n which
is almost i n credible
N ewto n l ooki n g for the Shortest an d cle a rest descriptio n o f
what had bee n O bserved to h a ppe n where m a sses either i n mo
tio n or a t rest are a cted upo n by forces a rrived a t the foll w
i n g st a te m e n t which is ge n erally k n ow n a s N ewt on s S e on d
n

L aw

f M oti on

the li n e ar m ome n tu m of a body is p

r op
orti on al
t o t h e f or ce a cti n g u p
on t h e b od y ; an d t h e d irecti on of the cha n ge
is t h e same as t h e d irecti on of t h e force
A similar law describes the behavior of a body i n which
there occurs a cha ge O f a gu l ar m o m e n t u m
Th e ch a n ge i n the an gular m ome n t u m of a bod y is p
r op
orti on al
t o the tor q ue (orm ome n t of f orce acti n g u p
n t h e bod y ; an d t h e
o
)
axis an d d i r
e cti on of the ch an ge are the same as the a x is an d
d irecti on of t h e m ome n t of f or ce
Th e cha n ge

in

SO

M E G ENER A L P R OPER TI E S
D E F I N ITI O N

OF

ER

OF M A TT

69

FO R C E

r ce is d en e d as t h at whi ch cha n ges t h e l i n ear m ome n

t um of a bod y ; an d it is measure d by the t ime r ate at w h i ch the
li n e ar m ome n tu mi s n h anggd
This ide a we o w e t o G a lile o ( 1 5 64
I n popular us a ge
force has a e n dless v a riety o f m e a n i n gs i n ph ysics it is n ever
used except i this o n e se se The stude t sh ould o bserve
c a refully that i this de n i t i on n othi g wh a tever is said as t o
the origi n or source of the force which produces the ch a n ge of
The source of the exter al i n ue n ce m a y be elec
m o m e n tu m
tric mag n etic o r gr a vitatio n a l ; it m a tters n ot If the m o
m e tum is ch a n ged s o m e exter a l f o rce i s a cti n g on t h e body
a d the m easure o f this force is the r a ti o betwee n the ch a n ge o f
This is the
m ome n tum an d the time o ccupied i n this ch a n ge
wh ole st ory ab o ut force
It m a y be expressed i n the shortha n d of algebra as follows
L et F de ote the f o rce a cti n g upo n a body of m a ss m let v1 be
i ts li n e a r velocity at the ti m e t 1 a d v2 its li n e a r V elocity at
the ti m e t2 ; the n the
69

Fo

'

A verag e Force

a cti n g upo n the body duri n g the i n terv a l

the f ollowi n g equatio n
mv2

t2

my 1

t2

n in g

e u

t i o n fo raver

t1

t2

t1

ag e

fo

t1

is give n by

35

rce

If the i terv a l t2 t1 be very s m all i deed the force a t

i n sta n t t lyi n g i n the i terval t2 t1 is give n as follows
n

an

S i n ce

we h ave already ( E q 1 2 ) a greed to call the rate of

cha n ge of vel o city by the n a m e a cceler a ti on we may a lso write
this as f ollows
i g q at i
D

F
ma
.

n n

f o rf o

'

rce

e u

on

de e force a s the p
rod uct of m ass an d a ccelerati on a d en i
ti on which is ex a ctly equ iv a le n t to th a t give a b ove
O f the t w o f a ct o rs i n this de i g equ a tio n o n e m is a
sc al a r an d the other a is a vect o r quan tity
H e n ce f or ce

an d

GENERA L PHYS IC S

70
i tself

is a vectorq u an tity an d can therefore be represe n ted

directio n se n se an d a mou n t by a straight li n e
,

in

D E F I N ITI O N

OF

TO R Q U E

a precisely a n alogous ma n n er t orque i s t h e n ame

h
n gu l ar momen tu m
i
m
r
a
t
h
t
h
e
s
i
e
t
t
w
i
c
h
i
e
a
e
a
n
t
o
t
e
v
g
L et L de n ote the torque acti n g upo n a rigid body
ch an ge d
whose rotatio n a l i n ertia ( mome n t of i n ertia ) is I an d which is
capable of rotatio n about some gi ve n axis ; let be the amou n t
by which its a n g ular velocity is chan ged duri n g the time t ;
the n the
70

In

a)

A verage

Torq u e

acti n g upo n the body duri n g the i n terval

followi n g equatio n
I

or

Eq

is give n by

rate of cha n ge of a n gular velocity

th e

13,
L

I A,

Eq

37

where A de n otes the a n gular acceleratio n of the rigid body

about the give n axis
.

R EL A TI O N

E T W EE N FO R C E

AN D

TO R Q U E

a matter of fact ma n y bodies are set i n to rotatio n by

mea n s of a si n gle force a pplied to the body at what is p

ract i
cally a Si n gle poi n t Thus on e starts a gri n dsto n e or a co ffee
mill by mea n s of a push of the ha n dle ; the beam of a bal a n ce
is set i n to rotatio n by mea n s of a force applied at the k n ife
edge
The e ff ect of such a force acti n g on an y such body is i n
ge n eral to cha n ge n ot o n ly its m otio n of tr a n sl a tio n but also
its motio n of rot a tio n The amou n t of this cha n ge i n r
ot a
t i on al speed will O bviously depe n d upo n two thi n gs
1
the
( )
mag n itude of the force applied an d ( 2 ) t h e distan ce of the
li n e i n which it acts from the axis of rotatio n
Thus if on e wishes to shut a door an d can exert o n ly a
li m i t ed force he k n o ws that this force will be much more
e ff ective whe n a pplied n ear the edge of the door t ha n whe n
a pplied n ear the hi n ge li n e
I n like ma n n er whe n on e wishes to tur n a heavy wheel he
71

As

S O M E GENERA L PR O PER TI ES

OF

MA TT ER

71

a lways takes hold n ear the ri m an d n ot n ear the hub H e

does this i n order to make the perpe n dicular dist an ce betwee n
the force an d the axis as great as
possible
H e n ce the e ff ect of a force i n
produci n g rotatio n about an y

a xis can be me a sured by the

followi n g product v i z Fr where
F is the force acti n g an d r is
the perpe n dicul a r distan ce from
35
m t f f rc
M
a
F
the axis to the directio n of the
prt i cl t th d f rm r
force S ee Fig 3 5
L et u s de n ote the mome n t of force by L the n
.

IG

e, a

en

e en

e on

an a

Eq

rF,

38

This simple relatio n betwee n force an d mome n t of force

L
rF should be thoroughly mastered by every stude n t ; fo r
it is the co n n ecti n g li n k betwee n force an d t o rque an d is
ge n er a lly co n sidered as the de n i n g eq u atio n for torque O u t
side of e n gi n eeri n g circles torque is ge n er a lly calle d mome n t
of force because m ome n t is a Lati n word which mea n s i m
p orta n ce ; an d si n ce the product Frme asures t h e i m porta n ce of
the force F i n produci n g rotati on it is appr opriately called
mo m e t O f force The word is used here the n i n the same
se n se i n which S hakespeare employs it whe n he speaks of en

t erp
ri s es O f great pith an d mome n t
,

A DD ITI O N

OF

FO R C E S

forces are directed qu a n tities they are added i n

the same ma n n er as are all directed qu a n tities ; that i s i n the
same ma n n er as displaceme n ts vel o cities
mome n ta a cceleratio n s viz by placi n g
en d t o en d the l i n es which represe n t the
si n gle forces Th e li n e j oi n in g the ex
emi t i es of t h e b r oke n li n e so f or me d
tr
re p
res en ts the resultan t force or sim p
ly
F
36
the r
esultan t
E ach force produces i t s o w n e ffect quite i n depe n de n tly of
the others This is o n e of the esse n tial features although
merely a tacit i mplic a ti on of N ewto n s S eco n d L aw
Imagi n e the three vect o rs F1 F2 F i n dicated i n Fig 3 6
72

Si n ce

I G

'

GENERA L PHYS IC S

72

to represe n t i n directio n
a cti n g at an y poi n t 0

am o u n t three diff ere n t forces

The li n e 0A i Fig 3 7 will the n
res en t a force which al on e
A rep
will cha n ge the m o me tum O f a
b ody a t the s a me r a te as will the
three forces F1 F2 F3 combi n ed
This is all th a t is mea n t by a
resulta t
Imagi n e the se n se O f the f o rce
FI G 3 7
the li n e 0A
F3 to be reversed
i n Fig 3 8 will the n be the result a n t
The n u m erical v a lues
of the f o rces a re the s a m e i n Fig 3 8 as i n Fig 3 7 ; so are
their directio n s ; but the result a n ts i n
these two cases a re very d i eren t A o A
d i n gl y the stude t Should bear i n
c or
mi n d th a t the se n se O f a force is i n
ge n er al quite as i m porta n t a f a ctor as i ts
a mou t or its directio n
7 3 Very oft e n t h e result an t of a give n
system of f or ces is zer o ; i n this case the
38
F
on is sai d t o be i n equili briu m
b od y acte d u p
an

d in

IG

Th a t large br a n ch of M ech a n ics which de a ls

with forces which are i equilibrium is called
Thus whe n a met a l b all i s suspe n ded by
Statics
a spir a l spri n g as Show n i n Fig 3 9 the weight of
the ball acti g d o w n w a rds is ex a ctly b a la n ced by
the pull of the spri n g u pw a r d s an d either o f these
forces i s t o be me a sured by the acceler a tio n it would
produce i n the ball if the other force were abse n t
n

FI G

39

U N IT

OF

FO R C E

TH E D YN E

TH E

P OU N D

the force acti n g upo n an y b ody is the product of

the a cceler a tio n which it produces i n this body multiplied by
the m a ss of the body we h a ve n o liberty of choice as t o a u n it
For prov i ded we wish to be at a ll co n siste t we must
O f force
m a i n tai n ou r previously empl oyed u n its of acceler a ti on an d
m a ss B ut these we h a ve a lre a dy de n ed i
3 3 an d 5 9
H e n ce the u n it of f or ce which is call ed a dy n e i s t hat f or ce
w h i ch will p
r od u ce u n it a cceler ati on i n a m as s of on e gram
74

S i n ce

S O M E GENERA L PR O PER T I ES

OF

M ATT ER

73

what is the same thi n g u n it force is that force which is

capable O f ch a n gi n g the m ome n tum of a body at the rate of on e
u n it per seco d
O r w hat i s the same thi n g still we m ay de n e the u n it O f
f orce as th a t f orce which will ch a n ge the vel o city of a m a ss o f
o n e gram a t the rate of o n e u n it ( t h a t is o e ce n timeter per
seco n d ) per seco n d N ote that dy n e is Si m ply the A n glicized
f or m of the Greek word for fo rce The stude n t will be i n ter
Z
n
o
est ed i n provi n g that the dime sio s of f rce a re M L T
The e n gi eer employs as a u it O f force the weight of a on e
pou n d m a ss a t L on do n i n o ther w ords h i s u n it of force is th a t
f orce which the s t a n dard p o u d exerts up on the b o tt o m of the
b ox which c o tai n s it a t the S t a d a rds O f ce i n L o do n
I n order t o dis t i n guish betwee n the m a ss of a p o u d a d the
force O f a po u d it is well to write the fo r m er l bs an d the
ou d s
l a tter p
The u n it o f to rque h a s n o Speci a l n a me ; its value is evi
d en t l y ( E q 3 8 ) the torque o f o n e dy n e a cti g through an a rm
of on e ce ti m eter i a directio n perpe n dic u lar b o th t o the arm
The e n gi n eer st a rti n g fro m the same e q u a tio n
an d to the a xis
uses the p o u n d f oot a s his u n it of t orque ( This u n it i s t o be
c a refully disti n guished from the foot p
ou n d which the e gi n eer
uses a s a u n it of work an d i n which the dist a n ce an d the fo rce
are measu red i the same directio n i n stead of at right a n gles a s
here )
S T A TI C S
O r,

'

Case of

P arti cl e

L et us co n sider rst the case of a si n gle particle acted upo n

by an y n u m ber of forces all lyi n g i n the same pl a n e I f these
forces pr oduce n o acceler a tio n o f the p a rticle they are s a id to
be i n equilibriu m Fr o m wh a t h a s preceded it will be evide n t
th a t the c on ditio n for equilibrium here is a s foll ows
R ep
P oly gon of f or ces
resen t a ll t he forces by l i mi ted s tra ight
.

l i n es
en

S t arti n g wi th

I f t he

oi n t o

vector

py
ol

t he l a s t

t he

n
o
g

an

on e o

t hu s f o rmed i s

vector coi n ci d es

forces

ar
e

t hese

in

cl os ed

l ay t hem

( tha t

i s,

wi th the starti n g

iu
e u i l i br
q

forces

en d

to

the termi n al

oin t o

the

rst

If there are on ly three f o rces acti n g upo n the p a rticle the

th ey m u st form a tria n gle whe n placed en d to en d This i s of
n

GENERA L PHYS IC S

74

course a special case of the precedi n g An other way of ex

pressi n g th is result due to L ami an d ofte n called L ami s
theorem is to say that three forces are i n equilibrium whe n
each is proportio n al to the si n e of the an gle betwee n the other
two For most purposes the graphical method of determi n i n g
equilibrium is co n ve n ie n t ; but whe n n u m eric a l computatio n s
are co n cer n ed the algebraic method is ofte n better
,

Algebrai c Con di ti on f or E q u i l i briu m

us de n ote by R I R 2 B 3 etc the various forces which

act upo n the p article ; an d by 6 1 62 63 etc the res p
ective
a gles which these forces make with the axis of X The n if X
is the s u m of a ll the compo n e n ts alo n g the directio n of the
X-axis an d Y the s u m of all the co m po n e n ts a lo n g the Y a xis
we sh a ll have as the co n ditio n of equilibrium
Let

X
Y

RI

cos

61 + R 2

Si n

61

R2

cos

62

B3

cos

63 +

Si n

62

R3

si n

63

etc
etc

cos

(R
2 (R

Si n

6)

n dic
For if there is n o force acti n g alo n g either of two p
e
er
p
2
2
n
o
ular a xes the it must foll w th a t the resulta n t X + Y is
zero an d the particle is i n equilibrium
What form will the co n ditio n of equilibrium take whe n the
particle is free to move n ot o n ly i n two dime n sio n s but i n
three
,

Case of

B ody

We Shall here co n sider o n ly the c a se of a body which i s free

to rotate a bout a si gle xed axis such for i n sta n ce as a gri n d
sto n e or the y wheel of a statio n a ry e n gi n e I n seeki n g fo r
the co n ditio n of equilibrium of such a body we h a ve to remem
ber that the q u esti on is n ow on e of t orques an d th a t the per
i
n e of the
r
en
d
u
l
dist
a
ce
from
h
e
axis
of
rotatio
n
to
the
li
c
a
n
t
p
force is a factor w hich is quite as i m portan t as the amou n t of
the force
S i n ce the resultan t torque L is to be zero we may express
the co n ditio n of equilibrium as f ollows
n

Eq

39

where F1 F2 F3 etc are the forces an d p

etc
are
the
2 p
3
1 p
perpe n dicul a rs let fall from the axis to the li n es of actio n of
the respective forces
,

SO

ME G ENER A L P R OP ER TIE S

OF

M ATTE R

75

Thus i n the c a se of a W i n dlass where the force F a cti n g

thr o ugh the arm a r a ises a weight W act i n g through an arm b
we have as the co n ditio n of equilibrium
,

O bserve

that i n the case of t o rques it is quite as importa n t to

give to each mome n t of fo rce its correct Sig n as it i s to a ssig n
the proper se n se to forces
.

TH E C OU P LE

of the most import a n t c om bi n a tio n s of forces occurri n g

i n n a ture is that i n which the result a n t of the li ear forces
The typic a l c a se
S E is zer o while the torque is n ot zero
here is th a t of two forces which are equal p a r a llel an d O p
os i t el y directed but w hich d o n o t lie i n the s a m e str a ight
p
li n e C al l the t w o forces P I an d F ; the n S i n ce F1 + F = 0
it follows that they can produce n o ch a n ge of li n e a r vel ocity
But c on sider their t o rque
i n t h e body upo n which they act
with respect to an y poi n t lyi n g either betwee n or o utside
the li n es of the t w o f o rces an d it will be see n th a t they
exert a torque whose value is Fl r where ris the least dista n ce
betwee n the two forces A couple wi l l therefore produce
H e n ce the two equ a l forces F1 an d
a n gul a r a cceler a tio n
F c a n n ot be said to be i n complete eq u ilibrium un l ess they act
alo n g the s a me straight li n e
On e

P
1

en d

l on g weigh s 1 0 1b an d h as s u sp
en d e d f r o m o n e
f r o m t h e o th er en d a w eigh t of 8 l b A t w h at
of 4 1h
m u s t t h e rod be s u p
or t e d i n or d e r t o b e i n e q u il ib r i um ?
p

ir
a weigh t
An

pi t
o n

r o b l em s

rod 4 ft

on

wei gh i n g 2 1b i s p
us h ed a si de by t h e h an d
u n t il t h e u
n
W h at
o n st r i n g m a ke s an an gle of 3 0 w i t h t h e v er t i c a l
h or iz on t a l f orc e m u s t t h e h an d e xe rt i n o r d e r t o d o t h i s
2

e d l m
p
s sp
e si

b ob

u u

d b al a c es w he
a weigh t f 3 l b t
s p
prted t a pi t 4 ft fr m t h at d I f t h b r w eigh s 2 l b pr
f t l e gt h w h at i s t h t t al l e gt h f t h b r?
4
A m
j s t cl s e a d r agai s t a s t r g w i d by si g a h r i
t l f rc
f 50 l b
t a di s t a c
f 2 ft f r m t h h i ge l i e
W h at f rc e
w i ll b req i red t a d i st a ce f 2 %f t
5
F i d t h ce t r f m a ss f a i f r m i gh ta gled t r i a gl e
3

An

oo

on

b ar c

an

zon a

can

on e

en

on

un

e o

oo

en

e o
u

arryi

o n

ir

G E N ER AL

76

HYS I C S

th at w hen a p
a r ticle is i n eq u i li br i u m under t he a cti o n o f
three fo rces t he resul t a n t m o men t o f these three f orces a b o ut a n y line
i s z er o
6

P r o ve

Two p
a r a llel fo rces

of

w hich

a ctin g at a dist a nce of 2 f t f ro m

bet ween the p
a r a llel f o rces
.

h ave a result a n t of 6 1h
the l a r g er f o rce F ind the dist a nce
on e

is 5 i h

squ a re shee t of

the side ou t o u t
m a ini n g g ure

me

o f on e of

ta l

cm

its c orners

on
.

th e

side h a s a squ a re o f 2 cm
F ind th e center o f m ass of the

on

re

f o ur m a sses o f 3 6 8 4 1h resp
e ctivel y
w hich a re p
l a ced i n a str a i g h t line w ith the f o ll ow in g dist a nces se p
a r atin g
the m 6 i n 2 ft a nd 3 ft res p
ectivel y
9

F in d the cen ter of

m a ss

of

T hree men a re c a rr y in g a l og T he re a r en d i s c a rried by o n e m an

the for wa rd end i s su p
o rted o ver a stick e a c h en d o f w hich i s c a rried b y
p
W here m ust this st ick be p
o n e of the o ther t w o m en
l a ced u nder t he l og
t o divide the l o a d equ a ll y betw een t he three m en ?
10

W h a t c ou p
le w ill t wo equ a l p
a r allel a nd
o site ends o f a n ar
r o duce w hen a ctin g a t op
m
p
p
11

p
psite f

mm

rce s o f
l on g ?
o

dy nes

A s trin g 8 0 i n l on g i s s tre tched b y a f orce of 5 lb W h at f orce

m ust be a p
lied a t t he m iddle of the strin g t o de p
ress it 1 in
N eg
p
lect t he wei g h t o f the s trin g
12

is su p
or t ed b y t wo p
ill a rs o n e a t e a ch end the l o a d on
p
the res p
ective p
ill a rs bein g 1 00 a nd 2 00 1b W hen the p
ill a rs a re shi f ted
so th at e a ch st a nds 1 f t f r o m the en d o f the be a m the l o a ds a re 9 0 a nd
ec tivel y F ind th e len gth of the be a m
2 10 lb res p
13

An I -be a m

th a t w h en th e a r m s o f a b a l a nce are u nequ al t he tr ue w ei gh t

a ren t w ei g h t rs t in on e sc ale
o f a b o d y m ay be f o u nd b y o bservin g its ap
p
r oduct
an then in the ot her a nd af ter w a rds t a kin g t h e squ a re r oot of t he p
p
a rent w ei g hts
of their ap
p
14

Pr ove

Tw o I N T E R E ST I N G

SP E C I AL C ASES

if uga l F rce
I Cen trp
etal an d Cen tr
75
We have found tha t in general the force acting upon
any body is to be measured by the product of the mass of the
body and its acceleration ; an d when a particle moves i n a
circle with constant speed we have found
3 7 ) that it is
always accelerated toward the center with an acceleration which
is measured by the s q uare of its linear speed divided by the
radius of the circle
'

Eq

S OM E G ENERAL

R OPER T IE S

or

MA T T ER

77

If n o w we wish to know what force F is re q uired to keep

this particle m o ving i n a circular path we have only to m ulti
ply the mass of the particle m by its acceleration Thus
,

= m

= mw2 r=

mv -m

Eq

40

This expression gives the f o rce which one must exert up o n

a string in order t o change the directi o n of the linear momentum
m v at the rate
This force is sometimes called ce n tri p
etal force because it
measures the pull of the string towards the center it is some
times called centr if u gal force because it measures t h e pull of the
stone o utward A s w e shall s ee later
7 7 ) b o th names are
ap
pr opriate ; f r ea ch re p
resents on e of t h e tw o p
oints of view
from w h i ch every force may be consi d ere d These laws o f uni
form circular m o ti o n were discovered by H uygens (1 6 2 5
the great D utch physicist and astr onomer
a)

I I Th Gyros op; P rec ssi on

76 The rotational anal o gue o f this centrifugal force is one
o f the most interesting phenomena of me
ch a i cs and astronomy
C orresponding t o the linear momentum
o f a rigid b o dy is the angular momentum
of a rigid b o dy such for instance as that
of a
detached bicycle wheel shown in
Fig 4 0 Such a bicycle wheel held in one
hand can be set spinning rapidly with an
angular velocity which may be denoted by
Q
The angular momentum of the wheel
wh e l
B icy c l
will by analogy then be I Q
A n d the F
t
d
t
a
c
h
e
d
i
tor q ue L re q uired to change the directi o n sh w r w
p
o f th i s angular
momentum at the con
stant rate
w i ll by the same analogy be I m; or in terms
of algebra
e

IG

a) ,

o 9 &8

so i s

ecess

ID

to

Eq

41

If the spinning wheel is supported by both handles with its axle

horiz ontal there is n o tor q ue acting upon it and h ence n o tend
ency fo rthe axle to change directi o n ; but if t h e wheel be set
,

GENERAL P HYS I C S

78

spinning about a horizon tal axis and held lightly by one handle
then the weight of the wheel exerts a t o rque about another
h o rizontal axis perpendicular to the axis of spin and the
torque L makes the axis of spin therefore rotate ab o ut a
vertical axis This rotation of the axis of spin i s called p
re
The advanced studen t will nd this phen o menon
cessi on
beautifully exhibi ted by the earth upon the equatorial belt of
which the moon exerts a torque L
Th e simplest illustration is the ordinary peg top ; but some
of the various forms of gyroscope usually f o und on sale at the
expositions and toy stores are more convenient
,

r o b l em s

A m a ss of 500 g is a c t ed u p
F ind t he
o n b y a f o rce o f 3 5 00 d y nes
a cceler a tio n p
ro duced i n t he m a ss S t a rtin g f ro m rest under t his a cceler a
ti o n w h at s p
eed w ill the m a ss a cquire i n 8 sec ?
1

Ans

56

f orce o f 2 0 d y ne s is a ble to p
r o d uce a n a cceler at i on of 2 in a cert ai n
W h at is the m a ss of the b o d y ?
An s
m
10 g
.

W h a t f orce
2 5 t o 1 5 0 in

f ro m

w o uld

be required

sec

to

ch an ge the

m om en

tu m

An s

a b ody
1 0 dy n es

of

s win g s a b ou t hi s he a d i n a circl e of 1 m r a dius a bulle t

is 2 0 g W h a t is the p
ull on t he strin g w hen th e bulle t is
8 000 7r2 dy nes
rev o luti o n p
ersec o nd ?
An s

A b oy
w h ose m a ss
4

b od y

7,

m a kin g 1

l oc o m otive w h o se m a ss is
k g is r o u ndin g a curve of
4 00 m r a dius at a s p
eed o f 1 0 m p
W h at is the f orce wh ich the
er sec o n d
re
l o c o m ot ive e x ert s u p
T his p
r oble m is si m il ar t o the p
o n the o uter r a il ?
cedin g ; t he o nl y d ifference i s th a t here the a n g e of t h e w heel or the
a th while in th e p
recedin g
o uter r a il h o lds t he l o c o m otive in its circul a r p
t he strin g h olds t he bullet in i ts circu l a r p
at h
2 5 00 m illi o n d y nes
Ans

6
W h y d oes a bic y cl e rider le a n in a s he r o un ds a c orner ?
5

d oe s a c y clist ri ght hi m sel f b y turnin g his f r o n t w heel to w a rd

the side t o w hich he is fa lli n g ? T he cen trif u ga l f orce i e the ri g htin g
H ow

'

o n the w heel a nd rider is m e a sured b y

f o rce a ct in g u p
i ncre a sed b y incre a sin g v orb y di m inishin g r
,

T hi s

m ay

be

en g ine y w heel i s sp
inn in g a b ou t a h o ri z on ta l a x is w ith a n an
g ul a r m o mentu m of
C G S uni ts H ow g re at a t orque w ill be
require d t o r o t a te the a x le of t h e v w heel (still s p
innin g ) a b o ut a vertic a l
a x is at t he r ate of } r a di a n p
er sec o nd ?
A b o u t w h a t a x is m u st this t o rque
be e x erte d ?
8

An

S O ME GENERAL PR O PER T I ES

OF

MA TT ER

79

S TH I R D LA W O F M O TI O N
7 7 If we take acceleration as the test for the presence of
force questions s u ch as the following are likely to arise : A
railroad train is running o n a level track at the uniform rate of
2 4 miles an hour there is no change in the speed or in the
direction of the velocity ; accordingly the acceleration O f the
train is zero This conclusion i s plain simple unav o idable
B u t h o w can this be when the engine is exerting a force of
millions of dynes on t h e train ?
Th e answer is simply this Th e pull O f the engine is only
one among many forces acting upon the train In t hese forces
w e must include the friction of the rails the friction of the
beari n gs and the friction of the wind These forces are all
o pposing the pull o f the engine
If n o w the train be running
u n ifor
mly at the rate of 2 4 miles an hour we conclude that
these opposing forces are exactly e q ual and opposite to the pull
of the engine ; and hence that the t otal force acting up o n the
train is zero If steam be cut o ff the engine the Opposing
forces accelerate the motion of the train in such a way as to
diminish its Speed When the train comes to rest the O pposing
f o rces become zero ; and hence the total forces are again zero
and the acceleration is again zero When the enginee r lets on
steam the forward pull of the engine is greater than the
backward pull of the opposing fricti o nal forces H ence the
motion O f the train is accelerated this time in such a way
that its Speed is increased This acceleration will continue
until the frictional forces are exactly equal and Opposite to
the pull of the engine A t this point the acceleration is
again zero
From this illustration the student will observe that great
care is necessary to include in any system under discussion al l
the various parts of that system The track and the air re
tarding the train are essentially parts of the system
Whe n t h e f or ces whi ch aid an y u nif or m moti on are add ed t o
B ut
t h ose whi ch op
t h e s um i s alw ay s ze r
o
ose t h e m oti on
p
even when the m otion is n ot uniform it is fo und that the mass
which i S bein g accelerated exhibits a force O f reacti o n j
ust
o pposite i n sense and e ual in amount t o the resultant of all
q
the other forces acting upon the body This is an observed
ON S Y S T E M S

OF

B O D I ES

N E WT O N

GENERAL PHYS I C S

80

fact of nature which N ewton was the rst to accurately de

scribe Th i s he d id by s ayin g that acti on is al way s e q ual an d
op
os i te to reacti on ; ort h e mu tual acti on s of an y t w o bod ies ar
e
p
al w ay s e q u al an d op
ositel y d ire cte d
p
This statement is kn o wn as N ewton s Third L aw of M ti n
This force of reacti o n in accelerated bodies i s beautifully illus
t rat ed by the following experiment
\Vith a piece of light string support an iron ball from t w o
to four inches in diameter as indicated in Fig 4 1 To the
l o wer side o f the ball attach a piece of the
same kind of thread
Taking h old o f this lower thread one may
by pulling break either thr ead he likes If
he pulls Sl owly the lo w er thread will be
affected only by the pull O f t h e h an d while
the upper thread will be stretched both by
the pull of the hand an d by the weight of
the iron ball In this case of course the
upper string will break rst
I f on the other hand one pulls the lower
string q uickly it will as before feel the pull
B
ut
the
upper
string
O f the hand al o ne
F
4L
m tr t i g
rea cti n w h ic h i will be stretched practically by the weight
m e a sur d b y m a ss
for
in
this
case
the
ball
o f the ball only ;
w 1 r at w n
will be so rapidly accelerated that the re
acti o n O f the ball ( its mass x its acceleration ) will be su f
cient t o break the lower string before the ball h as moved
through a distance su fficient to appreciably stretch the upper
string
Th e student will find it an excellent habit to look at every
force from these two p oints of V iew
When a b o dy or system of bodies is n ot accelerated we may
consider i t is acted up o n by two or more fo rces whose sum is
always zer o or by two or more moments of forces whose su m
is always zero
When a body i s accelerated w e may c o nsider the force of
reaction as one o f the f orces acting upon the body ; and fr o m
this p int o f view which is due to D Al embert a l l f rce are
.

'

IG

us

'

e B

ba l an ced f orces

S O ME

ENE RAL PR O PER T I ES

OF

MA TT ER

81

S L A W S To E A C H O T H E R
78
Th e rst law describes the behavior of a b o dy whe n
there is no external force acting upon it ; or if y ou prefer it
states the c o nditions under which there are n o external forces
The sec o nd law describes the be h avior of bodies when external
f orces are acting It i s clear theref ore that the rst law is
merely a special case of the second l aw telling us what happens
when the external forces have a particular value namely zer o
To clearly grasp the relati o n o f the third law t o the other
two it is helpful to recur to the idea o f M axwell that when t wo
bodies interact there is a dynamical transaction taking place
Just as in commercial a ff airs the same trans
between the m
acti o n between t w o parties is calle d B uying when we consider
o n e party Selling when we consider the other and Trade w hen
we take both parties into consideration ( M att er an d M oti on
R ELA TI O NS

OF

N EWTON

A rt

The third l aw tells us then what happens when we include

in our system all the b odies whose acti o n we are consider ing
U nder these conditions that i s under n o external forces the
third l aw says that the fo rces remaining are equal The
forces remaining may be called i t rn a l forces
P u t in o ther w o rds the rs t l aw furnishes one but not the
o nly
criteri o n fo r the presence ( or absence if yo u like ) of
f orce The second law tells us h o w to measure force an idea
due t o Galileo The third l aw e xpresses the fact that forces
always occur in pairs which are equal and o pp o site
.

r o b l em s
1
A bicy cle rider e x er t s a f orce of 1 0 m illi o n dy nes on a p
ed a l Su p
ose the f o rce t o be a t ri g h t a n g les to the p
ed a l cr a nk a nd i m ag ine the
p
cr a nk t o be 1 8 centi m eters l on g w h at m o m ent of fo rce d oes the rider
L
e x ert ?
An s
1 8 0 x 1 06
P

end of a b o ard w hich i s 2 0 ft lo n g i s p

l a ced a sto ne w ei gh
i n g 40 1h
At th e other en d of the b o a rd is p
l a ced a sto ne w eig hin g
90 lb
o int a t w hich it
N e g lectin g the w ei g ht o f the b o a rd n d the p
m ust be su p
ust b al a n ce e a ch
o r ted i n order th at these t w o s to ne s m ay j
p
other
6 125 f t f r o m e nd
A s
2

At

on e

W hen a bic y cle i s bein g ridde n throu g h a wet or slush y st ree t h ow i s

it th a t the w ater c ollect s i n a little rid g e a t the m iddle o f the tire ?
4
o int 8 c m
I n Op
en in g m y p
kni f e I c a tch the bl a de a t a p
o cke to int
f ro m the p
i n a b o ut w hich the bl a de turn s ; a n d a t th is p
I e x ert
3

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

82

a f o rce
kn i fe ?
5

d y n es

of

A m a ss

3 0 cm

r a d ius

20 g

Wh at

m o men

f o rce is required

of

is rev o lvi n g u ni for ml y once in

F in d the centri f u gal f orce

of

sec

in

to

pn the

o e

a circle

of

describe s a circle of 3 0 m etres r a dius w ith a

sp
eed of 6 i n p
F ind t he h o riz o nt a l f orce tendin g t o t hro w hi m
er sec o nd
W h y d o es he incline hi m sel f to wa rd the cen ter of t he circle
over
6

sk ater

w ei g hin g 7 0 k g

t i me s a

H ow m a n y

l a ne a t t he en d
p

m inu

te

a strin g
th e strin g may equ a l 1 000 dy n es ?

z o n t al

e
a
r
p to

50

ta

cm

m a ss

g rev olve i n a h ori

l on g in order t h at the f o rce on
of

a n gler shin g w ith ro d a nd lin e b ooks a sh W i ll the

ull h a rder i f the ro d is a l on g on e ora sh or t on e ? W h y ?
p

An

of

m us

sh

T akin g a p
eri od of the moo n s rev oluti on a ro un d the e a rth a s 2 8
d ay s a nd its dist a nce f r om the ce n te r of t he e a rth as
m i c a lcul ate
its a cceler ati o n
9

II

S E C O N D G ENE R AL P ROP E R T Y

OF

M A TT E R

G R A VIT A TI O N

at a very early age learn to look t o ward the

oor for things that leave their hands This indicates what is
probably their rst acquaintance with t h e great fact that the
earth attracts all bodies to itself This single fact was prae
tically all that men knew of gravitation until the sixteenth
century when G alileo by his researches along thi s li ne i n
stituted the era of modern physics
the ideas of men con
B efore the time of Galileo ( 1 5 6 4
cerning gravitation were simply chaotic They had O bserved
that some bodies such as stones fall very rapidly th at others
such as feathers and thin paper fall very slowly ; that heavy
b o dies fall with a constantly increasing Speed that lighter
bodies such as small raindrops or feathers fall with a prae
tically uniform speed ; that in some media certain bodies do
not fall at all as for instance wood in water or iron in m er
cury G alileo was the man who rst harmonized these ap
ar
en t l y contradictory facts and described them all in a very
p
simple way
to this period nothing was known as to how far a body
Up
would fall in a given time or as to what speed it would acquire
in a given time or as to what speed it would attain in falling
a given distance
Th e di fculty in getting at these facts i e the di fculty
79

C hildren

'

S O ME

G ENERAL

PR O PER T I ES

MA T T ER

OF

83

in disc overin g how a body fall s lay partly in the circumstance

that the ancients h ad no accurate method for measuri ng small
in tervals of time partly in the circumstance that the speed of
falling bodies after a minute interval of time is liable to be
very rapid an d partly in the fact that the predecess ors of
G alileo had little or no idea of Obtaini ng knowledge by
experiment
For measuring small inte rv al s of time Galileo employed
an ingenious water clock consisting of a large vessel of water
with a small opening in the bottom Just befo re the begi n
ni ng of the obs ervation this O pen i ng was closed by the nger
A t the beginning of the O bservation the nger w as released
and the water a l l owed to ow until the end of the O bservation
when the O pening w as again closed Th e water owing out
was collected in a cup and weighed the weight of the water
being propo r
ti o nal to the duration of the o bservati o n To
prevent the attraction Of the earth from giving the falling
body t oo high a speed he allowed the body to roll down a
smo o th inclined plane of small Slope
B u t rst he satised himself that all kinds of matter woul d
fall the same dista nce in the same time O n e ball might be
made of copper another O f i r on ; the time O f des cent was the
same in each case The resistance O f the air was practically
eliminated when bodies of the same S ize and nearly the same
density were let fall B u t in many cases large bodies an d
small bodies occupy p
ra cti a l ly the same time i n falling fr o m the
same h eight O the other han d as every one knows a bunch
of cotton does n ot fall as rapidly in air as does a bul let of lead
B u t Galileo s concl usions were that in all such cases the
di ff erence in Speed w as due to the resistance O f the air H e
regretted that he had no means O f producing a vacuum s o
that he might appeal to a direct experiment ; accordingly he
employed a series of uids Of different densities such as mer
cury water air and found that as the density of the uid
diminished the bodies descending in these uids fell more
nearly at the same rate i e the same distance n the same
time He ar gu e d therefore th at in th e li mi t (i e in a vacu um)
w h ere t h e den s it y i s zer o al l bod ie s w h e n start i ng from rest
w h atever th eir s i z e s h ap
fal l th rou gh eq ual
ositi on
e or comp
d istan ces i n e q ual ti me s
,

G ENERAL

84

PHYS IC S

thoroughly Galileo w as j
ustied in this conclusion
was proved later about the year 1 6 5 0 when the air pump
was invented by O tto von G uericke O n e of the rst ex
i m en t s to be tried in the newly discovered vacuum was
er
p
to place a feather and a coin in the same tube and see whether
they would fall at the same rate in a region devoid o f air Th e
resul t was such as to Show that G alileo was perfectly c o rrect in
thinking that the earth impresses the same velocity up o n all
falling bodies if allowance is made for the resistance O f
the air
8 0 Galileo was n o w ready to begi n hi s experiment on the
inclined plane to which we have referred above This is very
conveniently repeated in the following form ( see Fig
Fr o m one si de O f a r oom to
another stretch a brass or steel
wire of one or two millimeters
diameter Th e wire sho uld
have a sl ope O f about one fo o t
in
eight
or
nine
and
should
FIG
Gal i l e s exp eri m ent
be stretched very ta u t
A small carriage to run on this wire track can be easily
made by soldering to a small brass bar the straps o f t w o small
and very light wooden pulleys ( s ee Fig
The straps o f the
pulleys must be sawed through on the other Side so that they
may slip over the wire
A
small piece of metal say a bras s
hooke d on to the l o wer
Sphere
part of the carriage will keep
t h e wh ole upright on the wire
track
A metronome a clock or a
telegraph sounder should beat
seconds in the room P arallel
F IG 4 3 C arriage f r Gal i l e s e x
to the stretched wire and about
pri m t
S i x inches ab o ve it
S hould be
stretched a stri n g on which some small indices of cardboard
are strung as shown in Fig 4 2
O n the beat O f the seconds pendulum the carriage is re
leased at the upp er end of the inclined track Th e position
of the carriage at the end of one second is marked by sliding a
H ow

en

S O ME

G ENERAL

PR O PER T I ES

OF

MA T T ER

85

cardboard index al ong the string t the pr oper place A

sec ond observer or a very soft bu ffer to catch the carriage
at the l ower end of the track is convenient A n other trial
enables one t o mark the position O f the carriage at the end
O f the second secon d
a third O bservation gives the position
of the carriage at the end of the third second and S O on
H aving thus marked Off on the inclined plane the positions o f
the falling body at the ends O f successive sec onds one may
ta bulate his results as they are given in the rst two columns
of the following table From these the acceleration al ong the
plane is easily c omputed by m eans O f our general e q uation fo r
acceleration in terms of distance and time E q 1 6 These
results are given in c olumn 3 and are it will be n oticed nearly
c nstant thus indicating that th a c l rati on a l ong the p
l an e
o

d oes

va r

n ot

ce e

a l thoug h

the vel oci ty

d oes

va r
y

A CCE L E RA TI O N
CCE L E RA TI O N
IN CE C A R R I A E D I T A N CE A E a A LO N G I NC L IN E P LA E :
A V E R TI C A L D
CT O
t
W A R E LE A E
v
T E R O M FO R M LA C O M T E
O M FO R M LA
CA R R I AGE C O M
'

TO TA L

InE

sec
sec

sec

s ec

SS

PU

TI WE

I RE

PU

3 0 cm

FR

12 7

02

1 18

cm

2 73

cm

4 78

72 6

IN

E R In

IN

77 5

Obs erver

R AY

nother way Of stating the result which Galileo O btained by

making a large number of observations o f this kind is t o say
that the c onstancy ( approximate O f course ) of the gures in
the third column means that the distance traversed by a body
sliding freely do w n an inclined plane varies directly as the
s q uare O f the time a result which is graphically expressed in
Fig 44
We must next recall that the acceleration a which we have
been measuring is only one c omponent of the t otal acceleration
namely tha t component which acts along the inclined plane
Kn o wing this comp o nent B B in Fig 4 5 and kn o wing that
the t otal acceleration o f gravity which we shall hereafter den ote
by y is vertical we can easily nd the value O f 9 For the
triangles B OD a d A OX are similar ; and hence
A

G E N E R AL

86
DISTANC E

{j

AX

AO

H YS I C S

in the experiment
recorded abo ve

12 7

The values computed from a i n this

manner are given in the fourth column Of
the table a bove
I n this manner Galile o i nfe r
re d th at thi s
arti cul ar accelerati on na mel y t h e accel er
p
r od uce d u p
on a freely f allin g bod y
ati on p
This is a
by t h e earth is al s o a constan t
capital discovery ; a fact with whose con
sequences we are so familiar that we are
perhaps a trie blind as to its importance
A s every o n e knows gravity accelerates
a body most rapidly along the ve rt ical d i rec
tion and does not accelerate a body at al l
I n a horiz o ntal direction
Indeed all that
we mean by a horizontal direction is one
in
which
the
acceleration
of
gravity
h as n o
FIG 44
o nent
com p
This device i s therefore competent not only to sho w that
the acceleration of gravity is a constant but also to give us the
numerical value of this constant Since however no allow
.

FIG

45

ance has here been made for friction or for the sag of the wire
or fo r the fact that a part of the body i s rolling instead Of
sliding the results are about 2 5 per cent too small
H o w nearly constant the acceleration O f gravity is at variou s
parts of the earth s surface will be shown by the followin g
table
,

SO M E

G ENERAL

r n ati on al d e

Con g res i n te

PR O PER T I ES

a is

P h y s i q u e, P r

OF

MA T T ER

1 900, V ol

3,

368

constant
G alileo at once made the following inference
n amely that the
speed at the end O f any interval of time is prop orti onal t o the
r t p o wer of the time This c o nse q uence w e have already
seen ( E q 1 5 p
f ollo w s in a l l cases O f constant accelera
ti on The inference may be tabulated as follows
81

H aving f o und that the accelerati o n of gravity

87

is

R el ati on between

Ti m e of

Fa l l

an d

pd A q

c u

ee

ired

de iti o n g is the number by w hich the

S peed o f a freely falling body is cha ged in
each sec o nd C onse q uently in t seconds the
t o tal cha nge in Speed will be gt ; or if the body
starts from rest t h e results in the preceding
table are expressed algebraically as f ollows
By

m
.

If the falli ng b ody h as at time t 0 a Speed

eed at any
of SO ou rexpressi o n for the actu a l sp
instant t becomes
:

S = S o + gt

S U MM A RY

OF

LA W S

OF

FR EEL Y FALL I N G B OD I ES

Th ese are exactly the la w s

a uniformly accelerated
particle which we have studied in C hapter I o nly here the
82

Of

G E N E R AL

88

HYS I C S

n u merical value of the acceleration g

cen t i m et er s econ d 2 units
/
R elation between Speed and Time

is

practically al ways

98 1

R elation

between

D istance
:1:

R elation

between

S ot

D istance

and Time
2
t
g

Eq 1 6

and Speed
2 gp

Eq

17

when a body is n ot falling freely one Obtains its

acceleration by the general m ethod of rst
nding the resultant of all the forces
acting upon it and then dividing this re
s u l t an t by the mass o f the b o dy
Thus if two masses m1 and m2 be
strung over a light frictionless pulley by
means o f a thin string as sh o w n i n Fig
freely
4 6 the m ass which falls is not a
Th e same may be said of
falling body
a body which rolls o r slides d own an
inclined plane
R eferring to Fig 4 6
which represents the essential feature O f
A twood s machine ( a classical instrument
devised
for
the
purpose
f
diluting
grav
O
F IG 46
ity so to Speak ) we proceed to write
the equations o f motion for the two bodies m1 and
there
represented
The data of the problem are s ay the masses O f the bodies
and the accelerati o n of gravity g It is re q uired t o nd the
accelerati o n a O f the system and the force T with which the
string is stretched
C onsider rst the b ody m1 all the forces acting upon it are
w
i
the
tension
the
string
acting
up
ard
o
f
T
)
(
i
ii
( ) t s weight ml g acting downward and
against its upward
( iii ) the reacti o n o f t h e mass
acceleration which amounts to ml a acting d own
ward
83

B ut

S O ME GENERAL PR O PER TI ES

OF

MA TT ER

These three are the only f o rces acting upon

and they all

hence its equation of motion

act along the same straight line

18

1
C onsidering

89

m1

m1 g r
n a = 0
1

Eq 4 2
.

mass 772 2 the forces acting upon it are

the tension being
i
the
tension
T
acti
g
upward
()
the same in every part of the string
d
acti
g
ownward
and
ii
the
weight
( )
n
( iii ) the reaction o f the mass m2 acting upward against
its downward accelerati o n a the acceleration for
each O f the two bodies being the same in amount
but opp osite in sense
Since these are the only forces acting upon m and since
they all act in the same straight line the e q uation O f moti o n
no

w the

2,

fo r m2

18

mg

in a
z

Eq

43

These t w o equations Since they c o ntain but t w o unkn w n

q uantities are competent t o give us the val ues of each of them
E liminating between them rst Tan d then a we O btain
o

an d

m2

r
n +
2

m1
7n

9
'

Eq

44

45

2 m 1 m2

Eq

m l + m2

method identical with this gives one the solution of

practically any pr oblem of b od ies falling over frictionless i n
A little
cl i ed planes or pulleys o rc o mbinations o f these t w o
later we Shall learn h o w to take friction into acc o unt
8 4 O n the o ther hand a body may be falling freely and also
have an initial vel ocity in a horizontal d irectio as for instance
a bullet red fr o m a gun which is held horizontal If we take
the mu le O f the gun as the o rigin O f co ordinates the equations
of motion for the bullet are
A
n

zz

and
y

Eq

'

t,

Eq

z
t
g

B etween

these two equations one may eliminate

O btain the path of the bullet namely

and thus

Eq

46

G ENERAL

90

PHYS ICS

an equation which the advanced student will recognize as that

of a parabola
If the initial velocity is n o t horizontal then o n e must s u bs ti
tute for V the horizontal component o f the initial velocity ;
likewise the vertical component of the initial vel oc ity will enter
into the equation for the vertical motion B ut these are mat
ters which like the resi stance of the air must be left for later
study
.

av i
P ro b l ems on G r

t a ti on

c o nsiderin g the f oll o win g questio n s the res ista n ce o f the a ir is to be

ne g lected a nd the a cceler a ti o n of g r av ity a ssu m ed t o be 9 8 1 us i n g the cen t i
m e ter a n d sec o nd a s units
In

A s to ne le t fa ll f r o m a w i n d ow
eed ?
w h at s p
1

20 m

hi g h

s trike the g ro u n d wi th
A n s 1 9 8 0 cm p
er sec o n d

w ill

A boy thr ow s a b a seb all t o a hei g h t o f 3 9 m W ith wh a t S p

eed d oe s
t he b a ll le a ve his h a nds ? W ith wh a t s p
eed w ill it return t o his h an ds ?
A ns
m p
ersec o nd
2

A t uni n g f ork m a kes 2 5 0 vibra ti o ns a sec o nd H ow m a n y v ibr ation s

w ill it m a ke w h ile it fa lls f ro m rest a di st a nce of 1 0 cm ? H o w m a n y
I n the l a t te r c a se c o m p
a re the n u m ber o f v ibr a ti o ns
w hile fa llin g 2 0 c m
er f or med in t he rst a nd th e sec o n d dec i m eters o f the fa ll
p
Ans
vibr ati o n s ;
vibr a ti ons
3

A g un is held h oriz o nt a l a t a di sta nce of 3 00 cm a b o ve the gr o und

H ow l on g af ter the g un is red until t he bullet re a ches the g r o un d ? D urin g
this in terv al ho w far w ill it tr a vel i n a h ori z o nt a l di rectio n i f it le aves
the m uz z le Of the g un w i th a sp
eed of 5 00 m a sec o nd ?
Ans
sec ; 3 90 m
4

A bl ock is al l o wed to slide d o wn a s moot h inclin ed p

l a ne of 3 0 S l op
e
Wh at sp
eed w o uld it ac quire a t the en d of 4 sec I f its m oti on w ere n o t
A n s 1 9 62 c m p
e rsec o n d
Op
osed b y f ricti o n
p
5

D e ter m ine

t he acceler ati

n a nd the ten si o n in e a ch

d i agr
ams z

Of

the f

ll o w in g

S hea rer 1 5 7

mi

FI G 46 bi s
.

S O ME GENERAL PR O PER T I ES

OF

MA TT ER

91

FI G 46 bis
.

A man w ho w ei g hs 15 0 lb ste p
ust a s it is st a rtin g
s in to a n elev ato r j
B y h o w m uch w ill h is w ei g h t
up
w ith a n a cceler ati o n of 2 00 C G S units
ap
e a r to incre as e ?
p
7

S tartin g f r m rest a n a ut m bile t r a vels 400 ft durin g the rst t

m
b
i
sec nds S u p
se
t
he
en
ne
t
e
x
ert
a
c
n
st
a
nt
ull
w
h
a
t
ust
the i
p
p
g
eed
f a h ill i n rder th a t th e m a chin e w ill a scend it a t c nst a n t s p
li
ti
8

en

na

on o

g hts w h o se su m i s 4 lb a re s t run g over a m assless a nd f ric

ulle y ; the di ff erence bet w een the t wo w ei g ht s is 2 oz F i nd the
t i on l es s p
a cceler a ti o n w h i ch gr avit y w ill p
roduce in the s y s te m
9

Two

w ei

ti m e requi re d for a bod y to slide d ow n a n inclined p

l a ne
w h ose len g th is 3 2 f t a nd w hich m akes a n a n g le of 3 0 w ith the h ori z o nt a l
10

F in d

the

bucket descendin g a m ine sh aft bre a ks the c a ble a t a n inst a n t

w he n the bucke t i s m ovin g w ith a s p
eed 2 0 f t p
ersec o n d a nd is a t a hei g h t
O f 2 40 f t f r o m the b o tt o m o f t he m i ne
H ow l on g aft er the bre a k w ill the
bucket strike the b ottom ?
11

An

or
e

TH E P EN D U LU M

nf ormati o n concerning the am u t f

the earth s a
l ra ti n was O btained by H uygens ( 1 6 2 9
the invent o r O f the pendul um clock
Galileo had already rediscovered what had previously been
kn o wn and what i s now familiar t o m ost boys that a pendulum
takes practical ly the same time to vibrate wh ther the angle
thr ugh w hich it s w ings be large or small I n oth er w or d s h e
sh ow e d that the p
eri od of a p
end ulu m d oes n ot d e p
end up
on i t s
a mp
litu de M ersenne in 1 6 4 4 had determi d the length O f a
pendulu m w hich w ould beat sec nds B u t H uygens went a step
85

The rst

a ccu r
ate

cce e

n e

GENERAL PHYS IC S

92

farther and showed how this period d s depend upon the accel
er
at i on of gravity and h o w a pendulum may be use d to measure
this acceleration with accuracy
oe

D E T E R M I NA TI O N
86

OF

D E F I N IT ION

pint by means f
sim p
le p
en d ul m
u

OF

T HE

S I M P LE P EN D U L U M

he av y p
arti cle sus p
en d ed fr om a x e d
th re ad w h ose m ass is n e gli gible is cal le d a
A

T HE P E R I O D

When such a pendul um is pulled aside through an angle 6

the particle is urged back toward its position of e q ui
( Fig
librium with an acceleration which may be easily computed as
f oll o ws
Th e simple pendulum is represented by the line 0B t h e heavy
particle by B its positi o n Of equilibrium by I )
Let the vertical line B 0 represent the acceleration o f gravity
This may be replaced by two components one A 0 acting along
th e direction of the string balanced by the pull O f the string
toward the supp o rt 0 and hence not a ffecting the
particle at B the other component B A acting p
rac
tically at right angles to the string and urging
the particle back into i ts p o sition O f e q uilibrium
A n d since the triangles A B C and OB B are similar
this latter accelerati o n it bears to g the same ratio
that B A bears to B 0 and hence
.

BA
_

Si n

B 0

Th e acceleration represented by

BA

negative because it i s toward the left

B u t when the angle 6 is small we m ay replace
S i n 6 by 6
with o ut appreciabl e err or H ence a
g6 where 6 is as usual in physics measured in
radians
Let Z denote the constant length o f the pendu
lum l 6 will then be the linear displacement of
the particle from its p o sition O f rest This dis
placement we call positive because it is toward
right
.

FIG

47

we call

S O ME
A

G ENERAL

PR O PER TI ES

OF

MA TT ER

93

ccordingly we have
,

acceleration
d i splacement

g6

and

6
Z

c
c

E liminating 6 ,

we have
a

where a
x ; for g and l are constants
That is t h e acceleration varies as the displacement and i s
in directi o n ; S ince when t h e particle is displaced
o pposite
to the right the accelerati o n is to the left and vi versa
This m otion therefore satises the criterion for S imple har
m onic moti o n A n d hence we know that the particle B m o ves
and fro with a S H M in a path which for small ampli
t
tudes is practically straight
Since the motion o f the pendulum is Simple harmonic we
may apply t o it at once the principles of S H M and write
for the period T
oc

ce

'

T
:

2 7r

Eq

ar accelerat i o n

23

24

l6

2 7r
g

2 7r

Si n

approximately

Eq

This Simple expressi o n enables one to compute the value of

and
are
easily
measured
and
then
we
have
for
the
F
r
l
o
T
;
g
c omputation O f g the f ollowing laboratory equ ation
.

=
4
9

where it is t o be noted that T is the time of on e complete

vibration i of a swing to an d fro not to or fro

D I GR ESS I O N

ON

C EN T E R

OF

G R A VIT Y

naturally next proceed to a discussion o f the

actual physical pendulum such as is empl oyed in clocks and in
the laboratory B u t before this can be intelligently taken up
87

O n e w ould

GENE R AL PHYS IC S

94

we must add to our vocabulary another term n amely centerof

grav i ty
Th e mass of any particle multiplied by the accelerati o n Of
gravity measures the force with which this particle is drawn
a force which is ordinarily called the
towards the earth
wei gh t of the b ody
For any body O f moderate Size it is f o und by experiment
that the directi o n in which the weight O f any particle acts is
the same for all parts of the body ; in other w o rds the vector
d
o es n o t vary from one part of the body to another
The
g
total weight of a b o dy i s of course the resultant Of the indi
vidual weights O f i t s individual particles
1 4 ) a general method for the additi o n
We have f ound
of all vectors This meth o d when applied to any number of
forces gives us the amount and the direction o f the result
ant ; but there i s one very important thing whic h this rule
namely the point at which the resultant
d oes
t tell u s
is applied
L et u s for instance string two heavy masses M 1 and M 2
Fig
4
up
on
a
light
8
)
(
M r od
L et IV, be the
weight of one mass and
W IV the weight O f the
other
We then kn o w
F
48
by the rule for a d diti o n
O f vectors that the total weight of the system B i s W
l +
B u t through what point O f the system this total weight R acts
we have yet to discover
Fr o m whatever point we may hang t h e system the weight
B ut
o f it as read o ff on the S pring bala ce will be the same
there is only on e point on the bar at which we can place the
balance and have the system remain h oriz o ntal That is there
is only one p int O f support about which the weights will O ffer
no moment o f force tending to r o tate the bar When once
we have placed the hook of the balance at this p oint of zero
moment we have discovered the point through which the
resultant R acts The weight is not zero but the arm of the
resultant weight is then zer o ; or what is more strictly true
the sum O f all the moments Of force tending t o rotate the sys
tem ab o ut this p oint O f supp o rt is zer o This point is known
,

no

"

IG

S OM E G E N E R AL P R OP E R T IE S

OF M A TTE R

95

the center of gravity of the system Th e centerof grav i ty

oi nt t h r ough whi ch the t ot al wei gh t
i s accor d in gly d e ne d as the p
consi d ere d as a sin gle ve r
t i cal f or ce a cts
That
of the bod y
the cen t er O f gravity is identical with the center O f mass when
we assume the weights of the particles in the body as parallel
f orces may be proved as follows Take E q 2 8 B 6 3 and
m ultiply each side by g O n e then h as

as

Mg :1:

( mgx)

two similar equations fo r y and 2 N ow Mg is the total

weight O f the body ; and mgr is the moment O f force of the
particle m These e q uati o ns therefore mean that the sum of
all the moments of force tending to rotate the body are eq u i va
lent to the tor q ue O f the total weight O f the body acting at the
center of mass (at y
B u t such a point is by denition
also the center of gravity
an d

C EN T E R

OF

G R A VIT Y

BY

E XP E R I M EN T

this denition it is evident that if a body he su p

p orted through this point it w ill be in e q uilibrium ; i e it wil l
n o t rotate because there is no resultant moment of force acting
upon it an d it will not be translated because the point at which
it is supported i s xed This leads to an easy method for
d etermining by exp
er
i men t the p o sition of the center O f mass
in a b ody
If a body is straight and Slender as in the case of a wire or
a walking stick we may locate the center of mass at o nce by
balancing the body over a knife edge thus discovering the
point ab o ut which the moment O f force is zero
B u t if the body h e a lamina i
a thin at plate we may
infer fr o m symmetry that the center of mass lies somewhere in
the plane Of the body And by balancing the body ab o ut a
knife edge w e may determine in this plane a straight line A B
n ow
w
e
Fig
which
c
ntains
the
center
of
mass
If
o
(
choose an other positi o n for the knife -edge say A B and
balance the b ody on it again we shall locate the center O f
mass on an other straight line
Since now w e kn o w that the center O f mass lies o n each
of these t wo straight lin s we kn o w that it must lie at
88

From

G ENE RAL

96

PHYS IC S

their intersection 0 We shall hereafter frequently denote

center of mass by the letters c m
In the case of an extended
body i
one all three of
whose dimensions are con
s i d er
abl e we Should need to
balance the body about three
di fferent lines ; for in this
case each balance w ould de
termine one vertical p
l an e
F IG 4 9
D ter min a ti n f center f m a ss
i n whi ch the c m lies 3 and
b y exp er i m ent
three such planes would be
required to locate by their intersection the c m of the
extended body
In many cases O f this kind the c m can be located by sy mm e
try as in the case of a S phere or a parallelopipedon or a cylinder ;
but only where the density of the body is uniform or sy m m et ri
cal In the case of l o aded dice for instance the center o f
mass would n ot coincide with the center of gure
I t is a general principle Of dynamics rst f o rmulated by
G alile o that the center O f mass always seeks the lowest possible
p o sition in space This we now recognize as a special case of
a still more general principle
that the potential energy O f a
body tends to bec o me a minimum
B u t however this principle i s stated it suggests still another
di fferent method for getting the m O f a body
Slightly
extended in all three dimensi o ns namely instead O f bal
-edge
an ci n
on
a
knife
suspend
the
body
from
s
o me
one
g
oi n t
by
a
thread
the
c m
will
seek
its
lowest
positi
on
;
p
and will therefore lie in the straight line determined by the
thread
If now the b ody be suspe n ded fro m another point a sec o nd
line will be determined i n which also the m lies Th e inter
section of these two lines must occur else the b od would have
two centers O f mass
This intersection must therefore be the
c m
I n this way two O bservations instead O f three su f ce to
locate the m O f a three -dimensional body
From this digression we return now t o the
.

S OM E G E NE R AL
D E T E R M I NA TI O N

OF

R OP E R T I E S

P E R I OD
P EN D U L U M

TH E

OF

OF

M A TT E R

97

T HE P H Y S I C AL

Imagine any r i gid body which may be perfectly irregular

in shape or more o rless regular as shown in Fig 5 0 Let it
be suspended at the point S s o that it s w ings
freely in a vertical plane Such a b o dy is called
a physical or comp o und pendulum D enote the
m by G and let SG indicate the posi tion
in which the line S G c o mes to rest D enote
the distance O f G from S by a and the deection
of t h e pendulum at any instant by 6 If the
mass of this rotating body is M the only force
acting upon it is its weight Mg acting through
the
This f o rce exerts a t o rq u e Mg G G
e q ual t o My a 6 tending to restore the pendulum
to its position of rest An d Since this tor q ue is
proportional to the displacement and O pposite
F IG 50
in sense the motion will be simple harmonic
W e may therefore at once write the peri od by analogy
with E q 2 4
89

B u t, E q

Mga6

7 0,

H ence

ngular accelerati o n

o m en

2
a

of i nert i a

eri od o f p h ysic al
p en d u l um

Eq

47

If a simple pendulum of length l is to have the same period it

will be necessary that
I
,

This

v al u e
end ul um
p

of

is kn own

Eq

Ma

as t h e

e q uiv alent length

of

th e

hysi
p

48

al

R E V E R S I B LE
90

P EN D U L U M

Th e advanced student will nd in the reversible pendu

lum a beautiful device by which the length of the e q uivalent

simple pendulum can be directly measured in the lab orat o ry
H ere one can only say that if the pendulum vibrates with
.

GENERAL PHYS IC S

98

equal periods about t w o points S and 0 ( Fig

which i
clude the center of gravity G i n the straight line j
oinin g
them then the distance S 0 is the length O f e q uivalent Simpl e
pe ndul um
n

r o b l em s

S h rtl y af ter the inven ti n f the p

endulu m cl ck
sen t
w
f r m P a ris w here i t kep
t c rrect ti m e t C ay enne i S uth A m eric a I n
the l atter p
l a ce t he cl ck l st 2 %minutes d a il y T he len g th f the p
endu
adj
us ted
th a t the cl ck ke p
t c rrec t ti me i C ay enn e ; a nd in
l m w
t his c nditi n the instr ment w sen t b a ck t P aris w here it w g i d
2 %m inu tes d a il y
E xp
l a i n this p
hen m en n
2
I t i s w ell kn w n th a t m e ta ls e xp
a nd
he a tin g W h at w i l l be t h
e ff ects f the c ld w e a ther i w inter a n d the h t w e a ther f su mm er pn
t he r ate f a cl ck h avin g a br a ss p
e ndulu m ?
3
A cl ck h a vin g a p
e dulu m 6 0 m l n g keep
s c rrec t t i m e Th
m
endul u m is len gthened t
H W m a n y sec n d w ill th e cl ck
p
1

as

no

a ne

on

as

on e

as

so

'

l o se e a ch d ay ?
eri
p

Ans

sec

3 62

a g iven p
en dulu m at D enver i s e x a ctl y 1 sec T he
eri o d o f the s a m e p
endulu m a t C hic ago is
sec T he a cceler a ti on
p
of g r a vi ty at D enver i s 9 7 9 C G S units
W h at is its v alue at C hic ag o ?
An s
C G S units
4

T he

of

T here a re 4 5 4 g in 1 lb W h at i s t he f orce
the e a rt h a ttr a ct s a m a ss of 1 1b a t a p
l a ce w here
5

in

dy nes

9 80

w ith w hich

C G S units ?
.

A n s 4 4 4 92 0 d y nes
.

F ind the

w ei g h

of

kg

in

d y n es ;

9 60

An s

d y ne s

A sp
rin g b al a nce i s m a de a nd g r a du a ted a t a t w n w here g
a n t her t w w here g = 9 7 9 the S p
rin g b a l a nce is used in a

At

m a rket

Wh o ga i n s b y th i s err or the
,

m an w h o

bu y s the

sells

w ho

me at
An s

983

m e at

the m an
T he bu y er
or

a b all oon h a n g s a Sp
rin g b a l a n ce T hi s b a l a nce
c a rries a m a ss o f 1 00 g T he b a ll oo n a scends w ith a cceler a ti o n of 2 2 0
C G S u nit s W h at w ill be the ap
a rent w eig h t of the 1 00 g durin g th e
p
a scent ?
g
A s
8

F r om the b a sket

Of

b a ll thr ow n vert ic a ll y u p
w a rd is c a u g h t b y the t hr o w er
l a ter N e g lect the resist a nce Of the a ir a nd c o mp
u te the hei g ht to
the b all was thr ow n
An s
9

cm

ei ght ?

see

hic h

T he r a dius of th e e art h is
m ust a b o d y move a l on g the sur fa ce
10

A n s Eq 1 8 ,
.

of
0

the e a rth

line a r s p
ee d
l ose all a p
a re n t
p

At w h a t
to

9 8 1,

7 899

in

prsec
e

nd

S O ME

G ENERAL

PR O PER T I E S

OF

M A T T ER

99

f o ll o win g c ases d oes the c m l ie inside a n d w h ich

er w ir
a str a i g ht COp
e th e s a me w ire bent int o
o utside the b o d y : a te a cu p
p
the a rc of a circle a h OOpa silver h a l f-d o ll a r a b aseb all a f ootb a ll ?
11

I n w hich

Of

t he

L oc a te b y ge om etr y the c m of a tri a n g ul a r sheet o f br ass I f a

c o rner Of this tri a n g le be cli p
ed O a l o n g a line p
a r a llel t o the o p
o site
p
p
S i de the c m w ill be dis p
l a ced al o n g w h at line ?
12

sc a le (the m as s of w hich i s ne g li g ible ) is divided int o deci

m eters a n d at t he end of t he rst a nd ei g hth deci m eters a re a t ta ched
ectively W here is the c m Of th e s y st e m ?
m a sses of 1 a nd 9 k res p
A ns A t the en d of 7 3 rd cm o n t he sc a le
13

A m eter

U N IV E R SAL G R A VIT A TI O N

pecial case o f
gravitation namely the acceleratio n which the earth produces
up n small bodies near its surface
N ewton s discovery o f the law which governs the general
case of gravitation must always be reckoned one o f t h e m ost
brilliant achievements of the human mind The circum
stances which led up
t o this discovery are something like the
f oll o win g
C o pernicus ( 1 4 7 3 1 54 3 ) h ad suggested o n groun d s o f Si m
l
i
ci t
and
s
y
mmetry
that
the
sun
and
not
the
eart
h
was
the
p y
center of what we n ow call the s olar system ; but neither h e
n o rany of his successors up t o the time O f N ewton had shown
what it was that kept the planets in m o tion about the su n
Kepler ( 1 5 7 1 1 6 2 0) i n the meanwhile had succeeded in de
scribing with a high degree O f accuracy the moti on O f the
planets about the s u n H is description is as foll o ws
i
E
ach
planet
moves
in
a
nearly
circular
ellipse
with
the
)
(
sun in one f o cus
( ii ) at such a speed that the line fr o m the center of the sun
to the center of the planet sweeps out e q ual areas in equal
times
( iii ) while the square O f the year measur d in any unit of
time bears t o the c u be o f the planet s distance fr om the s u a
rati o which is constant f reach member Of the s olar system
N ext came N ewt o n
who building upon the
dynamics of G alile o argued fr o m Kepler s second statement
that o f orce from behind is necessary to drive the planet
91

H itherto we have been c onsidering a

GENERAL PHYS IC S

1 00

along i ts orbit but only a deecting force acting toward the

sun a force which is continually balancing t h e centrifugal
force of the planet H is next step was to infer fr o m Kepler s
rst statement that the value of this deflecting f o rce varies
inversely as t h e s q uare of the distance which separates the
planet from the s un While from Kepler s third statement
he inferred that the f o rce O f attraction between the planet
and the su n is pr oportional to the mass O f the planet the
constant O f proportionality being the same for each O f the
planets Following this he concluded that unless there be
something more peculiar than m ere size in the mass o f the
this attraction must be proportional also to the mass
s un
O f the sun
B efore s ummarizing these results of N ewton let us recall
the fact that the d imensions of each O f these planets are SO
small compared with their distances from the su n that they
may be treated as particles N ewton showed by mathematical
computation that if we suppose the su to attract each of the
planets with a force which varies directly as the mass O f the
planet and inversely as the Sq uare of the distance between
the plane t and the sun this supposition will explain in the
most satisfactory manner all the m o tions of the planets
G oing one step farther he generalizes and supp o ses that an y
two particles or masses which may be considered as particles
m and m attract one another w ith a f o rce depending o nly o n
the product of the masses mm and the s q uare of their distance
r
E xpressing this in the la guage of algebra
,

'

dy n es

Eq

49

where G is a numerical constant found to be

very
x
approximately
The clever methods by which C avendish B oys P oynting
and others have determined the value o f this constant o f gravi
t at i on
G is a matter which must be postp o ned for advanced
study
N ewton also proved that this suppositi o n would explain the
circular path of the mo on A n d by an elegant demonstration
he showed that the reas o n that o rdi n ary b o dies at t h e surface o f
the earth are heavy i s that the earth attracts them j
ust as it
.

S O M E G ENE R AL P R OP E R T I ES

OF

M A TT ER

1 01

d o es the m o on The whole earth acts as if its mass w ere co cen

t rat ed at its centre so that bodies at the surface o f the earth act
as if attracted by a particle whose mass is that of the earth and
wh os distance i s 4 000 miles What we call the w eight o f a
b o dy thus bec omes a special case o f the forces described in
E q 4 9 which i kn o wn as N ewt o n s La w o f U niv rsal G ravi
t at i on
Let t h e stu d ent b e ar in min d h owever that t h is l aw
sim p
l y d es cri bes the behavi or of a mass m in t h e p
resen ce of
as N ewton h imself clearly p
an d
ointe d ou t
an ot h er mass m
l ai n gr avitati on even in the sl i ghtest d e gree Why
does n ot ex p
b odies attract o e another i s as much a mystery as ever H o w
bodies attract one another N ewton discov ered and described in
the most perfect manner
n

TH E
Th e balance is kn o wn

B ALAN C E

most pe ople as an instrument

fo r c o mparing the weights of t w o di fferent bodies i
fo r co m
paring t w o differe t force
The g r cer whe n he sells u s a
p o und of c offee deals o u t an am unt su h as the earth w ill
attract with a f o rce which E nglish speaking people have agreed
t o call
the weight O f o e pound
92

to

th is c onnectio n t h e gr a nu la r p ressure t h e or y ad v a nce d b y O sb orne R ey

n ol d s
P ro fess o r o f E n gineerin g O w ens C oll eg e M a nc h ester S h ou ld b e m en
t ion ed
I t p urp orts t o e x p la i n gr avit a ti o n a s b ein g d ue t o t h e p u s h o rp ressure
o f a un ivers al gr a nu la r m e d i u m w h i c h ll s al l S p a ce i s un d er en or mo us p ressure
an d ha s a ver y h igh d ens ity T h ere i s n o attra ctive f orce in h erent i n ma sses of
m atter t h e m se l ves
I n s p aces w h ere n o m a tter e xists t h e gr a ins O f t h e me d iu m
w h i c h a re al mo st in nite l y s m all a re a rr a n ge d i n wha t R e y n ol ds c all s
n or m al
p i l in g suc h as t hat o f S p h er i c al c a nn o n b all s W h ere m atter e x i sts t h e gra ms
a re i n a b n or mal p il i n g t h ere b ein g a s mal l er nu m b er of gra ins p er unit v ol u m e
i n t h e l atter t h a n i n t h e f or mer
M atter in d i c ates a certain d e cienc y O f grains

i n th e med i u m a singu la r surfa ce Of mis t a cr a c k or gap i n th e o th er wise

un i for m m e d i u m an d d i lat ations an d strains d ue t o t h e p ressure are set u pin
t h e gr anu la r m e d ium b et wee n suc h negative ine q u al i ties or S in gu l ar surfa ces

o f m is t
T h i s c au ses curv ature i n t h e n or mal arr an ge ment of t h e me d i u m b e
t ween t h e negative ine q u al ities o rat om s a n d t h e n orm all y pi l e d gra ins of t h e
me d iu m a n d t h e p ressure O f t h e m e d iu m un d er suc h c on d i ti ons p us h es t h e neg
ative ine q u al ities orat oms t ogeth er a cc o rd ing t o t h e l aw of u n ivers al gr av i t ati on
A S R e y n old s st ates t h is t h e o r y l ead s t o a n inversi on of i d e a s h ith erto con
ceived or p re conceive d as t o m atter a n d m a ss in a s m uc h as i t ma int a ins t hat
m atter i s ab sence o f ma ss
Th e t h e or y al s o p urp orts t o e xp lain c oh esi on an d t o
give a key t o t h e e xp la n ati on of p r actic all y all oth er p h y sic al p h en o men a u p on
p ure l y d y n a n n cal p
ri n c r
l es
p
In
,

GENERAL PHYS IC S

1 02

wei gh t of on e p i s
p
ie ce of p
l ati n um p
reser ved
a cert ai n p
Th e

Lon don

si m l y t h e

ou n d

pll
u

i n th e

the eart h up
on
S tan d ar
d s Offi ce at
of

"

Th e essential features of the ordinary balance are :

rigid beam carrying three knife -edges one near each

end and a third as nearly as possible midway between these two
2
Tw o scale pans supported one on each knife -edge at
the end
3
Th e beam when carrying the knife -edges and the pans
must be SO ad j
usted as to come t o rest in a denite positi o n
This is acc omplished by SO placing the
u sual ly horiz o ntal
knife edges and S O distributing the mass in the beam that the
ust b l ow the central knife edge
m of the wh ole system lies j
Why would not neutral equilibriu m answer quite as well as
stable ?
4 Th e whole system mus t be sensitive to a small moment of
force This is accomplished by making the distance fr o m the
central knife -edge to the c m very small H ow does this secure
the desired result ?
5 A p o inter or index o f some k i n d generally fastened to the
beam for the purpose O f indicating the position of equilibrium
l

P R I N C I P LE

OF

T HE

B ALAN C E

In p
h y si cs the bal an ce i s em p
l oy e d t o comp
are t w o masse s
This is d o ne as follo ws Th e posi
by com p
arin g t h eir wei ghts
tion o f e q uilibrium is O bserved before any mass has been added
t o either pan that i s when the pans are empty
The b ody
wh ose mass is re q uired having been placed in one pan standard
masses are then placed in the o ther pan until the m o ments of
force whic h their weights exert o n the beam are j
ust e q ual
Since these two masses tend to rotate the beam i n O pp o site
senses with equal m oments the total moment wil l be zer o This
equality and opp osition o f m oments is indicated by the pointer
c ming back to the same position O f e q uilibriu m which it had
when the pans were empty Th us t h e i mme d iate p
urp
os e of
S trictl y sp e akin g th e weigh t f a p un d i th e pul l f th e e art h th e
93

on

p la tinu m m ass d imin i s h e d by t h e centri fu gal force d ue to t h e e a r t h s rotation

Th e w eigh t of a b od y is t h ere f ore ab out on e t h ir d of on e p er cent l ess th an th e
p u ll of t h e e a rt h u p on i t

S O M E G E N E R A L P R OPE RT I E S

OF M A T T E R

1 08

l n
si mp l y t o tell us w h en we ha ve e q ual m oments
of f or ce
N o w if in a ddition the a rms of the b a l a nce ( th a t i s the
respective distances
between cen t r a l a nd
end knife -ed ges ) a re
eq u a l we kn o w th a t
the weights of the
two bo dies in their
r espective p a ns a re

t h e b a a ce i s
.

q u aL
Let l 1

a nd Z2 ( Fi g
51 ) i n d i c a t e t h e
p
m 51
len gth o f the a rms
W1 a nd W; the wei ghts of the two m a sses Al l a nd
by p r oper a dj u stment of the m a ss es we m ake
.

Then

ml

/
l Vl

so

th a t the tot a l moment

If

now

z si

is z ero
L
Wl l l

l2 ,

I1

W2 4,
7

then
or

N ewton a nd

h a ve shown th a t at an y on e p oi n t
th s s urf ace t h e accelerati on of gravi ty is t h e s ame for
on the e ar
E x p r essed i n a m o r e usef u l form i e in a n a lge
al l bod ies
brai c form this would re a d
Bu t

G a lile o

a nd

hence
S o th a t re ally the eq u a lity of m a sses is a n inference from the
eq u al ity o f m o m ents And th i s in feren ce w oul d n ot be all ow able
if t h e e a rt h acte d as a magn et attract i n g differen t b od i es with a
f or ce d e p en d in g u p on t h e k i n d of m ateri a l as well as t h e m a ss of
m a teri a l in th em
.

T he

e arth indeed is a gre at magn et di recti n g the comp ass n eed le as we all
kn ow ; bu t as we sh all see l ater i t does not attract the needle as a whole
It
s im ply rotates t h e needle i nto one pos iti on b u t does n ot tran s l ate it s i nce the
l i nes o f magnetic f orce at an y one p oi nt on the e arth s s urface are p racti c ally
parallel
,

G ENE R AL

1 04

P HY S

ICS

from the Tower of P is a e x periments by Galileo a nd

fro m the c o nsiste n cy o f the res u lts obt a ined by the b a l a nce
N ewt o n f u rnished con c l u sive evidence by the use of a hollo w
pend u l u m th a t gr a vity a cts eq u ally u pon a ll s u bst a n ces with
F o r a description
o u t reg a rd t o thei r che m ic a l comp o sition
o f this e x periment see the P r
in ip
i a B o o k II I P rop V I
A side

P ro b l e m s

rf ace of the su n the accelerat i on of a f all i ng body i s

A m an who we i ghs 1 5 0
2 6 t i m es as gre at as at the s u rf ace of the e arth
lb at the e arth wo u ld we i gh h o w m u ch at the s u n ?
1

At

the

su

T he rot at i on per i od of Ju p i ter i s 1 0 hr i t s r ad i us i s 1 1 t i m es th at

of the e arth C o m p u te wh at fracti on of i t s we ight a body wou ld lose i n
be i ng c arr ied fro m the north pole to the equ ator
2

T he e arth i s ne arly 3 t im es as far aw ay from the su n as the pl anet

V en u s I f th e e arth were tr ansferred to the orb i t of V en u s an d m ade to
m ove i n i t wh a t le n gth of ye ar wo u ld be necess ary i n order th a t the ce n
A s s u m e the orb i t
t ri fu gal force sho u ld j u st b al ance t he s u n s attr act i on
c irc u l ar S ee E q 4 0 7 5
3

Prove th t the d i m ens ion

T2

of

t he gr v i t tion l const n t

e
ar

hole were dri lled throu gh the e arth along an y d i ameter the
attr a ct i on of the e arth on an y body pl aced i n th i s t u be wo u ld v ary d i rectly
N eglecti ng fri c
as the d i st a n ce of the body fro m t he cen t er of th e e arth
t i on wh at k i nd of mot i o n wo u ld be e x ec uted b y a body dropped i nto th i s
t ube at the s u rf ace of t he e arth ?
5

If

I n the preced i ng proble m prove th at

e arth so to spe ak
,

in

body wo u ld f al l throu gh
approx i m ately 4 2 %m i n u tes
a

the

y i s i nclosed i n a corked bottle T he bottle an d y are we i ghed

w i th g re at acc u racy
whe n the y i s st and i ng st i ll on t he botto m of the
bottle an d (i i ) wh i le the y i s y i ng abo u t i n s i de the bottle b u t w i tho ut
tou ch i ng the gl a ss H ow w i ll these two we i ghts co mp are ?
7

travels at the const ant r ate of 1 1 00 ft a second At wh at

he i ght above the s u rf ace o f the e arth m u st a body he let f all so as to re ac h
the e arth at the s am e i nst ant as the sou nd of a p i stol s hot red at t he sam e
pl ace an d ti m e fro m wh i ch t he f all i ng body st arts
8

S o u nd

II I M A TT E R A S A V E H I C LE O F E NE R GY
94
W ork is somethin g o f which eve r y on e h a s o r ought to
h a ve a f a irly denite ide a The f a rme r kn o ws th a t it r eq u ires
twice as m u ch wo r k to pl o u gh a tw o -a c r e eld a s t o pl o u gh a
o n e a cre eld
Fo r while the h o r ses e x ert no m o re force on
.

S OM E

G ENE R AL

P RO PER T I ES

or

MA TT ER

1 05

the pl o ugh in the r st c ase th a n in the sec o nd the tot a l len gth
In
o f f u r r o w i s twice a s g r e a t in the r st c a se a s in the sec o nd
like m a nne r we a ll kn o w th at it req u i r es t w ice a s m u ch w o r k
to c a r r y 2 000 b r icks t o the t o p of a h o u se a s t o c ar r y 1 000
b r icks t o the s am e height F or wh ile the dist a nce is the s am e
in e ach c a se the weight of 2 000 bricks is twice th a t of 1 000
b r icks
I n gener a l t h e q u a ntity of wo r k d o ne depends upon two
f actors an d u pon two f a ct or s o nly ( 1 ) the fo r ce e x e r ted a nd
the
dist
a
nce
thro
u gh which this f o r ce is e x e r ted
2
( )
,

W OR K
C onseq u ently the te r m w or k is e m pl o yed in physics to
95
den o te on e denite q u a ntity v i z t h e p rod uct of a f orce m u lti
p lied by t h e d ist ance t h r ou gh w h ich i t is e x erted both d istan ce
an d f orce bein g me a sured i n the s a me d ire cti on
A m a ss B ( Fi g 5 2 ) is a tt r acted by t h e e a r th with a fo r ce
Wh at work will be re quired to roll this m a ss
o f 1 000 dynes
a n inclined pl a ne
up
whose len gth 0A is
If
2 4 centi m ete r s
wo r k we r e dened
si mply a s the p r od
u ct o f
f o r ce by dis
t a nce the a nswe r t o
0
the p r oble m wo u ld be
D E F IN IT IO N

OF

1 000 X 2 4

its o f w o r k B ut u sin g the pr o pe r deniti o n we o bserve

th a t since he r e the f o r ce i e the weight of the b o dy B is
ve r tic al we m u st me a s u r e the dist a nce also in a ve r tic a l
di r ection
E vidently theref o r e we m u st know the hei ght A X befo r e we
c a n s o lve the p ro ble m a t a ll I n o the r w o rds we m u st know
h o w steep the inclined pl ane is befo r e we c a n esti m ate the work
req u i r ed to c a rr y the b o dy B th r o u gh the dist a nce 0A
Th e w o r k in
S u pp o se the hei ght A X t o be 1 2 centi m eters
this p a r tic ul ar c a se will then a m o u nt t o 1 000 x 1 2 units of
wo r k
S o in gener al t o o bt a in the w o rk done we h a ve m e r ely t o
m u ltiply the fo r ce e x e r ted by the dist a nce res o lved a long the

un

GENERAL P HY S I C S

1 06

di r ection of the force ; o r wh a t a m o unts to the s a me thing

m u ltiply the dist a nce by the f o rce resolve d a long the di r ection
o f the d ispl a cement
Let us denote the w o rk by W the force by F a nd the dis
pl a cemen t by I Then the dening equ a tion for work m ay be
written a s follows :
W Fl c o s 6 Fx
Eq 5 0
,

where 6 is the a ngle between the directions of the two vectors

F a nd l ; an d x is the co m ponent of l in the direction o f F
This a l gebr a ic denition i s of c o urse identic a l w ith the one
given a b o ve in w o rds
9 6 R otat i on al An al ogu e
The st u dent will nd it a n inter
ting e x ercise to prove th at in like m a nner the work done by
a torq ue L a cting a bo u t a ny given ax is i s me as u r ed by the
product of the torq u e an d the a ng ul a r displ a cement 6 a bout
th is s a me ax is Thus
W L0
Eq
,

an

e x pre ss ion which is c o nvenient in computing the a mo u nt

work done in W inding a w a tch turning a dyn a mo etc
,

U N IT S

WOR K

OF

of

TH E E RG AN D J O U LE

nit of
dist a nce the centimeter t h e on ly con s i stent u n i t of w ork i s th at
k w h i ch i s d one w h en a f or ce of on e d y n e i s ex ert ed
am ou n t of wo r
th rou gh a d istan ce of on e centimeter
This u n it is of s u ch f r eq u ent occ u rrence in physics th a t it h as
been given a S peci a l n a me I t is c a lle d a n Erg which is simply
the G reek f o r m of ou r E nglish w o r d w or k
A l a rge r a nd for m a ny p u rposes the r ef o re more convenient
7
1
0
ergs This u nit will
u nit is the J
oul e which i s dened as
be fo u nd especi a lly convenient when we come t o consider the
work d o ne by a n electric c u rrent
The engineer s u nit of w o rk is of course the wo r k done in
e x erting a f o rce of 1 pou n d th r o ugh a dista nce of 1 foot I t is
c alled the f oot -p
oun d
97

S ince now the unit of force is the dyne a nd the

,

P ro b l em s

H ow m any ergs of work w i ll be done

thro u gh a d i stance of 1 8 cm ?
1

in

ex ert i n g

force of
A ns

dyn es
1 08 ergs
6

S O ME

G ENERAL

PR O PER T I ES

MA T T E R

OF

1 07

W h at work w i ll be requ i red to ho i st 1 0 kg of w ater ag ai nst an accel

c r at i on of 9 8 1 u n i ts fro m a w ell whose depth i s 1 2 i n
A ns
m i ll i on ergs

3
i
n
S u ppose forces to be m e asu red
po u nds wei ght an d d i st ances i n
feet ; h o w m any foot-po u nds of work are req u i red to c arry 1 00 lb of b ri ck
A n s 42 00 foot -pou nds
to the top of a b u i ld i ng 4 2 ft h igh ?
4
I f the we ight of one k i logr am be t aken as t h e u n i t of force an d t h e
m eter as t he u n i t of length w h at w i ll be the u n it of work ?
2

Ans

O n e ki l ogram m eter

req u i red to propel a b i cycle for a d i s

ta nce of one m i le w h at i s the aver age force requ i red to propel the wheel ?
6
A m agnet attracts a p iece of i ron w ith a force of 8000 dynes H o w
m u ch work w i ll be perfor m ed b y t he m agnet i n m ov i ng the i ron thro u gh a
mm ?
d i stance of
7
A force of one m i ll ion dynes is req u ired to oper ate a do u ble act ion
b i cycle p u m p I f the length of stroke i s 12 c m how m u ch work w i ll be
req u i red to m ake 50 co m plete stroke s of the p u mp ?
5

I f 2 6 40 foot po u nds of work

e
ar

E NE RGY

We sh all see l a ter th a t a body m ay be a ble to

in consequence of
1 I ts position
2 I ts speed ( a ng u l a r o r line a r )
3 I ts temper a ture
4 I ts elect r ic a l c o ndition
5 I ts che m ic a l comp o sition
98

do

wo r k

E tc

Th e p
ow er of d oin g w or k i s c alle d e n er gy , a nd the system is
s a id t o possess ene r gy when it c a n d o w o r k S ince the wo r k
which a system c a n d o is the me a s u re of i t s energy th e sam e
u n it i s em p l oye d f ore n er gy as forw or k , v i z
t h e er
g
I f we we r e to a ttempt to stu dy a ll the f o r m s of ener gy which
a system m a y p o ssess we should nd o u rselves a t once in the
midst o f the enti r e s u bject o f physics A cc o rdin gly we S h a ll
he r e c o nsider only the energy which a m ech a nic a l system m a y
h a ve by virtue of
.

The rel a tive position of its p a rts ; a nd

2 The rel a tive speed of its p a rts
E very on e is f a mili a r with m a ny inst a nces O f these two fo r ms
O f ener y
g
1

G ENERAL

1 08

PHYS IC S

The boy wh o st a r ts a t the t o p O f a h ill on a bicycle kn o ws

th a t his ene r gy of p o siti o n is such th a t with o u t ped alin g it
will c arry h i m to the b o ttom of the hill a nd s o m e dist a n c e
bey o nd I f c o ming in the opp o site d irecti o n he a pp ro aches
the f o o t o f the h ill with s uf cient S peed the ene r gy d u e t o his
m o ti o n m ay be a m ple t o c a rry him t o the top witho u t a ny
ped ali n g
I n this c ase the system consists o f the bicyclist
,

a nd the e a rth
A n u nc o iled S pring will n o t ru n a w a tch ; b u t if u sing a
key we ch a n ge the rel a tive p o siti o n o f its p a r ts by c o ilin g it
u
it will ru n the w atch f o r the ne x t twenty -f o u r h o u rs
When o n e d r ives a n a il he g ives the h a m m e r a hi gh speed
Tl e energy due t o this speed does the work of f o rcing the n a il
int o the w o o d
I n the l a n gu a ge of p hysi cs , the ener gy whic h a b ody p ossesses
in virtue of its p ositi on i s c a lle d P otenti a l E ner gy ; while the
e n ergy which a bod y p ossesses i n virtue of its s p ee d is c alle d
.

p
,

Kinetic

E ner gy

The ene r gy O f the N i a g a r a R ive r j u st a t the t o p of the f a lls

I S ne a r ly a ll p o tenti al b u t j u st bef o r e re a c hin g the b o tt o m o f
the f alls it is ne a r ly all kinetic Th e ene r gy o f the i r o n bl o ck
the ram u sed in a pile driver is a ll p o tenti a l a t the t o p O f
the st r o ke bu t a ll kinetic j u st before striking the pile a t the
b o tto m O f the st r oke
The q u estion n o w a r ises a s t o how m u ch w o r k a body can
d o in vi r t u e O f its p o siti o n a n d h o w m u ch wo r k a b o dy c a n do
in vi r t u e o f its speed I n othe r w o r ds wh at a re the p ro pe r
me a s u res f o r p o tenti a l a nd kinetic ener gy respectively ? B ef o r e
a nswe r ing these two q u estions we m u st di g ress for a m oment
t o conside r the
D I S S I P A TI O N O F E NE RGY
99
I t is well known t o eve r y o ne th a t a b a ll o r a bicycle
which is a llowed t o ru n
down on e hill f ro m a cer
t a in hei ght h ( Fi g 5 3 )
will n ot wit h the S peed
th u s a cq u i r ed a scend a n
a
djoinin
hill
to
the
s
a
m
e
g
FI G 5 3
hei ght Th e b a ll o r the
wheel a lw ays st o ps sh o rt O f its o r i g in a l elev a ti o n
The
,

S OM E G E N E R A L PR OPE R T I E S

1 09

O F M A TT E R

e xpl a n a tion o f this is so m ethin g which d o es not n o w concern

Th e i m p o r t a nt f a ct is th a t the kinetic ene r gy O f the wheel
us
a t the b o tt o m of the hill is n o t q u ite s u f cient to do the w o r k
o f c a rr yin g the wheel to i t s o r i g in a l hei ght
Th e s am e is O bse r ved t o be t r u e O f a pend u l u m a s it swin gs
f ro m its p o sition O f r est at A to its p o siti o n o f r est a t 0
F
h
i
T
e p o int 0 is a lw ys a little lowe r th a n the point
( g
A i e the kinetic e n e r gy o f the pen
d u l u m a t B is n o t qu ite s u fcient to
do the w o r k o f c a rrying the b o b to
its Or i gin a l hei ght
I n eve r y c a se o f this kind it h as
been O bse r ved th a t we neve r get o u t
O f a m a chine a ll the w o r k which we
m
f
u t int o it
S
o
e
o
the
mech
a
nic
a
l
p
ene r gy o f a system is a lw ays w a sted
when we a tte m pt to u se th a t ene r gy
by t r a nsfo r ming it or t r a nsferring
FIG 54
it
A s we S h a ll le a r n l a ter this u n a v o id a ble w a ste of ener gy is
b r o u ght a b o u t by f r icti o n a p or ti o n o f the m ech anic a l ene r gy
is t r a nsf or m ed int o he a t ene r gy whe r e it is O f less u s e t o u s
th an bef o r e This tendency O f ene rgy t o ass u m e a m o r e an d
m or e u seless f o r m is known a s the p r inciple o f the D issip a ti o n
o f E ne r gy
.

C O N S E R V A TI O N

OF

E NE RGY

the most i m p or t a nt disc o ve r y a l o n g this line

pe r h aps the m o st i m p o r t ant disc o ve r y o f t h e nineteenth ce n t u r y
is the f o ll o win g : th a t w hen al l owa n ce ha s been ma d e f ru n a void
abl e wa s t es the s u m o f the kinetic a nd p o tenti a l ene r ies o f a
g
b o dy o rsystem O f b o dies neve r Ch a n ges unless th r o u gh s o m e
e x te r n a l in u ence
W a ste of ene r gy is a ve r y c o m m o n e x p r essi o n ; bu t a s we
S h all le a r n by a nd by this neve r m e a ns dest r u cti o n of ene r gy
The r e is n o evide n ce th a t the sli ghtest bit O f ener gy h a s e ve r
been a nnihi l a ted E ne r gy i s in this respect like m a tter N O
h u m a n bein g h a s e v e r s u cceeded in cre atin g o r dest r o yin g a ny
a m o u nt of either o ne
When the r efo r e we spe a k o f all o win g
f or u n a v o id able w a stes we r efer t o th a t ene r gy which h a s
100

B ut

GENERAL PH Y S IC S

1 10

been un a void a bly ch a nged into he a t o r some othe r fo r m o f

ene r gy wh ich fo ro u r purpose is u seless
Th e l aw of t h e Con serv ati on of E n er gy exp
r ess es t h e fact th at
t h e s u m tot al of t h e en er gy in an y i s ol ate d syste m rem ai ns t h e
This energy c a n ch ange fr o m o n e f o r m t o an o the r it
s ame
tends cons ta ntly to become less a nd less a v a il a ble ; but SO f a r
as i s known it h a s n eve r ch a n ged in qu a ntity
Th a t this gr a nd p r inciple w a s m o re or less cle a rly s u spected
a nd g r a sped by G a lileo S tevin u s L eibnit z H uy gens a nd
N ewt o n there c a n be little do u bt ; b u t it is a ls o very ce r t a in
th a t the cle a r a nd denite est ablish m ent of the principle is d u e
to H elmholt z Jo u le a nd Kelvin the l a st n a med of who m is
still ( 1 9 07) living I f a S ingle d a te he a sked perh a ps the ye a r
1 84 7 in which H elmholt z s M moi r on t he Con serva ti on f
E n er
gy a ppe a red will m a rk m o r e ne a rly th a n a ny other the
rise of the d o ct r ine o f the conse r v a ti o n o f ene r gy A nd yet
the F rench A c a de m y O f S ciences m a ny ye a r s bef o re ( 1 775 ) h a d
a nno u nced th a t it w o u ld not receive a ny fu r ther comm u n ica
tions upon the s u bj ect O f perpet u a l m o tion ; which pr a ctic ally
af r ms their belief th a t ene r gy c a nnot by a ny hum a n powe r
h e cre a ted
The evidence f o r an d the f u ll i m po r t o f this principle the
student c a n h a rdly e x pect to comp r ehend u ntil he is m o r e
with the subj ects of he a t electricity a nd
o r less f a mili a r
C hemis t ry
.

M EAS U R E

KI N E TI C

OF

E NE R GY

OF

TR ANSLA TI O N

the a pplic ation of th is principle to m a ny speci a l

c a ses the p r o pe r m e a s u re o f the kinetic ene rgy o f a b o dy in
t r a nsl ati o n h a s been fo u nd to be a s foll o ws
I f a f o r ce F a cts u pon a m ass m initi a lly a t rest for a ti m e t
it will produce i n it a speed of t r a nsl a tion 8 such th a t
6 9)
1 01

By

ma

I f the force F rem a ins c o nst a nt then the a cceler a tion will
rem a in const a nt , a nd the m a ss m will tr a vel during this time
a dist a nce as s u ch th a t
8 6)
,

at =

2
t

8t

S O ME

G ENE RAL

PR OP ER T I ES

OF

the w o rk done by a const a nt force

dist a nce x is Fx a nd therefore

MA T TE R

e x erted thro u gh a

B ut

111

m
s
}
a
:

F2:

N ow this wo r k

a ll

Eq

52

tow a rd p utting the m ass m in

motion since by s u pposition there h as been no w a ste from
f r iction o r o ther c a u ses We see the r ef o re th at the right -h a nd
membe r of this equ a ti o n h alf the pr o d u ct O f the m a ss by the
sq u a r e of the speed is the proper me a s u r e of the work p
u t into
the body R elying n o w u p o n the conserv a tion of energy it
i s seen th a t this p r od u ct a lso me as u res the a mount o f w o rk
which we sh al l be a ble to get o ut of the body i e me a s u res its
kinetic energy of tr a nsl a tion Let us denote this energy by
K E then
h as

o
ne
g
,

KE
.

A NAL OG U E
102

ma

Eq

E NE RGY

KI NE TI C

53

R O T A TI O N

OF

C o n s ider

a ny p a r ticle m O f a rigid body which i s

a n a x is 0 ( F ig 5 5 ) with a const an t a ng u l a r
line a r S peed o f the

rota tin g a bout

speed
Th e
p a rticle m will be rm where r is the
d ist a nce o f the p a rticle f r o m the a x is
o f rot a tion E q 8
H ence a ccording to
E q 5 3 the kinetic ene r gy of the p
ar
2
2
mr w
t i cl e m will be %
O bviously
we m ay c o nside r the enti r e rig id b o dy
of such p a rticles a s m ;
as m a de u p
let us c all them
m2 m3 etc a nd
s u ppose them situ a ted a t dist a nces r r
1
2
t ot a l kinetic energy o f the b o dy will be the
.

a)

KE
.

of body

o
n

w
r
l l
l
1
2

na

r3 ,
su

2 60 2
2

etc

Th en the

m
2

2
ai
n2 y
3 3
3

55

FIG

etc

( mr

2 a) 2

since by hypothesis the b o dy is r i gid every p a rt of it

i s r o t a tin g with the s a me a ngul a r velocity a f a ct which m ay
be e x p r es sed by writing
But

H ence K E
.

Of

body

2
m
r
( l l

2
r
n r
z z

m3 r3

2
w
)

G ENERAL

1 12

PHYS IC S

den o te the q u a ntity in the p a renthesis which

a ny given body is a c o nst a nt by I
We m a y then write
Let

us

n ow

for

K E
.

of b o dy

60
1
g

Eq

54

which is st r ictly a n a l o go u s t o E q 5 3
Th e qu a ntity I whose dening equ a tion becomes
.

ml rl

771 73
2 3

etc

m3 r3 2

2
m
r
(
),

Eq

55

of co u r se the r ot a ti o n a l inerti a a lre a dy described in 65

which the st u dent sho u ld now r e r e a d Th e princip al o bj ect of
a he a vy y wheel on a n en gine is to s u pply ene r gy O f this type
wh ich S h all keep the m a chine r y going while the piston r o d is
in the n eighb o r ho o d o f the de a d point where it e x erts a
r el a tively s m a ll to r qu e

i s,

M EAS U R E

OF

P O T EN TI AL E N E RGY

W e t u r n ne x t t o a system wh o se p a r ts h a ve a denite
r el a tive p o sition a nd a sk h o w m u ch w o r k c a n be g o tten ou t of
it For inst a nce a c o iled w atch S p r in g a stretched r u bber
b a n d a pond o f w a te r a t a denite height a bove a w a te r wheel
How
a stone r aised to a ce r t a in height a bove the g r o und
S h all we m e a s u r e the p o tenti a l ene r gy O f e a ch o f these s y ste m s
E x peri m ent h a s a nswe r ed t hi s q u estion in a cle a r a nd S i m pl e
m a nne r
Th e am ount of wor k d one in bri n gin g the system i n t o
i t s p resent p osition is b a rrin g fr i cti on a l l osses e x a ctly equ a l t o
the p otenti a l ener gy n ow i n the system
Th e wei ght o f the w a ter in the pond F m ultiplied by the
a ver a ge hei ght as th r o u gh which it w a s p u mped i s a t once the
wo r k req u i r ed F23 to give the w a ter its p r esent potenti a l ene r gy
a nd is a ls o the m e a s u r e O f its present potenti a l ener gy ; o r
den o ting potenti a l e ne r gy by P E we h a ve
1 03

It

m u st not be fo r gotte n th a t he r e a llow a nce is to be m a de for

the energy w a sted i n f r icti o n in the p u m p
The st u dent will Observe th a t in like m a nne r the energy of
the c o iled w a tch sp r in g i s si m ply t h e aver a ge m o m ent o f force
w hich one e x erts u pon the key L m u ltiplied by the a n gle
thro u gh which he t u r ns the key s a y 6 O r if the to r que L
.

S O ME

G ENERAL

PR OP E R TI ES

M A TT ER

OF

113

be S pent entirely in prod u cin g a ng u l a r vel o city a nd if the

b o dy say a y wheel st a r t from rest
,

L6

I w

the a n a lo gue of E q 52
A s a S in gle S imple concrete ill u str a tion o f the m a nne r in
which the l a w O f the conser va ti o n o f ene r gy is u sed qu a nti
t at i v el y i m a g ine a b a ll let f all f ro m a S econd sto r y window
whose height a b o ve the g ro u nd is h The t o t a l ene r gy o f the
b all j u st bef o re it is a ll o wed t o d r o p t aken with refe r ence t o
the g r o u nd i s mp
h where m is the m a ss O f the b all a nd g the
a ccele r a ti o n O f g r a vity The r ef o re a cc o r ding t o the l a w mgh
is the ene r gy a t a ny intermedi a te hei ght s ay
where the
velocity O f the f alling b a ll i s
H ence
.

mgx

2
v

c o nst a nt

mgh

an

eq u a tion which m ay a t o nce be u sed f o r comp u ting the

vel ocity o f the b a ll at a ny given hei ght the v a l u e O f h bein g
g iven a s o ne O f the d a t a of the proble m
.

D E F I N IT IO N

AN D

C O N D IT IO N S

OF

EQ U I LI B R I U M

this p o int it becom es necess a ry to di gr ess sli ghtly

f r o m the m a in thre a d of ou r disc u ssi o n t o c o nsider a ce r t a in
cl a ss O f c r itic al conditi o ns which a r e m o st cle a rly desc r ibed in
te r ms o f p o tenti a l ene r gy If the s p ee d of a body is z er o t h e
b od y i s s aid t o be at rest ; b u t if t h e a cceler ation is z ero t h e b od y
is s ai d t o be in stati c equ i li bri u m Th u s a pend u l u m b o b a t the
end o f its swin g is in r est bu t it is n o t in eq u ilib r i u m W hile
the s a m e b o b a t the inst a nt o f p a ssin g th r o u gh it s l o west point
is in m o ti o n bu t it is als o i n st atic eq u ilib r i u m R est is n o t
the c r ite r i o n o f eq u ilib r i u m Th e conditi o n o f er o a ccele r a
ti o n is the absence o f force a nd t o rq u e which m a y be e x pressed
by w r itin g
1 04

At

F
( )

(L)

2 :

If

we c o nne ou r a ttentio n t o syste m s in which f r icti o n i s

m
n o t the dete r m inin
f
a
ct
o
r
then
it
is
a
a tte r o f d a ily ex p
i
er
g
ence th a t b o dies m ay be in eq u ilib r i u m in a v a r iety O f w a ys
A le a d p encil m ay with a little c a r e be m a de t o st a nd u p o n
a n end which h as n o t been sh a r pened a nd it is s aid t o be in
eq u ilib r i u m ; bu t a b r e ath o f wind o r the slightest blow is
,

GENERAL PHYS IC S

114

s u f cient to st a rt it a nd when once st a rted it f a lls over

we s a y I f the pencil be a r o und o n e it will rest
o f itse l f
o n i ts side in an y p o sition we m a y give it s o long a s it lies on
a hori z ont a l pl a ne
H ere a g a in it is s a id t o be in eq u ilib r i u m ;
but if it be displaced slightly it will still be in equ ilib r i u m in
its new p o siti o n ; f o r the r e is n o f o rce or mo m ent o f fo r ce
a ctin g upon it in an y position SO l o n g a s it lies on its S ide
Let u s a g a i n consider s u ch a body a s a brick lying on a ny
We a ll know th a t if the brick be S lightly
o n e o f its S ides
lifted a t o n e end i s if the b r ick be slightly r o t a ted abo u t o ne
edge it will n ot g o on a nd of itself rot a te still f a rther ; bu t
if r ele a sed will ret u rn t o its o r igin a l position of equilib r i u m
These three c a ses typify al l the c a ses O f equ ilibri u m met with
in n a t u re Thei r essenti al fe a t u res a re the following :
When a body is s u pp or ted in
1
Un stabl e E q u i l i bri u m
such a w a y th a t its center of m a ss is lowered by a slight dis
pl ace m ent its equilibri u m is s a id to be un st able ; for the
slightest displ a ce m ent w ill int r oduce a moment o f f or ce t end
ing t o rot a te the body still f a rther Fo r ill u str a ti o n i m agine
a cone inverted a nd b a l a nced on its a pe x The c m when the
cone is e ver SO little inclined moves d own a spheric a l s u rf a ce
a nd hence tends t o m o ve f a rthe r of itself
I f a b o dy is supported in s u ch a
2 N eu tra l E qu i l i bri u m
w a y th a t its c m re m a ins a t the s a me height a bove the p o in t
o rl ine o f s u pport its st a bility is s a id t o be n eu t r al ; for when
dist u r bed no m o ment of fo r ce will be intr o d u ced t o displ a ce it
f a r the r o r to restore it t o its o r i gin a l position S u ch a c a se
is rep r esented by a r ight c o ne lying o n its S ide in a level pl a ne
Th e c m lies on a level a nd h a s therefo r e n o t endency t o
m o ve in a ny direction
3
S ta bl e E q u i l i briu m
When a b o dy is s u pported in s u ch
a w a y th a t the sli ghtest displ a ce m ent will r a ise its c m the
b o dy is s a id to be in st able eq u ilibri u m f o r the slightest d is
pl acement will int r o d u ce a m oment of f o rce tending t o rest o r e
the b o dy t o its o r igin a l p o siti o n S u ch a c a se i s fo u nd in a
right cone st a nding o n its b a se A ny s m a ll m o ti o n o f s u ch a
cone st a r ts the c m u phill SO t o S pe ak ; a nd when left t o
itself the c m tends to r o ll b ack downhill
I t sho u ld be c a r ef u lly O bse r ved th a t in e a ch of the three dif
feren t c a ses o f eq u ilib r i u m the c m of the displ a ced body

SOME

G ENE R AL PROP ER T I ES

MA TT E R

OF

1 15

m o ves in s u ch a w ay th at the p o tenti a l ene r gy becomes less

I f theref ore in t h e given p ositi on t h e p otenti a l ener gy of t h e
b od y is a m a x imum t h e equili brium is unst a b le ; if t h e p oten
ti a l ener gy is a minimum t h e equili brium is st able : b ut if the
potenti a l ener gy d oes n ot v a r y when the bod y is d is p l a ce d t h e
equili brium is neutr a l
.

S U MM A RY
1 05

P R I N C I P AL DI S C O V E R I ES
E NE R GY

TH E

OF

CO NCERNIN G

E ne r gy is known only in c o nnecti o n with

m a tte r

We know o f n o m a tte r dev o id o f ene r gy a nd know of n o f o r m

O f ene r gy which is not a ss o ci a ted with m a tter
2
I f n o ene r gy be given t o ort a ken a w a y fr o m a syste m
t h e s u m o f its kinetic a nd p o tenti a l ene r gies re m a ins c o nst ant
3
When a syste m is left a t rest its p o tenti a l ene r gy tends t o
a ss u me t h e f o rm of kinetic energy This g re a t l a w of n a t u r e
m ay be desc r ibed in a n o the r w a y by s a yin g th a t there i s a u n i
vers a l t en d en cy f or t h e p otenti a l ener gy of a syste m at rest t o
d e cre ase
PO W E R
,

import a nt fe a t u r e of a ny mech a nic a l system is th e

r a te at which it c a n do w o rk Tw o ste a m engi n es m ay be
S i m i l a r in desi g n a nd yet s o di ff erent in di m ensi o ns th a t o ne
c a n d o twice a s m u ch w or k as the o the r in a ny given ti m e b o th
u sin
m
m
m
ste
a
f
ro
the
s
a
e
b
o
ile
r
g
I n eve r yd a y life p ower is a wo r d which i s e m pl o yed with
c o nside r able v ariety o f m e a nin g ; bu t in physics it i s a lw ays
u sed t o den o te the ti me r ate of d oi n g w or k
A ccordingly t h e
dening equ a ti o n bec o m es
1 06

On e

P owe r

Eq

56

co u r se W denotes wo r k a nd t time
Th e f u nd a m ent a l ide a involved in p o w e r is r a pidity of work
ing Th e re a s o n it is m o r e fati gu in g t o ride a W heel u phill
th an t o r ide it a l o ng a level st r etch a t the s a m e r ate is th a t in
the form er case the r a te O f w or kin g is hi ghe r The m ain dif
fe r ence between a 1 0 h o r se p o we r m o t o r a nd a 5 -h o rse p o we r
o n e is n o t th a t the o ne h as d o ne o r is doin
g twice a s m u ch

whe r e

of

'

G ENERAL

1 16

work a s the other

r a pidly a s the other

th a t the one

bu t

PH Y S I C S
do w ork twice a s

can

U N IT S

OF

P OWE R

Th r ee u nits of p o we r a re in c o m m on u se
er sec on d which h a s n o speci a l n a me a nd i s
(i ) The erg p
inc o nveniently s m a ll
oule p er secon d which in hono r o f Ja mes W a tt the
(ii ) The j
invent o r Of the ste am engine is c a lled a w a tt a nd
T
h
iii
e
h
rse
p
wer
int
r
od
u
ced
by
J
a mes W a tt ; de ned
o
o
( )
as
foot p ou n d s p er m i nute an d gener a lly indic a ted by the
sy m b o l IP
1 PP
74 6 w a tts
1 07

H a vin g n ow co m pleted a brief s u r vey of the ve f u nd a

m ent a l c o nceptions O f mech a nics ; n a mely i n ertia momen tu m
f orce en ergy a nd ower we p a ss to som e S imple c o nc r ete p r ob
le m s i n ene r gy which it is h o ped will m a ke the foregoing
p r inciples the intellect u a l property O f e a ch st u dent
1 08

A PP L I C A TI O NS

P R I N C I P LES
M E C H AN I C S

TH E

OF

The

OF

E NE RGY T O

L ever

The lever is a m a chine which in v a r i o us f o r ms is

f a m ili a r t o every l a d I t h a s a v a r iety of O bj ects S ometi m es
it is e m pl o yed t o inc r e a se the f o rce which on e is a ble t o a pply
a t s o m e p a rtic u l a r p o int a s in r a ising a he a vy stone o r c r a ck
ing a n u t S o m eti m es it is e m pl o yed t o m ultiply the m oti o n of
a p o int a s in the inde x o n the di a l of a ste a m ga u ge someti m es
a s in s u ga r tongs plie r s a nd twee z ers to re a ch o the r wise
in a ccessible pl a ces
Th e principle of the lever w a s r st correctly en u nci ated by
The essenti a l
the G r eek sch o l a r A r chi m edes (2 8 7 2 1 2
fe a t u re O f a ll le ve r s is a
m ore or less ri gid b a r
r o t a ting a bo u t the edge
o f s o m e body a s a n a x is
F
This e d ge is c a lled the
F I G 56
ful cru m o f t h e lever
S ince h a rdly au v ene r gy is here w a sted in f r icti o n one O bt a ins
by u s e O f a lever p r a ctic a lly a s m u ch w o r k a s he p u ts into it
1 09

S O ME

G ENERAL

PR O PER T I ES

M ATT ER

OF

117

5
6
F
i
in
either
F
ig
or
be
the
force
e
erted
5
7
x
On
(
g
)
the end of the lever whose length is
a nd F2 the fo r ce e x e r ted
u pon the a rm O f len th
g
x
S
ince
these fo r ces
2
a re e a ch s u pposed to be
a t ri ght a ngles to the
a rm the dist a nce th r o ugh
which
the
f
o
rce
a
cts
F
1
FI G 57
is $ 1 6 a nd the dist a nce
thr o u gh which F2 a cts is 232 6 where 6 i s the a ngle thro u gh which
u t int o the lever is therefore
the lever I s rot a ted Th e work p
A nd the work gotten ou t of the lever F2x 2 6 must on
F1 x 1 6
the principle O f conserv a tion O f ener gy be the s a me or

Let F1

F1x 1 6

a nd

hence

F2 F1

F2 x2 6,
x

/
x

The physic a l me a ning o f this eq u a ti o n is th a t the force which

o n e c a n O bt a in b
u se o f a lever is to the f o rce which he a pplies
y
t o the leve r inve r sely a s the lengths of the a r ms
Th e r a ti o F2 /
F1 is sometimes c a lled the m ech an i cal advan
tage of the leve r
G r e a t c a re m u st a lw a ys be observed in
estim a ting t h e len gth o f the a rms o f a leve r
The f u lc r u m a t 0 is the axrs of rot a ti o n The
dist a nce from the a x is to the point where the
force is a pplied is the o ne a r m ml ; the dist an ce
f ro m the ax is t o the point where the opposin g
f o rce is a pplied is the other a r m 222 These d e
n i t i on s a re ill u str a ted in e a ch of Figs
5 6 a nd 5 7
.

II

The

P u ll ey

The pulley is S i m ply a lever used for a

p a r ticul a r p u rpose v i z t o ch a nge the direction in
which a force is a pplied a nd to g a in mech a nic a l
a dv a nt a ge
1 10

Fixed P u ll ey

The b a r c o nstit u ti n g the lever is the di

am et ero f t he p u lley A B
i
see
is
the
F
0
(
g
FI G 58
a x le ( a x is ) a bo u t which the b a r i s continu a lly p l l ey sp c i l
c s f t h lev r
rot a tin g A n d hence 0 is the f u lcrum
111

a eo

G ENERAL

1 18

S in ce here the a rms A O a nd

PHYS IC S
the lever a re equ a l it i s
evident th a t F1 F2 So th at
t h e onl y ad v ant age offer ed by
t h e x e d p ulle y i s a ch an ge of
d i re ct i on ; a pull downw a rd c a n
be tr a nsf o r med int o a p u ll
u pw a r d
B 0

of

M ova bl e P u ll ey

When a p u lley is a r
r a n ged a s i n Fig 5 9 it is
arti cu l a r
evident th a t at an y p
i n stan t the point 0 m ay be c o n
a s x ed a nd a s th e
ed
s i d er
f u lc r u m a b o u t which the le ver
rot a tes ? The f o rce a t A a cts
theref o r e thr o u gh a n a rm twice
a s long a s th a t O f the fo r ce a t
1 12

N o w it is f o u nd by

ex

pri
e

ment th a t wh en a ny point P
r ope is lifted th r o u gh
o n the
a dist a nce 23 1 the p o int B o n
the pulley is lifted th r o u gh a
dist a nce :5 2 which is only h a lf
a s g re a t ; in symbols
,

Fm

59

$2

S in ce th e w o r k d o ne by the f o r ce

st o red

pwe h a ve

E 2 rz

FZ F1

m ech an i cal

ad

v antage

of a

B l ock

an

is eq u a l t o the energy

F1221

o rt h e

F1

F2 x 1 2

2,

m ov ab l e p
ull ey

is 2

Ta ckl e

s
e a
t h e bl ock an d tack le (Fi g 6 0) w e se cu r
me ch an i cal ad v antage of 2 for each m ov ab l e p ull ey ad d e d
So
1 13

I n th e

ca e of

A l ine dr wn thro gh the p oi nt 0 p erpend ic l r t the pl ne of the p ll y

bl c k i c lled the i nst nt ne s i s of rot t i n W here i the i nst nt neo
it

axi

s o f rotati o n o f

u a

ou

ax

carri age wheel roll i n g on the grou nd

us

S O ME GENERAL PR O PER TI ES

OF

M A TTER

119

th a t with a m a chine s u ch as th a t g u red one is a ble to e x ert a

fo r ce six ti m es a s gre at a s without its a id For the fo r ce F1 is
e x e r ted d o wnw a rd thr o u gh a dista nce si x
times a s gre a t a s th a t th r o u gh which the
fo r ce F2 is e x e r ted u pw a r d
A nd in gene r a l t o O bt a in the mech a nic a l
a dv a nt a ge O f s u ch a m a chine one h a s only
t o o bse r ve the dist a nce th ro ugh which the
fo r ce F1 is e x e r ted in o r de r to e x e r t the
C a ll
f o rce F2 thr o u gh the dist a nce x2
this o bse r ved dist a nce 23 1
Then it m a tters n o t wh at the mech a nism
rovi d ed on ly t ha t
o f the block a nd t a ckle is p
i
s l os t i n s i d e t h e m ech a nic a l a dv a n
n o en er
gy
t age m ay al w ay s be co m p u ted a s f o ll o ws
The w o r k p
u t into the m a chine is F1 22
1
the w o r k obt a ined is F2x 2
a nd
60
F

a sily O bserved r a tio
a
n
e
Therefore x x/
z
is the req u ired m ech a nic a l a dv a nt age I n the c ase rep r esented
in F ig 6 0 evidently
.

'

'

The

D ieren ti a l P u l l ey

inte r esting f o r m of p u lley a nd one ve r y

widely u sed in l a r ge m a chine sh o ps is th at kn o wn
a s the d i fferenti al p ulle y a nd sh o wn in F ig 6 1 I t
c o nsists of tw o p ar a llel x ed p u lleys c a st in a single
pie c e A a nd on e mov a ble pulley B to which the
weight W is att ached
O f the tw o x ed p u lleys o ne h a s a r a di u s a little
l a r ger th a n th a t o f t h e o ther Let u s den o te thei r
Then if the f o r ce F be a pplied
r a dii by R a nd
to the f r ee S ide of the ch a in co m in g fr o m the l a rge
pulley a nd if a ny link s ay P O f this ch a in be d
pl a ced thro u gh o n e circ u mfe r ence o f the l a r ge r x ed
p u lley the wo r k done by the fo r ce F will be F 2 rrR
D u r in g this s a m e ti m e t h e wo r k d o ne on the weight W ( whic h
is lifted by one Ch a in a nd l o we r ed by the othe r ) is
W( 2 rrR 2 rrr)
114

An

'

GE NE RAL PHYS IC S

120

H ence neglecting fricti o n a nd e m ploying

ser va tion of energy we h a ve
,

the l a w of the con

or

IV7r( R

The

r) ,

mech a nic a l a dv a nt a ge
of di fferenti a l pulley

2R

I II
1 15

I n cl i n ed P l a n e

Th e inclined pl a ne is a device frequently employed to

a v o id the direct liftin g of he a vy weights B a r r els a re f r equently

lo a ded into w a gons by use of ski d s which a re simply inclined
pl a nes
G o ods a r e
A O
ften t aken a bo a rd
ste a m e r s by inclined
g a ngw ays Wh a t ad
v a nt age does s u ch a
.

device Off er ? The

energy requ ired to
t
o a 09 1
ra
i
se
a
X
F I G 6 2 Th i ncl ined p l ne
m
a ss
t a i n he i ght a b o ve the
ground is quite independent of the p a th by which it h as been
r a ised p
rovid ed f ri cti on be n egl igibl e
Let F1 be the f o rce requi r ed to p u sh the b o dy a l o ng t h e i n
Let the
cline 0A ( Fi g
a nd E 2 the wei ght of the body
length of the slope 0A be 23 1 a nd the vertic a l hei ght XA be :5 2
Then the wo r k put into the m a ss by the f o rce F1 is l l a n d
the potenti a l ene r gy of the m a ss a t the t op
o f t h e pl a ne is F 25
2 2
B u t by the l a w of the conse r v a tion o f ene r gy these t w o a re
equ a l
F 33
.

"

or
,

F2 F

1,

sin
/

6,

where 6 i s the a n gle A OX which me a sures the steepness of the

inclined pl a ne Th e me ch an i cal ad v an tage of t h e i n cli n e d p l an e
i s th eref ore l /
sin 6 ; th at is t h e me ch an i cal ad v an tage v ar i es
inversel y as t h e sin e of t h e an gle of sl op e This st a te ment is
someti m es c alled the l a w of the inclined pl a ne
I n ro a d b u ilding the r a tio of the rise t o t h e length of the

i
ro a d is c alled t s g r a de ; but the r a tio o f the rise to the

f
length o b a se is c a lled i t s pitch
Th e numeric a l v a l u e of
the gr a de i s evidently the S ine of the a n gle of slope
.

S O ME GENERAL PR O PE R T I ES

MA TT ER

OF

121

P ro b l em s

th at i n the c ase of a Wi ndl a ss s u ch as i s u sed for h oiSti n g stone

to the top of a b u ild i ng the m ech an ic al adv ant age of t he W i ndl ass i s R r
wh ere R i s the rad i u s of the crank O perated by the man an d r i s t he rad i us
of the ax le on wh i ch the rope i s wou nd T he W i ndl as s sho uld be cons i dered
as a spec i a l c ase of the lever
1

S how

A lever i 1 4 m long W here m t the f lcr m be pl ced i order

th t we i ght of 8 g t one end m y j s t b l nce we i ght of 1 6 g t th
4 g m fro m end
ot her end ?
A
3
A m e ter ti ck i s
spended t poi nt 4 0 m fro m one end A k i lo
gr m pl ced t one end of the long rm w i ll be b l nced by wh t we i gh t
1 5 00 g
A
pl ced t the end of t h short rm ?
4
W hen we i gh t i s preve nted fro m sl i d i ng down
i ncl i ned pl ne by
force cti ng long the pl ne how th t the r t i o of t h i s force to the nor m l
2

us

su

a a

ns

an

ns

a a

pressu re on th e pl ane i s the s am e

a s the r at i o of the he i gh t to t h e
b ase of the pl ane
.

gre ate st we i ght

wh i ch a m an we i gh i ng 1 5 0 lb can
l i ft by m e ans of one m ov able an d
one x ed p u lley ? T h e m an i s not
su ppose d t o be a nchored to the
grou n d i n an y w ay
Ans
3 00 pou nds
5

Wh a t

is

t he

FI G

63

we i gh i n g 1 50 lb i s lowered i n t o a well by m e an s of a w i nd
l a ss the arm of wh ic h i s 3 0 i n long an d the ax le of w h i ch i s 8 i n i n
d i am eter F i n d the force requ ired to let h im down w i th u n i for m vel oc i ty
6

m an

A screw the p i tch of wh ich i

t rned by m e ns of lever
wh i ch i 12 0 m long W h t force w i ll be req i red to r ise 2 000 kg ?
8
A we i gh t of 3 00 1b i r i sed 3 ft by m e ns of
block d t ckle
t he block of wh i ch h th ree she ves D eter m i ne t he force req ired d
t he sp ce t hro gh wh i ch i t h cted
9
T he ped l cr nk of b i cycle i 6 i nches long T he ri der e erts
force of 100 l b on the ped l F i nd the force e ert d on t he ch i n when
6 i nch sp
rocket i sed
1 0 A body i d i spl ced g i n st force wh i ch v r i es d i rectly
the m o n t
of d i spl ce m en t T h e i n i t i l v l e of the force i 2 1b the n l v l e 1 0 1b
d the d i spl ce m en t 6 i
F i d th e work done
11
A bel t wh i ch dri ve
p lley tr vel t t h r te of 1 2 ft per second
T he p ll of the belt i 5 0 1b the di meter of the p lley i 3 ft F i nd the
torq e e ert ed pon t he p l ley d t he power wh ich t he belt i tr n
mi tti ng
7

as

s u

an

an

as

a u

s a

a a

an

as a

is

5 mm

a u

an

s a

a
u

GENERAL PHYS IC S

122

Work of F ricti on
116 When two s u rf a ces a re br o u ght int o cont a ct a number
There is fo r inst a nce
o f inte r esting phenomen a a re O bserved
a ce r t a in a m ount o f a dhesion which becomes very gre a t in the
c a se of tw o hi ghly polished s u rf a ces s u ch fo r inst a nce a s two
pieces of optic a lly pl a ne pl a te gl a ss This a dhesion is ve r y
m a rked in t he c a se of o bjects covered with gold le a f in the c a se
o f gr a phite a nd p a per when a n ordin a ry pencil is used in the
c a se of S ilver deposited on the b a ck of a mir r o r etc
B u t there is a nother very di ff e r ent a nd so f a r a s every
d ay life is conce r ned more impo r t a nt phenomen o n e x hibited
when two solid s u r f a ces a re bro u ght to gether n a mely o n e of
these s u r f a ces c a nn o t be moved over the o ther even a t u nif o rm
speed without the e x e r tion o f f o rce Th e r esist an ce wh i ch
ei t h er on e of t h e bod i es off ers t o t h i s m oti on i s call ed t h e f or ce of
fr i ct i on an d i s s ai d t o be due t o fr i cti on
F riction a l forces like a ll o ther f o r ces are vector qu a ntities
a nd a re t o be compo u nded a nd res o lved a s a re other forces
I n m a chinery friction is a t times a m o st usef ul fe a t u re a t
other tim es a most w a stef u l on e Th u s for inst a nce it is by
friction th a t belts a re a ble to drive pulleys ; but on the Other
h a nd it is thro u gh f r iction th a t a very l arge porti o n o f the eu
iven
to
a
n
ordin
a
ry
m
a
chine
is
w
a
sted
A
nd
it
is
on
this
er
gy g
ro
u nd th a t a discussion of fricti o n nds pl a ce under the he a d
g
O f energy
The o r i gin of friction do ubtless l ies in the interl o cking of the
s m all hills a nd v alleys sli ght rug o sities th a t rem a in on even
the most hi ghly p o lished s u r f a ces A s might be e x pected there
f o r e fricti o n diminishes a s polish incre a ses N ote th a t j ust
the O pposite is t r u e of a dhesi o n
,

S l i d i n g F ri ct ion

The princip al e x pe r iment a l f a cts reg a r din g the beh a vi o r

o f o ne solid body S liding over a nother m a y be sum m a ri z ed a s
f o ll o ws
ti on a l
rop
or
The f ri cti on a l resi stan ce between sol i d bodi es i s ( i ) p
t o t he f orce wi th whi ch t he two bod i es are p
ressed t ogether; ( ii ) i s
i
s
con t a ct ; an d ( iii )
i n d ep
en d en t o
a
ce
s
i
n
f t he a rea of t he su r
f
117

wi t hi n wi d e l i m i ts, i n d e

en

d en t

Th e r st o f these fa cts m ay be

eed of
erel ati ve sp

th

pt into
u

t he

bod i es

seful qu a ntit ative f o r m

S O ME

G ENERAL

P RO PER T I ES

MA TT E R

OF

123

f o ll o ws Let N be the n o r m al fo r ce pressing the two b o dies

t o gether a nd F the fo r ce of f r iction then for a ny two given
m a ter i a ls
E
57
as

whe r e f is a prop o rti o n ality c o nst a nt which is known as the

coef ci en t of fr
i cti on f o r the tw o m a teri als in q u esti o n
The following t able will give so m e ide a of t h e v a lues which
f a ss u mes in p r a ctice
.

helpf u l point o f vie w from which t o re ga r d the coe f cient

is the f o ll o wing : I f a body B be pl a ced o n a n
O f fr icti o n
I nclined pl a ne a s indic a ted I n Fig 6 4 its weight m a y be
resolved int o tw o rect ang u l a r c o mp o nents o ne p a r a llel to the
pl a ne the othe r perpendic u l a r to the pl a ne Let the S lope of
the pl a ne be v a r i a ble ; a nd let (I)
be the a n gle which it m akes
with the h or i z o nt a l a t a ny i n
st ant mg sin ( will then be the
c o mponent u rgin g the body
d o wn the pl a ne ; while mg cos gb
F I G 64
will be the nor m a l c o m ponent
Let us n o w s u pp o se the a ngle 4) t o incre a se until the b o dy B is
j u st on the verge of slippin g orh a s j u st be gu n to S lip down
the pl ane A t this p o int the fricti o n which a cts u pthe
pl a ne re a ches its m a x i m u m v a l u e a nd E q 5 7 becomes
A

F = mg -s i n

a nd

hence
Th e a n gle

= f -mg

co s

t a n d)
thus dened is known a s the

= fN,

Eq

an g e of

ose
r ep

58

GENERAL PHYS IC S

124

The r a te a t which energy is a bsorbed by friction when one

body is dr a wn a dist a nce 8 o ver a nother during an i n t erval t
i s then
P
v
Eq 5 9
P o we r
Time
t
t
where N i s the lo a d a nd v the speed
'

R ol l i n g Fricti on

Why a re b all be a r in gs inste a d of ordin a ry be a rings

used in a bicycle ? Th e reply is in o r der to s u bstitute rolling
f r icti o n for sliding friction since rolling fricti o n i s ve r y m uch
less th a n S liding friction B u t the question now a rises why
S hould t here be an y friction in s a y a smooth ir o n c a r wheel
r o lling O ver a level s m o o th iron t r a ck ? The reply is th a t the
iron tr a ck is slightly a nd tempor a rily indented so th a t the
118

FI G

65

wheel h a s re a lly to run uphill a ll the time E very on e who

rides a bicycle for a ny dist a nce over a level s andy ro a d s o o n
beco m es f a mili a r with this phenom en o n in a n e x agger a ted fo r m
a nd keenly re a li z es t h e uphill fe a t u re of the proble m
R eg a rdin g m ethods for O bserving this rolling friction q u a n
t i t at i v el y perh a ps the following i s the simplest
S ee F ig 6 5
.

S O ME GENERAL PR O PER T I ES

MA TT ER

OF

1 25

metal cylinde r 0 roll upon a p a ir O f r a ils R and R

A
p a ir Of equ a l m a sses M m a y be strung over the cylinde r by
me a ns Of string t o f u r nish the l o a d A p a i r of eq u a l sc ale
p a ns P a nd P s u pp o r ted by a thre a d which is w r a pped a b o u t
the cylinder seve r a l times in the m a nner indic a ted c a n rec eive
sm all wei ghts j u st s u fcient to roll the cylinder in on e d i rec
ti o n orthe othe r Tw o forces n o w a ct upon the cylinder
( i ) the lo a d m a de up o f the weight of the cylinder a nd t h e
suspended m a sses M ; c all this fo r ce N : a nd
( ii ) the weight W pl a ced in the o n e p a n o r the othe r I f
t h e cylinder i s to re m a in in eq u ilib r i u m a s reg a rds t r a nsl a tion
the re a ction of the r a ils Y m u s t j u st b a l a nce the se two f o r ces
Let

or

N+

Y= 0

I n like m a nner if the cylinde r is to rem a in in eq u ilib r i u m a s

reg a r d s r o t a ti o n the moments of a ll the f o rces a cting upon i t
m u st a dd up to
,

ero
We know
the points thr o u gh
whic h N a nd W
a ct ; bu t a s yet
we d o n o t kn o w
the point thr o u gh
which the re a ction
Let 0
Y a cts
Fi g 6 6 denote the
lowest point O f the
cylinde r a nd a: the
dist a nce between
F
66
the lines o f a ction
of N and Y respectively Then t a king moments
a bout t h e point 0 a s a n ax is of rot a tion one h a s
z

IG

of

force

N -O
or
,

solving for

x,

Wr

an

T = O,

60

equ a tion which co u ld not be true unless the cylinder were

in cont a ct with the r a il a t so m e nite dista nce a: from the
lowest p o int on the cylinder which in turn shows th a t the
,

G ENERAL

126

PHYS IC S

cylinder i s const a ntly rolling uphill The ene r gy used up

i n rolling fricti o n is therefo r e S pent in distorting the m a teri al
a f a ct which will be cle a re r a fter we h a ve con
o f the r a il
A
S i d er
ed the s u bject o f el a sticity to which we n o w p r oceed
m u ch m ore e x tended study of friction is essenti a l for a ll
s t u dents lo o king forw a rd to engineering
.

P r o b l em s
1
s am

I s roll i ng fr i ct i on t he rot at ion al an alog ue of sl i d i ng fr i ct i on

e sen se th at torqu e

is

the

in

force

y wheel whose m o men t of i nerti a i s 2 0 m i ll i on C G S u n i ts i s ro

A fr i ct i on br ake br i ngs th i s
t at i ng w i th a n ang u l ar speed of 2 4 0 R P M
F i nd the torq u e e x erted by the brake
W heel t o re st i n 2 0 sec
2

k pl nk beg i ns to sl i de down when one end of

A bri ck lyi ng on
I f the
f
t h pl nk i r i sed so th t i t i 4 ft h i gher th n t he other
i ent of fri ct ion of k d bri ck i
wh t is the length of the pl nk ?
4
W h t i the n at re of the fr i c ti on between t he le d t he h b of
w gon roll i ng or l i d i ng ?
5
H ow does il t to d i m i n i sh fri c ti on
6
W h t i the tot l force of fr i cti on
tr i n wh i ch i p lled t con
t nt speed of 2 0 mi
ho r by
eng i ne e ert i ng 50 horse power ?
7
W h t force of fr i ct i on w i ll be req ired to br i ng m ss of 4 gr to
re t i
sp ce of 5 00 m the i n i t i l hor i ont l veloc i ty of the body be i ng
3

oa

an

coe

ax

an

ac

n a

on a

s a

an o a

an

an

per second ?
8
T he coei c i en t of fr i c ti on of i ron on i ce i s say
A boy i s able
W h at i s the gre ates t lo ad he
t o p u ll 1 00 po u n ds i n a hor i z on t al d irect i on
c an m ove by the u se of a sled shod w i th i ron r u nners ?
100 cm

force of 1 0 tons to move a g iven fre i gh t trai n I f t he

wh at
c oef c i ent of fr i ct i on between the dr i v i ng w heel s a n d the r ai ls i s
i s the le as t we i ght wh i ch the l oco m ot i ve m ay h ave I n order to st art the
t rai n ?
9

I t requ ires

W h at i s the angle of repose for one

S ee T able
1 17
bers be i ng p ar allel ?
10

o ak

pl ank ly i ng on another

th e

W h at power w i ll be absorbed i n p u ll i ng a 4 00-l b c ake of ice over

T ake coef c i ent of
a level wooden pl atfor m at the r a te of 5 ft per second ?
fr i ction as
12
A h orse p u lls a Sle i gh at the r ate of 8 m i les per ho u r
T he slei gh
w i th i t s occ u p ants we i ghs 5 00 lb I f the coe f c i ent of fri ct i on i s
w h at power m u st the horse e x ert ?
11

R eferr i ng to P roble m 6 8 4 sol ve th e c ase repre sen ted i n Fi g

w hen t he coef c i en t of fr i ct i on b et ween q n 2 an d t he i ncl i ned pl ane i s
13

'

A,

S O ME

G ENE R AL

P ROPER T I ES

OF

MA T T ER

127

R eferri ng to P roble m 6 84 solve th e c a se represen te d i n Fig B

when the coef c i ent of fr i cti on between the m a ss 3 0 an d the i ncl i ned
pl ane i s
14

loco mot i ve can p u ll a tr ai n of 500 tons we i ght along a level p iece

a gr ade of 1 i n 6 0 the coef c i ent of
of tr ack W h at we i ght can i t p u ll u p
fri ct ion be ing the s am e i n e ach c ase ?
15

IV

E l a s ti ci ty

the preceding p a ges we h a ve h a d frequent occ a sion

to de al with a rigid body by which we h a ve me a nt a p
er
i gi d bod y ; i e o n e the rel a tive positi o n o f whose p a rts
f ect l y r
E x perience tells u s th a t no
a d m its o f no ch a nge wh a tever
s u ch b o dies a re met with in n a t u r e ; alth o u gh we h a ve m a ny
cl o se a pp r o x im a ti o ns A st r ip o f h a rd a nd b r ittle wind o w
gl a ss m ay be bent with e a se C o ld steel c a n be r o lled o r
er
a ti on s
d r a wn into v a r ious sh a pes While f or a ll ord in ary op
the met a l p a rts o f a p a ir of she a rs the f r a me of a bicycle the
be a m o f a b al a nce etc a r e ri gid b o dies there a re m a ny c a ses
i n which we a re forced to rec o g ni e the f a ct th a t e a ch o f these
b o dies ch a n ges form o rvol u me B od ies t h at can be ch an ged i n
e s ai d t o b e el a st i c
ei th er s i ze orsh ap e ar
I n the c a se o f a c o llisi o n it m ay bec o m e p a inf ully evident
th a t one s bicycle fr a me is not a ri gid body I n c a se on e is
wei ghing a l a r ge lo a d the b a l a nce be a m is li able t o bend
sli ghtly a nd thus lower the c m of the b a l ance a nd hence
diminish the sensibility of the b a l a nce
A l a r ge v a riety of the phen o men a o f el a sticity a re f a m ili a r
to u s a ll on e need only m ention the pne u m a tic tire the ru b
ber b a nd the bendin g of a n oar the str a ining o f a ship the
vibr a ti o ns of a steel bridge
1 2 0 To bring some degree o f o rder out of th is ch a os of
e x pe r ience is the o bject of this ch a pte r A nd this is not ve r y
di fc u lt For in d eed c a ref u l e x a m in a tion shows th at a fter
all there a re only two kinds O f ch a nges which m a y o cc u r in
the con gur a ti o n o f el a stic bodies ; v i z
1 19

In

1
2

C h a n ge

si z e i
C h a n ge of sh a pe

Wh en
s

trai n ed

a
.

Of

C o m p r ession
e

D istortion

o rD

il a t a ti o n

S tr a ins

e i th er si ze or s h ap e i t i s s ai d t o be
The si z e of a body m a y be str a ined a nd the sh a pe
body i s

ch an ged

in

GENERAL PHYS I C S

128

body m a y be str a ined ; a nd these a re the only str a ins th a t

a re known
S ince all kn o wn bodies a re subject to one or b o th
of these ch a nges el a sticity is s a id to be a gener a l property of
m a tter

of

D i stin cti on between S ol i d s

an d

Fl u id s

while a ll b o dies m a y be ch a nged a s indic a ted they

beh a ve very di ff e r ently d u rin g the ch a nge
I f we a ttempt to a lter t h eshap
l
a
ss
t
bing
by
e o f a piece of
u
g
sli ghtly bending it we sh a ll nd th a t this will requi r e a mo
ment of force ; th a t if we remove the force the r o d reg a ins its
I n like m a nner we S h o u ld nd th a t force
o rigin a l S h a pe
wo u ld be req u ired to ch a nge the si z e of the gl a ss rod a nd th at
this fo r ce wo uld need to be m a int a ined a s long as the ch a nged
S i z e is m a int a ined
N o w im a gine a second c a se i n which the gl a ss tube is full of
merc u r y or co a l g a s while it is being bent : the me r cury will
O ffer no perm a nent resist a nce wh a tever to a ch a n g e O f sh a pe ; it
conforms perfectly witho u t r equiring a ny mo m ent of force to
the S h a pe of the cont a ining vessel The mercury h as in f a ct
no el a sticity of shap
Th e s a m e is tr u e o f the co a l g a s B u t
e
if one a tte m pts t o comp
ress the me r cu r y or the c o a l g a s into a
sm aller vol u me he nds this oper a tion req u ires force ; a nd th a t
this force m u st be m a int a ined SO long as t h e diminished v o lume
is m a int a ined M erc u ry a nd co a l g a s h a ve therefore el a sticity
of si z e ; b u t they h a ve no s hap
e of their o w n
A ll b o dies in n a t u re f a ll int o one o r other of the two c a ses
we h a ve j u st considered ; a nd this f a ct le a ds t o the foll o wing
denitions
1 B odies which e x hibit el a sticity both of S h a pe a nd o f si z e
a re c alled s oli d s
2
B o dies which possess el a sticity o f si z e but not o f S h a pe
a re c a lled ui d s
A S is well known t o every o n e this distincti o n between
uids a nd solids is not a distinction between d i fferent s ub
st a nces bu t between di fferent bodies For the s a me s ub
st a nce m a y under di fferent circumst a nces a ssume e a ch o f
these two st a tes on e needs only to rec a ll the c a se of ice
a nd w a ter
12 1

B ut

S O M E G ENERAL PR O PER T I ES
D i sti n cti on between

Gases

MA TT ER

OF

129

L i q ui d s

an d

While mercury a nd a ir a re a like in p o ssessing o nly

el asticity of si z e th ey d iffer v ery mu ch in t h e man n er i n w h i ch
t h ey ex h ibi t th i s el asti ci ty of s i z e
N 0 one ever he a r d of a cl o sed vessel p a rtly f ull of a i r ; a
closed vessel of an y si z e conta ining an y a mou nt of a ir is a lw ays
f u ll of it a nd a t ordin a r y te m pe r a tures the a ir is dist r ib u ted
unif o rmly thro u ghout the entire vessel C o nt r a st this with
merc u ry or w a ter which m a y or m a y not completely ll the
vessel
12 2

D enitions

The r e a re cert a in u ids a ny p o rtion of wh ich h owel er

sm a ll is c a p able o f e x p a nding indenitely SO a s to ll a ny ves
These are c a lled gase s
s el howe ve r l a r ge
2
The r e a r e cert a in other u ids a s m a ll p o r tion Of which
when pl a ced in a l arge vessel d o es n o t e x p and S O a s t o ll the
vessel u nif o rm ly but re m a ins in a collected m a ss a t the bott o m
e ven when the p r ess u re is re m o ved These u ids a re c a lled

L
L
M A XW E
A rt
C onstit u ti o n of B odies
E n cy
l i qui d s
1

B ri t

W e m ight s u mm a ri z e th e precedin g cl a ssic a tion

bodies a s foll o ws
R igid n o t known in n a ture
B odies
S o lids
E l a stic
G a ses
F l u ids
Liquids
12 3

of

Q U AN TIT A TIV E

C O NS I D E R A TI O N

Coefci en ts

E LAS TI C I TY

OF

E l a sti ci ty

b u il der who is p u tting up a roof or a brid ge a lw ays

nds hi mself between S cyll a a nd C h a r ybdis The bridge m u st
be strong enou gh to sust a in the h ea viest lo a d e a sily ; a nd a t the
s a m e time it must cont a in as little u seless m a te r i a l a s possible
I n order to secure this l a tte r res u lt the en g ineer m u st h a ve
denite a nd qu a ntit a tive infor m a tion c o nce r ning the el a stic
p r o perties O f the steel to be u sed in the b r id ge ; in p a rticul a r
he m u st know wh a t elong a tion ( stretch ) will o cc u r in a S peci
1 24

G ENERAL

13 0

PHYS IC S

men of this steel h a ving a denite length a nd a denite a re a of

cross section when it i s given a denite lo a d to c a rry
I n like m a nner the engineer who designs a cotton mill mus t
kno w wh a t m oment of f o rce a steel sh a ft will s a fely tr a nsmit
before he c a n determine the proper si z e o f S h a fting to be used
in the mill The designer of a ste a m engine m u st likewise be
denitely informed c o ncernin g the el a stic pr o perties of ste a m
A ce r t a in a mo u nt of ste a m h a s been a d m itted t o the cylinder O f
a n engine a nd the port closed ; wh a t press u re will it e x e r t
when the piston h a s r e a ched the end of the stroke ? A nswe r s
to s u ch q u estions a s these h a ve been obt a ined by the followin g
metho d
,

'

Gen era l D en i ti on

S tress

an d

S tra in

When two o r m o r e f o r ces a r e a pplied to a body in s u ch

a w ay th a t their res u lt a nt is z ero there is no a ccele r a ti o n an d
n o e vidence therefo r e f r o m the m o tion O f the b o dy th at s u ch
individ u a l f o r ces a re a ctin g S u ch fo r ces a re s a id to be i n
e qu ilibri u m Thei r e x istence is shown by the str a ins which
they prod u ce in a b o dy
A stress is an eq u ilib r a ting a pplic a tion o f f o r ce to a body
A str ai n is a ny denite a l t er a ti o n o f fo r m or dimension of
K EL VI N
a solid
E l asti city i s me asure d by the resistan ce w h i ch a body offer s t o
ch an ge ei th er of si z e orof s h ap e i a
1 25

E l ast i cit y
E l a sti ci ty

Eq

S iz e

61

L en gt h

When a f o r ce is a pplied t o a b o dy in such a w ay a s to

a lte r its len gth either by c o m p r essin g it o r by st r etching it the
f o rce is necess a rily d istrib u ted over the c r oss secti o n o f the
body
Th e l on gitu d i n al stress a t a ny point in a body i sg gn ed a s
L o n gitudin a l stress
t h e r atio of t h e f or ce t o are a a t t h at p oint
then is n o t a force a nd is not m e as u red in dynes ; bu t it is
me a sured in dynes per squ a r e centi m eter
A l o n git u din a l stress a lw a ys ch a n ges both the len g th a nd the
cr o ss secti o n o f the body to which it is a pplied B ut in most
pr a ctic a l c a ses the ch a nge in cross section is sm all ; a nd we
12 6

S O ME

G ENE R AL

PR O PER TI ES

OF

MA T T ER

131

consider only the a lte ra tion in len gth The tot a l C h a nge in
len gth depen d s n o t o n ly u pon t he st r ess bu t a ls o u p o n the
len gth o f the body Ha ng a kil o gr a m on the end of a wire
the el o n gati o n will be a ce r t a in a m o u nt I f
o e mete r l o n g
n o w the s a m e kil o g r a m is h u ng f r o m the end o f a wire o f
the s ame kind tw o m eters lon g the elong a tion will be twice a s
g r e a t B u t the wire is str a ined a t e a ch p o int in its length by
the s a m e am o u nt in e a ch c a se C o nseq u ently l on gi tu d i n al strai n
i s defined a s t h e r ati o of t h e t otal el on gati on t o t h e l en gt h
.

12 7

In

the c a se

of

wire let
,

length o f wi r e
a r e a o f c ro ss secti on of wire ;
stretchin g f o r ce a pplied t o wi r e ;
t o t a l el o ng ati o n p r o d u ced by F

L
a

F
e

a dynes pe r sq u a r e centim eter

The lon git u din al st r ess F/
a nd the l o ngit u din a l s t r a in
c/
L centi m eters pe r centi m eter
N o w the l o n g it u din a l el asticity o f a ny m a te r i a l is me a s u r ed
by the r atio O f the l o n git u din a l st r ess to the l o n git u din a l st r a in
A nd h ence f o r this gat io which is gen era lly known w Y oun g s
mod ulus we h a ve in the c a se O f a wj
te
: 2

,-

n it ud in a l str ai n

Lo g

FL

or

Eq

ea

62

this equ a tion it is evident th a t in o r de r t o dete r mine M

by e x pe r i m ent we m u st m e a s u r e the f o u r q u a ntities in the r i ght
h a nd m ember of the eq u a tio n A s a st r etchin g f o r ce it is O ften
most c o nvenient to u se the wei ght of a m a ss m ; v i z mg
If
2
4
we e m pl o y a r o u nd wire O f di a meter d i t s a re a will be rd /
A ccordingly E q 6 2 m a y be written
Fr o m

4 mgL
z
w ed

M
Th e l i f e of T h omas

ter i n

n a L ondon p hys ic ian f orm s an i nteresti n g ch ap

the h istory of p hys c l sc ence S ee h i s b i ography i n E n cy B r i t
Y ou g,
i a
i

GENERAL PHYS IC S

132

in which all the qu a ntities on the right a re directly me a sur able

S uch a n equ a tion we h a ve c alled a l abor at or y equ ati on
M h a s been me a sured for a l a r ge number o f s u bst a nces
1 28
a nd h a s been found to be const a nt for a ny one subst a nce within
cert a in limits
These limits v a ry from subst a nce to subst a nce
For steel a nd gl a ss these limits a re not very wide ; fo r ru b ber
these li m its a re e x ceedingly wide A nd hence the pop u l a r i m
pression th a t r u bber is hi ghly el a stic A S a m a tter of f a ct gl a ss
o r iron is v a stly more el a stic th a n rubber ; f o r to pr o d u ce a
given str a in in gl a ss much gre a ter stress is requ ired th a n t o
prod u ce the s a me str a in in r u bber O n e c a n test this by a llow
ing tw o s m a ll b a lls on e of rubber a nd on e of gl a ss to f a ll from
e qu a l heights Th e a ttening O f the r u bber when they rebound
o n O iled
to equ a l hei ghts is m u ch gre a ter
Try
this
l
a
ss
or
(
g
m a r ble pl a te )
I n s u ch a n equ a tion a s th a t wh ich denes Y o ung s mod
12 9
physic a l f a cts h a ve been s u mm a r i z ed
u l u s m a ny import a nt
The student sh o u ld e a rly a cq u ire the h a bit of interpreting the
physic a l me a ning of e a ch eq u a tion which he employs
S olving E q 6 2 for e we h a ve
.

'

from which we m a y write a t once

The elong a tion
rdirectly a s the stretching force ( H ooke s Law)
oc directly a s the length
inversely a s the a re a o f cross section of t h e wire
the elong a
as inve r sely a s the l o n git u din a l el a sticity ; i e
tion depends a lso u pon the m a teri a l of which the wire
is m a de
E a ch O f these predictions is e a sily tested in the l a bor a tory

o:

00

H ooke s L aw

The fa ct th a t for a rod of given length cross secti o n a nd

m a teri al the elong a tion v a ries a s the stretching force is one of
the e a rliest import a nt discoveries in the subject of el a sticity
I t w a s m a de by R obert H ooke in 1 6 6 0 a n d p u blished by h i m
i n 1 6 76 under the form of the following a n a gr a m :
,

c e

i i i

s s s

t t

S O ME

G ENERAL

PR O PER T I ES

OF

MA TT ER

13 3

I n 1 6 78

he re a r r a nged these letters a nd tr a nsl a ted them a s

follows
U t ten si o si c vi s ; th a t is the P ower o f a ny spring is

in the s a m e prop or tion with the Tension there o f

O bserve
ow er in the sense in which we
th a t a t this e a rly d a te he u ses p
n o w e m pl o y the word f or
ce; while his t en si on is eq u iv a lent to
,

o u r ext en si on

The best evidence for the truth of H ooke s l a w is the f a ct

rst pointed ou t by S tokes th a t a ll el a stic s o lids c a n be m a de
t o vib r a te isoch r onou sly for eq u a l periods of vibr a tion a t a ll
a mplit u des me a ns th at the f o rce a cting upon the body is pro
p o rti o n a l t o the displ a cement
Th e e x t r e m e c o n venience O f this m od u l u s c a n here be m erely
indic ated by s aying th a t if a n enginee r w ishes a n ir o n r o d of
length L to c a r r y a ce r t ain l o a d which we m a y c a ll F witho u t
p r od u cing a n elong a ti o n g r e a te r th a n a ce r t a in a m o u nt e ou r
equ a ti o n tells 11 1 111 a t once j u st h o w l a rge a cross section a the
rod must h a ve ; vi z

= FL

/M
e

indic a tin g the a ppr o x im a te numeric a l v a lues o f the mod

ul u s the f o llowing will serve
AS
,

For B esse m er

steel

C a st

iron
B r a ss wire
C opper wire
E l a sti ci ty

11

22 x 10

12
10
12

gig
(

d
p
3 1 X 1 0 i h)
(

17

1 01 1

1 4 X 1 06

1 01 1

1 7 X 1 06

S i z e:

nc

1 06

1 011

oun

I L Vol u me

de n o te the volu m e of a body by V I m a gine

the vol u me t o be su bj ected t o pressure so th a t it i s di m inished
by a n a mo u nt v
Th e rati o of t h e d i mi n ut i on t o t h e t ot al v olu me i s cal le d t h e
S u pp o se f u r the r th a t this ch a n ge O f vol u me
v olu mi n al str
ai n
h a s been p r o d u ced by a pplying a force F to a s u r fa ce o f a r e a
a ; a s fo r inst a nce when a i r is c o m pressed in a n ordin a ry bicycle
p u mp Th e rat i o of t h e total for ce t o t h e ar ea ov er w h i ch i t
i s ap
l i ed i s th e v olu mi n al s tr ess ; an d i s w h at we call p ressur e
p
I n a cc o r d a nce with ou r gener a l eq u a ti o n
the el as
t i ci ty of v olu me f o r a ny m a teri a l is m e a s u red by the r a tio o f
Th is r a tio is
the vol u min a l stress to the v o l u min al str a in
13 0

Let

us

GENERAL PHYS IC S

134

gener a lly kno wn as the bul k m odulus a nd is commonly denoted

by k
Volum i n al stress
k
B ul k mod ulus
Volumi n al str
ai n
,

FV

or

Eq

av

63

The reciproc a l of the bulk mod u lus i s wh a t is known as the

com p
re s si bi l i ty of a subst a nce
A ppro x im a te v a lues of cert a in bulk moduli a re given in th e
following t a ble
.

S miths on i an

E l asti ci ty

Tabl es

N OS 9 3 , 9 4
.

S ha

e
f
I n a strictly a n a l o go u s m a nner is dened the el a sticity
13 1
of sh a pe more frequently c alled the rigidity mod u lus
o

S he arin g

stress
n
R i gi d it y m od ulus
S h e ar i n g str ai n
B u t this s u bj ect is so m ewh a t int r ic a te a nd m u st be left fo r
l a ter st u dy B efo r e le a ving it however we merely rem a rk
th a t the rigidity modul u s of a ny m a te r i a l me a s u res its stre n gth
in resistin g a S he a r a nd hence i t s tness f o r mill S h a ftin g for
pr o peller Sh a fts o f ste amships etc W ithout a ttempting to
dene S he a rin g st r ess o r S he a r in g str a in we c a n only say th a t
when a rod or S h a ft is twisted a S he a rin g stress is e x erted
u pon it ; a nd this p r o duces a S he a r ing str a in i e o n e s u rf ace
is displ a ced over a nother j u st a s w o uld h a ppen if the rod were
cut in two by a p a ir of She a r s
er
i
F or a Sh a ft o r wire O f circul a r cross section the eXp
o

S O ME

G ENERAL

PR O PER T I ES

OF

MA TTER

135

ment a l f a cts are s u mm a r i z ed in the foll o wing eq u a tion whe r e

if the sh a ft be cl a m ped a t on e end 6 is the a m ount o f twist in
r a di a ns which will be prod u ced by a torq u e L a pplied a t the
f r ee end
2 ,
,

Eq

4
r
zn r

64

'

In

other words the a mount of twist ( a ngul a r displ a cement )

v a ries
ue L
i
directly
a
s
the
torq
which
produces
the
twist
()
,

'

H
ooke s Law
(
)

( ii )
iii
( )

directly as the length of sh a ft l

inversely a s the rigi d ity m o d u l u s n
iv
inversely
a
s
the
fo
u
rth
powe
r
o
f
the
r
a
dius
of
the
( )
sh a ft r
E q 6 4 together with the f o ll o wing t a ble will en a ble the
re a der to sol ve m a ny pr a ctic a l proble m s concernin g mill S h a ft
i n g etc
.

I I IT
G D

T A N CE

SU B S

B r ass
C oppe
S te el

l l ass

DU

LUS

p
pr q

I n gram s

pr q

In

cm

ou n d s

in

3 20

4 10

106

1 06

3 93

473

1 06

1 06

74 6

82 9 x 1 06

1 06

23 5

6
8
1
3 0x 0

1 06

1 06

1 06

W ood

12

S miths on i a n

Torsi on

en

N O 78
.

d ul u m

suspends a met a l cylinder or b a r by m e a n s

o f a wire a s S hown in F ig
67 it will oscill a te in a hori z ont a l
pl a ne with a pe r iod T I f I denote
the m o ment O f inerti a of the disk L
the torqu e a t a ny i n st a nt a s dened
a bove a nd A the a ng u l a r a cceler a tion
a t this s a me inst a nt then S ince the
a cceler a ti o n is a lw a ys i n a sense O ppo
site to th a t of the torque which pro
duces the twist
13 2

If

Tabl es

on e

IA

Eq

37

m
.

67

G ENE RAL

13 6
E limin a ting L

between this a nd
A

H ence

PHYS IC S
Eq

6 4,

on e

const a nt

2 lI

h as

X 6

the motion is simple h a rmonic a nd

the following

h as

period

which is a con venient laborat ory equ at i on for me as uring n the

modulus of rigidity for the m a te r i a l from which the wire is
m a nuf a ctured
P RO B LE M S O N E LAS TI C IT Y
1
A w ire whose or i gi n l length w
m h
bee stret ched so th t
i t i now
m long
F i d the long i t d i n l tr i n of t he w i re
,

as

as

A ns

086 9

w ire h as a r ad i u s of 2 mm an d c arri es a lo ad of 40 kg F i nd t h e
long i t u d i n al stre ss on every cros s sec ti on of the w i re E x pre ss you r res u lt
i n C G S u n its
9 8 1 000000
An s
2

'

11

certai n m e tal rod h as an are a of cross sect i on equ al to 3 mm 2

11
T he lengt h of the rod i s 1 5 0 cm Y o u ng s m od u l u s for th i s rod i s 12 x 1 0
C G S H ow m u ch w il l the rod be elongated by s tretch i ng i t w i th a force
A n s 316 cm
dyne s ?
Of
4
I w i sh t o su pport a we i ght of 10 kg by u se of a w i re 2 m long
C G S W h at cross secti on mu st t he
Y ou ng s m od u l u s for the w i re i s 8
w i re h ave i n order t h at i t m ay no t stretch m ore th an 1 m m whe n the lo ad
2
A
n
s
c
m
t
t
ched
a
is a
5
A very sl i gh t stre s s appl i ed t o a r u bber b and w i ll prod u ce a very gre at
W ou ld you t herefore say th at r u bber i s a h i ghly el ast i c or h i gh ly
str ai n
i nel ast i c subst ance ? W h at g ive s t he popu l ar impre ss ion th at r ubber i s
very el ast i c ?
6
A s teel rod requ ires a l arge stretch ing force to prod uce eve n a sm all
I s i t t herefore very el ast i c or very i nel asti c ?
elong ati on
7
U nder ord i n ary cond i t i on s i t req u i re s a m u ch l arger press u re to com
ress a gallon of w ater by a certai n am o u n t th an i t does to co mpress a gal
p
lon of ai r by the s ame amo u n t W h i ch wou ld you say h as t he gre ater
e l ast i c i ty of vol u m e ?
8
T wo w i res s u spended fro m a be am h ave e ach the s ame length an d
c arry the s ame lo ad O n e w i re i s of bra ss the oth er of B esse mer steel ; the
for mer h as a d i am eter of 3 m m ; nd wh at d i ameter the l at ter sho u ld h av e
i n order th at the lo ad w i ll prod u ce t he s am e elong at ion i n e ach w i re

9
W h at are the d i m e ns i on s of long it u d i n al stre ss ? Of l on gitu
d i n al strai n ? Of the b u lk m od ul u s ?
3

S O ME GENER A L PR O PER T I ES

OF

MA TT ER

13 7

pi ece of m i ll sh aft i ng 1 i n i n d i ame ter can j u st w i th stand a cer

H ow m u ch stronger w i ll be a p iece of
t ai n torqu e L w i tho u t in j u ry
l %l n C h sh aft i ng fro m the s ame m ater i al ?
11
T wo tors i on pend ul u m s are al i ke i n al l re s p
ects e x cep t th at the rs t
i n i n d i am e ter an d 6 i n i n length wh i le the
is m ade of w i re wh i ch i s
i n i n d i ameter an d i s 8 f t long
C o mp are the i r
second i s m ade of w i re
per i ods of o sc i ll at i on
10

A L G E B R A I C S U M MA RY

OF

D Y NA M I C S

L i n ear

An gul ar

Qu a ti ti es
A ngle rot a tion a l inerti a a nd
ti m e

Fu n d a men ta l

inerti a a nd time
,

va
.

ma t

0 I ; t

Vel oci ty
6

a)

t
v

we

A ccel era ti on
v

a)

f
a

TA

S i m l e H armon i c M oti on

T=

2 Tr

M omen tu m
I a)

mv
I m = r -mv

Force

E = ma

an d

Torqu e
L

IA

GENERA L PHYS IC S

13 8

A L G E B R A I C S U MM A RY

OF

D Y NA M I C S

An gul ar

Li n e ar

Cen trifugal Force

an d

P recessi on al

mva)

KE

P E

Con ti n u ed

I l l a)

m
v
g

KE

Fa:

P E = L6

P ower
Fv

Lao

CHAPTER I V
S OM E

S PE C I A L

P R O P E R TI E S

M A TTE R

OF

the precedin g p a ges we h a ve considered four prop

I t is a n ex p
er
t i es o f m a tter which a re pe r fectly gener a l
i
er
ment a l f a ct th a t m a tter poss essing a ny one of these possesses
a ll the others
This by n o me a ns e x h a u sts the list of gener a l
prope r ties bu t it p r ob a bly incl u des th o se which a re m o st i m
port a nt a s p a rts of the intellectu a l equipment of a liber a lly
educ a ted m a n
P R O P E R TI ES O F LI Q U I D S
We sh all rst c o nside r some of the S peci a l properties of
1 34
liq u ids a nd f r om the three f o ll o wing p o ints of V iew :
I B eh a vior o f Liq u ids a t R est a nd u nder G r a vity ; H ydro
st a tics
II B eh a vior of Liq u ids in M otion u nder G r a vity ; H ydr a u l
i cs
W a ve m otion i n li qu ids will however be tre a ted in the
foll o wing ch a pter a lon g with w a ves in strin gs
I I I B eh a vior of Liq u ids a t R est a nd f r eed from Gr a vity ;
S u rf a ce Tension
I H Y D R O S T A TI C S
The r e a re few pe o ple wh o a re not f a mili a r with the
13 5
f a ct th a t the w a te r in a te a p o t st a nds a t the s a m e height in the
spo u t a s in the pot The d a nger of a le a k in the h u ll of a bo at
a r ises f r om the f a ct th a t the bo a t will contin u e to l l u ntil
the w a ter st a nds a t the s ame level i n side a nd out M erc u ry
in a U t u be st a nds a t the s a me level in e a ch a rm p r o vided the
di a mete r of the t u be is u nif o rm or l a r ge I f in a ny of t h ese
c a ses the level is dist u rbed f o r a n inst a nt it is quickly restored
when the force prod u cin g the disturb a nce is re m ove d
This beh a vior of liq u ids h a s been s u mm a ri z ed a nd described
in a very b r ief a nd si m ple m anne r B u t we m u st fi rst digress
ressu re
to a dd a nother word to ou r voc a b u l a ry ; n a mely p
13 3

In

13 9

GENERAL PHYS IC S

1 40

D E F I N ITI O N
hy
p

P R ESS U R E

r s
p

ure i s em p l oy ed al w ay s t o de
n ot e t h e r ati o bet w e en t h e f or ce ap
p l i ed t o an y surf ace an d t h e
Let us denote p r essures by P forces by
ar ea of t h at surf ace
F a re a s by A the n
13 6

In

si cs

the

te rm

OF

e s

e n

t foraver
ag e p ress u r
e o ver area A

D in g

eq u a i o n

e n eq ati n f rpres
s u r a t a y pi t

D n i g

o n

66

this denition the d yne p

er squ ar e cent i meter f o llows a s
the n a t u r a l u n i t of p
ressur e B u t n o u nit c a n be considered
thor o ughly p r a ctic a l until it is e x pressed in so m e more concrete
form B esides this unit i s very s m a ll a nd hence the I nter n a
t i o n al C ongress on P hysics which met at P a r is in 1 9 00 a d o pted
a l ar
er squ ar
e ce n ti met er
g er unit n a mely on e m i ll i on d y n es p
m
os wei ht )
a nd c a lled it the bar y e
f
r
o
the
reek
B
G
p
g
(
A s we S h a ll nd a little l a ter ( E q
this deniti o n of the
barge is equiv a lent to a ss u ming a st a nd a rd v a l u e for the a ccel
er
at i on o f g r a vity
Fo r S ince the a ccepted v a l u e fo r the den
6
=
i
t
1
0
s y O f mercury i s
it f o llows from ghD
th a t g
N orm a l a tmospheric pressure a lso becomes e x a ctly
b a ryes
The engineer s u nit is sometimes th e pound per sq u a r e f o o t
more gener a lly the po u nd per squ a re inch Th u s ste a m g a uges
a re p r a ctic a lly a lw ays gr a d u a ted in pounds per sq u a r e inch
The deniti o n of a u id
1 2 1 ) a s a body which is de void
is
equiv
a
lent
to
s
a
ying
th
a
t
o f el a sti city o f S h a pe ( r igidity
a
)
u i d c a nnot s u st a in a ny t a ngenti a l stress
From

13 7

F rom this denition follows a t once the e x pe r im ent a l

f acts described in the rst two of the f o llowing propositions

P rop
osi ti on I
Th e stres s ( p r essure ) acr os s an y surface
d r aw n i n a l i qu i d at rest is n orm al t o th at s urf ace
osi ti on I I
P rop
At an y p oi n t i n a l i qu id at rest t h e s tress
r es sur e) i s t h e s ame in al l di re ct i on s P a sc al s Theorem
(p
.

The two preceding prop o sitions would be equ ally tru e

f o r liquids which were not a cted upon by gr a vity I n t h e
c a se of a ll a ctu a l liquids we h a ve to c o nsider a m o ng the forces
13 8

S O ME SPE CI AL PR O PER T I ES

OF

M ATT ER

141

which a ct upon the m not only the pressu re d u e t o the cont a in

ing vessel a s indic a ted in Fig 6 8 b u t also the pressure d u e to
the wei ght of the liq u id itself
Th is f a ct is f a mili a r t o a ll boys
who h a ve O bserved when in swim
ming th a t they c a n dive to ve r y
m ode r a te depths witho u t being
t ro u bled by w a ter getting into their
e a r s ; bu t th a t if they e x ceed a
F
68
depth of eight or ten feet w ater
a lm o st inv a r i a bly gets into their e a rs
B ui l ders know th a t
u t int o the attic o f a ho u se the w a lls of the
w hen a t a nk is p
t a nk m u st be m a de str o ng n t in prop o rti o n to the vol u me of
w a ter which it is to b ol d b u t in pr o po r ti o n to the d ep
t h of
w a ter in the t a nk
These a nd a ll simil a r phenomen a a re
desc r ibed a s f o llows :
,

IG

P ro

osi ti on

u n d er gr avit y

Th e p ressu re at an y p
oi n t
p r op orti on al t o t h e d e p t h

I II
is

in

l i qui d

at

r es t

The f a cts a re s u mm a r i z ed more c o mp a ctly in

the symb o ls o f al geb r a a s follows : Th e p r ess u r e
a t a ny p o int in the liq u id will be the tot a l weight
O f the liq u id s u pp o r ted by a ny Si n al L amL al mu t
T
th a t p
o this m u st be
q n t divided hy t he a rea
i
a dded the p r ess u re o f the a ir u pon the free s u r
fa ce oi the liq u id Let
pressu re a t a ny point in liqu id ( see Fi g
P
=p
r
ess u r
B
e of e a rth s a tmosphere on free s u r
F I G 69
f a ce O f liq u id ;
W weight of liq u id s u pported by a re a a
a
B
Then
P
W/
B ut from the denition of density ( E q 2 8 )
W a hD g
where h vertic al dist a nce O f a r e a a from free s urf a ce ;
density of u id he r e su pposed to be uniform ;
D
=
a cceler a tion of gr a vity
g
Eq 6 7
H ence
hD g
B
P
,

GENERAL PHYS IC S

142

If

we n o w neglect a ll pressu r e of the a tmosphere a nd con

s ider th a t due to the liquid a lone we m a y write
,

at:

h,

osi ti on I I I st a ted a bove

which is P rop
The import a nt ide a here is th a t in a ny given liquid the di ff er
ence of press u r e P 2 P 1 betwee n a ny two points depends only
upon their di ff erence o f level h2 hl Thus
.

P.

P1 = 1

h.)

The f a ct th a t the pressu re is independent O f t h e f o rm of

the cont a ining vessel is gener a lly known a s the H ydrost a tic
P a r a do x

I n P ro osi ti on I I only the v a ri a ti o n o f press u re with

di r ecti o n is c o nsidered B u t c o nsider a vessel lled with w a ter
in o n e c a se a nd m erc u ry in a nother A t a ny given p o int in
t h e vessel how will the pressure ch a nge when the liqu ids a re
ch a nged ?
This q u estion a lso is denitely a nswered by E q 6 7 S ince it
13 9

shows
P

oc

We h a ve then a s a coroll a ry to P rop

osi t i on I I I the following
theorem e a sily veried by e x peri m ents o n liq u ids i n a U tu be
-

osi ti on

P ro

ure at
d ens i t y

I V

me the p
res
d i r ectl y as t h e

emai n i n g t h e
Oth er t hi n gs r

v en
l qu id

gi
of t h e i
an y

pi t
o n

in

l iq id

sa

ri es

va

A nothe r

imp o r t a nt e x periment a l f a ct a lso a n inference

from E q 6 7 is the f o llowin g
osi ti on V
P rop
Th e p ressur e i s t h e s am e at al l p
oi nt s in a
h or iz ontal p l ane of a l i qu i d at rest u n d er gr av i ty
Fo rif the p r essure were not the s a m e a t al l points we S h o u ld
h a ve present a f o rce tendin g t o drive a p a rticle from one point
to a n o ther o n a h o ri z o nt a l s u rf a ce A nd this we do not nd in
n a t u re W he n a spheric a l pebble sinks in q u iet w a ter the r e is
no l a ter al press u r e thr u sting it either t o o ne S ide o rthe o the r
A simple e x periment ill u st r a ting this f a ct is th a t sketched in
Fi g 70 where the height ( a bove the o u tside level ) o f the liquid
in the inverted gl a ss bulb indic a tes a v a ri a tion of pressure a s
1 40

S O ME SPE C I AL PR O PER T I ES

OF M A T TE R

143

the lower end of the t u be i s r a ised or lowe r ed bu t S h o ws n o

v a ri ation when the lower end O f the t u be is moved abo u t in any
hori z ont a l pl a ne
A mo n g those s u rf a ces o ver which the
press u r e i s unifo r m m ay be reckoned the
t o p o f the liquid the b o u nding s u rf a ce
more gener ally c a lled the fr ee surf ace
,

we a ss u m e the converse O f P rop

osi ti on
V which is also a m ply veried by
e x periment then it f o ll o ws a s a c o r oll a r y
F
JO
th a t t h e fr ee surface of a liqu id i s h ori zon tal
B u t a ll th a t i s me a nt by a h o r i z o nt a l s u rf a ce is o n e which
st a nds perpendicul a r to the directi o n of the f o r ce a ctin g u p o n
the liquid B y e x periments s u ch a s th a t o u tlined belo w this
p a rticul a r c a se h a s been gener a li z ed int o the f o ll o wing theo r em :
141

If

IG

P ro

pi t pr p
o n

VI

os it i on

ul ar

en d i c

free liqui d surf ace i s at each

e sultan t of al l t h e f or ces
the r
n
the
acti n g u p o
liqui d p a rti cle at
t h at p oi n t

An y

to

To

FI G

71

ill u st r a te
a tt a ch a vessel O f
colored liq u id to
a whirling t a ble

Th e curved
a s shown in Fig 7 1
f o r m which t h e f r ee s u rf a ce as
s u mes when the vessel is rot a ted
is a t every point norm a l to the
f o r ce F r esultin g f r om t h e weight
mg o f a liq u id p a rticle m
an d
f ro m the cent r if u g a l fo r ce mrcoz a ct
i n g upon t h e s a m e p a r ticle
The
vertic al line in Fi g 72 is the a x is O f
rot a tion o f the whirlin g t able ; the
c u r ve is a cr o ss section of the free
s u rf a ce The res u lt a nt f o rce F or
the n or m al to the liquid s u rf a ce
.

GENE R A L PHYS IC S

1 44

therefore m a kes a n a ngle 6 with the hori z ont a l whose tangent

tan
Free

surf a ces a re therefore

,

is

ra Z

a lw a ys

n ot

TH E P R I N C I P LE

OF

hori z ont al

A R C H I M E D ES

The modern m a rine engi n eer in desi gning a bo a t com

p u tes the weight of a ll the m a teri a l which enters into its con
str u ction O ften the iron used in the hull is a ctu a lly weighed
Knowin g the dimensions of the bo a t the designer is then a ble
to say gener ally within less th a n a n in ch a nd befo r e the b o a t
is l a unched j u st how deep S he will lie in the w a ter The si m
ple m a n ne r i n which this prediction is m a de will be evident
from the following
Whether a body o a ts or S inks when pl a ced in a liquid on e
f a ct is p a tent to everybody the b o dy a pp a r ently loses weight
B u t j u st how mu ch weight a b o dy loses under t h ese circum
st a nces w a s rst determ ined by A rchi m edes ( 2 8 7 2 1 2
the
f o under of o u rpresent system of hydrost a tics
I t is evident th a t since the press u re incre a ses with th e depth
the bottom of a n immersed body will be s u bj ected to a pres
sure u pw a rd which is g r e a ter th a n the p r essure d o wnw a rd
to which the t op
of the b o dy is s u bj ected The press u re O f the
w a ter on a body will theref o r e a lw ays e x er t a buoy a nt force
3
A rchimedes s aw very cle a rly by a
S imple deduction from e x periment th a t
if f r o m a ny vessel of liquid ( F ig 73 ) w e
i m a gine a portion of the liquid to be
rem
o ved the p o sition O f the rem a inder
FI G 73
being unch a nged the upw a rd force ex
t ed by the pressure on the surf a ce so e x posed would just be
er
a ble to support the weight of the liquid removed
N ot only
but it is evident th a t this upw a rd force a cts thro u gh the
SO
center of m a ss of the displ a ced uid ; S ince when the u id is
repl a ced there is no moment of f o rce tending to rot a te it
This point is c alled the cen ter of buoy an cy
B y s u c h re a soning he est a blished the f o llowing theorem
which is known a s the P rinciple of A rchimedes
1 42

S O ME SPE C I AL PR O PER T I ES

P ro

osi ti on

VI I

OF

MA TT ER

Th e res ultan t for ce of a ui d on

d th r
ou gh t h e cen t er
vert i call y u p w ar

145
a

body

t
of mas s
of t h e d i s p l aced u i d ; an d i s eq u al t o t h e w ei gh t of t h e d i s p l aced
ui d
M a nif o ld a pplic a tions of this principle will be met in the
l abor a tory
sed i n i t
i mmer

ac s

S T A B I L IT Y

OF

FL O A TI N G B O D I ES

The eq u il ibru m of a ny body a nd hence a lso o f a oat

i n g b o dy is sec u red only when the f o llowing conditions a r e
s a tised ( see
u m o f a ll the forces
i
The
s
f
tr
a
nsl
a
tion
a
cting
upon
o
(
( )
)
it is z ero
1 43

2 F
u
m
ii
The
s
( )
is z ero

of

a ll

the

m oments

force a cting upon it

of

EL = O

When a b ody which will o a t is pl a ced in the w a ter it will there

fore S ink t o such a depth th a t the w a ter displ a ced i s equ al to its
The rst of the
o w n weight
two conditions is then s a tis
ed
B u t when the body is
u t into
rst p
the w a ter its
center o f gr a vity G will not
in gener a l lie in the s a me
FI G 74
v ertic a l line with the center
o f b u oy a ncy B
Th e res u lt is a couple a s indic a ted in Fi g
7 4 which tends to rot a te the b o dy until B a nd G d o lie in the
s a me vertic a l line Then both of the a bove conditions for
equilib r ium will be s a tised
B u t the owner of the bo a t now imposes a third c o nditi o n
H e dem a nds n ot only th a t B a nd G sh a ll lie in the s a me verti
c a l line but al so th a t the bo a t sh a ll be right side up H ow this
condition is s a tised by the builder of the bo a t m a y be most
e a sily e x pl a ined in terms of a point which is c a lled the met a
center a nd which is dened a s foll o ws

When a body rolls i n the w a ter a s indic a ted in Fig 75

the center of bu o y a ncy moves in the b o dy a nd th u s describes a
curve B B Fi g 75 ( c) Th e cen t er of cu rvatur e of thi s curve
,

GENERAL PHYS IC S

146

ibed by t h e cen t er of bu oy an cy i n i t s mot i on t h r

ou gh th e
descr
The met a center m ay , there
bod y i s kn ow n as t h e met acen ter
.

fore be c o nsidered as the

p o int in a o a ting body at
which the upw a rd thrust Of
the w a te r is a pplied Th e
con d itio n f or st ability i n a
vessel i s t h eref or e t h at i t s
met acenter s h al l be h i gh er
th an i t s ce n ter of gr avi t y
Fo r then if a bo a t heel s
over there will be c a lled
into pl a y a moment of fo r c e
( )
(d )
tending
t
o right it ; b u t if
I
75
the m et a center l i es bel ow
the center of gr a vity then when a bo a t rolls ever so little ther e
will be a torqu e tending to roll it still f a rther
The weight of a vessel being const a nt it i s cle a r th a t st abil
ity v a ries directly a s the height of t h e met a center a bove t h e
center of g r a vity Things a re gener a lly m a de f a st a nd c a r goe s
stowed in such a w a y th a t they will not S hift hence the center
of gr a vity m a y be considered a s a x ed point
I n s a i l ing vessels
e ven more th a n with ste a mers st a bility
is a c o nsider a ti o n o f prime impo r t a nce I n the b a ttleship
st a bility is more dif c u lt to sec u re S ince the a rmor belt m u s t
be pl a ced high a nd also bec a use the guns a re m ore e ffective
when pl a ced hi gh bot h circumst a nces te n ding to elev a te the
center of gr a vity The c a psi z ing O f the B r itish g u nb o a t Cap
ta i n in the B ay O f B isc a y with g re a t loss of life in 1 87 0 w a s d ue
t o ins u f cient met a centric height
,

11

H YD R AU LI C S

the problems of hydrost a tics we h a ve been consider

ing o nly c a ses in which a t every p o int O f the liquid t he force s
were in equili br ium bec a use the pressures were eq u al B u t
n o w let us c o nside r wh a t h a ppens when t w o b o ttles a re con
n ect ed a s in F ig
A t 0 there is a stopc o ck which ret a in s
76
the w a ter a t a height h in the vessel A S o long a s the st o p
c o ck is cl o sed the pressure o n a ny element of the liq u id in t he
sm all t u be is the s a me on the right as on the left ; b ut when
144

In

S O ME SPE C I AL PR O PER T I ES

MA TT ER

OF

147

the cock is o pened the pressure on the ri ght is o nly th a t o f the

a tmosphe r e while th a t on the left is c o nsider a bly g re a te r The
res u lt is th a t the w a te r ows f r om
the left to t h e ri ght until it st ands
a t the s am e level in e a ch b o ttle
H O W does this h a ppen ?
One
FI G 76
reply a nd a pe r fectly v a lid on e
is th a t this is m erely a S peci a l c a se of N ewt o n s S econd Law
B u t in o rde r to look a t the m a tter f ro m a n o ther p o int o f vie w
let u s compute the p o tenti a l energy of a m a ss of w a ter m
1
When it i s a ll conned in the bottle A
2
When eq u a lly divided bet w een the bottles A a nd B
I magine the b o ttles e a ch of the s a me di a meter a nd o f uni
for m di a mete r th r o u gh o ut
Let h denote the hei ght o i the liq u id in A bef o re the st o p
c o ck 0 is opened I f n o w we ne glect the ve r y sm all a m o u n t
o f liq u id in the connecting t u be the cente r of m a ss o f the liq u id
when it is a ll in A will lie a t a height h/
2
a nd the potenti a l
energy o f the w a ter with reference to the b o tto m of the bottle
Z
is the r efore mg h/
'
When however the st o pcock C h as been opened the w a ter
The cente r o f m a ss in
is sh a red eq u a lly by the two bottles
e a ch b o ttle st a nds a t a hei ght h/
4 ; the potenti a l energy o f the
w a ter in e a ch b o ttle is theref o re
a nd the tot a l
2 ) h/
potenti a l ene r gy o f the w a ter n o w is 2 ( mg/
4 ormgh/
4 in
Z as in the p r eceding c a se
ste a d of mgh/
While neithe r t h e
mas s n or the weight nor the vol u m e O f the liq u id h a s ch a n ged
we O bserve th a t the potenti a l ene r gy h a s diminished by 5 0 per
cent The m o tion of the liquid the f a ct th a t w a ter seeks
its level is the r efore simply a speci a l c a s e of the gener a l
d yn a mic a l p r inciple th a t the potenti a l ene r gy of a syste m when
left t o itself tends to bec o m e a s s ma ll a s p o ssible S ee 1 05
Wh a t becomes of the 5 0 pe r cent of ene r gy which in this
p a r tic u l a r c a se ce a ses t o be p o tenti a l ?
The l a ws o f u id fricti o n very di ff erent fr o m those for
s o lids m u st be postponed forl a ter st u dy
,

S PE ED

OF

E FF L U X

TOR R I C ELL I S TH E O R E M

When a liq u id i s o win g thr o u gh a pipe s u ch f o r ex

a mple a s th a t which connects the two bottles in Fig 7 6 one
14 5

GENERAL PHYS IC S

1 48

eeds frequently to know not only to wh a t height the w a ter will

rise but a lso with wh a t speed the liq u id will o w under g iven
c on ditions
O wing t o the di f c u lty of h a ndlin g u id friction
a gener a l a nswer to this question h as never been O bt a ined
B u t there a re m a ny c a ses in wh ich friction bec o mes negli
i
l

b
e
these
were
rst
solved
by
D
a
niel
B
ernoulli
1
0
0
7
;
g
(
the solution being described in a theorem which be a rs his n a m e
We c a n here consider but a single S peci a l c a se which w a s
s olved e x periment a lly in 1 6 4 3 by Torricelli the lifelong frien d
a n d p u pil of G a lileo
two centuries before the l a w of the con
s erv a tion of energy h a d bee n est a blished
I m a gine a t a nk of w a ter i n the S ide of which is pl a ced a n
a perture A
F
ig
7
a
t
a
dist
a
nce
below
the
upper
surf
a
ce
7
h
)
(
With wh a t S peed will t h e w a ter
ow from the a pert u re ? N egl ect
ing friction it is perm issible to
a pply the l a w of the conserv a tion
o f energy to the system
S
Let m denote the m a ss a nd v
the S peed o f liquid which p a sses
the a pert u re d u ring a ny sm a ll
interv a l O f time s u ch th a t the
u pper level o f the liq u id will n o t
be a ppreci ably a ltered The ki
F I G 77
netic energy O f this m a ss a s it
?
le a ves the a perture is gt mv This energy h a s been g a ined a t
the e x pense of work done by gr a vity The ch a nge in p o tenti a l
e ne r gy is me a su r ed by the a mo u nt o f work done in r a ising the
m a ss m from the no z z le to the u pper s u r f a ce O f the liqu id
This is mgh S in ce the incre a se of kinetic
a g a inst gr a vity
e nergy m ust j ust equ a l the di m in u tion in potenti a l we h a ve
n

2
v

mgh

Eq

or

68

This is the theorem of T o rricelli which m a y also be derived

a s a speci a l c a se of the eleg a nt theorem of B ern o ulli give n
belo w
,

is to be observed th a t the qu a ntity of liquid which

a
sses
thro
u gh a n orice in a given time c a nnot be comp u ted
p
1 46

It

S O ME SPE CI AL PR O PER T I ES

OF

MA TT ER

1 49

f r om this speed a nd the a r e a of the a perture the re a son being

th a t the stre a m lines which c r owd together a t the Opening inter
A cc o rdin gly
f ere with o ne a n o ther a nd thus contr a ct the j et
i n order to compute the outp u t O f liq u id in a ny time t one
m u s t determine a the a re a Of the sm a llest cross section of the
acta
et c a lled the ven a con tr
j
,

B er
n ou i ll i

Theorem

I n gener a l the motion a t a ny point in a uid is v a rying

f r o m inst a nt to inst a nt ; bu t there a re m a ny c a ses of g r e a t pr a e
tic al i m port a nce in which thg y el oci ty of the
f
oi t to p o int b u t r
em ai n s ron s t an t a
given
point
i
x
e
d
u
y
q
hi Ch
A moti o n o f t h i sm
y v a ry with position bu t
which does n ot v a ryM
is saidjoh n s tead y The p a th
,
which a ny p a rticle of u id describes i n ste a dy m o tion is c a lled
a s tream l i n e From the denition it is evident th a t on e stre a m
line neve r intersects a nother ; so th a t we m a y c o nsider a t u be
o f the u id b o unded by these stre a m lines as a n isol a ted pipe
th r ough which the u id is o wing witho u t f r icti o n This is
Five tubes o f o w a r e re re
s o meti m es c a lled a tube of ow
147

sented in F ig 77 bi s
Let us now consider the still mo r e speci a l c a se in which the
u id is incompressible
W a te r is fo r a ll pr a ctic a l p u rposes
s u ch a u id ; for
a n incre a se of pres
s u re a mo u nting to
a tm o sphere
on e
will alte r its v ol
u m e by
o nly on e
p a r t in
If
the pipe be l a rge
S O th a t f r iction is
negli gible we m a y
a pply t o a ny g iv en m a ss of t him i n co mp
r
essaljn lu d u nder
ste a dy m o ti o n the pri n ciple o f t h e conserv a tion of energy ; in
other w o r ds we m a y e qu a te to a const a nt the tot a l energy of
a given m a ss of the uid a s it moves a lo n g thro u gh its tube of
.

'

o w

consider the m a ss of u nit y ol u me which is me a s u red

the density a nd indic a ted by: p Deno te the velocity o f the

Let

us

by

GENERAL PHYS IC S

1 50

v
The
then the ki n eti c energy of unit volume is 4p
osi ti on is cle a rly
h
oten ti al e nergy of unit volume due to p
g
p
p
where h is its elev a tion a bove the hori z o nt a l pl a ne of reference
I n a ddition to this the u nit volume h a s potenti a l energy d u e to
the f a ct th a t i t is under press u re This l a st statement will be
cle a r when one considers th a t the work required t o force a
vol u me v of incompressible u id into a t a nk under const a nt
pressure pis p
The a re a of the piston multiplied by pis
v
the force ; the product of the force by the length of stroke of
the piston is p
v a nd is a lso the work done
E qu a ting the tot a l energy per unit volume to a con st a nt we
h a ve then for a ny p a rticul a r tube of ow

uid

by

v;

ov

p p
gh +

Eq

con stan t,

6 8%

U pon this fund a

which is the theorem o f B ern o uilli
ment a l equ a tion the entire science of hydr a ulics is built
.

Variati on

P ressu re wi th S

eed

We c a n consider here only a S ingle illustr a tion of

this theorem a very speci a l c a se n a mely th a t in which t h e
u id ows through a hori z ont a l pipe a c a se in which by p r o per
choice of a x es we m ay write h 0 B ernouilli s Theorem then
becomes
1 4 7 bi s

p p
z
u

Eq

con stan t,

69

which me a n s th a t w h en p arti cl es ow i n g al on g a stream l i n e

reach a p
orti on of t h e tu b e w h er e t h e s p eed i s gr eat er t h ey at
re s sur e i s l es s a nd vi ce
t h e s ame t i m e r
each a p oi n t w h ere t h e p
v er sa ; for otherwise the right -h a nd m ember o f the eq u a tion
co u ld not rem a in const a nt
A ccordingly if a uid be forced through a pipe with a con
striction in it s u ch a s sh o wn i n
Fi g 7 8 the S peed a t b will be
gre a ter th a n eithe r a t a o ra t 0
N o w it h a s been shown ex p
i
er
ment a lly by a tt a ching upright
t u bes a t these three points th a t
F I G 78
t h e p r essure is le a st whe r e the
speed is gre a test n a mely right a t the constricti o n This is
the e x periment a l f a ct which is described by E q 6 9 ; a nd is
,

SOM

SP

E C IA L P R OPE R TI E S

M ATTE R

OF

1 51

exactly wh a t on e woul d expect whe he remembers that it is

the l a rger pressure a t a which i m parts the extra speed at b
This p a rticular case was rst described by the It a li a n V e n turi
i n 1 79 7 an d is the pri n ciple used i n the V e turi water meter
i n ve n ted by the Americ a n e n gi n eer C leme n s H erschel i n 1 887
1 48 The various o t her applic a tio n s of this pri n ciple w h ich
a re e n cou n tered i n everyd a y life a re n umerous an d i n teresti n g
F ollowi n g is a short list each of which is to be explai n ed i n
terms o f E q 6 9
n ary atomizer ; an air j et produced by squeezi n g
i
The
ordi
()
the bulb lowers the pressure su fcie n tly to raise the liquid from
the b o ttle to the n ozzle
ii
The
u
n se n lter pump or aspirator
B
( )
iii
The
f
rced
draught
i
n
a
loc
o motive fur n ished
o
( )
by exhaust steam
iv
T
h
ba
l
l
n
ozzle
show
n
i
n Fi
7
9
where
a
je
t
e
g
( )
of uid is blown s o r a pidly past the
o spheric press ure on
ball
that
the
a
tm
A
the lower side of the ball holds it up
sn ug ag a i n st the s o cket
( V ) The curved b a seb a ll where
FIG 79
the p a ss age of the air over the ball is
greatly facilitated o n the side at which the di
recti on of rot a ti on is opposite t o the directio n
i n which the ball h as bee throw n the left
h a n d side i n Fig 8 0 ; while the o bstructio n to passage is
greater on the side that is rot a ti n g i n the same directio n i n
which the b a ll is bei n g tra n slated H e n ce if a b a ll le a ves the
pitcher s h a n ds i n the directio n i n dicated by the arrow P an d
r o t a tes i n the directio n show by the a rrow R it will curv e
t o w a rd the side i n dicated by the a rrow 0
n

r o b l ems

so l i d c ube 1 2 cm o n each ed ge i s m ade of a m a ter i a l w h o se d e n s i ty

is
W h at i s i ts w eigh t i n a v ac u u m ? F in d i t s ap
ar en t weigh t i n
p
w ater D en si ty of w ate r 1
Ans
g
g
2
A b ody w h o s e v ol ume i s 1 00 cm 3 h as a de n si ty of
F i n d i ts
A n s 60 g
ap
aren t weigh t i n alc oh o l w h ose den sity i s
p
3
Ap
ie ce of w ood w h o se d en sity i s
oat s on w ate r Th e v ol u m e
of t h e w oo d i s 4 0 cm 8
W h at i s t h e v ol u m e of th e w ater d i sp
l ac e d ?
1

A 12 3 2 4
.

cm

3
.

G E NE R AL

1 52

HY SI C S

W h a t v ar i a tion i n p
re ss u r e w ou ld b e p
r od u ced by d escen d in g to a
at 2 0 C
D en si ty of me rc u ry i s
d ep
th of 7 6 c m of me rc ury
F i n d t h e sp
eed of efu x f rom t h e bot tom of a s tan d p
ip
e w h i c h is
5
lled w i t h w a ter to a h ei gh t o f 3 0 ft
6
A w i r e 1 2 0 cm l o n g wei gh s 4 0 g i n a i r ; w hen i mme rs ed i n w ate r
F i n d t he m ean d i a me te r of t h e w i re
i t wei ghs 3 0 g
l ac es 3 000 cu ft when
7 I f a s u bm a ri n e b o a t w ei gh s 50 t o n s an d d i s p
i mme rs e d h ow m u c h w ate r w i ll i t h a v e t o t ak e i n t o s i n k ?
D uff M echa ics p2 5 8
artly lled w i th w ater i s giv en an acc el er ati o n
8
A re c t a n gul a r v e ss e l p
2 i
F in d th e i n cl i n at io n of t he f r e
s ec
n a h o r iz o n t a l d i r ec t i o n
of 50 cm /
Shearer 4 6 1 a
s u r f a c e of t h e l i qu i d
9
H o w m u c h m e rc u ry w i ll b e re qu i r ed to ll a c yl i n d r i c a l t u be 5 mm
i n i n t er n a l r ad i u s an d 1 00 cm lo n g
1 0 W h at i s t h e s p
e c i c gravi ty of a s ub st an ce s uc h t hat 3 cu i n of
4

eigh a p d
11
W h at i t h p
re s re t a pi t 1 00 m be l w t h s rf ac e f th se a
t h d e s i ty f t h s e a w at r bei g
12
ie ce f q ar tz w h se d e s i ty i s
A p
weighs 5 0 g i va c
W h at w i ll b i t ap
are t weigh t i wat r ?
p
13
i s lled w i th w ater t h t ta l f rce
Sh w t h at w h e a c bi c a l b
d b tt m f t h b
e x er ted
th
s i de s
i s t h ree ti me s t h weigh t f
th w at r
14
At w
th p
r ai r ie i s s p
l ie d w i th w at r f r m a s ta dp
ip
e 1 10
p
f t h i gh
Wh at p
r ss re w i ll b a v ai l ab le
t h rst
r f a h se i
t h at t w
15
d f a b a l a c e b eam i s s sp
Fr m
e de d i w at r a 50 gra m
b r a ss m ass
Fr m t h th e r
d f t h bea m ha gs a p
iec e f q ar t z al s
s sp
e ded i w ater G i ve th de s ity f br a s as
t h d e s i ty f q a rt
d t h f a c t th at t hei r t w w ei ght s a re i
q i l i br i m d th weight
f t h q ar t z
16
A s i lve r c i h av i g a d e s i ty f 9 i s d r p
ed i t a l ak e 2 0 ft
p
d eep H w l
egl ec ti g
g w i ll i t t ak e t h c i t re a c h t h b t t m
?
f r i c ti

it w

ou n

n on

ox

uo .

ox

on

oo

ou

o n e en
o

an

an

on

o n

s u

e o

o n

en

on

o n

n o

on

III

T EN S I O N

SU RF A C E

C A P I LL A R I TY

Whe n t w o liquids are brought t ogether either they mix

a n d d i u se the o n e i n to the other or they do n ot mix an d con
seque n tly exhibit what are k n ow n a s t h e phe n o m e n a of surf a ce
te n sio n I n these phe n ome n a sometimes called capillary the
very laws of hydrost a tics which we have j ust bee n studyi n g
a
ear to be co n tr a dicted
p
p
149

SO

ME

SP

E C IA L P R OP ER TI ES

OF

M ATTE R

1 53

-tubes
h
av
rr
a
ge
two
the
smaller
arm
as i n Fig
U
n
A
(
i n g a i n n er di a meter of from on e to two millimeters
P artly ll on e U-tube
wi t h mercury an d the
the
o ther wi t h w a ter :
m ercury i n the s m all
m does n ot rise so WAT R
ar
RC U
high as i n the l a rge ;
while with the w a ter
the reverse i s true
F
8L
E ither o f these phe
mo me n a is su fcie n t to show th a t i n c o mmu n ic a ti n g vessel s
liquids d o n ot a lway s st an d at the sa m e height B u t a s n o ted
ab o ve
this is o n ly the f a ct whe n the co m mu n ic a ti n g
vessels h a ve the s am e di a m eter or whe n e a ch is l a rge
A n y o n e w h o h a s ever placed a sm a ll drop of mercury on a
plate of glass k n ows th a t its ce ter o f m a ss stan ds at s om e dis
t a n ce perhaps a milli m eter a b o ve t h e surf a ce of the glass
This phe n o me n on o i ts fa e woul d a ppe a r t o
( s ee Fig
be an exceptio n to the ge n er a l dy n a m
ic a l pri ciple that the p ote n ti a l e n ergy
of
a
system
te
n ds a lw a ys to a mi n imu m
F
82
M rc ry glass
Why does n ot the drop a tte n out ?
Why does n ot its ce n ter of mass a ssume a lower p ositi on
O u r t a sk n ow is t o sh o w t h a t these c on tradictio n s a re o n l y
appare n t an d th a t the phe n ome n a of the liquids i n the U-tub e
an d t h e phe n o m e n o n of the dr op of m ercury a re i n perfec t
a ccord with ge n eral pri n ciples alre a dy k n own I n t h e d iscovery
of t h e h arm on y betw ee n an y on e tr
uth an d al l oth er truth s li es

t h e ess en tial f eatu r e of an

l an atio n
ex p
.

ME

IG

RY

IG

on

try the f ollowi g qualitative experime n ts

with out bei g impressed with the f a ct th a t liquids i n ai rbehav e
very much as if they were c on t a i n ed i n a sac or thi n m embra n e
co n ti u ally h oldi n g them i n positi on
1
A gl a ss rod dipped i n to a tumbler of w a ter picks up a
drop an d carries it on the en d of the rod as if a little rubbe r
b a g were tied about th e en d of the rod an d lled with w a ter
2
A f alli g rai n drop n early alw a ys assu m es a spheric a l
shape as if it were i n cl osed i n a ski n o f so m e sort an d thi s
150

No

on e can

'

G ENE R A L

1 54

HY SI C S

ski n were co n ti n ually compressi n g it i n to the s m allest possible

volu m e
3
I n a c a m el s -hair brush whe n dry the i n dividual h a irs
sta n d ap a rt t o some exte n t givi n g it a rather bushy appe a r
an ce D i pthe camel s -h a ir brush i n to a
tu mbler of w a ter ; the same b u shy appear
a n ce remai n s R em o ve the wet brush fr o m
the water to the a ir ; the lm o f adheri g
water a t o n ce bi n ds the i n divi d u a l h a irs
t ogether as a h a n d d o es a she a f of oats
The liquid i n ai r a cts as if it were covered
by a lm alw a ys te n di n g to co n tr a ct
4 A piece of cle a n n e wire g a uze m a y
be be n t i n to the shape of a small ope n box
Water may be poured i n t o this bo x to a
n n in g
c
depth
without
its
ru
on siderable
F
A d m pf il
83
f r d f r m gr v i t y
through the meshes
1
5 O n e m a y make a mixture o f a lc ohol an d water th a t will
h a ve very n e a rly the same de n sity a s olive oil a c o mbi a ti on
k n own as P late a u s M ixture A dr op of oil placed i n this
l iquid as i n dicated i n Fig 8 3 will n ot mix with it n o rwill it
be a ffected by gr a vity H o w do you expl a i n the perfectly
s pheric a l sh a pe which the o i l assumes ?
6
O e of the si m
l
methods
of
obser
v
e
s
t
p
i n g this phe n o m e n o n of
liquid surfaces is the
f oll wi n g due to V an
der M en sb ru gge
M ake a stro g s olu
ti on of castile s oap
B e n d a piece of al u mi
20
n u m wire ( ab o ut N o
or N o 2 5 ) i n to the Sh a pe show n i n Fig 8 4 maki n g the dia m e
ter of the ri n g a bout two i n ches A t some p oi n t A of this ri n g
tie a loop of thre a d B If n ow the ri n g be dipped i n to the
soap soluti on a l m will spre a d over it This lm h a s t w o
rc t f alc h l (d sity
d 40 p
rc t f w at r w ill
Ab
t 60 p
arl y righ t f r rd i ary l iv il (d sity
gi v a m xt r w h i c h i s
.

IG

ee

ou
i

u e

en

ne

an

en
o

e o

en

en

SO

ME

SP

E C I A L P R OP ER TI E S

OF

M A TTER

1 55

s u rfa ces i cl osi n g a thi layer of the so a p s oluti on betwee n

the m The t hre a d o a ts on the l m ; n ow with the poi t o f a
le a d pe cil pu cture the l m at s ome poi n t withi n the loop of
thre a d B
E a ch surf a ce o f the l m betwee n the wire an d t h e thre a d
s sibl e a s is i n dic a ted by the
n ow t
d s to be ome a s sma ll a s p
f a ct th a t the a re a withi the l o op te n ds t o become as l a rge as
possible i e t h e lo op
assu m es a circul a r form
85
a s show n i n F ig
n

en

evide n ce as
t his proves that if we
e n l a rge a liquid surf a ce
we sh a ll h a ve to do w o rk
upo n it just a s truly a s if FIG 85 S l m ass mi s m ll st ar
p
g
we stretch a rubber b a n d
or i a te a bicycle tire
the other ha n d if a surf a ce
O
c o tr a cts it exerts a force i n so doi n g an d thus d oes w ork
for us
A wire is easily be n t i n t o the shape i n dicated i n Fig 8 6
D ip
this wire in t o a s o a p s ol u ti on t o c ove r it with a lm If
n o w a sm a l l str a ight wire CD is l a id a cr o ss the fr a m e the lm
o n the B side m a y be br o ke n out with the n ger
The t w o s u r
f a ces on the A side will exert a certai n de n ite f o rce an d dr a w
the b a r CD quick l y t o the en d
C
C
of the fr a me The total f o rce
thus exerted up on the b a r
divided by twice t h e width o f
the l m will gi ve the for ce p
er
FIG 86 VV rk d b y a c t r ct i g cen timeter whi ch a si n gle li q ui d
lm
s urf a ce e x erts up n the cr o ss
b ar This qua n tity is n a tur a lly m e a sured i dy n es per ce n ti
m eter an d is called the su r
f ace t e n si on of the liquid S urfa ce
t e sio n is de o ted by T
S uppose the b a r CD is displaced a dist a n ce x a s i n dic a ted in
the gure The for e which we m ust use to d o this is 2 T OD
d y n es
The work which on e m ust perform is ( 2 T
ergs
The i creas e i are a is 2 CD squ a re ce n timeters For the
l m h a s two surf a ces
151

S uch

oa

ea.

on e

on

2:

G EN ER A L

156

C o n seque n tly ,

HY SI C S

the amou n t of en ergy

T

in

UD Zx -UD =

u n i t ar
ea

is

T
.

Accor d i n gl y w e may d e n e t h e

surf a ce ten si on of an y l i q ui d
ote n ti al en er gy i n u n it are a of i t s surf ace a
as t h e am ou n t of p
d e n i ti on w h i ch i s s t rictl y equival en t t o t h e on e giv en a bov e
,

we see that whe n a drop of m ercury gathers itself

up i n to a little rou n d globule lifti n g its ce n ter of gravity ab o v e
the pl a te on which it rests it does so i n order t o m a ke its sur
face as small as p o ssible an d thus reduce its pote n ti a l e n erg y
to a mi n imum So far therefore fr o m violati n g our previou s
experie n ce this behavior of liquid surfaces is quite i n accor d
with it
An d

n ow

exami n i n g more closely i n to the n a ture of thi s

e n ergy which we have fou n d reside n t i n the surface of a liquid
it will be n ecess a ry to show that liquid p a rticles attr a ct thei r
i m medi a te n eighb o rs j ust a s solid particles do A cr a yo n of
chalk is more or less diffi cult to bre a k bec a use across an y sec
tio n of it the particles on on e side are attracti n g the particle s
o n the opposite side with co n siderable force
That this sam e
phe n ome n o n happe n s i n liquids may be co n ve n ie n tly demo n
str
at ed by a tube partially lled with water an d the n freed fro m
a ir an d sealed what is ordi n arily c a lled a

water h a mmer
The liquid i n a tube of
this ki n d m ay without di f culty be m a d e
to a ssu m e the positio n i n dic a ted i n Fig 8 7
an experi m e n tal fact which it is di f cult t o
explai n except by assumi n g that the glas s
walls of the tube a ttract the adjace n t p a rti
cles of w a ter an d these p a rticles i n tur n
a ttr a ct the n eighbori n g p a rticles of water ;
F
87 W t rh m
an d so o n
n tire m a ss o f
throughout
the
e
3
n ot a t al l
liquid
These
forces
which
are
E
:
u n derstood are suf cie n tly great to s u s
tai n the excess of weight of on e colum n over the other
1 52

B efore

IG

a f3

00

'

f a ct which is very certai n is th a t there is n oth

i ng of the n ature o f an a ctu a l membr a n e stretched o ver t h e fre e
surface o f a liq u id ; for a ctu a l ordi n ary me mbran es ( i ) are n ot
1 53

An other

SO

ME

SP

E C I A L P R OP ER TI E S

MA TT ER

OF

157

perfectly exte n sible an d co n tr a ctile an d ( ii ) do n ot i n ge n er al

S ho w the s a me te n sile force i n a ll directio n s ; n o r iii
is
thi
s
( )
te n sile force i n depe n de n t o f the thick n ess of the lm
H ow the
is this a pp a re t me m bra n e a d this surf a c e
e n ergy to be expl a i n ed ? The foll o wi g an swer for the sak e
of its a dmir a ble cle a r n ess an d c om prehe sive ess is t a ke n
from P r ofess o r W F Vl agi e s L e tu r s on P hy si cs S ec 6 7
( P ri ceto n
Th g r a l l aw s f h ydr st at i cs d epd p t h p
r i c ip
l e t h at
f gr av i ty w i ll b i e q i l ib r i m
l i q i d s bj c t t t h a t t r a c t i
ly w h
it c
f gr av i ty
g r at i i s s c h t h at t h a c t i
s h ar
i t i t r d ce s
i g s t re sse s
N w gr a v i ty i s
t th
ly f rc e w h i c h ac t s
t h l iq i d
It p
art s al s ex r t f rc s f c he s i
e a c h t h r d t r e q i l ib r i m w i l l
t b r ac h e d
t i l t h l i q i d a ss m e s s c h a p
s i t i t h at t he se f rc es f
t t ge t h r w i t h t h wei gh t s f t h p
c h e si
ar t s f t h l i q i d a s t
i t r d c e sh eari g s t resse s W e
xp
l a i a ll t h p
he
me a w h i c h
are t reat d d er c ap
i ll arity by t ak i g t h se f rc es f c he si i t acc t
I t is
t
c e ssa ry f r t k w
w t h w ay i
d i f ac t w e d
t k
w hi c h t h c he s i d p
e d s p t h m asses f t h i te ra c ti g p
a rt s d
t h d i st a c e s b t w e
th m
I t i s e c e s sa r y h w ev e r t a ss me t h i s m c h
t h at t h f rce f c h e s i
x erted by a s m all p
art r e l me t f t h b dy
a c t s ly t h s e e lem e t s w h ich are i i t i m med iate eighb rh d Th at
i w e a ss m e as t h la w f t h f rc e f c h s i
bet w ee e l me t s t h at t h
f rce bet w ee c ti g s l eme t s i s ve ry great d d i mi i sh s v e ry r ap
id ly
w h t h ey are sep
ar at d a s t b c m e i mp
ercep
w h e th di
t ib l e e v e
t a c e bet w e t he m i s t i ll v e ry s m a ll
Th i s g e r a l l aw f c h s i v f rc e
i i ll s t r at d by t h beh a v i r f
i r b rw h w e br ak i t I t req i re
a v ry gr at f rce t b reak i t ; b t af ter i t i s b r k e ev e t h gh th t w
s r f ac s t th b reak are t t d t geth er agai w it h t h tm st i cety t h
tw p
t ib l e ff r t
ar t s
b se p
ar at d w i t h prcep
B ec a s e f t h s h r t d i st a c e w i th i w h i c h
l me t f th l i q id act
it
eighb rs t h se ele me t s w h i c h l ie be l w t h s rf ac e by a d p
th q a l
t t h i s di s t a ce whi c h w e c a ll t h r a ge f a c t i
a r e i q i l ib r i m d e r
t h ac t i
f t h ei r eigh b r i g e leme t s
It is
ly t h s e l e m e t s w h i c h
li i
r ve ry e a r t t h s r f ac e w h i c h a re att r ac t d
e q ally i d iff e re t
d i r c ti
s The se e q a l a tt r ac ti s ac t i g t h e l m e t s f t h s r f ac
l m w i ll p
r d ce a p
ec l iar c d it i i i t Th is w i ll b t h sa me f r ll
ar ts f t h s r f ac e w i g t th mi te ess f th r a ge f ac t i
l g
p
as t h rad i s f c rv at r f t h s r face i s t v ry s mall th at i s i t
f t h s am e r d e r f m a g i t de
th
ra ge f ac ti
Th m a s Y
g
ec ial ac t i f t h c h es i v e f rc s i t h
( 17 7 3 1 82 9 ) s gges t d t h at t h sp
s r face l m m y b r ep
r s e t d by s p
ps i g t h l m t b d r t si
s i mi l a r i ge e ra l t t h at i a s tretc h d membr a e Th i s t e s i s h l d b
t h s am e i
t h c a se f
l i q i d f r all p
ar t s f i t s r f a c I t i
y gi v
c alled t h s r f ace t s i
d it
m e r i c a l v a l e w h e deter m i d f rt h
rf ac e f sep
a ra t i b t w e
m be r f r
y t w b d ies i a c h ar a t r i s t i c
,

en e

on

so ac

on o

no

e on

on

on

on

on

en

so

oun

an

an

oo

on

e o

no

on

no

o no

on

en

no

on

a.

on

an

uou

on

an

en

c an e

no

on

us

on

on on

s.

ne

on

en

un

no

no

un

on

on O

on

no

e n

on

n o

on

un

on

en

an

on

no

an

en an

on

c e

s no

ou n

e un

on

so

un

s nu

on

un

en

on

o e

n e

on

as

nu

on

on

e o
n

on

on

on

on o

an e e

ou

e u

n,

no

en

on

s n

an

c an

en

su

en

on

ou

on

ne

nu

G ENER A L

158

HY SI C S

i ll a ry t be r
psi t i f th l i q id c l m i t h c ap
the r p
he
ill ary ac ti are
me a a scr i bed t c ap
h i s v ie w
y f th
t h w ei gh t s f t h p
t e q i l ibr i m be t wee
ar t s f t h l i q i d d t h
d
f rc es d
th t
s i s a c i g i c rved pr t i s f t h s r f a c e l m
t f rt h s t dy f c ap
i ll ary p
he
m a w as i tr
A t he r s f l c c e p
tho

se

an

bo d

The

e o

ue

ie s

ue

on

no

to

on

en

on

o u

u e u

no

on

e
,

On

on

an

en

no

c alle d s u r f ac e en ergy I t i s p
l ai n
c o n si d e ratio n o f t h e a c ti on O f t he c oh es i ve f o rc es t h at w hen t h e
o t en t i al e n er y o f t h e l i q ui d i s
s u r fac e o f a li q ui d m ass i s e n l ar ged t he p
g
i n cre ased on that acc ou n t For th e s u rfa ce can on ly be en l arged by the
a
ss
a
e
o f el em en t s O f t h e l i q u i d f r o m t h e i n t er i o r m a ss i n t o t h e s u r f a c e
p g
E a c h O f th e el e men t s i n t h e l m i s d r a w n i n w a r d t ow a r d t h e i n ter i o r
l m
by a f o rc e o f c ohes i on an d h en c e n egat i ve w o rk i s d on e o n a ll t h e el e me n t s
w hi c h p
ass o u t f r o m t h e i n ter i o r i n t o t h e s u r f ac e fi l m
The n egat i v e w ork
o te n t i a l e n e r
t h u s d on e i s e q u i v al e n t t o an i n cre a se i n t h e p
gy o f t h e l i q u i d
Th e s u r f ac e t heref o re p
o sse ss e s a n e n e r y
r op
o rt i o n a l
ec ul i ar to i t sel f p
g p
a r at e d by t h e
t o t he e x te n t of s u r f a c e an d c h a r a c te r i s t i c of t he b od i e s se p
s ur f ace Fo ra gi v en su r fac e i t s n u mer i c a l v al ue i s t h e s a me a s t h at o f t h e
s u r f a c e t e n s i o n f o r t h e s a me s u r f a c e
B y t h e ai d o f t h i s c on c ep
t O f s u r f a c e e n e r gy a ll t h e p
h en o me n a O f cap
il
l ai n e d a s i ll u s t r at ion s o f t he ge n er al p
ri n c i p
l e t h at t h e
l ari ty m ay b e ex p
o ten t i a l e n e r gy of a sy st em of bo d ie s at r e s t t e n d s t o be c o me t h e l ea st
p

o ss i b le
p
d u ced by
f ro m t h e

G a ss
u

I t is

1
7
7
7
(

n ow

LI Q U I D

JE TS
Whe n a co n ti n u ous stre a m of liquid ows fro m a tap or
15 4
g a rde n hose an d bre a ks up i n to small dr ops the phe n o me n a
o ccur i n such r a pid successio n th a t the eye ca n n ot foll o w them
with an y cert a i n ty I n order to reduce the r a pidity with
which these eve n ts o ccur P l a te a u a rr a n ged a large dr o p o f Olive
O il betwee n t w o ri n gs o n e c a p a ble o f m o v
i n g u pa n d dow n a bove the o t h er a s
sh ow n i n Fig 88 the wh ole i m m ersed i n
a m ixture o f a lc o hol an d water of the s a me
de n sity as oil
B y slidi n g the rod A up the globule o f
O il elo n g a tes itself i n the same way th a t it
w o uld if it were f alli n g freely u n der gr a vity
from a n ozzle It is f o u n d that the c olu mn
of O il bec o mes u n st a ble whe n i t s le n gth
exceeds its circum fere n ce an d that the s u r
f
a
ce
te
n sio n proceeds rst to f o r m a s o rt o f
FIG 88
waist an d the n t o pi n ch the c olum n i n t wo
le a vi n g betwee n the t w o parts a small drop such a s that pic
The rst t hree of these gures represe n t the
t u red i n Fig 89
.

SO

ME

SP

E C IA L P R OP ER TI E S

OF

M ATTER

1 59

behavi o r Of the dr op f O il i n P l a te a u s mixture ; the right

h a n d gure refers to the jet of water

FI G 8 9
.

I n st a n t an eous ph otographs o f j ets of water f a lli n g

f reely sh o w th a t they are pi n ched o by surf a ce te n sio n
i n precisely this ma n n er
,

C A P I LL A RY PH EN O MEN A

Whe n a s olid is p a rti a lly im m ersed i n a liqui d

either o e of t w o thi n gs m a y happe n ; amely the p a rti
cl es of the s olid m ay a ttract th ose of the liquid m o re stro n gly
th a n the p a rticles of liqu id a ttr a ct each other i n which case the
liquid is s a id to wet the s olid ; or
the p a rticles of the liquid m a y c ohere
with a greater fo rce th a n th a t with
which the p a rticles o f the s olid at
tracts the m i n which c a se the liquid
d o es n ot wet the s olid
I n the for m er c a se the liquid a ppe a rs
F
9O
A
1i d wh i ch i w t
to ru n up the s i de of the S ol l d a s
by t h l i q i d
shown i n F ig 90 ; while i n the l a tter
c a se the liquid is depressed i n the
n eighb o rh o od of the solid
a s i n di
cat ed i n Fig
91
Th e an gle at w h i ch t h e l i q u i d sur
face m eets t h e i m merse d p
orti on of
t h e s oli d is p
er
fe ctl y de n 1t e an d i s FIG 9 1 A s l i d wh i ch i t
k n own as t h e an gl e of con tact
w t by t h l i q id
15 5

IG

80

'

'

s no

If the i m mersed solid be i n the form of a n e glass tube

a s sh o w i n horizo n t al an d vertical sectio n i n Fig 9 2 it is
156

G ENER A L

1 60

HY SI C S

bserved that water will rise to a much greater height on t h e

i n side tha n on the outside
Let T de n ote the surface te n sio n of water r the radiu s
of the tube a the an
gle of co n tact 1) t h e
de n sity of water ; the n
h the excess of height
may be computed as
f oll o ws
The u pward compo
n en t
Of the force p
er
u n it le n gth acti n g at
each poi n t where t h e
liquid s urf a ce touche s
h
t
e i n side wall of t h e
FIG 92
H en ce
tube is Tcos
the total force alo n g the directio n o f the axis of the tube i s
2 rrTcos a
The total weight Of the colum n of liquid raise d
ab o ve the level of the outside liquid is wrt g S i n ce thes e
t w o are the o n ly forces a cti n g upo n the liquid col um n thei r
s u m must be zero
H e n ce we have
O

Tcos

=
0,
g

a si gle equatio n which serves t o determi n e

n

that other thi n gs rem a in i n g the same

,

k n own a s

Jurin

Law

A ttracti on

h oc

E q 70
.

h,
1

an

which show s

a fact w hi ch

is

an

d Re

f F l oatin g

u l si on

B od i es

curious co n seque n ce of the elevatio n an d

depressio n of liquids on the surface of i m mersed solids is t h e
attr a ct i on of o a ti n g bodies such as may be observed about t h e
edge of an y quiet l a ke where a ll the little twigs th a t have falle n
i n to the w a ter will be f o u n d attached either to each other or t o
the sh o re as if tied up to the wharf
A m ore co n ve n ie n t meth o d of observi n g this phe n ome n on i s
to t a ke t w o E n glish wal n ut shells an d o a t them i n a n ge r
bowl I t will be fou n d that on e of these shells will tow t h e
other about with perfect ease the o n ly co n n ectio n betwee n t h e
two bei n g the liquid lm which rises betwee n them
15 7

A n other

S OM E

SP

E C I AL

P R OP

E RTI E S

MATT E R

OF

1 61

This state of a ffairs is diagrammatically represe n ted i n Fig 9 3

1 4 0) t o the
a n d may be completely explai n ed by refere n ce
or
ti o of the fr e
f ollowi g ge er a l pri n ciple ; n amely Overan y p
,

su

face of
r

l i qu i d whi ch i s

an d

l a n e,

oi n ts

at a ll

in

the l i qu id whi ch are at thi s

ressu re i s
s ame l evel , t he

con stan

an

on e

a scen d s

t hi s

e u al

q
here

the a tmos

t hat

from

is

to

As

i n the l i q u i d
l evel the ressu re

d imi n i shes

a s on e

i n the l i qu id , t he
i n creases

d es cen d s

FIG

ressu re

93 At t
.

r ac t i o

n of

t w o b od i e

l qui d

by t h e i

ch

ea

Wet

Thus i n Fig 9 3 the press ure at b is the same as that at a ;

a n d the pressure at each of these poi n ts is that of the outside
betwee n the two
A s on e asce n ds to t h e poi n t
a tmosphere
o a ti n g n u t shells the pressure di m i n ishes while outside the
The resul t
l iquid the pressure remai n s that of the at m osphere
i s a force i n the directi on from the greater t o the less press ure
which h olds the two bodies together so th a t if on e shall be
ulled
about
i
n the n ger bowl it will t o w the other behi n d it
p
.

e n ough the
sa m e thi g happe n s whe n
n ei t her o f the two o a ti g
bodies is wet by the l iquid
a s for i n sta n ce two pieces
afn e or two pieces
ar
Of p
of beesw a x a case which is
h r
FIG 94 At tr c t i f t w b d i s
diagr a m med i n Fig 9 4
f w h i ch i w t b y t h l i q i d
H ere t h e pressure at a is
t hat o f the at m osphere ; the pressure a t m is c on sider a bly
gre a ter ; while at n on the same level with m but i n the ope n
a i r the pressure is o n ly that of the a t m osphere
The result is therefore two forces i n the directi o n of the
arrows te n di n g to hold the two bodies together
1 58

'

O ddly

on o

n ei t

other possibility remai n s n a mely o e of the

bodies may be wet an d the other on e n ot Whe n two suc h
bodies oat n ear each other it will be O bserved th a t i n t h e
159

O n ly

on e

G E N E R AL

1 62

HY SI C S

regio n between them ( Fig

the liquid does n ot rise quite so
high a g a i n st the wetted on e a s it does on the ou tsi d e o f the
wetted on e N ote al so th a t i n the regio n betwee n t h e bodies
the liquid rises a little
higher agai st t h e
b ody which is n ot wet
tha n it d o es on t h e
outside of this same
body
Followi n g the ordi
F
95
R pl s f w b d i s
f wh c h
n ar laws o f dy n am i cs
y
th r
i w t th
t
as n the preced i n g
cases the pressure at a at i an d a t f is th a t of the at m osphere ;
pressure at h an d at e which is on the s a me level is greater
tha n th a t of the a tm osphere H e n ce there is a force from c
to w a rds i as i n dicated by the arrow
The pressure at s which is higher i n the liquid th a n a is less
th a n th a t of the atmosphere resulti n g i n a force from f tow a rds
s as show n by the arrow
A ccordi n gly the t w o b o dies appear
to repel e a ch other
M a y o a ti n g bodies by bei n g slightly elev a ted or depresse d
i n the water may be m a de to a ct either as bodies which a re wet
or n ot wet by the liquid It is ofte n co n ve n ie n t thus to illus
trate all three c a ses by the u se of o ly two di ff ere n t bodies
1 60 There i s a host Of other beautiful phe n ome n a which fall
u n der the head of capillarity such a s those of thi n so a p lms
the v a ri a tio n O f surf a ce te n sio n with impurities electric eld
etc
but these m ust be left fo r outside re a di n g an d obser
vati n A si gle remark h owever co n cer n i n g those exquisite
soap bubble experi m e n ts of childh oo d
A lm st a y subst a n ce whe n diss olved i n w a ter dimi n ishes the
surfa ce te n si on of the w a ter D iss olved so a p has this eff ect
Whe n ce the n a rises the peculi a r efficie n cy of a s o a p soluti on
for pro duci n g good so a p bubbles ? The reply is th a t the s o a p
e ormously i n creases the viscosity te m p o rary rigidity so to
spe a k O f the liquid an d thus preve n ts the bubbles from so
quickly breaki n g
i l l ri t y
Pr bl m
C p
1
Tw merc ry gl b le s f r ad ii 2 m m
d 1 m m r es p
e c t i v e ly r
Th y
i te d f r m
C mp
are t h
b r gh t i t c t a c t
gl b l e
.

I G.

i on o

on e o

no

e o

ou

o
n

on

on

un

an

an

on e

a e
e

SO

ME

SP

E C I AL

P R OP

ER TI E S

M A TT ER

OF

163

s u rfac e of t hi s gl ob ule w i th t h e s u m of t h e s u r f ac es of th e tw o gl obu l e s

b ef o re u n io n
C om p
are t h e su m of t h e surf ace e n ergies before u n i on w ith
t h at af t e r u n i o n
2
H o w i s i t t h a t you can r ou n d t h e en d o f a gl a ss rod by h o l d i n g i t i n a
B u n sen am e ?
3
C he mi s t s o f ten u se a s ol id gl ass ro d i n stead of a f un n e l i n p
o uri n g
a l i qui d f rom o n e v ess el to an ot her E xp
l ai n t h i s
4
F in d the p
ress u re d u e to su r fa c e ten s i o n i n s i de a s p
h e r i c a l d r op
of
Th e v al ue of th e s ur f ac e t en s i on for
u r e w ate r w h o se r ad i u s i s 2 m m
p
u r e w a ter i n a i r i s 7 5 d n e s
er c e n ti m e t e r
p
y
p
5
H o w h igh w i ll p
u re w at er r i se i n a
gl a ss t ub e w h o s e i n te r n a l di a meter
i s mm A ssu me t h e an gl e o f c o n tac t to b e ze ro
6 F i n d th e p
h er i c a l s o ap
ress u re i n a s p
b u bb l e w h i ch i s 8 c m i n d i a m
eter ass u mi n g t h e s u r face tensi on a s 3 0 d yn es p
erc e n t i me t e r
7
E xp
l ai n by a d i agra m on t h e b l a ck bo ard j u st h o w i t hap
e n s t h at a
p
et of w at er o w i n g f r o m a t ap
s at a s h or t d i st an c e b el o w
b reaks i n to d rop
j
t h e n ozz l e
8
A n i n v er ted U t u b e s u p
b ubb le s o n e f r o m ea c h arm
o r t s t w o so ap
p
The d i am et er O f on e b u bbl e i s 3 cm t h e d i a meter o f t h e o t h er
o f t h e t ub e
1 cm
If t h e tu be be l ef t t o i t se l f w h i c h b u bb le w i ll i n cre a se i n s iz e an d
.

wh y ?
9

w hi c h

s u r f ac e

H ow d oe s

ten s

d ter m

on

i e

th e

s ize

of

pf l i q id

th e d r o

el d t h d f a gla ss r d ?
1 0 W h e a s ap
b bb le b rea ks i t i s b s rv ed th at t h wa t r i s t h r w
v i l t l y i m a y d i re c t i s E x p
l ai
11
A test t b i ll d w i th d ry s a d t t h t mpr a t re f 2 0 C I f
t h i s sa d b m i s t
d by p r i g
a l i t t l e w a te r t 2 0 C i t h e r e y
reas f rth i k i g t hat t h te mp
r at r e f t h m i x t re w i ll b d i ffere t
m ay be h

o en

on

ou

an

on

en e

on

e en

on

f rom 2 0

P R O P ER TI E S

OF

GA S E S

of the the ore m s which we have j ust bee studyi n g

u der the subject o f H ydr ost a tics are quite a s true for uids i n
ge er a l as for liquids ; all of them i n f a ct except those which
refer t o the free surf a ce of a liquid Forthis free surf a ce
16 1

M ost

m ight ,

i d eed be de ed a s a b ody which has n o free surf a ce

A s a ili n g vessel u n der w a y a tree be n di n g t o a breeze a b a n k
o f s a n d r a ised by the wi n d
is each an evide ce th a t this air
u p n which we are s o depe de n t for life
is s om ethi g which
can h a n d o ver m o m en t u r
to o ther bodies A n y on e w h o h a s
ever ped a led a wheel a g a i n st a head wi n d k n o ws th a t air exerts
pressure whe n in m o ti on an d th a t air therefore pr ob a bly h as
n

G ENE R AL

1 64

HY SI C S

i n ertia The boy who has blow n up a p a per b a g for the pur
pose of bursti n g it betwee n his ha n ds k n ows at le a st that t h e
i n closed air is a body
The lad who has lifted a brick with a piece of wet leather
an d a stri n g ( F ig
9 6 ) k n ows that he must keep the edges of
the leather dow n s n ug on the brick ;
an d that whe n he does so the e a rth s
atmosphere without di fculty keeps
the brick up s n ug ag a i n st the leather
except i n the m iddle
H ere the
le a ther has bee n lifted an d h as i n turn
lifted the whole colum n of the earth s
atmosphere leavi n g on t opof the
brick a space i n which there is p
ract i
c ally n o air
n cie n ts were
The
a
perh
a
ps
esse
n
FIG 96 Th s ck r
t i al l y a s familiar with these facts as we
are ; at an y rate they were familiar with several ki n ds of
pu m ps depe n de n t upo n these pri n ciples
O f the co n n ectio n
betwee n these various facts it appears th a t they h a d little or
n o co n ceptio n
B u t si n ce the esse n tial feature of scie n tic
k n owledge co n sists n ot on ly i n k n owi n g the facts but also in
k n owi n g the co n n ectio n betwee n them we proceed to the c n
sider a tio n of some of the properties of gases an d of their c n
n ect i on on e with a n other
.

the time of Galileo

n early a ll the phe n ome n a O f pumps
were expl a i n ed by sayi n g that n a
A n d this
ture abhors a vacuum
horror va u i is a fairly go o d expla n a
tio n ; it will i n an y eve n t explai n a
large part of the more familiar phe
n om en a such as t hose of a ir pumps
an d bar o meters
I n a d ditio n to this
F
f
k r
97
S cti

h orr o r o f a v a cuum it w a s proved

sh w i Fig 96
by Ga lileo th a t air h a d weight This
he accomplished by weighi n g a bottle i n to which h e h a d
pumped two or three ti m es its volume of air an d afterward
havi n g allowed the excess of air to escape agai n weighi n g the
16 2

B efore

IG

on o

s uc

S OM E

SP

E C I A L P R OP E R TI E S

OF

M A TT E R

1 65

b ottle S ee O stw ald s K l assik r d er E xakten IVi ss n s haf t en

N o 1 1 p 7 1 for G a lileo s ow n acc ou n t f this experi m e n t
These were t wo c a pital disc o veries ( 1 ) that n ature abh o rs
a vacuum a d ( 2 ) that air has weight

T o rricelli ( 1 6 08- 1 64 7) showed by a justly celebrated

experi m e t the co n n e t n betwee n these t w o facts ; n a m ely
the air h a s n e ght Torr i celli s
n ature abh o rs a v a cuu m becau s
experime n t w as as follows Taki n g a tube m ore tha n 7 6 ce n ti
meters lo n g an d closed a t on e en d ( Fig
b e lled it with mercury an d pl a ci n g his n ger
over the Ope n en d i n verted the tube i n a dish of
mercury The colum n of mercury fell a sh o rt
dist a n ce but remai n ed st a n di g i n the tube
approximately a t the height of 76 ce n timeters
above the surf a ce o f the m ercury i n the dish
T orricelli ascri bed the support of this col
u mm of mercury to the pressure of the atmos
h
er
n d expl a i n ed the pressure i n tur n a s
e
a
p
due to the weight of the at m osph ere
He F 98 T m m
showed i n deed that the weight of the earth s at
xpri m t
m osp
here is very appr o xi m ately th a t o f an ocea n
o f m ercury c o veri n g the earth to the dep t h of 7 6 ce n ti m eters
But if this be the f a ct of the case Torricelli saw th a t t h e
height of mercury i n the i n verted tube shoul d d i m i n ish as
on e asce n ds i n the earth s atmosphere
This test w a s sh o rtly
m a de by P a scal 1 64 8 who c a rried the i n verted tube such a
tube an d d ish is called a mercuri al bar ometer to the top of a
mou n t a i n in Fra n ce an d f o un d th a t the m ercury fell some seve n
or eight ce n ti m eters duri g the asce n t
The evide n ce for thi n ki n g that we reside a t the bottom Of a
ocea n o f a ir exerti n g its pressure equally i n a ll di rectio n s w a s
c ompleted by O tt o von Guericke who devised i n 1 6 5 0 a pump
ex a ctly like a si n gle a cti n g air pu m p o n ly the v a lves were n ot
aut om a tic This e a bled him to remove the gre a ter p a rt of the
a ir from a gl a ss vessel attached to the pump I n the n e a rly
v a ca n t sp a ce thus f o rmed he f o u n d th a t the pressure w a s much
less t han t h at o f the outer a ir a d o n ope i g the valve a ir
w o uld i m m edi a tely rush i n u n til the pressure withi n bec a m e
equal t o th a t with out
163

1 G.

ce

en

'

GE NE R A L

166

HY SI C S

i en ti s ts h av e agreed t o ad op
t 76 cen ti meters as th e s tan dard
ometer at s ea l ev el ; an d t h e p
r ess ur e requir ed
h ei gh t of t h e b ar
t a col u mn of m ercury of th i s hei g h t i s kn ow n as th e
or
t o su p
p
h eri c p
n or mal at mos p
ress ure
Sc

From the observed height of the bar o meter a t an y time we

For i n
can readily c a lcul a te the pressure of t h e a tmosphere
Fig 9 8 the pressure B over the free surf a ce of t he mercury i n
the basi n i s th a t of the a t m osphere ; while the pressure at the
s a m e level i n side the tube is th a t d u e to a colum n of mercury
whose height is h an d Si n ce these two pressures are equal we
h a ve E q 6 7
B
D gh d y n es per sq cm
E q 71
,

n
d
a
where D a t 0 C is
h at the surf a ce of
9
the e a rth n ever very f a r fro m 76 ce ti m eters The pressure
which the atmosphere exerts upo n a barometer is mai n ly
depe n de t upo n t w o factors ; n am ely ( 1 ) the height o f the
a t m osphere an d ( 2 ) the aver a ge de n sity of the at m o sphere
A n ythi n g which ch a n ges either on e of these cha n ges the re a d
i g of the baro m eter
i e the di ffere ce i n level betwee n the
t w o horizo n tal surf a ces of the mercury i n the b a rometer
W a ter v a p or whe n u n der the same pressure as air h a s a d en
If the n there be much
s i t y which is less t ha n that of air
water vapor i n an y portio n of the atmosphere its de n sity will
be di m i ished co n seque n tly its pressure will be dimi n ished
an d the mercury colu m n which it supp o rts will be shorter
The b a rometer is s a id to f a ll
B ut the s a me thi g h a ppe n s
whe n the height O f the a tm osphere is l owered or i t s pressure is
ch a ged by a cycl o ic m o ti o n The b a r o meter is therefore
n t a n i n stru m e n t f or t elli g whether or n ot it is a b o ut to rai n
b u t fo r m easuri n g the pressure O f the e a rth s atmosphere
lNev ert h el ess b a ro m etric O bserv a tio n s a re O f great aid to the
We a ther B ureau i n predicti n g atmospheric ch an ges

'

C O M P O S I TI O N

R H S A TM O SP HERE
M ore tha n a ce n tury elapsed betwee n the time o f Torri
164
celli an d the disc o very o f the pri n cip a l ele m e n ts i n the a ir which
we breathe These were rst sh o w n by La v oisier ( 1 74 3
o n e o f the fou n ders of m o der n che m istry t o be n i t roge n a n d
i n the a pproxim a te pr op o rtio n four of n itroge n to
o xyge n
OF

TH E E A T

SO M

SP

E C I AL

R OP ER TI E S

M ATTE R

OF

1 67

of oxyge
I n additi o n t o th ese there is a lw a ys p rese t a
r
n t of c a rb n ic a cid
e
v a ri a ble qu a tity o f w a ter v a por
ce
p
g a s together with traces Of the rece t ly disc o vered g a ses argon
cryp to n xe n on an d helium
n eo
Whe n we re m ember th a t this o ce a n of air i which we live
is i visi ble o dorless t a steless a pp a re tly dev oid of weight
der th a t the d i sco very o f
a d a l m st i n t a n gible it i s li t tle w
its pr op
erties c a m e ra ther l a te i the history o f scie n ce Wh a t
m en h a ve a lre a dy le a rn ed c o cer i g g a ses is little shor t of
m a rvel o u s A d he w h o thi ks th a t physics i s a subject which
h a s to de a l ly with thi gs th a t ca be see n an d fel t a d he a rd
n
a
n
d
the ch a i o f fa cts
n eeds o ly t o re a d the story o f a r
g
fr om whi ch w a s dr a w n the i n fere ce th a t t his ele m e t i s pres
I n physics a s elsewhere the
e t i n the e a rth s a tm o sphere
disc o very of the a ppropriate idea is at o n ce the i mportan t an d
the dif cult m a tter
n

on e

on

on

C I R C U L A TI O N

OF

TH E E A R TH

A TM O SP HE R E

m o t i o s ha ve m o re sig n ic a ce fo rthe hu m a r a ce
th a th ose o f o u r a t m o sphere O f these the re a re m a y ; but
the tr a de wi ds an d cycl on es are o f especi a l i mp o rt a n ce an d
i terest It is a ssu m ed t h a t the st ude t h a s a l re a dy m a de the
a cqu a i n ta ce of tr a de wi n ds i his st u dy of physic al ge ogr a phy
A cc rdi gly we p a ss a t o n ce t o the expl a a ti o n o f cycl o es a
n a m e which h a s bee
give t o thos e gre a t circul a r r ot a ti g
s t o r m s which sweep over b o th o u rn o rther a d s o uther he m i
spheres a d which a re resp on sible fo r m os t of wh a t we c all
o u rwe a ther
B u t si ce t hese i m m e se whirls r a n gi g fr om
5 00 to 1 000 miles i
di a m eter a cquire their peculi a r twist
e t irely fr o m the e a rth s r o t a ti n it will be n ecess a ry rst to
c on sider j ust h ow the moti on of a y b o dy o ver the surf a ce of
the e a rth i s a ect ed by the d a ily moti on of ou r pl a n et
16 5

Few

D eecti on to

t he

R ight

We a re livi g on the surf a ce of a spin n i n g t op

wh ose
2
a n gul a r speed is
radia s per seco n d The a n gul a r v e
8 6 4 00
l o ci t y o f this sphere
m a y be represe ted by the vect or
0P i n Fig 9 9 where 0 is t h e ce ter f the e a rth a d P the
o rth p o le
r s e t a p o i t o the equ a t o r a d 0 a y
L et E rep
1 66

'

71

c
o,

G ENERA L

1 68

HY SI C S

loc a lity i n latitude 7t The n the vector

may be res olved
al on g the directi on 0 0 The v a lue of th i s compo n e n t OH is
a s i n 7t
The e ff ect O f the rotatio n of t h e earth the n a t an y
reci sel y t h e same as if the
poi n t 0 i s p
'
poi n t C were situated at the p ole P
an d the e a rth h ad an a n gular speed o f
i
n A i n stead of
s
L
et
co
sider
u
n
s
C
theref ore how the motio n of say a
bullet would be a ffected by the e a rth s
rotatio n ( i ) whe n the gu n is directed
alo n g an y m eridian at a t a rget sit u
ated exactly at the n orth pole I m ag
i n e the dist a n ce of the t a rget from the
F
99
The speed of
g u n to be 4 00 y a rds
(0

a)

a)

IG

the

un

toward the east will the n be

4 00

seco d o r a pproxim a tely 1 i n ch per sec on d

If the muzzle
peed is 1 8 00 feet ( 6 00 yards ) per seco n d it will require g o f a
sec on d fo rthe shot t o re a ch the t a rget But duri n g this 3 of a
seco n d the bullet h a s drifted some of an i ch tow a rds the
east an d he ce if the gu n is a ccur a tely ai m ed a t the target the
sh o t will strike } of an i n ch to the right of the bull s eye ( ii)
N ext supp ose the muzzle Of the
n pl a ced ex a ctly a t the n orth
u
g
pole an d the t a rget pl a ced on a
p a rallel of l a titude 400 y a rds
away The bullet as it le a ves
the g u n n ow h a s n o e a sterly v e
l oci t y i m pressed up on it ; but the
t a rget has D uri n g the g of a
sec on d that the pr ojectile is i n
the a ir the t a rget has m o ved of
i n ch t o the left the res u lt
an
m
t r t i g d ct
F
1 00
bei g th a t the bullet strikes to
t th
gh t
th right o f the bull s eye as be
fo re ( iii ) N ext let us supp ose th a t both gu an d target are
L et
S itu a ted 4 00 yards ap a rt o n the s a me p a r a llel of l a titude
M ( Fig 1 00) de n ote the muzzle o f the rie a d TI the positio n
of the t a rget a t the i st a n t whe n the sh o t is red With the
It
is
n orth pole P a s ce n ter draw a circle through M a n d T
I
n

IG

i on

S OM E

SP

E C I A L PR OP ER TI E S

M A TT E R

OF

1 69

the n cle a r th a t duri n g the go f a seco n d th a t the Shot is i n the

a ir the t a rget will m ove thr o ugh the a n gle 0 a m ou n t i g to
i
u llet strikes
the
b
th
a
t
s 1 0 of a rc ; s o that whe n
X
g
the t a rget the l a tter is i n the positio n m a rked T H e n ce the
bullet m ovi g str a ight a he a d a ccordi n g t o N ewto n s First La w
hits the t a rget a t t he right O f the bull s eye
The stude n t will fi n d it i n teresti g t o prove that if the gun
h a d bee n directed exactly west i n ste a d of e a st as sh ow i n Fig
1 00 t h e deecti o would still h a ve bee n t o the right
P r o ve
a lso that at the sou th p ole the deectio n will be alw a ys to the
,

"

o n an d pass t o a
iv
N
ext
suppose
we
leave
the
polar
regi
( )
l o c ality 0 wh o se l a titude is 7t The o ly ch a n ge is th a t the
a gular Speed ab u t a v rti al l i n has o w bee reduced i n
the r a tio of S in A to u n ity Thus i n lati t ude 3 0 N the drift
is a lways to the right but just half as l a rge a s a t the n orth
p ole
n

e,

Cy cl on es

We are n ow prep a red to co n sider the typic a l stor m

which takes its origi n i n a regi on of l o w atmospheric pres
sure This l ow b a r o meter m ay occur i n c on seque n ce of v a ri o us
ch a n ges let us im a gi n e it due to excess ive heati n g of the
e a rth s surf a ce by su n shi n e i n so m e
p a rticul a r l oc a lity A s the heated
a ir rises an d o ws O ff the surr o u n d
i g a ir rushes from all sides i n to this
regio n o f l ow bar om eter a s Shown in
W
1
0
1
Fig
B u t from whichever O f
the four c or ers of the e a rth the a ir
m o ves Observe that it will have i m
pressed upo n i t the sa m e deecti on
t o the right that we f o u n d i n the c a se
i c l cy cl
F IG 101 -A ty p
f
of the rie b all The result is that
r t h r h m i sp
th
h r
all st orms i n t h e n orthern h emis p
h ere
h avi n g a
l ow
e cti on
ce n ter r otate i n a cou n ter cl ock wise d i r
H e ce also the rule o f B uys -B a ll o t
To n d the storm ce ter
st a d with y o ur b a ck to the wi n d an d the n the ce n ter of l ow
b a r ometer will be on y o ur left
But s o me disturb a n ces ge n er ally a cc om p a n ied by cle a r
we a ther i summer an d cold i wi n ter take their origi n i
16 7

e no

e n

on e o

e e.

G ENE RAL

1 70

HY SI C S

regio n s of high barometer These are called an ti -cy cl on es

H ere the air is m o vi n g aw a y from the ce n t er an d t o w a rd the
periphery ; an d si n ce the de ecti on is still t o the right the ci r
cul a tio n of the air is n ow
i n the clockwise directio n
The accomp a n yi n g ch a rt
Fig 1 01 bi s Shows the
ci rc ulatio n of the at m os
h er
e i n the U n it ed S t a tes
p
fo r J an uary 2 1 904
The
tr a cks which these great
cyclo e s an d an ti cyclo n es
follo w i n sw eepi n g o ver
o u rco u n try a re i n teresti n g
l y Sh o w n i n e a ch C py o f
the M on thly Wea ther R
Ty p
FIG 101 b
i c l c y cl
Th i s c h rt
sh ws l i s f q al bar m t ri c p
r ss r
vi ew
published by t h e
i i c h s f m rc ry w i t h r s l t i g w i d s
U
ited
S
tates
We
a
ther
t8
Ja
ary
Th arr ws sh w
th
t
d
cy f t h w i d t bl w f r m a B urea u
It
sh o uld be
H igh t ward s a L w d ls t h sp
ir l
-B a llot s
n o ted
that
Buys
m i
ca s d b y t h
r h s r t ti
t
ward fr m H igh i w rd t w rd s L w ru le holds equally well for
cyclo es an d a n ti -cyclo n es
16 8
A n other poi n t O f V iew an d perh a ps a better on e fro m
which the deecti o n t o the right m ay be reg a rded is the foll o w
i g o n e gi ven by P rofess o r C levela n d A bbe i n ter m s of cen
t ri fu gal f o rce
Th d i ff re c e bet w e
th
d ec ti
th
ri gh t i t h N rt h r
t
H e mi s p
h e re
d t h at t t h l e f t i
he r e res l t s f r m
th S
t he r H e m i s p
at re f t h f rc s t h at
th
r d c e t h e se d e c t i s
p
d
w ay i
t fr m th
w h i c h t h b s rv er l ks t
t h w ea t h r m p Th d
ar e t r e at r al
ti
he me a
t me r e p
ti
p
c al del si
E U AT R
Whe
re t s
b dy
q ie tly
th
eart h s r
F IG 102 D t i t t h ri gh t
f a c e t h c e tr i f ga l f rce
t
f th
ar th gi ves t h b dy a
d
t h d i r al r tati
d ( Fig
ter
sl ig h t te d cy t m ve t w a r d t h e q a t r w h i c h t e d e c y i s c
d sp
q
f t h ea r t h
c i all y f th
b a l a ce d b y t h f a c t t h a t t h
.

is

ne

e u

on e

u e

A M

e u

nu

en

en

ot on

u e

an

e ea

o a

on

ou

en

an

e n
o

an

no

o ns

ue

su

e n

on

no

on s

ou

oo

on

on

e O

ec

no

en

ec

on

u n

e s

on

ace o

an

ou n

S OM E

SP

E C IAL P R OP ER TI E S

OF

MA T T ER

1 71

c a i s an ob l ate sp
h e r oi d ; t h e a t tr a c ti on of gr a v i ty a c i s n ot p
en di c u
er
p
l ar t o t h i s s p
he r o i d a l s u r f a c e b u t is d i re c te d t o w a rd t h e c en te r of t h e ear th
an d i ts act I on o n a n y bo d y at t h e s u r f a c e m u s t b e r es o lve d i n t o t w o co m
n en t s ; t h e
r
i
n c ip
a
l
o n e ab i s v e r t i c a l o r n o r m a l to t h e s p
h e r oi d a l s u r
o
p
p
f ac e an d co n s ti tu te s t he gre a ter p
art o f w h at w e c all w eight t he o ther
c o mp
o n e n t be i s a f ee b l e h or i z o n t a l sl i di n g f o rc e d i r e c te d to w a r d t h e p
ol e
he re an d t h e So u t h Pol e i n t h e
( t h e N o rt h Po le i n t h e N o rth e r n H e m i sp
So u t h er n )
The c en t ri f ugal f o rce cd is d i rec te d ou tw ar d i n t h e p
l an e o f
t h e s m all c ircl e o f l at i t ud e an d i s als o t o b e r e so lv e d i n t o t w o p
a r t s o n e of
he r o i d a l gl obe ; i t a c t s u p
w hi c h ed i s n o r m a l t o t he s u r fa c e o f t h e sp
w ar d
an d t h e re f or e p
a rt l y c ou n terac t s t h e f orce of at t r ac tion ; t he di fferen ce
be t ween i t an d t h e at t ra c t i on i s c a lle d ap
ar
a vi ty
en t gr
an d gi v e s r i se t o
p
w h at i s o r di n ar i ly k n ow n as t h e wei gh t of a body Th e ot he r c o m p
on en t
o f t h e ce n t r i f u a l f o rc e n a mely cc i s p
aralle l t o t he s urf ac e of t he globe
g
a n d i s a h o ri z o n t a l sl i d i n
B u t t he
g f orc e d i re c t ed t o w a r d t h e e q u ato r
eart h s su rf ac e r ep
re se n t s a st ate of e qu il ib r iu m ; t h erefo re th e t wo h ori z on
t al c o mp
e c t i v el y p
on e n t s r e s p
us h i n g n o r t h w a r d an d so u t h w a r d j u s t c o u n
ter
b al an ce eac h o the r o rbe is e q u a l an d op
o s i te t o cc
I f t he e ar th s h o ul d
p
h e r oi d w ou l d c h a n ge so
r ot ate f as ter orsl o w er t hen t he c u rv at u re of t h e sp
a s t o alw ays m ain tai n t h i s b al an ce bet wee n he an d cc so t h at bod ie s w ou l d
h av e n o te n de n c y to sl id e ei t h e r n o r t h o r s o u t h

N o w a b od y o ra m a ss of w ate r o r ai r t h at i s i n m ot io n eas t o r w es t
rel a ti ve to t h e ea rt h s s ur f ac e i s r ot at i n g a r ou n d t h e e a rt h s ax is re sp
e c t i v el y
f as ter o rsl o w er th an t h e e art h i t sel f I f i t ha s a greate r v el oc i ty t ha n th e
eart h i t m u s t t h e re f o r e h av e a
gre ate r t en d e n cy t o sl i d e to w a r d t he e q u a tor
i f i t m ov e s we st w ard a s d oes an e as te rly w in d t hen i t p
re sses f ro m th e
h e re s ; i n bo t h c a se s a w e st
e q u ator Thes e l aws a re tr u e for bo th h e mis p
w i n d m ov i n g eas t w ard p
re sses t o w ar d t h e e qu ato r w h i c h i s t ow ard t he
h e r e b u t t o w a r d t he
r igh t h an d for we s t w i n d s i n t h e N o rt her n H em is p
l ef t h a n d for t h e Sou t h er n H e m is p
h ere
M on thl y Weather R evi ew
O c t ober 1 9 05
o e n

A P P L I C A TI O N

OF

P RE C ED I N G P R I N C I P L E S

MPS
16 9
P umps o f a ll ki n ds whether for gas
o r liquids
whether t o exh a ust a vessel o f
the uid it c on t a i n s or t o f o rce uid i n to
a vessel a re a ll modi c a ti on s O f the typical
f orm show n in Fig 1 03
S is a hollo w tube dippi n g i n to a vessel
of u id W
P is a pisto n tti n g s n ugly i n to the cyl
i n der 0
VI is a v a lve o pe ni n g o u t o f 0
I7 2 is a v a lve o pe n i n g i n t o 0
TO P U

FI G 1 O3
.

_
.

A ty

Pu m

pl
l ca

G ENER AL

1 72

HY SI C S

rce Pum p The gure a s it st a n ds represe n ts the com

m on force pump such a s that e m pl oyed i n the ordi n ary re
e n gi e an d i n pumpi n g water i n t o sta n dpipes Whe n the
pisto n P is moved i n the directio n i n dic a ted
by the a rr o w the press u re i n the regi on be
twee n the valves is dimi n ished The e ff ect
of this is to Ope n the lower v a lve an d cl ose
the upper on e
N ot o n ly so but the pressure of the at
h ere on the free surface of the water i n
m osp
the well begi n s to r a ise the water i n the tube
A n d if the l o wer v a lve be n ot too high above
the surface of the well the w a ter will pour
thr ough the valve V2 an d partly ll the
Space betwee n the valves
If the moti on of t h e pist o n be n ow re
versed ( F ig
the w a ter i n cl o sed betwee n
the
v
a
lves
will
be
f
o rced through the upper
1M
Th f r
F
valve
I
n to the hose or vessel I n which it is
m
pp
desired
S uch a stream however w o uld be i n termitte n t ; for i n the
regio n above the upper v a lve the pressure would cease d uri g
the out stroke of the pisto n To a v oid t h i s di f culty m ost
fo rce pumps a re fur n ished with an air chamber ( B Fig
Whe n the pump rst begi n s this chamber i s lled with a ir
Whe n the water is forced through the upper valve this air is
compressed ; e n ergy is stored up i n it ; an d whe n the out
stroke of the pist on occurs this co m pressed a ir supplies e o u gh
e ergy to drive the w a ter p a rti a lly out of the bulb B an d
thus keep the stre a m owi n g u n til the pisto n begi n s i t s i n w a rd
stroke This large copper bulb on the re-e n gi n e is f a miliar
to every on e
2
Th e Hu ma n Heart The hum a n he a rt is exactly such a
fo rce pu m p a s th a t di a gram med i n Fig 1 04 o n ly here the
sp a ce betwee n the v a lves is n o l o n ger fur ished with a pisto n
but has el a stic walls which by alter n a te co n tr a ctio n a d
expa sio n e ff ect the s a me result as the pisto
Whe n the
pressure i n the right ve n tricle of the he a rt
Fig 1 05 ) is
relieved the blo o d from the vei n s rushes i n by way O f the right
a uricle A u ; whe n the w a lls of the heart c on tr a ct this bl o od
1

Fo

IG

o ce

SO

ME

SP

E C IA L P R OP ER TI E S

or

M AT T ER

1 73

is drive n i n to the pulm o a ry a rteries P on its w a y to the

lu gs I n like m a er the left si de of t h e he a rt acts a s a
fo rce pu m p receivi n g
fresh bl oo d fro m the
lu n gs a d drivi n g it t o
the extremities Of the
b o dy The el a sticity of
the arteries an d vei s
takes the pl a ce of the
air chamber i n the
force pump
3
Th e Ord i n ary Lif t
Pu m p H ere t h e u p
per v alve is pl a ced i n
the pisto n itself a s i h
1 05 Th h m
h art c s i d r d
d i cat ed i n
Fig 1 06
f
rc pmp
S i n ce the pu m p h a s n o
a ir ch a mber the stre a m is O f course i termitte n t O n the
dow str oke the upper v a lve Ope n s ; o n the up str o ke it
cl oses ; the pressure betwee n the v a lves
is di m i n ished ; the lower v a lve ope n s an d
the w a ter rushes through O n the n ext
d ow n stroke of the pisto it dips i n to
the w a ter which is held up by the lower
v a lve ; an d on the succeedi g up stroke
lifts its l o a d of water to the Spout
4 Th e B icy cle
P um p This is
a force p u m p i n
which a ir i s the
uid tr a sferred
i st on h ere
The p
a lso co n tai n s the
v a lve ; is the
in
f a ct
v a lve
FIG 106 Li f t pmp;
The
dow
n str oke
ps r k
of an o rdi n a ry
f oot pump is represe n t ed i n Fig 1 07 F 107 Si gl ct i g bi cycl
mp
p
O n the up stroke the a ir rushes i to
the cyli n der a ll a r ou d the e d ge of the piston ; while the valve
n

nn

an

on

e e

as a

'

on

t o

IG

e-a

G ENE R A L

1 74
V

ext the tire cl oses

by

Why is such a pump

so

tube

HY SI C S

the back pressur e of the air

in

the

hard to operate whe n the tire is

f a irly well i a ted ?

n

I f we reverse the valves i n dic a ted

mp
i n Fig 1 07 w e sh a ll h a ve a pump which i n ste a d of pu m pi g
a ir i n to a tire will e m pty the tire This is o nl y the ge n eral
pri n ciple of the o rdi n a ry air pump which is on e of the m o st
i mp ort a n t i n strume n ts of the physic al l a boratory D uri n g the
last half ce n tury it h a s received
ma n y r a dic a l m odicatio n s an d
improve m e n ts O f these per
haps the most v al uable is the
substitutio n of mercury i n gl a ss
fo r the soli d pisto n i n a brass
cyli n der M ercury does n ot
wet or soil glas s does n ot ap
r
o rdi n ary
evaporate
a
t
ec
i
abl
p y
temper a tures moves through a
glass tube e a sily ; an d i s he n ce
excelle n tly a d a pted t o this use
The acti on o f the S pre n gel
air pump will be cle a r fr o m the
accomp an yi n g gure The fall
i n g dr o ps o f m ercury from the
n ozzle N e n t a n gle the a ir i n the
chamber 0 a d c a rry i t d ow n
the
a
rr
ow
gl
a
ss
tube
The
FIG 108 Sp
r g l i rpmp
dr ops o f mercury a ct as pisto n s
M o re a ir rushes i n fro m the b u lb B an d the wh ole vessel is
thus gr a du ally exh a u sted
The reservoir R is kept lled with mercury ; the pres
of the a t m osphere forces this over to the n o zzle N
S ure
It is collected a g a i n i a gl a ss vessel G an d poured b a ck
i n to the reservoir B It can thus be used over a d over
m a n y ti m es
The vertic a l heights o f the c olum s A an d D o f mercury
must e a ch exceed t h e b a r om etric height Why ? S uch pu m ps
a re i n d a ily use i n the m a n uf a cture of i n c a n desce n t electric
l a m ps an d X r a y bulbs

Th e V acuum
.

Pu

en

'

SOM E

SP

E C I AL P R OP ER TI E S

ER

OF M ATT

1 75

of
l erP um p
Th e Geissler-Toep

which there a re ma n y modi

i n its esse ti a l fe a t u res i n Fig 1 09
The
cat i o s is S h o w
l a rge b u lb B O pe n s above by me a n s O f a v a lve VI to the
A t the b o ttom this bulb O pe n s by mea n s of the
a t m o sphere
tube on the right t o the vessel which is
I n this tube is a gl a ss
t o be exh a usted
S te m m ed valve V which o a ts o n mer
Z
c ury a n d preve n ts a n y air fr o m passi n g
m r
b a ck i n to the exhaus t ed chamber
The tube which exte n ds vertically
d ow n w a rd fr o m B is n ecess a rily l on ger
t h a n the b a r o m etric height an d is con
n ect ed t o a l a rge vessel of mercury M by
m e a n s O f a stro n g but exible rubber
t ube
If n ow the v essel O f mercury M be
raised the l a rge bulb B will ll the
v alve V will cl ose an d the a ir i n B will
If
b e drive n out thr o ugh the v a lve
n o w the l a rge vessel of m ercury be l o w
ered the u pper v a lve VI will a t o n ce
cl o se an d will re m a i n se aled by m erc u ry
tr a pped betwee n the ope n stopc o ck S
F
IG
1 09 G i ssl r
B ut a s s o
an d the se a t of the v a lve
T p
l rpmp
as the m ercury f a lls bel o w the j u cti on
of the two l o wer tubes the a ir will rush fro m the vessel t o be
exh a usted i n to the ch a mber B O n repe a ti g this oper a ti on
the bulb B is a g a i n e m ptied i n to the at m o sphere a d a g a i n
lled a t the expe n se of wh a t air remai n s i n the vessel to be
exhausted
A mech a n ic a l pump o f high perfectio n
7 Th e Gery k P u m p
h a s rece tly bee n devised i n which O il is u sed a s a s ort O f p a ck
i g fo r the pist o
thus le a vi g pr a ctic a lly n o cle a r a n ce a d
pr oduci g a very high v a cuu m i n a very few str okes A dia
gr a m O f this i n stru m e t is sh o w n i Fig 1 1 0 Whe n the pist on
c om es d w n up on the O il i n the b o tt o m O f the cyli n der t h e a ir
is a ll f orced up thr ough the v alve i n the pist on i n to the regio n
ab ove the pist on
O n the upw a rd str o ke the v alve n ot o n ly cl o ses but is her
m et i cal l y se a led by the l a yer of o il on the upper side o f the
6

7 0 at
: ex

us

eo

76

C M.

on

oe

G ENE R A L

1 76

HY SI C S

pisto n A pump Of this type will i n a few mi n utes produce a

v a cuum of
millimeter of mercury Th a t is to s ay o ut of
every millio n p a rticles origi n ally i n
the vessel o n ly on e will remain a t the
of
s a y t en mi n utes
These
en d
pumps a re freque n tly used i n ta n dem
the i n take I of the seco n d pump bei n g
directly co n n ected with the exhaust E
of the rst pump
h on Whe n it is des i red
8 Th e S i p
to tr a n sfer liquid from a vessel A at
o n e level to a n o ther vessel at a lower
level a be n t tube somethi n g like that
show n i n Fig 1 1 1 is very co n ve n ie n t
an d is k n ow n as a sipho n
n it is
To
start
the
sipho
I
l t h
Y
E h
t d
rst lled wi t h liquid
the n i n verted an d placed
with the upper arm u n der the surf a ce
A as show n
The operatio n the n be
co m es simple if we u n derst a n d ( i )
that the pressure at B i n t h e tube is
the same as a t A because they each lie
i n the s a me horizo n tal pla n e an d ( ii )
that the pressure i n creases as we go
F
1 10
Th G ry k Ai r
dow n i n the liquid from B to 0 B ut
P mp
the pressure on the free surf a ce at 0
is just on e atmosphere H e n ce the liquid will be co n ti n ually
forced out of the lower en d of the tube u n t il the free surface
.

es s e

aus e

IG

p
i n each vessel sta n ds at the s a m e level
There are ma n y other
useful an d clever forms Of this i n strume n t all depe n de n t upo n
this s a me pri n ciple
F

m
.

1 11

Si h on

S OM E

SP

E C IA L P R OP ER TI E S

B O YL E S

M A TTE R

OF

1 77

LA w

Whe n Torricelli discovered the proper meth o d O f m e a s

uri n g the pressure o f the e a rth s at m osphere be fur ished us
also a method by which gaseous pressures i n ge n er a l m ay be
me a sured The method is as f ollows
C o n n ect the vessel co n tai n i n g the g a s to on e en d of a U-tube
co n t a i n i n g mercury The pressure due to the excess of height
h ( Fig 1 1 2 ) of the mercury i n
the o pe n arm over th a t i n t h e
cl osed arm will be me a sured by
B gh
If to this we add the
pressure o f the a tmosphere B
we obt a i n the pressure P i n the
vessel
1 70

B gh,

Eq

67

where
B
D
g

barometric pressure
de n sity of mercury
F
1 12
acceleratio n O f gravity
di ff ere n ce O f level betwee n the two mercury surfaces
IG

If the mercury i n the ope n arm of the U tube st a n ds at a

lower level tha n i n the closed arm h becomes n egative an d we
have
-

P =B

D gh

S hortly after the time Of Torricelli

s experime n t R obert B oyle

a disti guished E n glish che m ist i ve n ted an air pump an d
bec a m e greatly i n terested i n the foll owi n g questio n
Gases a re e a sily c o mpressed
A bl a dder lled with air a d
closed a t ordi ary pressure can be reduced i n volume without
much di fculty i with o ut greatly i creasi n g the pressure

But J u st how d oes the volume of a give n body of g a s va ry

whe n the press u re i s v a ried ?
To d is cover h ow On e q ua n tity v aries with a n oth er the ge n era l
meth od is t o l et on e q ua n tity vary measure its successive values
an d als o me asure t h e corr
es p
on d i n g v al u es of t h e oth er q ua n tity
n

GE NER A L

1 78

HY SI C S

This B oyle did H e i n closed a de n ite mass of air i n t h e

cl osed arm O f a U t u be as i n dicated i n Fig 1 1 3 H e varie d
the v olume V of this i cl osed g a s by p o uri n g i n m ore an d
more mercury an d me a sured the pressures correspo n di n g
The meth o d employed for measuri n g the pressure is that
which we have j ust described
.

h),

where

height of b a r o meter
N o w B oyle f o u n d th a t
s
l n g a s the mass of a i r remai n ed
n s tan t an d
s
as i t s t em er
ii
l
a tu r
e
a i n ed con s ta t t h e
r
m
g
)
(
p
roduct of the p
ressure by the v olum e of the gas
p
was very a p
r ox imatel y a con stan t This l aw
p
w as published i n 1 6 60
I t may be stated alge
brai cal l y as follows
H

co

on

c on sta n t

P V=

Eq

72

Whe n the mass of g a s i n closed i n the short arm

I
of the tube w as d oubled it w a s fou n d th a t
f
or an
give
n
pressure
the
v
lume
w
a
s
a
ls
o
o
I
y
doubled ; or t o O btai n an y give n volume it
was n o w n ecessary t o double t h e pressure
A n d i n ge n er a l it h a s bee n f o u n d th a t the prod
F
1 13
B yl
u c t P V is proporti o n a l to the m a ss M of t h e
f
xpr m t
i n cl osed gas a result which may be stated as
follows : F or c on st a n t temperatures
,

IG

e i

en

e S

P V = MK

where K is a co n st a n t
S i n ce however

D V,

Eq 2 8
.

we may elimi n a te M a d obt a i n a result which is e n tirely

depe n de n t of the mass of gas i closed n amely
.

73

Eq

ih

P
D

c on st a n t

Eq

74

The i n terpretatio n of this equ a tio n is evide n tly the fol l o w m g

erature the p
ressure i n a gas v aries d ire ctl y
At an y give n tem p
as its d e n sity an d is i n d e p
e n d e n t of the mass
:

S OM E

E C I AL

PR OP

E R TI ES O F

ER

M A TT

1 79

s experi m e ts we re m o stly perf r m ed with pres

sures gre a ter th a n on e a tmosphere (7 6 ce n ti m e t ers of m er
cury ) ; but M a ri otte (1 6 2 0
a Fre n ch physicist sh rtly
a f t erw a rd showed th a t B oyle s Law h olds whe the a ir i n
the c on t a i n i g vessel i s rareed ; th a t is whe n the press u re
is less th a n o e a tmosphere
This he demo n str a ted a s fol
l o ws
Two pieces of straight glass tubi n g are co n n ected by a rubber
tube as i n dicated i Fig 1 14 A p o rti on of a ir is se a led Off by
m ercury i
the closed arm B O n loweri n g the arm A the
m ercury i n A f a lls below the level of that i n B
L et this de
pressio n be in dicated by h the n
1 71

B oyle

SP

P = Dg

H
(

h)

where as before H is the height of the b a rometer an d D the

de n sity of mercury The tube B is graduated so that the v ol
u m e o f the g a s V can be re a d O ff dire ctly
I n this case a lso the pr o duct P V w as fou n d t o be i n v a riable
Q u a tities such a s P V a re k n ow n
a s i varian ts
The f a ctors which
e n ter the pr o duct are e a ch v a ri a ble
but the pr oduct itself is a c on sta n t
,

The usef u l ess of this law

sc a rcely be o ver
O f B oyle s can
esti m a ted Fo r if we k n ow the
pressure correspo di n g to an y o e
k n ow n v olu m e we k o w a t o n ce
the value of the c n sta n t K an d
he n ce mp
ut
the pressure
can
F
1 14
Mari t t s xpri m t
c orresp o di g to an y ot her v ol
u m e ; o r if
it be desired on e
ca
c om pute the v olu m e corresp o di n g t o an y o ther pressure
F r ex a m ple supp o se that a bottle wh o se c a p a city is 1 00 c u bic
ce n ti m eters c o t a i n s c o mpressed a ir at a pressure eq u a l to th a t
of 1 8 0 ce n ti meters of m ercury L et us compute the v olu m e
which this a ir a t the s a m e te mper a ture w ould o ccupy if
all o wed t o escape i t o the a t m osphere a t n orm a l pressure Let
f the
P I VI represe t t h e pressu re a d v olume respectively
a ir while i n the b o ttle an d P 2 Vz its pressure an d v olum e
1 72

co

IG

en

G ENE R A L

1 80

HY SI C S

after bei n g released It is required to n d I72 A ccordi n g to

Boyle s La w the product of pressure an d volume remai n s co n
sta n t H e n ce E q 72 becomes
.

PIV

P , V,

substituti n g
the se values an d usi n g on e ce n timeter o f mercury as the u n it
'
of pressure we O bt a i n the fol lowi n g value for C i n E q 72 :
1 80

B ut P I

Vl

1 00

an

d P2

76

H e n ce ,

1 8 0 x 1 00

P I VI

A n d,

therefore

1 8 000

V2

1 8 000

P2

cm

76

3
.

H e n ce

the 1 00 cubic ce n timeters of compressed air if allowed

to escape would occupy
cubic ce n timeters
A p
erf ect gas is de n ed a s o n e which obeys B oyle s Law
1 73
exactly ; but it h a s bee n fou n d by ma n y observers that all
gases devi a te more or less from the l aw ; i n o ther words there
are n o perfect gases i n n ature These deviatio n s have bee n
especially studied by the Fre n ch physicis t A magat whose
descriptio n of the facts together with B oyle s origi n al mem o ir
will be fou d i n The L aws f G ases edited by P rofessor C arl
B arn s ( N ew Y ork
B oyle s L aw has bee n modied by the D utch physicist V an
der W aa ls so as to describe the behavior of a ctual gases with
much gre a ter accuracy U si n g the same n otatio n a s ab o ve
an d de n oti n g by a an d b two qua n tities which are co n sta n t for
an y on e gas he writes
,

(V

b)

co n sta n t

Eq

75

This is the most perfect descriptio n which has yet bee n give n
for the ch a n ges i n volumes which occur i n g a ses u n der a wide
r a ge O f pressures The i n terpret a ti on o f the co n sta ts a an d
b will be o f i n terest t o the a dva n ced stude n t
n

The graphical i n terpret a ti o n of B oyle s Law le a ds at

o n ce t o the equilater a l hyperbola show n i n Fig 1 1 5 ; o r i f on e
1 74

SO

ME

SP

E C IAL

M AT T ER

P R OP E R T E S O F

1 81

e mpl oys E q 74 an d plots pressures as a fu n ctio n of de n sities

is the n of course led to the straight
li e
.

he

Before le a vi n g the subject

ch a pter it is n ecess a ry to
O f this
w a r n the begi n n er th a t there a re
m a n y fun d a m e n t a l phe n o m e n a such
a s os m osis of liquids di ffusi on of
g a ses a bs o rptio n of gases by liquids
an d s olids which we have n ot bee n
able here to discuss
1 75

FI G 1 15

h
p

c on s t an t

of

es

P V

r o b l em s

W hat is th e hei ght Of a w ater bar ome ter w h en

terre ad s 7 60 m m ?
D e n si ty of m erc u ry
1

'

vo m

t he m

erc ri a l h ar
u

An s

In

her i c p
at m s p
r ss re f 1 5 l b t th sq ar e i c h i s e q i v a l
r ss re f h w m a y k i l gra ms t th sq ar e ce t i me t r
p
2

An

en

Twe n ty -f ou r c u b i c c e n t i m e t e rs

c u ry w o u ld

av e w h at v l

o um

un d

of

gas

at

er a p
re ss re
u

ap
r ss re
e

Of

76

cm

A ns

t to

Of

71

cm

mer

of

?
Ans

r 1 6 i n lo n g i s cl o s ed at on e en d by a p
i s to n I f t h e c y l i n d e r
h eri c p
i s lle d w i th ai r at at m o sp
re ss u re (7 6
i sto n i s t h ru s t
an d t h e p
d o w n w i th i n 1 i n o f t h e o t h er en d w h a t w i ll b e t h e p
re ss ure o f t h e i h
cl o sed a i r ? (I t i s h ere a ss u med t h at t h e tem p
er at u re i s t h e s a m e i n e a c h
A n s 1 2 1 6 c m of m erc u ry
4

A c yl

n de

gen

Tw o

h o ll o w

a re t h
p

h r s f r ad ii 8
p
ress res
p

e e

an d

10 Con t

ai e q al mass s
n

of

h yd r o

A n s 1 000 5 12
.

F i n d t h e l i f t in g p
lled w i th c oal gas f ro m t h e fol
o w e r o f a b all oo n
l ow i n g d a t a : v ol um e of ba ll oo n 1 000 m 3 ; w ei gh t of b all oo n an d c ar
A l i te r o f c oa l gas w eigh s
60 kg
g
g ; a l i te r o f ai r w ei gh s
6

A n s 4 0 kg
.

Jon es , E xam l es i n P hys ics

I f t h e r oo m i s cl os ed t igh t ly at a
t i me w h e n t h e h eigh t o f t h e b a r o mete r i s 3 0 i n
w h at p
ress u re m u st t he
s to 2 9 i n ?
w all s u s ta i n whe n t h e b a r omete r s u d d en ly d r op
7

On e

w all

Of

ar

m is 9

oo

2 4 ft

S hearer, 5 27

GE NER AL

1 82
8

I f 1 000

su bj ec ted
v o l u me ?

of

3
.

ap
re ss r e

to

h yd rog

of

84

HY SI C S

er a p
ress re f 2 0
f me rc ry w h at w i ll

un

erc ry i s
r e s l ti g

of

be t h e

Ans

3
.

pe th weight f ai r c t ai ed i a m der ate si zed l i vi g r m

w h i c h i s 5 x 5 x 3 m t t h te m p
e r a t re f 0 C
ay
ty s p
1 0 Wh e a b ar m e te r s t a d s t 7 5 m t h v l m e f t h e mp
a ce
ab ve t h me rc ry i 8 m d i t le gt h i 1 3 m H w f ar w l d th
m
c l m f a ll if y i t r d ced 5 m f ai r i t t h t be ?
A
l
mp
J es E
p9 8
9

ut

on

on e

o u

ou

an

o u

oo

ns

on

ou

xa

es,

C H APTE R V
W

A V ES

The word at the head of this chapter will recall to most

mi n ds on e or m ore of the foll o wi ng phe o m e n a the surf a ce
ro
o f a l a ke swept by a wi d the c o n st a n tly e n l a rgi g ri gs p
d uced by a st on e f alli n g i n t o quiet w a ter t h e swell that
foll ws a st o rm a t sea t h e w a ves which a lw a ys a cco m p a n y a
movi g b o a t M ost people h a ve see n w a ves ru n a l o g a cl o thes
l in e or so m e stretched rope whe n struck by a w a lki g stick
E xperie ce sh o w s us th a t these a d a ll si mil a r c a ses h a ve two
fe a tures i n c o mm on First there is a d ist urba n ce at s ome p
oin t
tai n me d iu m Se con d this d istur ba n ce is p
r op
a gated t o
i n a cer
other p
oi n ts of t h e med i u m
A t a give i st a t the st o e is dr o pped i n t o quiet water ; a t
a l a ter i n st a n t the disturb a n ce m a y h a ve reached p oi ts sever a l
m e t ers a w a y
A t a give n i st a t the stretched clothesli n e i s a t
rest i n its positi o of equilibriu m Whe n on e e d is sudde n ly
depress ed t his depressi on ru n s a l on g the li n e a t a de n ite r a te ;
or if the disturb a ce be an elev a tio n
it is an elev a tio th a t
ru n s a lo n g the lin e C o n cer n i n g a y w a ve moti on the two
i mp o rt a n t questi on s are ( i ) c o cer n i g the o rigi n o f the dis
tu r
ban ce an d ( ii ) co n cer n i g the n a ture O f the pr o p a g a tio
But what is m e a n t by a disturb a n ce ? S i m ply this a bod y
is sai d t o be d isturbed wh en it i s t h rown out of eq u ilibriu m
B u t whe n is a body or syste m o f bodies i
equilibrium ?
N ot n ecess a rily whe n it is at rest but whe n its p o te n tial e n ergy
is a mi n i m u m A pe dulum is a t rest at t h e e d of its swi g
bu t i s by n o me a s i n equilibriu m
A pe n dulu m m o ves most
r a pidly a t the lowest p oi t i its p a th ; but there is the o n e
p oi t where it is i equilibrium
A disturb a n ce the n i m plies the additi o n of e n ergy to a
syste m A n d a s this disturb a n ce is prop a g a ted through the
mediu m some e ergy is i n ge n eral distributed through the
medium
1 76

18 3

G ENER A L

1 84

D EF I N I TI O N
177

We may therefore

di stur ba n ce
a

n other
N ote

ei n g

OF

HY SI C S

W A VE

M O TI O N

e n e a wave m oti on as a state of

rop
a gate d fr om on e p
art of a med iu m t o
p
d

an d
that i n this de n iti on n othi g is s a id about an y up
dow n motio n such as is see n i the disturbed clothesli n e O n e
h a s o ly to repl a ce the clothesli n e by a stretched Spir a l spri g
an d dow n
t o s ee th a t waves may tr a vel without an y such u p
S uch a spri n g ( Fig 1 1 6 ) Should be fro m t w o to three
m otio n
m eters lo n g m a de
of br a ss wire N O
1 8 or 2 0 wou n d
i n a spir a l of ap
proxim a tely eight
millimeters dia m
e te r F i x the
FIG 1 16
e d s of the spri n g
to two rigid poi n ts A an d B s o that the spri n g will be stretched
to n e a rly twice its u stretched le n gth
If this spri n g be
gr a sped a t an y poi n t 0 m o ved i n the directi on of the a rr o w
the quickly an d ge tly rele a sed the disturb a ce th u s i n tr o
d u ced will ru n to an d fro a l o n g the li n e ; b ut there will be n o
i
a ppreci a ble u p
m o tio n This very import a n t ex p
er
a d -dow
me n t Sh o uld be c a refully O bserved
N o te f u rther that i the de iti o o f w a ve m oti on n o thi n g
is s a id a bout an y tra sfer of m a tter Fo ra lth ough i e a ch c a se
experi m e n t Sh o ws th a t the p a rticles of the m ediu m oscill a t e
through a s m all r a n ge it is evide n tly n ot the
m ediu m b u t the e n e rgy which is tr a sferred
Fo rclearly exhibiti n g the disti cti o n betwee n
the m oti o of the w a ve a d the m oti on of the
particles o f the medi u m there is perh a ps n oth
i n g superi o r t o the w a ve m odel used by L ord
This
Kelvi i n h i s B a l t i m re L ctu res i n 1 884
device c o sists o f s ay 2 0 or 3 0 equ a l w oode n
b a rs suspe ded b y a pi a o wire as sh ow n i n
Fig 1 1 7 S i ce these b a rs a re f a ste n ed s o
th a t whe n o e o f them is twi ted the w ire i s Fm 1 11 Kh a s
d
W

m
l
also twisted it is cle a r th a t a S i n gle rot a tio n
-

- n

W A VES

1 85

g ve n t o the lowest b a r will be pr op a g a ted throughout the e n tire

series the wave movi g vertically upw a rds while the particles
the
bars
m
o ve i n a h o rizo n t a l pla n e o n ly
)
(
i

SO ME

S P E C I A L KI N D S

OF

W A VES

I Wat r Waves
1 78
Of these there a re several ki n ds an d most of them are
studied t o best a dv a n t a ge i n the lab o r a tory or i a ca n a l
The ge n esis o f w a ter w a ves by wi n d is very imperfectly
u n derst o od ; but we may co n sider th a t the s o urce of these w a ves
is a n ythi g which elevates or depresses the water at a y p oi n t
I m a gi e OK t o represe n t the level surfa ce O f the u disturbed
w a t er If by an y me a s the surf a ce of the w a ter be give n the
f or m i dicated i n Fig 1 1 8 the Oper a tio n will be equiv a le n t to

t a ki n g the water fro m the trough of the w a ve B 0 an d lift

i g it up i to the crest
L et m 0
o f the w a ve A B
be the m ass of water
FIG 118 Typ
i ca l
w av
whi ch will j ust ll t h e
tr ugh B C ; the a m ou n t of water i n the crest will the a ls o
be m L et h de n ote the di ffere n ce i n height betwee n the cen
ter of m a ss of the tr ough an d the ce n ter of m a ss of the crest
The operatio n of pr o duci g a si n gle w a ve i n w a ter previously
quiet will r
equire th a t on e lift a m ass m thr o ugh a height h
a g a i st gr a vity The p o te tial e n ergy st ored i n the w a ve will
therefo re be mgh This p ote n ti a l e n ergy te ds t o a mi i m u m
i
i n this c a se the ce n ter o f m a ss te ds t o f all a d si ce w a ter
h a s i n erti a the crest i n f a lli g goes on bey on d its positi o o f
equilibriu m a d thus we h a ve a con ti n ual os cillati on d ue t o
gravitati on
I a dditi on to this pote n ti a l e n ergy it m ust n ot be f o rgotte n
th a t w a ves h a ve c o sider a ble ki n etic e n ergy I n deed it m a y
be Sho w n th a t i n w a ve motio n pr a ctic a lly on e h a lf the e ergy
is ki etic an d o n e h a lf p o te n ti a l The disturb a n ce a t an y
p oi n t i n the w a ter o ver which a w a ve is p a ssi g is the very
si m il a r bu t ot ide tical with th a t i n on e arm of a U tube
p a rti ally lled with mercury an d the m ercury i n oscill a ti n
T a ke a U t u be of a di a meter n o t less th a o e ce n ti m eter
P o u r it h a lf full of cle a n m erc u ry
w a ter w ill a swer e a rly
e

s ea

G E NE R AL

1 86

YS I C S

In cline it a d close one end with the thum b as i n

B ri g the t u b e into a verti cal position a n d
d icat ed in Fig 1 1 9
suddenly rai e t h e th u m b A dozen or more o ci l l ations follow
They are s o fa ras verti cal motion
is con cerned su ch as w ould o ccur
at a
point
in
a n o c e a n of
er
y
or of w ater tr aversed by
cury
w aves
W h y do these os ci ll ations so
qui ckly stop ? W o uld this s ame
c ause be at work in a l arge l ake
or at sea to stop the w aves ?
F
1 19
W aves or os cill ations whi c h are
m ad e to dimi n ish gr adu ally i n amplitude are s ai d to be
ed
d a mp
Th e act u al motion of the w ater p arti cles in sea w aves
1 79
ee m s to h ave been rst accu r a tely guessed by Fr anz G erstner
who ass u m ed th at these p arti cles move in cir c ul ar or bi t s
1 2 0 where the line of centers 0 represents
as shown in Fig
the undist u r bed s u rf ace of w ater When a tr ain of w a ves
p as es over this s u rface the p arti cles P whi ch in equili b rium
ar
e situ ated at
0 a re n w s et into uniform cir cul ar motion
as

ell

PH

in

IG

D I R EC TI N
O

FI G

Th e

1 20

G ers tner

s C

xplan at ion of the for m of

OF

s ea

wa

E MOT IO N

ves

urve dr awn thro u gh their positions at an y p arti cul ar

inst ant is c alled the lo cu s of these p arti cles This lo cus is
To nd the w ave form at a y
t h e w ave form at an y inst ant
l a t r inst ant s ay when e ach p arti cle h as moved 9 0 ahe a d in
i t s or bit one h as only to m ark i n e ach cir cle a point 9 0 ahe ad
of the present position of P a d then dr aw t h e lo cu s of these
n ew points
In d pw ater the motion of the p arti cles under the surface
is identi cal wit h th at at the surface e x cept th at the cir cu l ar
orbits b e ome sm aller a d sm aller as one le aves t h e u rface
In sha ll w w ater the p arti cles move in ellip es w hi ch be come
atter a d atter as one appro aches the bottom Th e j
u t i
c

ee

W AV E S

1 87

tion for this view of G erstner s lies in the f act th at these

ellipti cal motions can be o bserved on sm all p arti cles s cattered
through the water a d also in the fact th at the actu al w ave
form is seen to be very ne arly wh at his theory called the
tro choid al theory
predi cts M any of the properties of
tro choid al w aves are be autifully illustr ated by an app ar atus
devised for this purpose by P rofessor C S Lym an an e x cel
lent m odi cation of whi ch i s m ade by D r Forbes of C olum bi a
U niversity

ca

t
a
v
L
e
n
e
W
f
g h
18 0 A series of w aves su ch as one can st art in w ater by
ro cking a b o at or by r aising an d lowering a o ating blo ck
is called a tr ai n of w aves In an y tr ain of w ater w aves the
dist an ce b etween t wo su ccessive c rests is called a w ave length
Th e dist an ce b etween two su ccessive troughs is also a w ave
length B ut t h e gener a l d en i ti on of a w ave le n gt h i s t h e s h ort
est d ist an ce b etween a ny t w o p
a rti cles w h ose m oti on i s i n t h e
h ase
s a me p

Wh at wo u ld correspond to t w o su ccessive crests in the

w aves produ ced by compression in the spir al spring ?

D en i ti on

eed

f Wa ter Wa ves

tr ain of w aves i s tr aveling ov r a pi n t ; how far

does this tr ain tr avel d u ring the period of one complete os cill a
tion of the w ater at this point ? E vidently one w ave length
Let us call this w av
e length l a d the period of one os cill ation T
If by a y me ans dire ct o bserv ation or comput ation we can
o bt ain l an d T we h ave at on ce the speed of the w ave ; for
denoting speed by V and frequen cy by n we h ave
181

This m ay be

Eq

76

lled the fund ament al equ ation of w ave motion ;

for sin ce it depends simply upon the dening equ atio for
speed it is ne cess arily true for a w ave motion of an y type
There enters into the equ ation no dyn ami cal qu antity n o r
indeed anything ch ar acteristi c of the medium ; it is merely a
kinem ati c denition of w a ve velo city in gener al
ca

1 88

E N E R AL P HYS I C S

R eg arding

the speed of w ater w aves as a fun ction of the body

of w ater upon whi ch they tr avel time permits us only to s ay
th at
( i ) In sh allo w w ater i e where the depth k is r ather sm all
c omp a red with the w ave length the speed V i s
,

Eq

77

where g a s usu al indi cates the acceler ation of gr avity Oh

serve th at i n this case V i s independent of the w ave length
( ii ) In d eep w ater i e where the depth is r ather l arge com
p ared with the w ave length l the speed is
,

Eq

78

This equ ation des cribes those gre at w aves whi ch overt ake the

swiftest A tl anti c liners ; a simple comput ation shows for i n

st an ce th at a deep sea w ave whi ch is 4 00 feet in length tr avels
with a speed of 2 6 knots an hour
,

R efra cti on
182

f Water Waves

The v ari ation of speed with depth

an d

en ce of speed an d w ave length indi cated in

e asily tested in the l abor atory by me ans of

i0

the

Eq
a

i n de

en

7 7, m ay be

w a ve

trough

10

30

FIG 12 1 Refr ct io of w ter w ve

Th e equ ation for sh allow w ater w aves also des cribes very per
fect l y the c urious f act e asily observed on the shore of ne arly
or at the sea co ast th at whenever w aves
an y l ake or pond
appro ach the shore the c rest of the w ave i s alw ays more or less
re
p ar allel to the shore line In Fig 1 2 1 let the he avy line rep
.

s.

W A V ES

1 89

sent the shore ne ar the entr an ce to a sm all bay A tr ain of

w aves A B 0 D et c appro aches the shore W hen t h e
w aves le a ve the deep w ater the crests h ave the dire ction indi
Th e ne arer they appro ach the shore the more
cat ed by G G
they are turned about S u ch a pro cess is cal led refr a cti on
Th e dotted
Th e end A h as tr avelled f aster th an the end A
li n es are called contour lines a d indi cate t h e depth of the w ater
1 0 h as a depth of
E very point on the contour line m arked
20
h as a
1 0 c entimeters ; every point on the line m ar ked
depth of 2 0 centimeters et c
E x pl ain why the c rests of the w a ves are rot ated as they
a ppro ach the shore
Sin c e they st art in p ar allel to e ach other
why do they not rem ain s o ?
.

a
t
a
v
r
e
es
W
W
f
If a bre akw ater or solid pier ( Fig 1 2 2 ) is built out
183
into a body of w ater one h as there an opportunity to see wh at
h appens when w ater w aves strike a rigid body

R eecti on

FIG

Re

ecti on of w ater w aves

In su ch cir cumst an ces it i s not di f cult to see th at the d i rec

tion of the re e cted w aves is very di fferent from th at of the
in cident w aves
Fro m our e x perien ce in the l abor atory we kno w th at when
a tr ain of w aves is st arted at one end of a w ave tro u gh they
no sooner re ach the other end th an they are ree cted back
These two tr ains of w aves the in cident a d ree cted m ay
c om bine with e ac h other to produ c e a series of w aves whi c h
.

190

EN E R A L

PH

YS I C S

ppe ar to h ave no motion of tr ansl ation the s o called st a ti on

at these t w o tr ains of w aves should
a
v
s
In
order
th
w
ar
e
y
produ ce st ation ary w aves i t is ne cess a ry th at al l the w aves
S hould b e of one length
A moment s pr acti c e with a wooden
p addle in a trough of w ater en ables one t o produ ce su ch w aves
A m ore det ailed study of st ation ary w aves will be m ade
under the he ad of Waves in Strings

S u mma ry
1

M e di u m

r op
a gati on
p

of

Wat er Wa ves

con cer
n in g

b ounding

surf ac e between

ai r

w at er
2
M oti on of p
a rti cles
sm all in p aths ne arly c ir c ul ar ;
through a p art of the p ath the motion of the p arti cle is in the
s ame dire ction as the motion of the w ave ; in p art of the p ath
it i s at right angles to the motion of the w ave
Sp
ee d i n deep w ater depends upon length of w ave b ut
3
i n S h allow w ater it depends upon the depth
4
Water w aves are ree cte d an d thus produ ce st a ti on a r y
w a ves
I I R ip
l
s
p

an

In our study of liquids we found th at work w as re

quired to e n l arge the s urface of a y given b ody of liquid W e
found th at equili brium w as re ached only when the liq u id s u r
f ace be came as sm all as possi ble
C onsider a y quiet body of liquid su ch as a cu p
of t ea Its
s u rf ace i s i n equilibrium when level be cau se then it h as a mini
m u m o f potenti al energy
A ny disturb an ce of this surface
s u ch as is prod u ced by drawi g a spoon through it will i n
c re ase the are a an d will therefore imp art to the surf ace some
energy
S uppose a surfac e distur bed as sho w n in Fig 1 2 3 an d then
left to itself N ot only will gravi ty tend to lower t h e liquid
c rests a d ll the
troughs b u t the
fa c t e i n of
su r
FIG 1 2 5 Sh w m g th t rf ce d t rbe d b y r pple i the liq u id will al o
l rger th n
level rf ce
d0 e Xa Ct] y th e
s ame thing Su rf ace te n s i on i s th eref ore comp
etent t o p
r od uce
w a ves i n a l i q u i d j u st a s gr a v i ty i s A nd when the le n gths of
184

ns o

a su

is u

su

WA VES

1 91

ves be come very sm all the surface tension is even more

e ff e ctive th an gr avity S o th at in the case of very sm all w aves
we m ay consider them as prop ag ated by s u rf ace tension alone
The e ripples are known to every one who h as w at ched the
They are
b o w of a row bo at as it moves through quiet w ater
b e a utif u lly S een in the case of a d u ck
swimming on a smooth pond A nd Wh at
is a very curio u s thing these ripples
alw ays m an age to k eep j u st a tri e ahe ad
of the du ck however f ast or slowly he W E E
swims
W e m ay see the s ame phenomenon in
the l abor atory W hen a pie ce of wire is
dr awn thro u gh a di h of w ater ( Fig
a t a moder ate r a te the ripples whi c h pre
cede i t h ave a cert ain le ngth ; bu t whe n
i dl y th r ough
t h e wire is d r a wn m ore r ap
the w ater t h e ri p
les be come ner i e rip
p
ples of a shorter w ave length are prod u ced
les p
re ced e the
B ut in e a ch ca se the ri p
p
m ovin g bod y
It f oll ows th erefore th a t
w ing th t
F
1 24
ri p
les
sh
rt
w
a
ve
len
t
tr
a
vel
f
a
ster
Sho
f
h
o
o
p
g
h ort rip
l
m lf m
p
th an th ose of l ong w a ve len gth This is th n long one
ord
Ju t the reverse of W h at h appens
n ary w ater w aves ; for there the longer the w aves the faster
they tr a vel
1 85
N egle c ting t h e e ffe ct of gr avity u pon the speed of these
S hort w aves an d c onsidering o nl y the s u rfac e tension T it m ay
be shown by ordin a ry dyn ami cs th at their speed is
t he w a

LO

SP

IG

ve

es

as

in

2 WT

Eq

lD

79

where D is the density of the liquid an d l the length of the w ave

If n o w one takes account of gr avity also remem b ering E q
7 8 an d th at from this cau se the squ are of speed will be i
,

re ased

by

the amount

QL

77

he

h as

the gener al e x pression for

'

deep w ater w aves n amely

.

Eq

80

1 92

E NE RAL

PH

YS I C S

I t follows the refore th at the slowest w aves are not the very
short ones nor the very long ones Th e slo w est of all w at er
waves h ave been found to h ave a length of about 1 6 milli
meters W aves longer th an this a re S poken of as w at erw a ves
w hile w aves S horter th an this are called ri p
les
p
I n order to dis cover whether or not ripples are ree cted as
w ater w a ves are one h as merely to produ c e ripples in a Sh allow
dish of w ater an d let the ripples pro ceed until they strike the
edge of the dish
,

S u mmary
1

M e d i u m of

rp
a ga ti
p

c on cer
n in g

p
p

Ri

l es

free surface of liquid

Sp
ee d in c re ases as the w ave length diminishes
i s ame m anner as w ater w aves
R e e cte d
M oti on of p
a rti cl es
s ame as th at of w ater waves
o

on

III
1 86

Ti d a l Waves

To one who goes to the se ashore for the rst time few
,

things are more stri ki n g th an the two gre at ch anges in the

height of the w ater whi ch o ccur every twenty -four hours Th e
w ater re cedes until at a cert ain hour it re aches wh at is called
l ow ti d e ; not m any min u tes are required to see th at the w ater
is ag ain rising Th e tide is coming in at the end of Si x hours
after low tide the m ax imum height called h i gh ti d e i s re ached ;
the ti d e immedi ately b egins to re cede ; an d s o on in endless
pro cession S o gig anti c is this phenomenon th at one would
never suspe ct its being a w ave motion until he h as formed a
mental pi cture of the whole distur ban ce as reported by ob
servers from al l p arts of the world
.

p
p

rox i ma te E x l an ati on

f Tid es

Those who h ave rightly understood N ewton s

pit al
dis covery of univers al gr avitation know th at the moon attr acts
e ach p art of the e arth with a for ce whi ch is gre ater as the dis
t an ce bet w een th at p art of the e arth an d the moon i s less
Th e l arger p art of t he e arth s surfac e is covered by its o ce ans
Im agine the whole of it to b e under w ater In Fig 1 2 5 con
sider three p arti cles A B a d 0 lying on a di ameter of the
e arth dr aw n i n the dire ction j oining the m oon an d the e arth
18 7

ca

WA VE S

1 93

is on the S ide of the e arth ne x t the moon B at the center

of the e arth 0 on the side of the e arth aw ay from the moon
A will b e more attr ac ted th an B th at i s it will b e attr acted
in t u rn
a w ay from B ; W hile B
will be more strongly attr acted
th an 0 th at i s B w ill be attr acted
Th e di fferen ce F I G 125 L n r t id e Arro w t A
a w a y from
i nd i c te d i rect on f t i d l w ve i
b etween the actu al attr action of
p i ng b t t h e rth
the moon at an y point on the
e arth s surface a d the aver age attr action i s called the tide
gener ating for ce at th at point
Th e result of this tide
prod u cing for ce is th at the w ater at A attempting to get as
ne ar the moon as possi ble is he aped up is dr a w n a w ay from
the solid body of the e arth
elling C fr om B
To d r a w B a w a y f r om O is equiv a lent t o re p
So th at in case the e a rth alw ay s presented the s ame S ide to the
moon we S ho uld h ave at the points A a d 0 high tides O n
the gre at cir cle whi ch lies 9 0 away from these we sho u ld h ave
l o w tide
Th e ab ove i s a brief S ket ch of W h at is known as the
1 88
equ ili brium theory of the tides a d is a fu nd ament al pi cture
whi ch e ach student sho u ld cle arly gr asp B u t as a m atter of
fact it comes very far from accurately representing the time
at whi c h high w ater would o cc ur on a rot ating e arth even if
we ass u me as i n the pre ceding se ction th at the o ce an covers it
For as the solid n u cleus B i s rot ating on
t o a uniform depth
its ax is carrying the towns an d cities of the e arth with it the
result is evidently th at every twenty four ho urs e ach se aco ast
town must p ass through these two antipod al tide crests th at i s
thro u gh two high tides a d two low tides
This gre at he ap of w ater whi ch i s dr agged over the e arth s
surface every d ay consists at a y e pin t f the arth s s u rf a
of a rise an d f all of sea level I t is periodi c as w aves are ; th at
ro p
a
i s the tides re c ur at equ al interv al
the distu rban ce i s p
g ated from one p art to another of the medium ( the o ce ans) ;
a n d these fe atures S how th at wh at we h ave here to de al with is
a w ave on a m agni c ent s c ale tr aveling at a stupendo u s speed
A t the equ ator the length of this w ave is
miles I t s
period i s 1 2 hours an d 2 5 min u tes h alf the app arent di u rn al
period of the moon
A

as s

ou

'

'

on

ce,

s,

1 94

E N E R AL PHYS IC S

in order to underst and the actu al beh a vior of thi s

gre at w ave it is ne cess ary at this point to m ake a brief d i gres
sion upon the su bje c t of
1 89

B ut

Forced Vi bra ti on s

For sin ce this tid al w ave is compelled by the moon to tr a vel

about the e arth at the s ame r ate as the moon itself the disturb
Th e w ater w aves whi ch
an c e is called a f or ce d vi br a ti on
h ave been considered in pr evious p ages are called free
Vi br a ti on s
In gener a l a fr ee v i bra ti on is on e i n w h i ch t h e p
e ri od i s d ete r
r op
er
tie s of t h e vi br a ti n g bod y its elf ; w h ile a
mi n e d by th e p
f or ce d v i bra ti on i s on e w h os e p
eri od i s d eter
mi n e d by s ome ou t si de b od y a cti n g u p
on i t an d
r
s up
ly i n g ener gy t o it Let us consider a i m
p
ple gr avit ation al pendulum whi ch h as a point
of support at A a bob at B an d a length l as
S hown in Fig 1 2 6
I f this pendulum be on ce
d
s et in motion an d then left to itself it will
V ibr ate with a period T where
F m 1 25
,

T=

2 7r

e ri od of the pendulum
This is known a s the free p
at the point of support A is moved
i
S
uppose
however
th
()
.

to

horizont al dire ction w i th a m ti n whi ch has a

T
h
i
u al t
T
e result is f amili a r to every o e
r
d
x a ct ly
q
p
the amplitude of the p endulum will in cre ase until as mu ch energy
i s given by the pend u lum to the ai r an d string as is given t o
the pend ulum by the agent whi ch moves the point A Thi s
phe n omenon is usu ally spoken of as s y mp
a th eti c res on a n ce o r
s y mp
a th eti c commun i cati on of vi br a ti on s
L
x t suppose
ii
us
ne
th
at the point of support A i s
e
t
)
(
urged by a periodi c for ce w h s p
er
i d i s l n g r t han t hat f the
en d u l u m
H ere it will be o bserved th at as soon as the
fre p
motion be comes ste ady the pend u lum h as assumed a new period
n amely the period of the for ce ; not only so bu t the ph ase of
the for ce a d the ph ase of the pendulum are the s ame
Th u s when the for c e acts tow ard the right as indi cated
in Fig 1 2 7 so also does the pendul um bob move to ward
an

fro in

o e

WA V E S

1 95

the r
ight Th e e ff e ct m ay be st ated by s aying th at the
pendul u m acts as if it were Vi brating freely but with a n
in c re ased length 0B
0
iii
If
however
we
m
r
i
d
t
h
ake the p
e f re
f
)
(
.

at

than

ter
shor

t he

free

er od

t he

p
en

o c

d u l u m,

sh all ag ain nd th at the actu al period of the

pendulum soon be comes identi cal with th at of the
for ce ; bu t unli ke the pre ceding case
the ph ase of the pendulum is ow just
opposite th at of the fo rc e as indi cated
in Fig 1 2 8 Th e e ffe ct is indeed th at
of a free pendulum with a Shortened
we

l en gt l i OB

FI G - 1 27

e ri od of
force gre ater
th an per iod
P

R eturning

now to the su bje ct of

f p d mm
B the tides it will b e seen th at we h ave a
E
1 28
tide
gener
ating for ce whose period is 1 2 hours 2 5
P er od of force
h orter
t h n m nutes act ng u pon a body of w ater whose depth
Per i o d of p
s ay 3 miles is very sm all c omp ared w ith the length
d l m
of the ti d al w ave Th e pro blem is then one of
w av es in sh allow w ater where the S peed of the w ave v aries
with the de th
R eferring to E q 7 7 it w ill be seen th at the
o ce ans w ould h ave to be 1 3 miles deep in order th at a f r e w ave
wo u ld s w eep around the e arth at the equ ator on ce in 2 4 hours
A nd S in ce the act u al o ce ans are not ne arly so
5 0 minutes
deep as this it is cle ar th at a fr w ave e ven in the P aci c
O c e an would h a ve a period mu ch longer th an th at of the
app arent motion of the moon
Th e tides then f all under the third case whi ch we met in the
pre ceding se ction the c ase where the period of the for ce is less
th an the period of the free Vibration This being so it follows
th at the tides wil l be in op
OS t e ph ase with the tide gener ating
p
for ce ; th at i s in O pposite ph ase with the tides predi cted on the
equili brium theory
This is kno w n as the dyn ami cal theory of the tides an d shows
th at under the cir cumst an ces des cri bed high w ater would actu
ally o cc ur W here l o w w ater w as e x pe cted on the equilibriu m
theory
Th e pres en ce of l arge continents of l and the v arying motion
of t h e moon the superposition of sol ar tides a d m any oth er
c ir cu mst an c es render the actu al f acts
tremendously comple x
190

en

'

IG

'

'

en

u u

'

ee

PHYS IC S

G E NER AL

1 96

when comp ared with the simple outline of lun ar tides here
given E very one interested S hould re d Si rG eorge D arwin s
popul ar le ctures on The Ti d s ( B oston
a

S u mmary
1

con cer
n in

Ti d es

They s atisfy the conditions of w ave motion

They are for ced vibr ations

Wave le n gth

equ ator
miles
P eriod of lun ar tides 1 2 hours 2 5 minutes
P eriod of sol ar tides 1 2 ho u rs 0 minutes
V elo city at equ ator 1 04 2 miles per hour

at

Waves i n S trin gs
A n e asy w ay to study these roughly is to fasten together
19 1
t w o lengths of ordin ary ru bb er tu b ing an d thus m ake one pie c e
B y the ai d of a he a vy m ass or of some
ab out 2 0 feet long
more convenient me ans cl amp one end of the tube to the edge
of a t able or even to the oor as S hown at B in Fig 1 2 9
IV

FIG 12 9 A i mple m ethod of t dy i ng w ve i tring

Taking the free end A in t h e h and one can produ ce in the
tub e an y tension he desires an d can send tr ains of w aves down
the tube in the dire ction given by the arrow
.

s u

n s

Waves
C onsider the motion of an y one point in the rub b er tube
A s a tr ain of w aves p asses through this point it os cill ates to
in a dire ction perpendi cul ar to th at of the arrow
an d fro
Th e m ot i o n of the p arti cles in the medium i s then ac ross the
dire ction in whi ch the w aves tr avel Su ch w aves are s aid to be
t r ansverse
In the case of the spir al spring altern ately compressed an d
elongated ( Fig
one
sm
ll
p
rt
of
the
spring
is
dis
an
a
a
y
pl aced i n the same d i rec
l
l
l
ll
i
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
ll
lll
l
l
n
llll
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
il
lll
l
l
l
l
ll
0
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
ll
l
m
)
)
l
tion as t h at in W hi ch the
i r l pring
F
L
ong
l 30
i t d i n l w ve
p
w ave is tr aveling Th e
d ispl acement of the p arti cles is lengthwise
Su ch w a ves are
accor d ingly called l on gi t u d in al w a ves
Tra n s verse

L on gi tu d i n a l

an d

'

IG

s In a s

W A VES

197

os al the on l
the S hort time at our d i Sp
t
e
of
w
a
ves
in
p
y y
strings w hi ch we ca consider are the tr ansverse ones
R eturning n o w to the ru bb er tube stret ched upon the oor
observe the following
1
Th at you can v ary the l n gth of the w aves you send along
the string by v arying the rap
i di ty with whi ch you move yo u r
h and to an d fro Let us denote by T the time o ccupied by
your h and in one complete Vi br ation D uring this interv al the
disturban ce tr avels j ust one w ave length l along the tu be
If we h ad an y me ans of me asuring Tan d l we could determine
the S peed of the w aves V ; for
'

I II

76

lso th at you can v ary the l e gth of the w aves by

v arying the for ce with whi ch you stret ch the ru bber tu be
while yo u r h and moves to a d fro at the s ame r ate as before
From this f act it follows th at the speed of the w ave depends
upon the tension in the string
3 N oti ce th at a single disturb an ce sent down the tube does
not in gener al c e ase whe the w ave strikes the x ed end
I f it does the w ave h as been d amped out by
( B Fig
fri ction on the oor ; stret ch the tu be a little more holding it
up s o as j ust to cle ar the oor Th e ree cted w ave can now be
e asily seen running back in a dire ction j u st opposite th at of the
in cident w ave S u ch a distur ban c e i s called a s li tary w ave
4
W ith a moment s pr acti ce one can o b t ain a re e cted trai n
of w aves whi ch interfere with the in cident tr ain in su ch a w ay
as to prod u c e st ation ary w aves e x actly S imil ar to the st ation
ar w ater w aves o b t ained in the w ater trough
y
2

O bserve

Eq

eed

f Tran svers e IVa ves

i n S trin gs

fect l y ex i bl e a n d uniform cord dr awn

Im agine a p
er
through a br ass tub e an d stret ched as shown in se ction in Fig
131
It is an astonishing f act th at there is a perfe ctly denite
S peed with whi ch an y
su ch cord m ay b e dr awn
thro u gh the t u be w ith
FIG
I
tr
t
i g h w centr i f g l force
13 1
ll
ou t
ex er
ti g a y
res
tretch ing force w h en tr n ver e
b l nce
S u e 11 p 0
t h e t 1 b e w ve tr v r e
tring
19 2

a a

us

e s s

a s

G E N E R AL PHYS IC S

1 98

This is true wh a tever the

urv ature of the tube m ay be

provided only th at the curv ature is continuous i e provided
there are no sh arp angles in the tube
A nd wh at is still
m ore c urious is the f act th at this p arti cul ar speed is e x actly
th at with whi ch a free w a ve will tr avel in this s ame c ord O u r
problem n o w is to determine from simple dyn ami cs this criti cal
velo city
i
First
one
must
c
ompute
the
pressure
for
c
e
per
unit
()
(
length ) whi ch the c ord woul d e x ert upon the tube if the em
tire system were at rest
Let A B an d 0 ( Fig 1 3 2 )
represent three c onse cutive
points o n the tube an d R
its r adius of c urv ature at
Suppose th at the arc
T B
A B 0 su btends the angle 0
FIG 1 3 2 Re ol ti on of force t y po int at the center of curv ature
B
th t b
0 ; then if the tension in
the string is T the n orm al component of this tension at B will be
c

s a

on

an

'

Tsi n

; an d

hen ce
2

Tsin

R6

This is the for ce with whi c h e ach unit length of string

is

pressed ag ainst the tub e when the cord an d the tu b e are at

rest
ce
ii
N
e
t
one
must
ompute
the
entrifug
a
l
for
with
x
c
c
( )
whi ch e ach unit length of the string is thrust away from the
tube when it is moved through the tube
Let u denote the m ass of unit length ( line ar density ) of the
string an d V the S peed with whi ch it is dr awn through the
tube Then when the string p asses the point B ( Fig 1 3 2 )
where the r adius of curv ature is R it is evident th at the out
.

w ard pressure

on

the cord will be

It follows therefore th at the total pressure will be zero

when these two opposite pressures are equ al th at is when
T MW=0
81
E
,

WA VE S

1 99

Th e v alue of the S peed gi ven by this e x press ion

Eq

82

is then the criti ca l speed with whi ch the string must be pulled
through the tube
B u t S in ce with this S peed there i s no pressure on the w alls
of the tu be one m ay entirely remove the tu be an d there re
m ains a solitary w ave tr aveling along the stri n g with a d e
whi ch is independent of the curv ature an d is a
n ite speed
function of only the tension an d the line ar density
.

I n ter
feren ce

f Waves

i n S trin gs

for a moment to the stret ched rubber tube

it is e asily shown th at a so lit ary wave sent down from the
ha nd to the x ed end is ree cted an d travels b ack to the h and
If a se cond w ave be sent from the h and so as to meet the re
ect ed w ave the two are s aid to interfere
an d the result ant
d isturb an ce at an y point on the tube where they p ass is the
sum of the disturban ces due to the outgo i ng an d in coming
w ave
Th e following e x p eriment d u e to W ylie illustr ates very
ai n s of w aves interfere
si m ply the m anner in whi ch t w o tr
To one of the prongs of an ele ctri cally driven tuning fork
att ach a light stri n g silk oss is e x c elle n t
an d m ake the
133
other end fa st to some rigid o bje ct
as shown in Fig
19 3

R eturning

FIG

13 3

A sing l e

tr ain of wa ves exci ted b y one prong of a fork

When the fork st arts to Vibr ate a tr ain of w aves will run
down the whole length of the st ring from 0 to B ; an d i f the
tension of the strin g is properly adjusted st ation ary w aves
will be p rodu ced throughou t the en tire l en gth of the string
A t some point A ( Fi g 1 3 4 ) n ow tie a second string of
length eq u al to 0A ; attac h the other end to pron g D an d
m ake t h e tension the s ame in e ach string E ach pro n g of the
fork will n ow send a w ave down the cord B u t t he p
rongs of
,

G E N E R AL

2 00

PHYS IC S

the fork at a ny inst ant are moving in e x actly opposite d irec

tions ; hen ce at A the tr ains of w aves in B A an d 0A a re in
e x actly O pposite ph ases An d S in ce they e ach tend to d is
,

FIG 13 4 Wyl ie experi ment how ing t w tr i of w ve i nterfer g t A

pl ace the point A by equ al amounts in opposite dire ctions the
result is th at the point A i s not displ aced a t all Th e w aves
DA an d 0A are s aid to i n terfe re comp
letel y at A N o disturb
a n c e therefore can now enter th at portion of the string lying
between A an d B
Interferen ce is often observed a lso in tr ains of water w aves
Thus when the sol ar a n d lun ar tides re ach an y point o n the
e arth s surface in the same ph ase they interfere an d thus pro
du ce the sp
ri n g ti de s W hen however they re ach an y point in
o
os i t e ph ases they interfere an d thus produ ce the n ea p
ti d es
p
p
It h as been suggested th at the so-called tid al w aves whi ch
o ccasion ally sweep the de cks of the A tl anti c liners are due to
the interferen ce of two tr ains of running w aves

a ns

in

Forma ti on

f S tati on ary Waves

S tri ng

to Fig 1 3 3 where the string is x ed a t on e

end B we h ave rst to dis cover how the w ave ree cted from
Th e condition under
B is rel ated to the w ave in cident at B
whi ch ree ction here o ccurs is th at the end is x ed ; hen ce
1 94

R eferring

in

t he

reected wa ve mu st be

ou n

men t

su ch

char
a ct er

tha t when

d ed wi t h t he i n ci d en t wave t he resu l t wi ll be

t he

str
i n g at

o
z er

co

di s l ace

Th e simplest method for obt a ining the form of the ree cted

w ave from this prin ciple is by use of the terms i n v rsi on an d

er
ver
si on
H old a mirror perpendi cul ar to the dire ction of
p
the stret ched string ; the
im age of a w ave ( in the
mirror ) is cal led its i n ver
FIG 135 Conditi on of reection from xed Si n B ut if the mirror is
end
held p ar allel to the cord
the im age of the w ave is called i t s p
s i on
erve r
Let the upper w ave in Fig 1 3 5 represent the in cident w ave ;
then the w ave ree cted from B will be e x actly the s ame as one
e

W A VE S

2 01

hi ch is both the inversion an d perversion of the in cident w ave

For if we im agine the cord to be innitely long inste ad of stop
ping at B an d if an inversion an d perversion appro aches B
from the re ar as far beh ind B as the incident w ave is in
front the n the t w o w aves will evidently interfere at B i n
su ch a w ay as to le ave the string unmoved in other words the
Th e re e cte d w a ve may
b ound ary c ondition will be s atised
th erefore be simp
l y d es cri be d a s th e p
versi on a d i n ve rsi on of
er
t h e i n ci d ent w a ve
then
B u t suppose n ow th at a t rai n of w aves is ree cted at B
oi ts i n i t s r
e ach p arti cul ar ree cted w ave will a t certain p
etu r
n
at h meet an in c ident w ave whi c h is in e x actly O pposite ph ase ;
p
call this point N ; furthermore if at an y p arti c ul ar inst ant Z
Vl
1
is a point of e x actly Opposite ph ases it will alw ays be su ch a
point for w aves of this length When the ree cted w ave h as
tr aveled h alf a length farther it will ag ain meet a n in cident
w ave in pre cisely opposite ph ase ; this will also be a point of
no motion ; call it
e t h e in te rferen ce
Al l su ch p
oints w h e r
is su ch a s t o p
r od u ce n o m oti on are cal le d n od es M idway be
tween these are other points where the two trains of w aves
in cident an d reect ed meet in e x actly the s ame ph ase these
ar
e called a ntin od es
W ith a little pr acti ce one can m ake the rubber tube vi br ate
in su ch a w ay as to S how either one t w o or three perh aps
more of these nodes Th e x ed point B is of course alw ays
a node
A ny portion of the vibrating string whi ch lies
b etween two c onse cu tive n odes is called a l oopor ve n tral
se gment
Th e chief ch ar N
is t i c of st a
act er
1 36
P rod cti on of node i
FIG
tri ng
t i o n ary w aves is
th at at a h p
in the medium the t wo interfering
oin t
tr ains d i ffer in ph ase by a const ant amount r anging from
0 to
A string in whi ch st ation ary vibr ations h ave
been set up m ay therefore be cl amped at an y t w o nodes
even t w o conse cutive nodes without ch anging the mode of
vi bration
O n e convenient fe ature of st ation ary vi br ations is th at the
nodes are e asily o bserved by the eye an d sin ce they are just
h alf a w ave ap art one can e asily me as u re the length of the
w

'

n a s

G E N E R AL PHYS IC S

2 02

w ave
t ions

Th en a ft er eli m in a ting V betw een

,

V=

t he

fo ll owing equ a

n l,

Eq

76

4 9 ) of the w a ve motion is ob ta i n a ble from

frequen cy
the d ire ctly me asur able qu anti ties l a an d T

th e

S u mmary
1

Tran sverse Waves

con ce n i n g

M edium is l ine ar
M otion of arti cles is a t

i n S tr
i ngs

right a ngles to di re ction in whi ch

w a ve tr avels
3
Speed of prop ag ation is independent of t h e length of t h e
string the m ateri al of the string an d the sh ape of the w ave
Speed depends only upon ( i ) the stret ching for c e T an d
ii
the
line
r
density
a
( )
p
4
W ave ree cted fro m x ed point is perversion a nd inver
sion of in cident w ave
5 In st ation ary w aves the dist a n ce between t wo s uccessi v e
nodes i s h alf a w ave length
.

R eson an ce

When one attempts to ring

l a rge chur ch bell h e soo n

le arns th at he must pull the rope at certa in interv al s if he
wishes to ring the bell with e as e An y he avy obje ct su ch as a
stone suspended from a cr ane can be set swinging if one s
pushes are properly timed A he avy rowb o at or sm all s ail
b o at moored in quiet w ater can without dif culty be set
ro ck i ng if one throws hi s weight rst on one S ide then on the

Th e order
a t corre ct interv als
rout step given
o ther
soldiers about to c ross a bridge is t o prevent d angerous vibr a
tions in the bridge
W h at i s more every one knows h ow to dis cover the corre ct
interv al in e ach of these cases B y w at ching the amplitude of
vibr ation he at on ce tim es his e fforts so th at this amplitude
will in cre ase These are all ins t an ces of the me ch ani cal prin
l e known as symp
a th eti c res on a n ce
ci p
19 6 Th e follo w ing e x periment should be carefully studied :
M ount t wo he avy pe n dulums of an y ki n d upon one c ommo n
w all br acket or fr ame a s sh own in Fig 1 3 7 H e a vy le ad disks
1 95

WAV E S

2 03

on f in ch iron rod suspended by knife edges at the to pdo very

well Th e upper end of the rod should be fur ished with a n
eye through whi ch a pie ce of a three -cornered le m ay be
thrust for a knife -edge
Th e lower end of the rod S hould be
thre aded for three in ches so th at the
bob of the pe n dulum m ay be held up
by a nut an d so th at the period of
either pendulum m ay be slightly v aried
P aint one pendulum red the
at will
other blue
1 A djust the pendulums so th at they
h ave very ne a rly t he s ame period S et
the blue one in vi b ration le aving the
FIG
I ll tr ting tr n
1 37
red one at rest In less th an one min fer of energy b re on nce
y
ute the red one will pi ck up suf cient
kineti c energy to set itself i n vib ra tion with an amplitude
not gre atly inferior to th at of the b l ue on e
Where did this energy come from ? H ow did it get from
the bl ue pendulum into the red pendulum ?
2 N o w reverse the order
Set the red pendulum in motion
allo w ing the blue one to be initi ally at rest
3
Take a wooden m allet an d t ap
one of these he avy pendu
lums in a most irregul ar w ay Th e result of a dozen su ch
blows is to disturb the pendulum very little
N o w give the s ame pendulum one h alf dozen gentle t aps
t
u
s
t
a
s
t
h
e
u
a
t
i
i
o
of
delivering e ach t ap
e
n
d
u
l
m
ss
s
i
s
j
p
p
p
e u i l i br
i
H
u m going aw ay from you
o w do you e x pl ain t h e
q
l arge amplitude whi ch these si x t aps produ ce in the pendulum ?
4
A dj ust the pendulums so th at one is from 8 to 1 0 per
cent longer th a n the other
S et the bl u e one in Vi b r ation
Wh at is the history of the red one for the ne x t ve min u tes ?
H ow do you e x pl ain the sm all amplitude an d the complete
stopp ages of t h e red one
197
A supremely be autiful e x ample of reson an ce I s ob
t ai n ed in the following simple m anner des cribed by P rofessor
Wilberfor ce of Liverpool ( P hi l M ag O ctober 1 8 94 )
A t the l ower end of a spir al S pring suspend a m ass wh ose
moment of inerti a is v ari able an d whi ch ca be so adj u sted
th at its period of rot ation al vibr ation about a verti cal ax is is
-

us

a s

os

PHYS IC S

G E N E R AL

2 04

very ne arly equ al to its period of transl ation al vibr ation along
its verti cal ax is
N ow it m ay be e asily shown th at a spir al of wire su ch a s
or even a p aper ri bbon cannot be elongated
a w at ch S pri n g
without at the s ame time being twisted
nor can it be shortened without being
at the s ame time u ntwisted
A ccordingly if su ch a spring as th at
S hown in Fig 1 3 8 be set to Vi br ating
up an d down the suspended cylinder
will at e ach vibr ation be given a slight
torque
If these torques are timed
as we h ave supposed s o as to c oin cide
e x actly with t h e free period of rot a
tion the cylinder will be gr adu ally set
into rot ation until n ally pr acti cally
al l the energy of tr ansl ation h as been
transformed into energy of rot ation
B u t it is equ ally true th at a spir al
FIG 1 38 Wi lb erforce
S pring annot be twisted without a t
p i r l pring
the s ame time introdu cing more o r
less Of a compression al stress along the ax is ; nor can it be
untwisted without produ cing a stress whi ch ten d s to elong ate
the S pring
A ccordingly when the kineti c energy of t h e spring h as be
c ome entirely rot ation al
an d the di ff eren c e of ph ase b etwee n
the two vibrations h as ch anged S ign ( for the periods are not
x a ctl
y equ al an d even if they were at some one a mplitude
they would not be S O at others ) e ach os cill ation of the cylinder
will produ ce a S light u p
an d d own motion an d the energy will
n o w be tr ansferred in the O pposite dire ction until it is ag ain
pr acti cally al l tr ansl ation al
Wh at we h a ve here then is reson an ce between two degrees
of freedom I n the s am e body e ach motion b eing simple h ar
moni c
Th e following dimensions for W ilberfor ce s spring h ave been
found convenien t
l i g in ches
H eight of br ass cylinder ( Fig 1 3 8 )
D i ameter of br ass cylinder ( Fig 1 3 8 )
1 %in ches
Le n gth of br ass s crew
6 %in ches
.

'

WAVE S

2 05

D i ameter

of brass s crew
W eight of br ass traveling nuts e ach
D i a meter of steel wire in spir al
D i ameter of S pir al
Length of spir al ( unstret ched )

in ch
oun ce
in
ch
%
1
1 1; in ches
1 8 in ches

l ers P ri n cip
Wave L n gth du e to M oti on D op
le
p
19 8 SO far in our study of w ave motion we h a ve considered
both the sour ce of the w aves an d the o bserver of the w aves to
b e rel atively at rest
B u t if either the point at w hi ch t h e
w aves origin ate or the point at whi ch they are observed is in
motion on e with respe ct to the other then the frequen cy of the
train of w aves will either be ch anged or appe ar to be ch anged
in a denite r atio
This ide a m ay be most e asily gr aspe d perh aps from the fol
lowing an alogy whi ch is qu antitatively corre ct for an y ordin ary
train of w aves
Im agine two boys se ated some dist an ce ap art upon the bank
of a creek Let the boy who is upstre am h ave a b as ket of
c or ks from whi ch he throws into the c reek n c orks e ach se cond
So long as both boys rem ain se ated the corks will o at by the
lower boy at the r ate of n per se cond i e with a frequen cy of
A nd if the creek ows with a unifor m speed V the dis
n
t an ce between the su cces s ive corks l will be given by the
equ ation
V

Chan ge of

Eq

76

let us n ow suppose th at the upper boy st arts down

stre am with his basket the corks will now p ass the lower boy
more frequently th an n per se cond while if the b as ket of corks
be carried upstre a m the individu al corks will o at by the
lo w er boy l ss frequently th an n per se cond
W hen both boys were at rest there were n corks distri buted
over the dist an ce tr aversed by the stre am in one s e cond ; i e
over a distan ce nu meri cally equ al to V When the upper boy
moves downstre am with the S peed v there are n corks d i st rib
u t ed over a shorter dist an ce n amely a dist an c e numeri cally
equ al to V v H en ce the w ave length ( dist an ce ap art of the
B ut

orks) is shortened in the r atio

P H YS I C S

G E NERA L

2 06

If the boy with the b asket h ad moved u pstre am inste ad of

down the w ave lengths would have been in cre ased of c ourse
,

in the r atio

V+

v
a

r atio whi ch is not q u ite but ne arly the

,

re cipro cal of the pre ceding whenever V is la rge comp ared

with v
Th e student wil l nd it an interesting e x er cise to prove th at
if the boy with the b as ket rem ains se ated while the other boy
moves upstre am with a speed i t the frequen cy of the train will
.

ppe ar to be in cre ased in the r atio

ent w ave length

V+

u
an

ltered in the i nverse r atio

is

hen ce the app ar

V+

When the boys b oth move up or down stre am with the s ame

speed the pro blem be comes more compli cated an d its dis cussion
m u st be postponed B ut when v i s very sm all comp ared with
,

V,

it will be O bserved th at

s ame

as

so

th a t in this

is very appro x im ately the

se the e ffe ct is pr acti cally the

ca

s am e whether the sour ce or the observer be i n motion

This gener al notion appe ars to h ave been rst distin ctly
enun ci ated by C hristi a D oppler in 1 8 4 3 an d is therefore
known as D oppler s P rin ciple
I t m ay be st ated as follows :
.

w a ves s uch a s a tunin g f ork i s a p

r oa ch i n g
p
e ced in g fr om a n ob server the len gth of t h e w a ves e mitted i s
orr
e ctivel y Wh en on the oth er h a n d an
d e cre a se d orin cre a se d res p
r oa ch i n g orre cedi n g from a s ource of w a ves t h e
observer is a p
p
f requ en cy of t h e w a v e s a p
ea r s t o be i n cre a s e d or d i min i s h ed
p
ectiv el y
res p
When a s our ce

of

O N TH E

TR A N S FE R

OF

M E C H A N I C AL E NE R G Y

AN D

W A VE S

C U R R EN T S

Th e e ffe cts of w aves on the se aco ast are so well known

to need no des cription Th e energy of w aves is here e x hib

199
as

on a gig anti c sc ale

i
some pl aces undermining cli ff s
i n others tr ansporting l arge qu antities of s an d or te aring aw ay
s ea w alls
Wa ve m oti on i s ind eed on e of n a t u r e s gene ral
meth od s fortr an sferrin g ene rgy

i t ed

W A VES
E very

2 07

hild wh o h as pl ayed with a garden hose knows th at

the j et of w ater can be used to dig a consider able hole in the
ground In the far W est these jets a re employed on a l arge
s cale for mining Th e pro cess is known as h y d r aul i c minin g
C urrents of ai r are employed for running windmills thus
t r ansferring the energy of the wind to the w ater whi ch is
pumped into a t an k in the atti c of a house O n e may tr ansfer
energy to a body by throwing a stone at it or by ring a shot
at it
A ll of these are simply spe ci al kinds of currents
Currents of ma tter m a y b e ca l l e d t h e se con d gene ral m eth od
l oys for tr a nsferrin g e n er gy
Th e moving
w h i ch n a tu re e mp
m atter in these currents may be ai r w ater stones S hot
c

et c

O u r study

of the subje cts whi ch follow Sound H e at E le c

i ci t y Light we S h all nd to be l argely a study of the tr ansfer
tr
of energy by one or the other of these two gener al methods
Cu rren t s a d Wa ves
,

r o b l em s

clothe sl i ne w h i ch w e i gh s 1 kg i s stretched bet ween t wo po s t s

T he ten si on on the l i n e i s 3 m i ll i on dyne s
w h i ch are t w enty m ap art
H o w lo n g w i ll i t t ake for a tr an sver se d i s t u rb ance st art ed at one en d to
tr avel the ent i re lengt h of the rope
2
A s tretched cord i s Set i nto s t at i on ary tr an sver se v i br at i on so th at i t s
freq u ency i s 1 2 0 T he node s are 4 0 c m ap art W i th w h at veloc i ty doe s a
w ave trave l i n th i s str i n g
3
S o m e long w ave s co m i ng fro m the deep w ater O f a l ake str ike u pon
th e edge of a sh o al w h i ch i s covered w i th a u n i for m depth of 8 i n H OW
f ast w i ll the w ave s tr avel thro u gh th i s s h allo w w ater ?
4
A tr ai n of w ater w ave s e ach of w h i ch i s 2 0 ft lon g p as se s a b u oy
w i th a s peed of 2 4 ft per second
I f at the i n st ant u nder con s i derat i on a
cre st i s p as si ng the b u oy w h at i s the cond i t i on of the w ater at a po i nt 8 5
ft b ack of the b u oy ?
5
C o mp u te the speed of a w ave 1 0 ft long w he n tr avel i ng Over the
su rf ace of deep w a ter
6
H ow long m u st a w ave i n the A tl ant i c O ce an be to h ave the s am e
s peed as the ste am er Lus i tan i a 2 4 knots ?
7 T he w ater i n a w ave tan k d i m i n i she s i n depth fro m 9 i n to 1 i n
H ow w i l l the s peed of l arge w ave s i n th i s t ank be affected
8
W i ll a tr ai n of very s hort ri pples tr avel m ore r ap i dly i n m erc u ry or
i n w ater ? T he su rf ace ten si on of w ater i n cont act w i th ai r is 7 5 ; th at of
m erc u ry i n ai ri s 5 1 3
1

'

G E N E R AL

2 08

PHYS IC S

e m i tti ng 1 2 00 v i br at i on s per s econd i s appro ached by an

Ass u m e the s peed of so u n d 1 1 00
O b s erver at a speed of 6 0 ft per s econd
ft per second F i nd wh at n um ber of vi br at i on s the ob s erver w i ll ap
earto
p
he ar i n on e second
9

A w h is tle

10

th an

In

f aster w i ll a tr an svers e w av e tr avel i n an al u mi n um wi re

i ron W i re of the s am e cro ss sect i on stretched by the s am e force ?

H o w m u ch
an

CH APTER VI
S OU N D

W e h ave not been in this world very long before we

le arn to attr act the attention of our friends by the u se of our
voi ce At a very little l ater period we h ave le arned to distin
guish between the voi ces of friends There is no longer an y
doubt as to whether it is mother or father th at is spe aking
tho u gh neither be in sight W e can soon produ ce sounds whi ch
Th e ability to
ar
e more or less lo u d according to our wish

y a tune m arks a period when we are able not only to

carr
distinguish one n ote from another as h aving a di fferent pit ch
but al s o to p
rod u ce notes of diff erent pit ch
N ot m any ye ars
l ater an d we h ave le arned to disting u ish the ute from the
pi ano the pi ano from the guit ar the guit ar from the hum an
voi ce an d SO on In childhood we dis cover the e cho ; rst
perh aps th at of a footfall appro aching a good sized building at
night In e arly youth we o b serve th at a dist ant lo comotive
sends up a column of w h ite ste am some little while before the
sound O f the whistle re aches our e ars ; an d we i n fer th at it
t akes time for so u nd to tr avel the i ntervening distan ce There
is n o longer an y di f culty in disting u ishing between a noise
an d a musi cal sound ; an d when sever al notes ar
e sounded to
gether we de cide at on ce whi ch com bin ation is h armonious an d
whi ch is unple as ant to the ear
Something li ke the foregoing is a p art at le ast of our c ommon

sto ck in tr ade of inform ation on the subje ct of sound ; but

the arran gemen t of these f acts in our minds is perh aps quite as
ch aoti c as the above present ation of them
Th e o bje ct of the
present ch apter is to ai d the student in re arr anging this l arge
but disordered he ap of v alu able inform ation into a well -ordered
whole This will involve the dis covery of m any n ew rel ations
among m any f amili ar f ac ts
2 00

2 09

G E N E R AL

2 10

PHYS IC S

In t aking up the study of an y group of phenomen a

whi ch are pe r ceived by one of our senses we are alw ays con
fronted by three pro blems
i
rst
these
is
the
origin
n d tr a nsmission of the
T
h
O
f
a
e
()
distur ban ce or stimulus whi ch i s dete cted by the sense in
q u estion ; a purely physi cal pro blem
ii
N
e
x t there is the stru c ture an d fun ction of the sense
( )
org an whi ch dete cts the disturban ce ; a purely physiologi cal
problem
cal problem involved
iii
hen
there
is
the
purely
psy
hologi
T
c
( )
in the tr ansl ation of physiologi cal stim u l ation into pe rcepti on
Th e rst of these pro blems whi ch is al so the simplest i s of
A n y g oo d te x t
c ourse the only one c onsidered i n th i s ch apter
book O n P hysiology su ch as H u x ley s will dis cuss the se cond
problem ; an d an y good te x t -book on P sy ch ology su ch a s
J am es S will do the s ame for the t hird
2 01

It is a little di f cult for the student who h as only j ust

c overed the ground of G ener al D yn ami cs to re alize th at he h as
i n a cert ain very true sense been over the whole ground of
P hysi cs
Th e study of A cousti cs l argely a study of w aves in ai r
is from the student s point of view a v alu able one forming as
it does a kind of conne cting link between those Visible motions
whi ch we h ave just b een studying an d those invisible motions
whi ch we are shortl y to consider under the he ads of Light H e at
a d E le ctri c ity
M ost of the motions involved in sound can be m ade evident
to the eye by proper e x periment al devi ces ; s o th at one re alizes
here perh aps more e asily th an elsewhere th at P hysi cs is l argely
A pplied D yn ami cs
2 02

A NALYSIS
2 03

Th e subj e ct will be considered in the following order :

( i)
( ii )
( iii)
iv
( )

(v)

Sound

w ave motion
St ation ary w aves in ai r
G r aphi cal represent ation of sound w aves
R ee ction of sound w aves
a

Speed

of

S O UN D

vi
( )

D istin ction

between

2 11

noise

musi cal sound

an d a

L md n ess

i
(
P i t ch
i
i
Q u al i ty
T
h
v
ii
el
tion
of
tone
to
e
ach other
e musi cal s cale
i
a
s
R
(
)
u ments
W
ind
instr
i
x ) A ppli cation of pre ceding
(
prin ciples to musi cal Stringed instruments
instruments
V ibr ating membr anes
V ii

) Three fe atures

whi ch musi cal tones

e d i st ngu shed from e ach other
ar
by

'

I SO U N D A W A VE M OTI O N
O f the multit u dinous sounds whi ch re ach our e ars
2 04
d u ring a y single d ay there are very few whi ch we are not
ab le to
lo cate at on ce A nd when we nd the so u r ce of
a
sound
we
nd
ourselves
i
n
the
presen
c e of some Vi br ating
y
body
When one string of a guit ar is emitting a note there is no
di f culty i n telling whi ch one ; we h ave only t o look at the
strings A pie c e of thin steel say p art of the bl ade of a h ack
s aw or pie ce of clo c k spring
cl amped in a Vi c e gives a note
only when set in vi bration Th e sound dis appe ars as the vi br a
tio s die down
Th e edges of a t u ning fork be come h azy
in appe ar an ce as it begins to emit a note
E ven when the sounds are not SO distin ct an d denite as
those mentioned we h ave no di f culty in ding the vi brat
ing b ody A carri age rolling over a stony street emits m any
so u nds ; bu t a carri age m aker will qui ckly dete ct the Vi br ating
p arts a d remove them or tighte them up or interpose ru bber
in su ch a w ay th at these vi br ating p arts no longer re ceive
blows
Th e carri age then runs mu c h more quietly
In addition to the Vi br ating body there is one other essenti al
fe atu re in the produ ction of every so u nd ; n amely an el asti c
medium practi cally al ways ai r between the vi brating body
a d the b ear
er
Th e sound of a w at ch a b ell or a clo ck pl aced under the
re ceiver of an ai r pump is mu ch diminished when the ai r is
even p arti ally removed It is very dif c ult to m ake the so u nd
ing b ody qu ite in au di ble in a v acuum for the re ason th at the
body must rest on some kind of s u pport ; a d this s u pport
b eing ne cess arily some w h at el asti c w ill tr ansmit some vi br atio n
.

PHYS IC S

G E N E R AL

2 12

to the re ceiver an d hen ce to the outside air B u t we are per

fec t l y j ustied in inferring th at if no el asti c m edium wh atever
l ay between the sour ce of vibr ation an d the listening ear no
sound would be he ard
For t h e h e a rin g of a s ou n d t h e n t w o th in gs ar
e a l w a ys r
e
quire d :
i
r
d
ur
i
t
s
ur
r
und i n g
i
A
vi
r
a
t
n
a
i
d
l
ist
in
o
b
o
d
b
s
b
p
g
g
y
y
()
me d i u m
ii
A
n
el
a
sti
a
tin
b
c me d i u m con ne cti n g t h e v i br
od y an d t h e
g
( )
l i stenin g car
.

11

ST A T I O N A R Y

W A VE S I N

AI R

of the S hortest c uts to a cle ar an d accur ate con

cep
t i on of sound w aves is through the following series of ex
r
i
m
n ts
Indeed
the
whole
philosophy
of
ai r w aves an d the
e
e
p
prop ag ation of sound is wr apped up in them B u t the rst
step in underst anding station ary w aves in ai r is to understand
the n ature of the Vi br ating body whi ch produ ces them H en ce
we rst consider t he
2 05

On e

Longi tu d in al

Vi brati on s

R od

A round br ass rod A B from 8 to 1 0 millimeters in di a meter

an d from 80 to 1 00 centimeters in length i s cl amped to a t able
in an ordin ary vise or by me ans of an iron cl amp as S hown in
the gure A sm all ivory b all or gl ass m ar ble or hollow sphere
is suspended by two
strings as indi cated SO
as j ust to to u c h the end
W hen
of the rod B
rubbed with a dry cloth
ow
upon whi ch a little p
dered rosin h as been
sprinkled the rod will
emit a very high musi
FIG 13 9 Showing longi t din l v ib r tion of cal note It is not the
br
md
e asiest m atter i n the
world to get this note at rst bu t every one su cceeds after
a few tri als ; a f airly rm gr asp an d a qui ck b u t ste ady pull
will generally accomplish the end
,

ass

'

S OU N D
When this note sounds it is

rebounds often sever al in ches

,

bl ow

from the d i recti on

AB

Th e rosin on the clot h

213

bserved th at

s howi n g

t ha t i t

the

ivory

ball

ha s recei ved

evidently t aken hold of the rod

a d elong ated it then let it go t aken hold of it ag ain s u ddenly
Th e vi b r ating b ody here is evi
let it go ag ain an d so o
Th m otion of the p arti cles in the rod
d en tl y the b r ass rod
is evidentl y in the dire ction A B This is shown by the fac t
th at they are origin ally displ aced in th at di re ction by the rosin
a d by the f ac t th at the momentum whi ch they c ommuni cate
to the ball is in the dire ction A B Su ch Vibr ations we h ave
1 9 1 ) called longitudin al
When the b r ass rod is elong ated by a pull an d suddenly let
go would you e x pe ct from an alogy with other b odies th at it
would go back to i t s position of equili brium a d stop there or
would you e x pe ct its inerti a to carry it beyond ? W o u ld you
c onsider it ne cess ary for the produ c tion of free vi b r a tions th at
the vi br ating body h ave i erti a as well as l s ti i ty ? When
the length of a rod is al tered as i n this case by stret ching
wh at four f acto rs determine the for ce whi ch restores it to its
origin al le gth ? Th e present is an e x cellent o ccasion for re
viewing the whole s u bje ct of el asti city
A re the ends of the vi br ating rods nodes or antinodes ? Th e
middle point must be a node b e cause it is held fast by the iron
cl amp
n

h as

e a

Chara cter of D i st u rban ce i n A i r

us now suppose th at the n at u re of the vi br atio s in

t h e rod is cle arly u nderstood
W h at sort of dist u rb an c e does
the rod prod u ce in the ai r? Th e displ acement of t h e p arti cles
in the rod w as s o sm all a d r apid as to be invisi ble we were
obliged to get o u r eviden ce by me ans O f the ivory ball
In ai r not only i s the dist u r ban ce sm all a d r apid bu t
the whole vi b r ating m ass is invisi ble ; S O th at even when
the distur ban ces are l arge a d S lo w w e do not ordin arily see
them
H o w ever TOp
l er of D resden h as S hown th at by a c ert ain
dispo i t ion of a p
p ar at u s w hi ch h e d es c ri bes as the s hl i er
Ill t hod it i s qu ite possi ble to see these w aves
while M ach of
h o t o grap
h i g the st ation ary w aves
V ienn a h as su cceeded i p
2 06

Let

en

G E N E R AL PHYS IC S

2 14

whi ch accomp any a M auser rie ball as

S hown in Fig 1 4 0 an d Wood O f B alti
more h as photographed sound w aves
under m any i nteresting cir cumst an ces
,

K un dt

R es on an ce

the S implest m an
ner of putting air w aves into obj e ctive
eviden ce i s pro bably the following w hi ch
w as devised in 1 8 65 by the l ate P rofessor
2 07

N evertheless

Tu be

pre s s ion s a

nd

rarefact i on s Ku n d t 0 f
y a r i e
To one

B erh n

end
of
the
br
ass rod des cribed
gi gftggg
in the pre ceding se ction att ach a disk of
c ork B whi ch ts loosely into a gl ass tu b e a bout 3 0 millimeters
in di ameter an d a meter in length
B y the ai d of
a c ork an d a le A
you can in a m o
ment make enough
FIG 14 1 K d t dev ice for t dy i g w ve i i r
c o r k
d u s t to
lightly c over the bottom of the tu be
A t the end D of the gl ass tu b e t another e asily moving
piston so th at t h e dist an ce b etween the t w o pistons D an d B
ca n b e v aried
A l arge gl ass tu be is more e asily e x cited into
longitudin al vibr ations th an the solid br ass rod
S u ch an arr angement is called a Kun dt s res on a n ce t u be
S et the b r ass rod into longitudin al vibr ation as before If
the cork piston at B is free a d does not rub on the w alls of the
gl ass tu b e the el asti c ai r will be distur bed very mu ch as the
ivory ball w as A s the rod elong ates the ai rb etween the two
pistons must he suddenly compresse d for it h as not time to
es cape around the edge of the dis k the compression is t o o
qui ck for th at ; when the rod c ontr acts the in closed ai r is
suddenly r areed
This rod thus st arts a tr ain of w aves down the tube e x actly
an alogous to those whi ch we produ c ed in the lo n g spir al
S pring
When this tr ain of w aves strikes the x ed
a

un

s u

n a

Avoid the lycopod i u m po w der w h i ch i s som etim es reco mm ended for th is

pu rpo se T he sl ighte s t b it of bre ath or m o i t ai r i ntrod u ced i nto the t ube wil l
make the d ust adhere rm ly to the walls of t h tu be
.

S O UN D

21 5

pist o ( Fig
we h a ve a ll t h e co n ditio n s ecess a ry t or
re ecti o
A n d if re ecti on o cc u rs w e sh a ll h a ve a tr a i n of
w a ves starti n g b a ck i n the directio n from D an d B We
sh ould the n expect this tr a i n of reected waves to i n terfere
wi t h the i n cide t tr a i n an d
pr od u ce st a ti on a ry w a ves with
t heir ch a r a cteristic n o des an d
l o ps The D Od eS 0 d be F IG 142 Sh w i g ac t i f p
ist
i
K
t b
dt
th ose p o i ts i n the tube at
which the c rk dust is n ot disturbed ; the l oops w o uld be
cle a rly m a rked thr o ugh o ut their le n gth by the m otio n of the
d u st
n

on

un

on

The evide n ce for thi n ki n g th a t the phe o m e n a which

w e h a ve j u st predicted are the phe n om e a which a ctu a lly o ccur
is the the f oll o wi n g
1
A i r is a uid
It h as therefo re o el a sticity of shape
It c a o t the refo re tra s m it tr a sverse vibr a ti on s
2
There a re ce rt a i n equidist a t p oi ts i n the tube where
the c o rk dust is n o t a t all disturbed ( If these a re n ot
sh a rply m a rked n rst r u bbi g t h e brass rod the c o rk at D
should be shifted a little ) These corresp o d t o the n odes
p redicted
8
Betwee n these p oi ts o f rest there a re cert a i n regi on s of
ver y gre a t d isturb a ce These c rrespo d t o the pre d icted
2 08

nn

l oo

p
s

By slightly a djusti g the xed pist o the n o des an d

a ti des bec o m e m uch m re sh a rply m a rked
A d this
res u lt is ex a ctly wh a t o e m ight expect if t h e a ir w a ves h a d
a de ite w a ve le gth deter m i n ed by the vibr a ti g r d a d n t
by the gl a ss tube
5 To these re a s o s for thi ki g sou d w a ves l on git u di a l
m u s t be a dded the very c o ge t evide ce f u r ished by t h e m a n o
t ric a m e which will be c o sidered l a ter
219
4

no

nle

n
,

r om testim on y of this ki n d on e is l ed t o th i n k that s ou n d con

sis ts of a wave m ot i on i n t h e ai r an d that t h e m oti on of t h e p
ar
ti cl es of ai r is t o an d f r
o i n the same d irecti on as t h at in whi ch
t h e s ou n d is t raveli n g that t h is l on gi t u d i n al wave m oti on can
be re e ct e d an d that t w o tr
ai n s of s oun d waves may i n terfere t o
r od u ce stati on ary s oun d w aves
p
F

G ENER AL

2 16

HY SI C S

What really tr a vels thr o ugh the air the n is a series of com
pressio n s al tern ati g with a series of rarefactio n s This is
fairly represe n ted i n Fig 1 4 3
J ust h ow f a r apart these successive rarefactio n s an d compres
s io n s are depe n ds e n tirely upo n h o w fast the pisto n works
E very time the pis
t on moves forw a rd a
F IG 143 Sh wi g t h c m p
r ss i
s compressio n occurs ;
d rar fac t i
i K
dt
this compression
starts out on i t s jour n ey traveli n g at a de n ite r a te Whe n
the pisto n goes back a r a refactio n starts ou t These disturb
an ces tr a vel i n the s a m e directio n an d with the same speed
The dist a n ce through which a compressi on ( o r a r a refacti on )
tr a vels while the pist on makes o n e co m plete oscill a tio n to
a n d fro is c a lled a wave le n gth
A n d this correspo n ds ex a ctly
with the de n iti o n of wav e le n gth give above
vi
the d ista n ce betwee n an y p
arti cle an d i t s n earest n eigh bor
that m ov es i n t h e sa me p
hase
,

on an

on

un

III

G R A P H I C A L R E P R E S EN TA TI O N

or

SO U N D

W A VE S

It is n ot possible t o go m uch f a rther with the discus

sio n o f a ir waves without a ex a ct gr a phic a l or a n a lytical mode
of describi n g them The f o r m er of these t wo m ethods is the
o n ly on e here av a il a ble
A s to the proper mode of represe n ti g water waves there
We have o ly t o dr a w a vertic a l secti on
c an be n o questio n
thr o ugh the b ody of w a ter at right a n gles to the crest of the
w a ve S u ch a sectio n is
sh w n i n Fig 1 1 8 Th e
d ista ce o f an y p a rticle
FIG
1 18
a bove or belo w the level
surf a ce 0X me a sures the displaceme n t o f the particle
N o rcan t here be an y hesit a ti on a s to the pr oper w a y o f rep
rese n ti g tr a n sverse w a ves i n stri n gs I m a gi n e the vibr a ti g
stri n g a t an y i n sta n t t o lose its exibility ; let i t i n sta t a n e
o m e a rigid body an d we h a ve a t o n ce a picture of
bec
o u sl
y
the w a ve S uch a di a gr a m is s h o w n i Fig 1 2 9
The vertic al dist a n ce of a y particle fr o m t h e positio n of
eq u ilibrium 0X i n Fig 1 1 8 gives the displ a ce m e t o f th a t
p a rticle This is the dist a ce which is c a lled the ordi n a te of
2 09

SO U

ND

217

the curve From such a curve w e can i n st a n tly p o i n t out th ose

p a r t icles which a re i the s a m e phase or i n Opposite ph a se
Be a ble t o go t o the bl a ckbo a rd a d poi t out on such a c u rve
a series of p oi n ts which di ff er i n ph a se by
a d a n other
series which di ffer i n ph a se by 9 0
But s u ppose that we a re de ali n g with a compressio n ru i g
a l o g a spir a l spri n g H ere the displ a ceme n ts of the p a rticles
a ll lie i n the directio n o f the stretched spri g i e a lo n g
the li e 0X which represe n ts the p ositi on of equilibrium
A d the
H o w the n sh a ll we draw these displ a ceme n ts ?
s a m e questi on arises whe n we atte m pt t o picture a sou n d
w a ve
The whole questio n is this H ow sh all we represe n t the
state of disturb a n ce a t an y an d every p oi n t i n the a ir whe n a
tr a i n O f w a ves is p a ssi g through it ?
The m ethod is a s f oll o ws We agree to represe n t all w a ves
i n o e w a y n a m ely a fter the m a n er of the tr a n sverse w a ve
i n Fi gs 1 2 9 o r 1 3 6
To every p a rticle o f a ir i n the li n e
a l on g whi ch the w a ve tr a vels c o rrespo n ds a p i n t on the c u rve
But whe n the wave is l on gitu d i n al the ordi a te of an y p o i n t
.

nn

AC TU AL
MEN?

D IBPt ACE'

R O DUC ED
Lou el w o
w

GR

BY

EPRE NTAT N

H IC R

SE

O P LO NC ITU Dl NAL

IO

WAV

FI G 1 44
.

the curve represe n ts the displ a ceme n t of the c orresp on di g

p a rticle a l g the li e 0X Dis p
la cemen t s the n are re p
resen ted
la ceme n t This
by li n es d raw n at ri ght a n gles t o the act ual d is p
c ve ti o le a ds n a turally to the f oll o wi g rules for a y p oi t
i n t h e m ediu m
on

on

on

'

'

P08 1tw e

()
I

ordi n ates i n di c a te d i spl a ce m e n t of

N eg a tive
to

right
left

p a rt i cles

( ) Where the t a n ge n t to the w a ve

r a r efa ctio n
i S c m press on
11

ai r

o s i t i ve

is

eg a t ve
i

there

G ENERA L

2 18

HY SI C S

Thus Fig 1 4 5 represe ts a w a ve i n which the d isplace m e ts

a re al l to the right a d i n which the pr ogressi on of the wave
i s a ls o t
the right
the
on
A n y p oi t
fr o n t of the w a ve
X i dicates a co m pres
n
A s l i t a ry wav i
r ssi l d i g
F
145
i r c mp
oi n t ro n
si o
Any p
the rear S ide o f the w a ve i dic a te s a raref a cti o n A poi n t
exactly at the t opof the w a ve represe n ts th a t poi n t i n the
medium where there is either c o mpressi o n o r r a ref a ctio n but
ordi ary a t m o spheric press u re S u ch a w a ve m ight h a ve bee n
pr oduced by givi n g the pisto of a Ku n d t s t ube a Si n gle Short
quick displ a ce m e n t
to the right
Figure 1 4 6 rep
re
i tary wa v i
i r r r fac t i
di g
FIG
s
l
l
a
46
1
A
g e n ts a w a ve i
ai r
which m ight h a ve bee n p roduced by displ a ci g t he pis t on
sudde ly t o the left H ere t h e r a ref a cti on leads an d th e dis
pl a ce m e n t of th e p a rticles is i n a directi o n j ust O pp osite that o f
the w a ve m o tio n
A soli ta ry w a ve o f t h e type o f either
F ig 1 4 5 or Fig 1 4 6 is ge erally called a p
ulse ; s o also is the
blow which pr o duces it
n

IG

e n a

on

ea

n a

a e

on

W A VE S
2 1 0 The echo fro m a hillside or from a l a rge buildi n g is
f a m iliar t o every o n e But reecti on of s o u d is more con v en
i en t l y S hown by placi n g a w a tch i n the f o cus o f a p a r a b olic
mirro r as i n dic a ted i n Fig 1 4 7
The m irror thus reect s a beam of
sou n d so to Speak which m a y be
directed to an y porti on of the
room
This als o illustra t es the
f a ct th a t the directio n of the re
ect ed beam is dete r m i n ed by the
i
same
rule
a
s
the
case
o f a bil
FIG 147
liard b all reected fro m the cushi o
of the table or as in the c a se O f w a ter w a ves ( Fig 12 2 ) strik
i n g a pier ; n a m ely the d irecti on of the i n ci d e n t s oun d an d t h e
d irectio n of re ecte d sou n d ma ke eq u al a n gles w i th t h e n ormal
t o the re e cti n g surf ace
IV

R EF L E C TI O N

OF

SO U N D

S O UN D
2 11

But

219

m an y cases

in

The

P ha s e

the

R eect ed

Wave

is also a m a tter of gre a t im port a ce especi ally i n Ku n d t s

tube H e re reecti o ccurs a t the f a ce f a s olid pist ;
d i ti n o
he ce t h
f ree ti n i s tha t th r s ha ll be n m ti of
ar
ti cl s which lie i mm edi a tely a g a i st the w a ll
the ai r p
The
gr a phic a l m eth o d studied a b ove tells us a t o n ce th a t the
reec t ed wave must be both th e perversio n an d i n versio n of the
i n cide t wave a s sh o w i n
Fig 1 3 5 For this is the
o ly w a ve for m which w ill
c om p o u n d with the i n ci
FIG
1 35
de n t w ave a d travel i n
the opp osite directi on yet a lw a ys give a zero displ a ce m e t a t B
O bserve h o w ever th a t t h e sl ope of the result a t a t B is f a r
fr om zero The value O f the t a n ge n t is so m eti m es p ositive
so m eti m es eg a tive s o m eti m es zer o sh o wi n g th a t while t h e
m oti n a t B is zer o the p
r ssu re there is co n ti ually v a ryi n g
C u ri usly e n ugh t h e w a ves i n the Ku n d t s tube a re reected
a ls o whe n the xed pist o n is re m o ved a d the e d f the tube is
left ope n H ere the bou n d a ry c o diti on is cha ged for ow the
a ir a t the e d of the tube is perfectly free t m ove t o an d fro
but t h e pressure is i n variable n a mely th a t of the at m o sphere
The gr aphic a l meth od tells u s n o w that the reected w a ve m u st
be such as to keep the ta n ge n t of the result a n t wave always

on

e con

on

e e

on

C on d i t i on

INQ IDENT

FI G 1 48

of

reect i on fr om Op
en

R L TD
EF EC E

en d

zero From which it foll ows that the reected wave is the
i n versio n of the i n cide n t as Show n i n the a ccompa n yi n g gure
O n e of the m ost highly i n structive c a ses of reecti o n
2 12
is th a t which o ccurs whe n a si gle Sh a rp disturb a ce f the air
i s pr duced i fr
t of a l o g ight O f steps o r e a r a fe ce
c o n structed o f vertic al b a rs Fr om e a ch step o rb a r is reected
a little w a velet ; bu t S i ce the dist a ces o f t h e steps fr o m the
ear i n cre a se i n a rithmetic a l progressio it foll o ws th a t these
.

on

n,

G ENER A L

220

HY SI C S

w a velets will reach the e a r a s a successi on o f pulses a trai n

o f w a ves i n f a ct
The result i s the n th a t a S i n gle i n cide t dis
t u rban c e is reected a s a de n ite music a l to n e whose freque n cy
is deter m i n ed by the dist a n ce apart O f the b a rs
A b ou t the c a m pus O f N o rthwester n U n iversity there is an
ir on fe n ce built of squ a re b a rs pl a ced 6 %i ches a p a rt O n
an
y eve n i n g whe n the a ir is ac o ustically clear every f o otfall o n
the c on crete w a lk which ru n s a lo n gside the fe ce is reected a s
a m u sic a l n o te whose pitch is ab o ut two octaves a bove middle
C o n the pia n o
This phe n o m e o which seems to h a ve bee n rst recorded
by Th o m as Y ou n g i n 1 8 1 3 has a very imp o rt a n t be a ri g up on
the expl a n a tio n of what we call white light a di fcult
i n quiry which must be reserved for much l a ter study
n

S PEE D

OF

SO U N D

The i terv al which el a pses betwee n the f a ll O f a dis

t a t tree or sto n e a d the n oise w h ich reaches t h e e a r m u st
h a ve bee n O bserved i n primitive ti m es B u t the rst accur a te
meas u re of the Speed O f s o u n d w a s m a de by a co mm issio n
a pp o i n ted by the Fre n ch A cade m y O f S cie n ce i n 1 7 3 8 S o m e
ve or Si x stati on s n e a r P a ris were selected ; a c a n o n w a s
placed a t e a ch st a ti o
O bservers a t e a ch O f the o ther st a ti on s
rec o rded the i n terv a l betwee n S eei g the re an d heari g the
rep o rt o f o e of the g u s B y c o mbi n i n g observ a ti on s m a de
dia m etric a lly Opposite directio n s fr om the gu they el i m i
i
a t ed t h e e ffect of the wi n d
The resul t s obt a i ed were whe n
reduced t o a te m per a ture of 0
m eters per sec n d
These experi m e ts were suggested l a rgely by the f a ct th a t
i a B o ok 11 P r op o siti o n 5 0 S choliu m) h a d
N e w t on ( P ri ip
s om e ye a rs previ usly c om puted the speed O f sou n d from purely
dy n a m ic a l pri n ciples
By methods wh o se det a ils would here occupy t oo much ti m e
h e co n cl u ded that the Speed with which a c o m pressi on o rr a re
f a cti on travels through the air i s give n by the expressio n
2 13

n,

nc

V=

where

V
E
B

Eq

peed of the disturb a n ce

v olu m i n a l el a sticity of the air
de sity o f t h e ai r

85

S OU N D
N ewto n

22 1

s ti me the pressure of the a ir ( a ppr oxi m a tely

m illi on dy es per squ a re ce ti m eter ) w a s th o ught t represe n t
For the de sity o f a ir N ewt o e m ployed the
i t s el a sticity
a pproxi m a tely c o rrect v a lue
gr a m s per cubic ce n ti m eter
er
These d a ta g a ve him a val u e O f V which w a s n e a rly 2 0 p
ce t s m aller th a t h e observed v a lues I n the m e a ti m e 1 8 1 6
La pl a ce h a d expl a i n ed this discrep a n cy by p oi n ti n g out th a t
t h e r a ref a ctio n s a d c o de n s a ti on s which occur i n so u d w a ves
a re S O r a pid that there is n o t s u fcie t ti m e fo r eq u a liz a ti o o f
te m per a ture betwee them an d th a t the value of E t o be
e m pl oyed i E q 8 5 is th a t which represe n ts the elasticity o f
air whe n o he a t is a d mitted to it orle a ves it This el a sticity
w a s me a s u red a d w a s f ou d to be
times gre a ter than
whe n the temperature o f the air is mai t a i n ed c on st a t
I t r o duci g this correcti on f a ctor which is ge n er a lly i n dic a ted
by y a d de n oti n g pressure by pLa pl a ce s expressi on for the
speed of sou n d bec om es
In

'

Eq

86

this p oi n t La pl a ce requested the Fre n ch gover n m e n t t o

m a ke s o m e n ew me a sures o f this q u a tity which they did i n
1 8 2 5 by a m ore re n ed a pplic a ti on o f the s a m e m eth o d a s
e m pl oyed by the Fre n ch A c a de m y Their result
m eters per sec o d a t 0 C ) c om p a red very f a v o r a bly with th a t
predicted by La pl a ce M o re a ccur a te deter m i a ti on s h a ve
bee m a de Si ce o f which a f a ir a ver a ge v a lue w o uld pr ob a bly
be 3 3 2 m eters per seco d a t 0 C
La pl a ce s expressi o n c a rries with it two i teresti n g co se
L
E
4
i
From
B
le
s
a
u n ces
o
7
w
) we k ow th a t
()
y
( q
q

At

d oes

n ot

ri ses

an

v a ry a t

for the

fa l l s

on e

an

on e

y
d oes

te m per a ture

n ot ex

ect

t he

H en ce

eed

as

t he barometer

d t o cha n ge ;

sou n

de sity is altered i n the s a m e rati o a s the pressure

u t whe n
m
ns
o st a n t
d
ii
the
bar
re
a
i
c
B
o m eter
a
h
t
e
( )
te m per a ture ch a ges we S h o uld expect the d e sity O f the
he a ted a ir t o be less th a th at o f the c o oler a d co seque t ly
n

t he

i deed

eed o

sou n

d t o be grea ter i n wa rm

a i r t han

in

cool

A n d,

f a ct h a s bee well est a blished th a t for a t m o s

h
r
i
o ut 6 0 ce ti
te
m
per
a
tures
the
i
cre
a
se
vel
o
city
is
a
b
e
o
f
c
p
m eters per sec o d per degree ce n tigr a de
n

th e

GENE RAL P HY SI C S

222

eed

S o un d i n S o l i d s

Whe n the speed of so u n d i n air is k n ow n Ku n d t s tube

s us a beautiful meth o d of n di n g the speed i n the rubbed
O er
br a ss rod Whe n the br a ss rod is set i n to l o gitudi n a l vibr a
ti o s we k n ow th a t wh a tever the le n gth O f the w a ve which
tr a vels through the brass rod the t w o e n ds of the rod a re
a n ti n odes ; fo r they are free a d whe n c om p a red with o ther
parts of the rod they a re pl a ces o f gre a t motio n The middle
p oi t like w ise must be a n ode bec a use it is cl a mped a d is
N ot o n ly so but it is the
he ce a pl a ce of n o m oti o
ly
The e n ds o f the rod a re the n successive
n o de i n the rod
a n ti n o des ; a cc o rdi n gly the dist a n ce betwee n them is o n e h a lf
the w a ve le n gth o f the disturb a n ce i n the br a ss
L et us de n ote by N the freque cy of the br a ss rod an d bv L
its le n gth ; the n employ i n g the fu n dame n tal equatio n of wave
m o tio n 1 8 1
2 NL
S peed i n brass
W h a tever the freq u e n cy of the vibr a ti o s i n the colu m n o f
a s t he fr u e
t
od
e br
a ss r
a i r we k o w i t i s t he s am
h
f
y
q
L et u s cal l the di sta ce betwee n s u ccessive dust heaps d the n
2 Nd
S peed i n air
2 14

on

nc

H e n ce

S peed

in

a ir

2 Nd

3
2
nd
brass
meters
per
seco
L
d
3
)
( /
A cc o rdi gly we h a ve t o m easure on ly the dist a n ce betwee n
t h e dust he a ps an d the dis t a n ce betwee n the e n ds of the br a ss
rod
E vide n tly the same method m ay be employed with steel
gl a ss wood an d other subs t a n ces

S peed

in

pd

ee

f S ou n d

in

useful of all i s Ku n d t s tube i n determi n i n g the

speed of w a ves i n vari us g a ses For this purp ose a gl a ss ro d
G
Fig
held rigidly at its m iddle p o i t by bei g corked
(
a n d w a xed i n to the outer t u be is better th a n the br a ss r
od
The mov a ble pist o rod a t the o ther en d must be re a s o a bly
gastight
I n t o e a ch en d is Se a led a tube through which
v a rious g a ses can be i n tr o duced a d rem o ved M e a sure the
2 15

M ost

Gases

S O UN D

223

d ista n ce

betwee n the dust he a ps whe n the tube is lled with

D e n o te this dist a n ce by l
N o w ll the tube with ordi
a ir
ary co a l g a s The dust
h e a ps a re m uch f a rther
C a ll
a p a rt th a n before
L et N FIG 149 A f rm f K d t b f r wi h
t h a t d i s m ce
v ari g s s
be the freq u e cy of the
n
l
a
ss
rod
The
si
n ce the fu n dame n t a l equatio n
O f w a ve
g
m otio n always holds we h a ve
S peed i n co a l gas 2 N L
S peed i n air 2 N Z
a n d he n ce elimi n a ti n g N the n u m eric a l value of which we d o
n O t know
S peed i n c o a l gas L
Eq
S peed i n a r
l
w liere both qu a n tities i n the right-h a n d member are e a sily
The process fo r other g a ses is esse n ti a lly the
m e a surable
s a in e
Whe n o n ce the speed of s o u n d has bee n measu red for an y
particul a r g a s La pl a ce s e qu a ti o ( 8 6 ) fur n ishes a co n ve n ie t
me a n s of deter m i n i g the v a l u e o f 7 a c on sta n t O f gre a t i m
port a ce i n the the o ry O f he a t
.

o us

un

s tu

a e

u se

a ce
Waves in Three dimen si on al Sp
H itherto we have bee n co n sideri n g waves i n air as they
2 16
tr a vel thr o ugh tubes say thr o ugh a spe aki n g tube ; but i n
ordi n ary c on versatio n we sta n d i n an open space surrou n ded

S ou n d

FIG 150 S d w v s i ir
by air on a ll S ides ; the v oice i s he a rd by those at our back
als o by th ose i n fro n t an d by th ose a t ou r side The waves
produced by ou r voice evide n tly travel a way fr om us i n all
.

ou n

a e

n a

G ENER A L

i
0
N H
)

S PE E D
S

U TA N
BS

TE

CE

MP

SO U N D

OF

HY SI C S

P EE

D,

PER S

M ETE R
EC N D
O

P EE EE T
PE R EC N D

D,

Kay ser

1 09 1

Alc o h o l
Al u m
Br

ass

i i
n

um

12 6 4

4 148

5 1 04

1 6 74 0

3 5 60
o

m
6000

We

1 64 10

Va ri ou s

ei

Zo c h

42 2 1

I ll u mi n at i n g gas
I ro n an d s of t steel

g
rt h m
n

1 1 670
1 9 690

H yd r ogen

1 6 09
5 000

V a r i ou s
D lo g

1 64 1 0
1 04 1

1 43 7

4 7 14

3 850

12 6 2 0

3 320

1 09 00

M a r ti n i

al
Pi e a l
O ak

ou

D ul o

Lt o

VVOO d

on

xyge

i x id e

C p
p
{ fr
ma ss "

Greel

1 14 80

C ai bo n d
o

y
M a r ti i
M a ss
V ari s

1 002

Air

A rruo nr
rr

b re
o n g br e

on g

S miths on i an

We r thei m
Wer t hei m

Tabl es

p
p1 00 1 01
,

directio n s A S th e pebble dropped i n to smooth water se n ds

the voice s en d s o u t spheres O f dis
o u t ri n gs of disturba n ce
These expa n di n g spheres are prop a gated i n the
t u rba ce
s a m e ma n n er as waves i tubes they travel at the s a me r a te ;
the displ a ceme n t of air particles is l o gitudi n al These Spher
ic al w a ves a re therefore fairly represe n ted i n Fig 1 5 0
A s a n il l ustratio n of a wave motio n propagated thr o ugh a
vol u m e ( i e a three d i m e n sio n a l w a ve ) o n e may take the
re m a rk a ble explosio n which occurred at Krakato a on the 2 6 th
a d 2 7t h o f A ug u st 1 883
I n this volca n ic eruptio n a gre a t colum n of gas was Shot up
t o a height o f perhaps
feet Whe n this mou n tai n of
a ir an d other gases settled d own it se n t o u t an air wave
through the rest o f the earth s a t m osphere This air wave ex
a d ed i
circles It girdled t h e whole earth co n vergi n g at
p
Passi n g over an y poi n t o f the
the a n tipode o f Krakatoa
earth s surf a ce it compressed the u n derlyi n g ai r; the height
of the b a ro m eter w a s a cc ordi n gly i n cre a sed ; the wave of de
pressi on fol l owi n g h a d just the Opp osite e ff ect I n this w a y
.

S OUN D

225

the recordi n g b a rometers o n the e a rth were a ff ected A n d

by such mea n s this great disturb a n ce was foll o wed through
three trips from Kr a k a to a n ear the isl a n d of S u m a tr a t o the
a n tipodes The e tire circuit o f the globe w a s perfor m ed i n
the al most i n credibly short i n terv a l of 3 6 h o urs
C om pute the Speed O f this w a ve an d c m p a re it with t h
speed of sou n d a s give n i n the precedi n g p ages

al l

is a t a ble co n t a i n i n g the speed of sou n d

of the more i m porta n t substa n ces

2 17

f ew

P recedi n g

in

E T W EEN A NO I S E A N D M U S I C A L
SO U N D
2 1 8 It is n o t a viole t a ssu m ptio n to su pose th a t every
stude n t recog n izes at on ce the di ffere n ce betwee n a musical to e
eve though i n divid uals may cl a ssify di ffere n tly
a n d a n o ise
the perfo rm a n ce O f a b a gpipe o rof a hu rd y-gurdy
B ut the
problem which co n fr o n ts us here is t o disti guish betwee n
the ch a racter O f two mecha n ic a l disturba n ces o n e of which
pr o duces music the other n oise H o w d o the v ibr a tio n s of a
wago n rumbli n g over cobblesto n es of the Splash of w a ter or of
f ootsteps on a paveme n t di ffer fr om those O f a wire i n a pi a o ?
T 0 a n swer this questio i n tellige n tly on e m ust rst disc o ver
some mea n s for accurately describi n g the vibratio n s emitted by
various bodies
VI

D I S TI N C TI O N

The M an ometri c

F l a me

far a s co n cer n s a picture of sou n d waves i n the a ir

n o thi g can surpass i n beauty a d simplicity the
m a o m etric
ame which was i n ve n ted an d perfect ed by R udolph Kon ig
of P a ris The con
structio n of the i n
str u m e t will be
cle a r o co sidera
C M PR I
ti on of Fig 1 5 1
RA R EFAC TI
T w o bl ocks of
w ood R a d S are
bo re d out
Be
t w e e n t h e m is
cl a m
e
d
a
di
a
p
i
h w v r
f p
r ss r
F
15 1
K ig s d v i c
p h ra g 0 f e I y
r d c d by s d w v s
p
2 19

So

ESS ON

ON

IG

on

e to S

a i a t on o

'

u e

oun

u e

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

2 26

thi n goldbeater s Ski

This diaphrag m divides the whol e
apparatus i n to t w o p a r t s O n the left ha n d side of t h e
di a phr a g m il lu m i a ti n g gas i s ad m itted as i n dic a ted by
the a rrow s a d so lo n g as the di a phr a gm is u n disturbed
the a m e i s a pp a re n tly u disturbe d B u t if the distur ba n ce
of the a me is very r a pid as is t h e case with acoustic a l
disturba n ces ge n erally we might n ot be a ble to detect by
the eye a y cha n ges i n the a m e
A ccordi n gly a r o t a ti n g
m irror is pl a ced
e a r the a m e A cra n k e n ables the
O bserver to give this mirror a m o der a te a n gul a r speed s a y two
or t hree tur n s a seco n d For every n ew posi t io n wh i ch the
m irr o r a ssumes the im a ge of the a m e takes a n ew positi on
The effect o f r ot a tio n o n the mirr o r is the n to sep a rate the
i m a ges o f the a me at successive i n st a n ts
The sp a ce on the right of the diaphr a gm M is on e en d O f a
speaki g tube a s o rt of cu l d e sa i n t o which a ll ki n ds O f
s o u n d waves can be se n t fo r ex a mi n a ti on an d study
The e ff ect of a s o u n d w a ve ( if our previ o usly f o rmed con cep
tio n of sou n d waves be c o rrect ) upo n the di a phr a gm will be t o
drive it a lter ately forw a rd an d b a ckw a rd Whe a compres
sio arrives at the di a phr a g m the membra n e will be thrus t
The g a s sp a ce G will sudde n ly be m a d e
Slightly to the left
s m a ller i n v olu m e ; the pressure o f t h e gas will a s sudde ly
rise ; the a m e will immedi a tely bec o m e higher j ust as i f
m ore pressure h a d bee put on a t the gas w orks
But this co m pressi on i n the spe a ki g tube will be followe d
by a r a ref a ctio n Wh a t is the e ffect of this r a refactio n on the
m embr a n e ? The press u re on the right dimi n ishes the m em
br a n e moves to the right the pressure i n the gas ch a mber 0 s u d
d en l y di m i ishes ; the a m e a s sudde ly dimi n ishes i n height
The esse n ti a l fe a t u res o f the i strume t a re the n
1 A m e m bra n e which resp o ds a t o n ce to an y displ a ceme n t
to an y wave of co mpres
o f the a ir p a rticles a dj oi n i g it ; i
sio n or r a ref a cti o
2
A g a s a m e so a rr a n ged as t o respo n d to every motio n o f
the m e m br a n e
3 A m irr o r th a t can be r o t a ted S O a s t o separate t h e succes
sive i m a ges o f the a m e an d th u s a llow u s t o detect the v a ri a
ti s o f pressure at the membr a n e due t o an y disturban ce of
the air

'

c,

on

S O UN D

2 27

the height of the a m e me a sures i a ge n er a l w ay

the displ a ceme n t o f the p a rticles a djoi i g the me m bra e we
n eed on ly draw an o u t
li e O f the i m a ge of the
a me in th e r o t a t i n g
Si n ce

n ow

A VIO LIN S

T R N ST RO N
I G

ED

GLY BO W

re
ce a gr a phic a l rep
a s ou n d
of
s en t at i o n
w a ve
S uch are the
A
T R N EN T
D
foll owi g di a gr a m s ( see
Fig
They m ere
l y rec o rd the v a ri a ti o s C
T
O f press u re pr o duced
AM E N T
F
1 54
t hree di ff ere t tr a i s of
w a ves a t the me m br a n e O f the m a n o m etric a m e A S t h e
n a m e i dic a tes s u ch a a m e is si m ply a qu ick a cti g h a r o m e
ter respo di n g t o ch a n ges of p ressure which occur at r a tes
eve a s high a s sever a l hu n dred per sec on d
2 2 0 If n o w on e ex a m i es with this i n stru m e n t a n u m be r O f
n oises an d music a l t o es he n ds th a t c o rresp o di n g to these
two di ff ere t se s a
ti o s th e m a n o
m etric a m e Shows
.

'

on

VIO LJN S

LY BO WE

I G G

UNINO FORK YIELDING

I G"

THE

R A P H A L R E P R E E N T AT
S

IC

ION O F A NOfS E.

of disturb a n ces i
the a ir These a re
8
e x hibited f a irly well
REPRE ENTAT ON rA M A N T E
in Fi g
The
F 155
n oise is m a de up o f
m a n y sm all p a rts O f tr a i s o f waves a ll j u m bled t ogethe r
But the a m e Shows th a t a music a l n ote is pr oduced by
tr a n o f u n ifor m w a ves
It Sh o ws a ls o th a t vowels as e m ployed by Si gers a re
m usic a l t o es while c o s o a ts a re esse n ti a lly brief n o ises
Th e se n sati on of a musical t on e is d ue t o ra p
id p
eri od i c
m oti on of a s on or ous body ; t h e se n sati on of a n oise t o n on p
eri
H E L M H O LTZ S en sati on s of Ton p 8
od i c m oti on
n

GRAPH'CAL

U SIC L

on e

e,

GENERAL PHYS IC S

2 28

VII

T H REE F E A TU R E S B Y W H IC H M U S IC A L T O NE S A R E
D I STI N G U I S H ED FR O M E A C H O THER

L ou d n ess

Whe n the key of a pia n o is struck ge n tly an d agai n

with a hard blow we recog n ize that the t w o n otes thus pro
d u ced a re alike except that the sec on d is l ou d er th a n the rst
The vibrati o s of a guitar stri n g whe n rst struck are s u f
ci en t l y l a rge fo r us t o see the m ; but as t h e vibrati on s dimi n ish
i n a mplitude we O bserve th a t the o te dimi ishes i n l ou d n ess
Whe n a ote is su n g i t o the t ube o f a m a n ometric a m e it
i s at on ce evide n t that the i n de n t a tio n s i n the ribbo n of a me
a re deeper i n pr oportio n a s the
n ote is l o uder
s ee Fig
(
That is the louder the s o u n d
the gre a te r the displ a ceme n t
of the a ir particles agai n st the
m
ne
me
bra
B
Frm
these an d S imilar
FIG 1 5 6 A d B r w t s ali k
i
l l r sp
c t s xc p
d r experi m e n ts
t t h at A i l
it is c o n cluded
th n 3
theref re th a t the l oud n ess or
i n te n sity of a s ou n d i n creases ord i mi n ishes as the am p
li t u d e of
t h e vi brati n g air p
articles at the ear i n creases ord imi n ish es
S i ce the e n ergy of a vibr a ti n g b o dy i s ther thi n gs bei n g
equ a l pr oporti on a l to the squ a re o f its a m plitude loud ess evi
d en t l y i n creases with e n ergy o f vibr a ti on i
the s o urce The
vari a tio n of loud n ess with dista ce is an i m m edi a te con se
u
n
c
e
n
of
this
f
a
ct
For
whe
a
s
u
d w a ve Spreads out a s
e
n
o
q
i n dicated i n Fig 1 5 0 2 1 6 the e n ergy e m itte d by the s o urce
d u ri g a y mi n ute i n terval of time i s a t an y later i n st a n t
spre a d o u t o ver a Spheric a l surf a ce which h a s the source at its
ce ter N ow the a rea of this Spherical surf a ce must i n cre a se a s
the squ a re o f its r a dius an d he n ce the q u a n tity of e n ergy which
is i n cide n t upo n the ear at an y give n i st a n t must v a ry i
v er
s el
y a s the squ a re of this dista n ce a fact with which every
o e is fa m ili a r
221

a e t

an

o no e

ou

'

D igressi on

on

t he

Eect

f IVin d

on

t he

I n ten si ty

S oun d

Whe n a S pherical w a ve is pr op a g ated i n the m a n n er j ust

described it is custo m a ry t o describe the c on ti u o us l o cus Of
222

S O UN D

229

a ir p a rticles h a vi n g the s a m e ph a se a s t h e wave fr on t

Whe n an obser ver is a t s o m e dist a n ce fr om the o rigi n o f t h e
so u n d the w a ve fr o n t which strikes his e a r is pr a c t ic a lly pl a n e
S upp ose t h a t a wi n d is bl o w i n g i n the s a m e directi on i n which
the s ou n d is pr o ceedi n g O n e m ight expect the a pp a re n t spe ed
O f s o u n d to be Slightly i n cre a sed ; o r if the wi n d be tr a veli n g
a g a i n st the s ou n d he w o u ld n d the Speed slightly dimi n ished
B u t it is a m a tter o f c o mm on o bservati o n that the a udibili t y o r
l ou d n ess Of s ou n d comi n g from an y co n sider a ble dist a n ce is a ls o
depe n de n t u po n the directi on of the wi n d A s o u n d is said t o
c a rry better with the wi n d tha n a g a i n st it
The expl a n a tio n O f this phe n o m e n o n w a s rst give n i n 1 8 57
by S tokes o f C a mbri d ge He a rgued th a t si n ce the upper l ay
s o f the a ir a re a lw a ys c a rried a lo n g m o re r a pidly by the
er
wi n d th a n t h ose n ext the surf a ce o f the e a r t h a ver t ic a l pl a n e
w a ve fr on t tr a veli n g with the wi n d w ill as it a d va n ces be
c om e m ore an d m o re i n cli n ed toward the surface of the earth
a s shown i n Fl g 1 5 7 I n
IN D
this m a n n er the s ou n d is
so t o spe a k co n ti n u ally
br ought d o w n t o the ear
But if
o f the O bserver
the So und be t raveh n g F 157 S d t r v l i g wit h wi d D t d
ag a i n s t the W l n d the u p l i s sh w s cc ssi v psi t i s f w v fr t
ir
per porti on s of the a d van c
i n g pl a n e w a ve fr o n t will be be n t b a ckwards SO th a t the sou n d
is directed s o mewhat upwards an d a b ove t h e liste n i n g e a r

m
a s sh o w n i n Fig 1 5 8
If we reme m ber th a t
3
4
5
e
sou n d a lways tr a vels i n a
directi on perpe n dicul a r
t o the wave fr on t it will
Fm 1 5 8
S
d t rav l i g ga i s t w i d
S l i d be cle a r t h at the o bserver
l
i d i ca t
c t l w v fr t s
a
s o u n d sh a d o w a ll th a t re a ches him bei n g wh a t little is dif
f ra cted i n his directi on
al l

IG

ne

o un

on

ot e

on

1n

'

oun

l D eS

e a

ua

on

f a ct o r i n the loud ess of sou n d i s the prese n ce

o f s o m e l a rge el a stic b o dy with which the vibr a t i n g b o dy is
rigidly c on n ected Thus a vi li stri g whe n re m o ved fro m
223

A n othe r

PHYS IC S

G ENER A L

230

sou n di n g board gives a thi we a k s o u n d ; but whe n

stretched o ver the b ody o f the vi li the s o u n d is f u ll an d
res o a t The expl a n a ti on f this phe n ome n on which is a s
f oll ws w as a ls o give n by S t okes ( P aprs V ol I V p 2 9 9 )
Whe a s olid b ody m o ves thro ugh the a ir sl o wly the air
o ws fr o m i fron t t o w a rd the re a r a lmost ex a ctly i the s a me
ma n n er as if the solid were m o vi g thr o ugh an i c om pressible
uid ; but whe the motio n bec o mes very rapid the air i n
fr o t is to s o m e exte n t c o m pressed an d equ a liz a tio n O f pres
sure bet w ee n the fr on t an d re a r d o es n ot o cc ur i n ex a c t ly the
s a m e m a n n er as before If however the vibr a ti n g b dy be
thi n a d s m all a s a pia n o wire the equ alizatio n o f pressure
betwee n fr on t an d re a r is very m uch facilit a ted B u t i n the
c a se O f a br o a d a t b o dy such a s the sou n di n g box of a guit a r
there is less ch a n ce for the l a ter a l esc a pe o f the a ir a d he n ce
corresp on di n g to every slightest vibrati on o f this bo a rd a
wave of c on de n s a ti on a d r a ref a ct ion i s e m itted Fo r the a ir
e
can n o lo ger beh a ve a s an i n compressible uid u n less the fr
q u e cy of vibr a tio n be very m u ch less th a n th a t e m pl oyed i n
music Thus a lth o ugh the amplitude O f the s o u n di g b o a rd
is much less th a n that of the stri g the a ctu a l a m plitude a t
the e a r is e n or m ou sly i n cre a sed by its use I n the re e fo rce
me n t o f sou n d i n this m a n n er the t w fu d a m e n t a l f a ctors a re
the the size an d freque n cy o f the vibr a ti n g body
S tokes illustr a tes this p ri n ciple m o st
be a u tifully by h oldi g a tu i g f ork n e a r
A a piece o f c a rdb o a rd i n the p o siti on i n di
Fig 1 5 9 where
c at ed by the pl a n e B i
the two s m a ll rect a gles represe n t a h o ri
If t h e
o n t al cr o ss secti on o f the f o rk
cardb oard be pl a ced i the positio s A
or 0 the a ir i fr on t of the vibr a ti g
pro n g h a s n o difficulty i n getti n g ar o u d
t o the re a r but whe n the f o rk is held
?
n e a r the edge o f the c a rdb o a rd a s i n B
la
St k s s xp
F
S ide
curre n ts a re h n dered an d
d i g these
ti
f ff c t f s
b
rd
a d
r a ref a cti o
w a ves o f c o m pressi o
i n ste a d of a n n ulli n g each other go to i n crease the i n te n sity o f
the sou n d
an y

n,

IG

on

ou n

na

oa

SO U N

23 1

P i tch

clampi n g a piece O f ste el or bras s spri n g say a

piece o f cl ock Spri n g i a vise on e O bserves o t o n ly th a t t h e
spri g vibr a tes m o re r a pidly a s it is m a de S h o rter but als o
th a t it mi ts a high r n ot
( S ee Fig
I n the c a se of a w ire whether stretched fr o m
o n e fe ce post to a o ther or betwee n t w o xed
pi s i n a pi a n o there i s n o d o ubt b u t th a t it
vibr a tes m ore r a pidly the more it is stretched ;
we observe als o th a t the n ot e it e m its is higher
an d higher the m o re it is stretched
From such experie n ce we m ight suspect the
1 60
m

pitch of a n ote t o depe d up on the freque n cy

But we ee d
o f the vibr a ti n g b o dy
v ari s w i h
m re direct a d co n clusive evide n ce to thor o ughly
fr q
c
y
o
n
A
est a blish s u ch a co clusi
c a rd held agai st
a r ot a ti g toothed wheel will fur n ish us j u st suc h evide n ce
H ere we c o m pel the c a rd t o m a ke o e vibratio n every ti m e it
p a sses a to o th The f re q ue cy of the vibr a ti n g c a rd is the
Whe n the wheel sl o ws
f teeth p a ssed per sec o d
n u mber
up the pitch of t h e n ote produced by the c a rd f a lls ; whe n the
wheel i cre a ses i spee d t h e pitch of the n o te rises
If still f u rther evide n ce be desired try the followi n g ex
224

On

'

'

e u en

'

i m en
er

I to the spe a ki g tube o f a m a om etric a me s o u n d t w o

r a pid s u ccess i o
O r what is better
n o tes O f di ffere n t pitc h i
still u se t wo m a om etric a m es placed n e a r e a ch other a d
viewed i n the s a m e r ot a ti g mirr o r It is the e a sily see th a t
whe the a m es a re e x cited by otes o f the s a me pitch the
n o tches i
the i m a ge o f e a ch a m e a re a t the s a m e dist a n ce a p a rt
B ut if either a m e be excited by a n ote of higher pitch the
n o tches o n this a m e a re closer t o gether
A n d if on e n o te
be an o ctave a b ove a n other we
e ex a ctly
s ee that the n otches ar
A
twice a s close together i n the
high n ote as in the low ( S ee
Fig
S u ch evi d e n ce l ead s u s t o
n

W W

W WW

FI G 1 6 1 A
.

al l

an d

ar
e

two

s al i k e in

n ot e

t p
resp
ec t s exc ep
i t ch

ton e d e p
en d s

Sl

p up

m ly

on

t he

G ENER AL

23 2

HY SI C S

the vi brati n g body whi ch p

r oduces i t ; or w h at i s
on t h e p
eri od of t h e vibrati n g body
t h e same thi n g u p
F or if we de n ote the freq u e n cy by n an d the period by T
1
i g q a i
D

freque n cy

of

e u

n n

f orf

t on

r q ue c y
n

The n umerical v alue O f an y pitch is the freque n cy n A

tu n i n g f o rk which m a kes three hu n dred vibratio n s per sec on d

i s s a id t o h a ve
a pitch of three hu n dred
225
There a re ma n y l a b o r a t ory m ethods for the actu a l
d et r m i ati on o f the pitch of sou n d m ost of them based up on
the characteristic equ a tio n of wave m otio n n a mely
.

Eq

76

The followi n g must su fce a s a type of them all T a ke a

small whistle such a s th a t dev sed by Galto n for the source of
sou n d wh ose pitch
is t o be me a sured
This s o urce is pl a ced
at on e en d of a Y
sh a ped tube which
open s i n to t w o
p arallel tube s
These par allel tubes
at their farther en d
u n ite
a ai n
i n to a
g
t u be a s
Y Sh a ped
i n Fig 1 6 2
S how
If n o w a gas
a m e which is jus t
o n the poi t of ar
i n g be pl a ced at the
of this seco d
en d
Y it will serve a s a
very se n sitive mea s
for detecti g an y
HI H PIT C H disturba n ce i n the
E N ITI
a ir at th a t poi n t
The U-Sh a ped por
ti o n of o n e o f these
p a rallel tubes is so
FIG 16 2
.

WH ISTL

OF

VE

SOUN D

2 83

a rr a n ged as to tel escope upo n itself somewh a t after the f a shi on

O f a tr o m bo n e
I n this m a n n er the le n gth of path from the whistle to the
a m e is c on st a n t thr ough on e tube an d v a riable thro u gh the
other A t the rst Y the wave which le a ves the whistle is
divided i n t o t w o p a rts These t w o p a rts re u n ite a t the seco n d
Y but the ph a se i n which they m eet depe n ds upo n the differ
e n ce o f le n gth be t w ee n t h e t w o r ou tes which they tr a vel I f
this di ffere n ce is a whole n u m ber o f wave le n gths the two
w a ves will re en force e a ch o t her but if their p a t h di ff ers by an
O d d n umber O f h a lf wave le n gths they will i n terfere an d pro
duce S ile n ce A S the telesc ope is m o ved a lo n g these Sile n t
p o i n ts will be i n dic a ted by the se n sitive a m e If n ow we
me a sure the differe n ce i n le n gth O f the v a ri a ble tube betwee n
t w o successive sile n t poi n ts we S h a ll h a ve the w a ve le n gth of
the t on e which is emitted by the whistle Kn o wi n g t h e vel ocity
o f so u n d i n ai r V
we m ay n o w e a sily c o mpute n fr o m E q 76
O n e adv a n t a ge o f the se n sitive a m e is th a t it m a y be used
eve n whe n the pitch of the whistle is so high as to be i n audible
to the hum a n e a r
,

Q u a l i ty

But t w o n otes m a y h a ve the same pitch an d may h a ve

the s a m e l o ud ess an d y et be quite diff ere n t Tw o te n or v oices
S i gi g the s a me n ote with equ a l l ou d n ess m a y be easily disti n
fo r a s we a re a ccusto m ed t o s a y they h a ve di ffe re t
g u i sh ed
qualities S trike the sa me n ote up on a pi a n o a d u po n an
o rg a n ;
l et the m be equ a lly loud
n o on e n ds an y di fficulty i
dis t i n g u ishi g the pi a o fr o m the orga n Tw o of o u r frie n ds
m a y c o verse i n the s a me key a d wi t h equally loud v oices
but w e d o t hesit a te i telli g their v oices a p a rt eve n th o ugh
they st a d a t ou rb a ck o r perh a ps i n the d a rk Their v oices
h a ve a differe n t qu ality
These di ffere n ces a re m ost striki n gly
illustr a ted i the v a ri ous i strum e n ts of the orchestra where
we rec og n ize with gre a t e a se j u st which i stru m e ts are bei n g
used A guit a r stri n g whe pl u cked at i t s m iddle e m its a o te
f d i ff ere t ch a r a cter fro m th a t O f the s a m e stri n g whe n plucked
n ear o e e d
H ow sh all we expl a i n these di ffere n ces so f a m iliar t o every
on e ?
D i ff ere n ce o f a m plitude pr o duces d i ffere n ce O f loud ess
226

no

GENERAL PHYS IC S

2 84

D i ffere n ce

of freque n cy pr od u ces di ff ere n ce of pitch B u t

what produces di ff ere ce of qu a lity
The m ost direct an swer to this questio n is Obtai ed by m e a n s
of the m a n ometric a m e I n to the Speaki n g tube of such a
a m e pr o n ou ce a s e a rly a s p ssible with the s a m e pitch an d
l o ud ess e a ch of the vowels o f the a lp h a bet It is O bserved a t
i n the m irr o r is di ff ere n t i n
o n ce th a t the ribb o n of a m e see
e a ch c a se to e a ch particul a r vo wel c o rresp o n ds a w a ve o f
The n otches i n the ribbo n h a ve n ot the s a m e
d i ff ere n t sh a pe
fo r m fo ra y t w o v o wels It is th e n t h e for m of t h e w ave w h i ch
d etermi n es the qu ality of an y n ote
It i s well t o re m e mber th a t while to every diff ere n t quality
there c o rrespo ds a di ffere n t f o r m of w a ve H el m h oltz h as
proved t h a t the co n verse of this is n ot true Q u ality depe ds
si m ply on what c o mpo n e n ts combi n e to pr oduce the w a ve n ot
a t a ll u p on the p
ha s s i which they co m bi e
I n Fig 1 63 i s sh o wn the a p p
e a r a n ce of t w o a m es e a ch excited
by a n o te O f the s a me freque cy a d s a m e loud n ess but of
di ffere n t q u ality I n this c a se
we see n ot o ly that t h e fo r m O f
the w a ve i n A is d i ff ere n t fro m
B but we see j ust how
t h at i
.

there is prese n t a s m all

FIG 1 6 3 TW
s f h sa m p
i c h w a ve h a vi g t wice the freque cy
ss b t f d i ff r t q al i ty
d l
d
re
f that of A
8 0 th a t A rep
se ts t h e f u d a m e t al while B represe ts a n ote i n which b o t h
the fu d a m e t a l a d the o ct a ve a re prese t
I the c a se of the v wels which we h a ve j ust exa m i n ed t h is
di ffere n ce o f w a v e f o r m is br o ught ab o ut by ch a ges i t h e
c a vity of th e m o uth P ro o u ce the v o wels a a d o i succes
sio an d O bserve the m a n er i n which y u ch a ge the a ir p a ce
i cl osed withi y o ur m o uth duri g the i n t erv a l betwee n t h e
pro n u ci a ti of the t w v owels
I n ge n eral e x p
erime n t Sh ows that t h e w ave for m whi ch
e n d s up
rese n ce
d etermi n es the q uality of an y t on e d e p
on t h e p
ap
i d t h an t h e fu n d am en t al t h e fun d amen
of v i brati on s m or e r
t al b ei n g d e n e d as the l owest n ot e whic h a bod y can giv e
These other a d higher n o tes a r e c a lle d ov ert on es r
ou t
h ar mon i cs
In B

ou

an

ne

O n ot e

e en

on

S OU N D

23 5

The prese n ce of these h a r m o n ics i n a pi an o wire m ay be

e a sily sh ow by h oldi g d ow n a key o f s ay middle C an d the n
striki n g several ti m es a o te on e o rt w o oct a ves below It will
the be f ou d t h a t whe n the vibr a ti o s o f the l ower ote have
bee d a m ped out the upper n ote is still s o u di n g owi g to
res o a ce betwee n it an d on e o f the har m o n ics o f the l o wer
n ot e
The reso n a t ors devised by H elmh oltz ( which are Simply h ol
l ow spheres tu ed t o resp o d t o certai n de ite t o n es ) whe n
c on ec t ed with a m a n o m etric a me f o r m a very se n si t ive m e a s
f r detecti n g th o se h a rm on ics which have the s a m e freq u e cy
as the res a t ors
The existe ce of these o verton es m a y easily be Show n i n a y
stretched stri n g D a mp the st ri n g a t the m iddle poi t If
n o w it be b o wed a t a p o i t o n e qu a rter of t h e le n g t h of the
stri n g fr om either en d the stri g
will vibr a te a s show n i n Fig 1 64
A
F N DA M E N TA L
B an d the o ct a ve of the fu d a
m e t a l will be he a rd
E vide tly

q
q IIIIlIIIIIm
therefo re the rst o vert n e i n a
R T ER T N E
stre t ched s t ri g is the o ct a ve of
For
t h e fu d a m e t a l
W
F
m
15 4
=
2 n l L l where n is t h
V 2 nL
freque n cy o f the f u d am e t a l a d u 1 is the f reque cy f the
22 7

on

FI S

OV

2 1

an

rst o vert o e

S EC O ND OVER

si ce
n

LI

31

it f ll o ws th a t

2,

:2

It

sh ow n i n like m a er th a t the pitch o f the ext o ver

1
The third o ve rt o e
t n e is t o th a t o f the fu n d a m e t a l a s 3
is t w oct a ves a b o v e the fu d a m e t a l an d so o
A be t te r method sti l l of showi n g these o ve rt o es is by a id
of t w o O e
rg
ipes
a
p
p
N
v
Fig
o
o f which
e
(
ER N T
is a
o ct a ve
ab o ve the
o t her
Whe b oth a re
s
u ded a t th e s a m e t m e
o
F m 165
Sh w i g w
l gt h f v r
i
ip q
l t wav l g h f f d m al the rst o vert o e O f t h e
p
i
h r
l ower pipe can re a dily be
m a de t o be a t with the f u d a m e t a l o f t h e higher pi p
e It is
t hese h i gh er an d fee bl er t o n es w h i ch give t h e d is t i n gu is h i n g
art icu l ar n ot e
q u ali t y t o an y p

m ay be

nn

\I

AL OF HIGH

O E

on e

n ot

e e

ua

av e

en

en

un

t on e

en t

GENERAL PHYS IC S

23 6

is perh a ps the pl a ce t o m e n ti o n a u seful dis

ti c t i o n bet wee t h e terms n o t e a d to n e
Whe n fo r
i n st a n ce a violi n stri g is bo wed the whole m usic a l s o u n d
emitted is called a n ote B u t as we n o w see e a ch o f these
o tes which a re
o t es i s m a de up o f a series o f irres olv a ble
c alled ton es The l o west o f these t o es is t h e o e which deter
m i n es t h e pitch O f the n ote a d i c a lled the fu n d ame n tal ;
the rest a re c alled overton es or u p
er p
ar t i als If the freq u en
p
cies O f these overto n es a re ex a ct mul t iples of the freque n cy o f
the fu n d a me n t a l they are c a lled harm on i cs
2 28

H ere

D igressi on

B eats

on

Whe n two n o tes a re slightly out of u n iso n they have

le n gths i a ir
The co n seque ce is
Sligh t ly di ffere t w a ve
that they reach our ears with a differe n ce of ph a se which is
c o st a tly ch a gi n g A t o e i st a t they i n terfere i n such
a w a y as al m st t o pr o duce sile ce ; a t the n ext i n st a n t they
c om bi n e i n such a w a y a s to pr o duce a sou n d louder th a n that
of either a l on e
M ost people a re f a m ili a r with the pecu l i a r rise an d fall
that a tte n ds the sou n d o f a l a rge bell a fter the clapper h a s
struck it for the l a st ti m e This is due
t o the i terfere n ce O f t w o di ff ere n t seg
m e n ts o f the bell such a s A a d B i n
Fig 1 6 6 which travel a r ou n d the ri m
owi g to l a ck o f perfect sy m m etry or
ho m oge n eity i n the met a l The sa m e
phe ome n on is e a sily sh ow n with a gl a ss
bell o ran ir o ri g
Tw o t on es which i terfere i n this way
to pr oduce t his alter a te rise an d f a ll o f
i n te sity a re s a id t o be at These a lter
n a tio n s o f l o ud n ess a re c a lled beats
FIG 16 6 A b r t g b ll
is
n om e n o
IS
Th
phe
most
read
i ly
r
r
ll
q
v
l
i
t
y
j
f r d iff r t v i br t i g Show n by me a s o f two tu n i n g f o rks
b di
which a re i n u n is on
If the f orks a re
i n ex a ct u n is o n t o begi n with a little w a x pl a ced o n the pro n g
of either o n e will sl w it up ; for the w a x a dds t o the i n erti a of
the fo rk an d does n ot a dd to its el a stic fo rce C o n seque n tly
wh a t ever d i ere ce o f ph a se may exist a t an y i st a t betwee n
229

v1

ea

ou

e en

es

a 1n

a en

to

'

S OU N D

23 7

the two forks this di ffere n ce will co n ti n uously ch a ge an d

he ce will f oll ow a series of be a ts The m ore w a x pl a ced on
the pr o g the m o re r a pid the be a ts H o w do y o u expl a i n
this ? Two g u it a r s t ri gs a re e a sily a dj usted t o u n is o
Tighte n either o n e ever S O lit tle an d they h eat
It is e a sily see n fr o m the the ory of waves i n ge n er a l th a t
the u m ber o f be a ts per sec on d is n u m eric a lly equ a l t o the
the n otes be a ti n g For the
d iffere ce i n freque cy betwee
i te rv a l betwee t w o successive be a ts is S i mply the ti m e t a ke n
f w a ves a t a y p o i n t s a y a t the lis t e i g e a r
f r o e tr a i
r a di a s ) i n ph a se over the o t her t r a i n E a ch
t o g ai n 3 60 ( 2
tr a i of w a ves tr a vels a t t he sa m e speed ; but a s these tr a i s
p a ss a y o e p oi t their di ffere ce o f ph a se is c on ti u a lly
ch a gi g If o e n ote m a kes 5 00 vibr a t i n s per sec on d a d
a other 5 02 per sec o d it is evide n t th a t a t an y poi t the
l a tter will g a i n i n ph a se over the rst 4 rr a di a n s e a ch sec o n d
These t w o n otes will be i n the s a m e ph a se twice e a ch sec on d
twice e a c h sec n d They will there
an d i n o pp o site phase
f o re be a t twice e a ch sec on d I n ge n eral if the fre q ue n cy of
the n um ber of beats p
er se con d
on e n ote is n an d of a n other n
will be n n
n

7:

'
,

V I II

R E L A TI O N

OF

T O NE S

M USI C A L

To

E AC H

O THER

TH E

SCALE

the
prese
nt
m
h a ve bee n studyi n g
o m e n t we
p
the a ture o f a S i gle tr a i n O f w a ves i n t h e a ir the pr p a g a
ti on o f a si gle m usic a l to n e We n o w pr oceed t o c o side r
so m e of the rel a ti o n s o f m usic a l t o es to e a ch other H ere we
d o urselves a lre a dy i the d m a i n o f M usi c
B u t there a re s o me experime n t a l f a cts which must be viewed
a s a sort O f c on n ecti n g li n k betwee n M usic an d P hysics These
c n stitute the
U

230

to

f M u si c

S ci en ti c B a si s

There a re few e a rs which have the a bility to determi n e

o n heari n g a si n gle music a l to n e just wh a t the pitch o f the
n te is
Freque n cy is a di fcult thi n g for the hu m a e a r t o
deter m i e B ut there a re v ry ma y O bservers w h o on he a r
i g tw n o t es can t ell wh a t t h e ra ti o f their f reque n cy is
If
t w o keys o n a pia o are s t ruck there is n o di fculty i n s a yi g
,

GENERAL PHYS IC S

238

whether their pitches a re rel a ted a s 3 2 o r

or i n some
other rati o but n ot m ore th a n o n e pers o i n a hu dred can
m a ke an i tellige n t guess as to the freque n cy ( a bs o lute pitch )
f either n o te
:

D efin i ti on

f M us i cal I n terva l

Th e

i n terv al betwe en t w o n otes is de n ed as t h e rati o of

Tw o n otes h avi n g the sa me p
it ch w h at ev er
t h eir freque n cies
The i te rv a l
e sai d t o be i n u n is on
t heir qu ali t y ori n te n sity ar
n o t zer o but u n ity
i
t his case i
If the r a ti o be 2 1 the
i terv a l i s s a id t o be an
23 1

Octa ve

te whose pitch ( freque cy ) is 4 00 is the n an o ct a ve

a o te wh se pitch i s 2 00 A n o te wh o se pitch is 1 00 is
a bov
The i m pressi o s pro
o ct a ve b l w o e wh o se pitch i s 2 00
a
e a r by a ote an d its oct a ve a re strik
d u ced up o n t h e h u m a
S O a like i deed a re the t w o se n s a tio n s th a t
i gl y S imil a r
m a y f a irly well tr a i n ed musici a n s so meti m es m is t a ke the e
SO f a r a s the a uth o r is a ware this simil arity
fo r t h e o ther
h as n ever bee n satisf a ct o rily expl a i ed
A

no

e o

on

The M aj
or

Chord

m o re re m ark a ble is the f oll owi n g f a ct c on cern i n g

the hu m a e a r a f a ct which h a s bee n well k ow n for m o re
th a two thous a d ye a rs a f a ct which is fu n d a m e t a l i all
to the prese n t ce tury had b a fed all
m u sic but which u p
a t t e m pts at expl a a ti o
The f a c t is th a t a y three to es wh o se freque n cies a re a s
up o the ear This
4
5 6 alw a ys m a ke a pleasi g i m pressi
c m bi a tio o f n otes is k o w n as the maj or t ri ad ; or take n
t gether with t h e o ct a ve o f the fu d a me n t a l i c a lled the ma j or
The u n ivers a l j udg m e n t is th a t three such n o tes wh a t
ch or d
ever t heir freque cies produce harmo n y whe n s ou ded to
ge ther
The expl a a ti o of this which we owe t o H elmh oltz
is based up n the disagree a ble impressi on resulti g fr o m
be a t s
H el m h oltz l ike ed the e ff ect o f be a ts o n the hu m a e a r t o
the u n ple a s a n t se n s a ti o of a ickeri g light up o n the eye
232

S till

on

S O UN D

239

Whe n however the be a ts become very r a pid they ce a se t o be

dis a gree a ble j ust a s a electric light a lter a ti n g i i t e sity
ce a ses t o be p a i f u l whe the alter a ti o n s a re very r a pid
H el m h oltz sh o wed th a t be a ts a re m o st dis a gree a ble whe they
o ccur a t t h e r a te o f 3 0 per sec o n d ; but they can be d etected
eve whe n they ru a s high as 1 3 2 per sec o d H e n ext
sh o wed th a t the physic a l b a sis fo r the h a r m o y o f the m a jor
ch o rd lies i n the f a ct th a t n ei t her be t wee n n otes wh o se freq u e
cies be a r the Si m ple r a ti os 4 5 6 o rbetwee th eir o ver t o es
their o vert on es
n o rbe t wee
a d f u d a m e n t a ls a re there
an y dis agreeable be a ts
re
I n Fig 1 6 7 a re rep
se ted the tot a lity o f t on es
i the m a j o r chord up t o the
S ixth h a r m o ic
Begin i n g with the fu
d a m e n t a l C it will be
M jr ch rd r p
r s t d b y h l f O bserved th a t
e of the
F
16 7
s ; h rm i cs r p
r s t d b y q r r o ve rt o es a re SO n e a r the
m
fu d a m e t a l or e a ch o ther
a s to be a t a d pr o duce diss o a n ce
C o sider ext the ote E wh se freque n cy is ve
i t s f o u rth
h a r m o ic is i u is with t h e fth h a r m o n ic f the f u n d a
m e n t al
B u t the third an d fth h a r m o n ic o f E a re e a ch
m o re or less diss on a t with the f u rth an d Si xth of the
fu d a m e t al
Whe we c o m e t o t h e n te G wh ose freq u e n cy is S ix we
d o ly o e h a rmo ic the t hird which is
ot a lready prese t
i the f u n d a m e t al
This third be a ts with t h e f o u rth a d f t h
o f the fu n da m e tal an d distr a cts s o m ewh a t f r
o m the h a r m o y
But the ct a ve C it will be O bserved i tr duces n o h a r m o ics
wh a tever th a t a re o t al re a dy i n the f u d a m e n t a l This
a l m o st c om plete freed om f ro m be a ts thus expl a i s the re m a rk
able h a r m on y o f the m a j or ch o rd
,

IG

n ot e

on

Do

a o

e en

e en

n on

ua t e

on

The M ajor S cal e

divide t h e i t erv a l bet w ee a y o te a d its

a series f seve s m aller i t e rv a ls c a lled t on es a d
o c t a ve i n t
The n t es which m a ke u pt h e o c t a ve a re d e oted
s e mi t o es
233

M u sici a n s

G ENE RAL

2 40

by the letters of the alph a bet

m aj or triads as follows

P H YS IC S
an d

are built up out of three

L et us call the l owest n ote of the octave 0 an d de n ote its

freque n cy by m ; these proportio n s the n a m o u n t t o a series
o f equ a tio n s which we may S olve to n d the freque n cy of an y
other n ote i n the octave Thus
,

G= 4

U:

3
2

1i

T AB LE
NA

ME

OF

NO

TE

OF

M U S IC AL NO MEN C L A TU RE S

FI eq u en cy i n
m s o f fun d a
t er

m en ta

I n terva
N am e

m u sic

Trebl e

B ass C

25

j l

re

mi

fa

S01

2 59

2 90

326

3 45

ass

1 9
9

'

j5 l

81

do

ef

ef

o ute

" eb '

in

1 9

do

of n o te I n

ocal

A bs

P i tch of
M W ed

I n t eI h a i

m ua

Sca e
Sel en tI c Scal e

2 56

2 88

3 20

43 5

488

j jj jl
3 84

3 41

427

4 80

5 17

5 12

The precedi n g table i n dic a tes a ls o the ordi n ary m u sic al

a be a utiful f o r m of shorth a d The ch a racter em
n o tatio n
,

S OUN D

21 1

ployed tells the reader the time for which a y n ote is t o he

s ou ded while the vertic a l positio n of the n ote a mo n g th e
li es a d sp a ces gives its pitch The moder syste m o f
music a l otati on is the n esse ti a lly th a t i ve ted by D esc a rtes
i 1 6 3 7 a d u ive rs ally empl oyed i a n a lytic a l ge o metry
Th e
resen te d
b ass an d t reble are c on n ected b y the fa ct t hat the C rep
by the rst li n e a bove the b ass is i d e n tical wit h the C on t h e
rst li n e bel ow the treble This n te is c a lled M i dd le C
the pi a n o O rdi n a rily its freque cy is about 2 6 4
n

on

The sc a le thus f ormed a d represe n ted i n the precedi g

t a ble is c a lled the n a tur a l o r di a t on ic sc ale Be t wee n t h e s u c
c es s i ve n otes it will be observed th a t there are three ki n ds of
i n tervals ; n a mely
23 4

c alled a maj or ton e

O
l
D E G A
c a lled a mi n or t on e
a d
E F B 0 1 % called a m aj or s emiton e
If all music were writte n i n the key o f 0 this di a to n ic sc a le
w o uld su f ce But o n i n stru m e ts with xed n o tes such a s
the pi a n o an d guit a r it w o uld be impossible t o p a ss t o other
keys without e n o rm usly c m plic a ti g the i n strume n t To
a v oid this di fc u lty B a ch ( 1 685 1 75 0) i n ve n ted the s o-c a lled
tem p
ered scale i which the o ct a ve is divided i t o twelve equ a l
i t erv a ls o r h a lf n otes e a ch t on e h a vi n g a freq u e cy
th a t
o f the precedi g
This i t erv a l is very n e a rly the se m i m a j o r
t o e The stude t will n o w see why the bl a ck key o t h e
pi a o is o m itted betwee n B an d 0 a d als o betwee n E
U D

F G, A B ,

an

d F

The n a m es of the n otes employed i vocal music a re derived

fr om the i itial s vl l abl es of the fol l o wi n g sta n za from an old
L ati n hym n
U t que a n t laxis res on are bris
M ra gest o ru m fa m uli t u o ru m
S l ve p olluti l a bri reat u m
S a c t Joa n n es
P gg d rff G
h h t d r P h y i k p802
n

en

esc

zc

G ENER A L

242

IX

A P P L I C A TI O N

HY SI C S

P R E C ED I N G P R I N C I P L E S TO V A R I O U S

OF

I N STR U MEN TS

d I n stru men ts

these the org a n pipe is perh a ps the Simplest an d

m os t typic a l
There a re t w o ki ds pn an d l s d I n each
of the m t w o tr a i n s o f waves i n ter fe re t o pr o d u c e st a ti o a ry
w a ves B y an op
en p
ip
e is me a n t o e which i s n ot cl o sed at
either en d by a cl ose d p
ip
e is me a n t o n e whic h is closed a t on e
en d o n ly
These t w o types are show n i n
F ig 1 68
23 5

Of

c o e

train of w aves i s p
rod uced by bl ow
l of t h e p
i n g a gai n st t h e l i p
ip
e ; an other
t rai n i s p
r od u ce d by re ecti on fr om the
up
er en d of t h e p
ip
e
p
I n the c a se of the O pe n pipe reectio n
occ u rs whe n the i n cide n t tr a i strikes the
quiet a ir at the e d o f the pipe ; i n the
c a se o f the closed pipe reec t io n o ccurs
n the w a ve strikes a g a i st the w o o de n
whe
F
168
S ti
f
p d cl s d rga en d of the pipe I either c a se the whole
ip
s
p
beh a vior of the a ir i n the o rg a n pipe is
ex a ctly th a t o f a s m a ll porti on o f the ai r i a Ku n d t s
tube
I n the c a se o f the O pe n o rga n pipe it is evide n t th a t e a ch
i e a pl a ce where n o co m pressi o n occurs
en d is an a ti n o de
but where gre a t m ot i n is a l w a ys p ossible C o n seque tly an
pipe is si m ply th a t p rti o o f a Kun d t s t u be which
o pe n o rg a
lies be t wee n t w o co sec u tive a n ti o des a s shown i n Fig 1 6 9
where N de n o t es a
N
N
a ti
n o de a d A a
J
It is evide t
n o de
b tw
th
theref o re that t h e F 16 9 C rr sp d
p rga
d K
dt s t b
p
p
w a ve le n gth of t h e
fu n d a m e n t a l is just twice the le n g t h o f the ope pipe which
e m its it
A s a m a tter o f f a ct this rule i s n ot quite ex a ct ; for it is
f ou d th a t the fu d a m e t a l wave le gth is a little m o re th a n
twice the le gth o f the pipe This is due t o the f a ct th a t the
On e

IG

ec

en

an

o e

0n
o

IG

on

e an

en ce

un

1*

een
u

e o en

S O UN D

24 3

i erti a of the a ir surrou n di n g the ope n en d of the pipe h a s the

effect of Sligh t ly i n cre a si n g the effec t ive le gth of the pipe
very m u ch i n the s a m e w a y th a t the velocity o f a rifl e b all is
f ou d to i cre a se eve a fter t h e b a ll h a s left the m uzzle o f the
u st a s t h e de a d a ir a bo u t t h e m u zzle o f t h e
J
u
u n f or m s
g
g
a tube so t spe a k i n which t h e g a se o u s pr o duc t s o f the bur
i g p o wder c o ti n ue to exp a d s o the quiet a ir a b o ut the e d
o f the o rg a n pipe h a s the effect o f pr a ctic a lly exte di g t h e
le gth of t h e a ctu a l ci rcul a r pipe by a b o ut
O f i t s r a dius a
q u a ti t y which is c alled the e d c orrecti o
I the c a se o f t h e cl osed pipe n o l o gitudi n a l m o tio n of th e
a ir is p ossible a t the st pped en d ; c seque tly this e d m ust
be a ode while the l o w er ( i the ope ) en d is an a n ti n o de
The c o rresp o de ce is i dic a t ed by Fig 1 70
It is a t o ce evide t th a t the le g t h of a cl o sed pipe is on e
qu a r t er of a w a ve le n gth of its fu d a m e t al
The stude n t will d it i n teresti g t o prove th a t an ope n
pipe y ields the co m plete series o f harmo n ics 1 2 8 4 5 6 etc
while the cl o sed pipe
N
N
N
N
N
gives o n ly the O d d
n

on

3 , 5 , 7, 9 ,

d
i
FIG
l
C
r
s
c
t
w
cl
s
r
a
7o
r
d
b
p
p
p
g
M a ke a S ke t ch a f t er
d K
dt
1
the style o f Fig 1 6 5
showi n g the dis t ributio n of n odes an d l o ops i n both o pe n an d
cl osed pipes
A very direct me a n s of experi m e n t a lly loc a ti n g the n o des an d
l o ops i n an O pe n pipe is t o replace the b o tt o m o f a pill b ox with
a thi n stretched me m br a n e s a y very thi n p a per pl a ce a
little s a n d i n the b ox an d l ower it i n t o the s ou n di n g t u be
h oldi n g the m e mbra n e of the bo x h o riz on t a l The s a n d d i s
bec o mi n g sile n t
t i n ct l y a n n o u n ces the positio n s o f the loops
a t the n odes
T 0 this cl a ss of i n strume n ts belo n g a lso the ute the clarin et
the com et an d the t r om bon e I n the rst three of these i n st ru
me n ts the vibr a ti n g c ol u m n o f a ir is m a de t o bre a k up by
me a n s of st ops SO as t o yield either the fu n d a m e n t a l or over
t on es at the will o f the pl a yer The o pe n i n g of a st op a t an y
p o i n t on the t u be i n s u res an a n ti n ode a t t h a t p oi n t While i n
the tr om bo n e the pl ayer c on tr ols the pitch by v a ryi n g the
l n gt h o f the air c olu m n
.

on

en

an

un

o e

een

1 30

'

G ENER A L

HY SI C S

S tri n ged I n stru men ts

these perh a ps the si mplest an d m ost typical is the

This i n stru m e t h as S i x stri n gs three of Silk covered
guitar
with Silver wire an d three of c a tg u t The r a n ge o f the i n s t ru
me n t i s a b out three oct a ves The lo w est stri n g yields the n ote
E ; the highest O pe n stri n g 4 E ; o r whe n held a t the m iddle 8
Three meth ods of v a ryi n g the pitch a re illustrated i n the
E
guit a r
1
To vary the pitch n o f an y on e stri n g a screw i s em
ployed to ch a ge the te n si o n T A s the te n s o I n crea es the
f orce restori g the stri n g t o its p ositio n of equilibrium bec o mes
greater The f req u en cv therefore i cre a ses
To p a ss from on e n ote to a n o ther o n the s a me stri n g
2
frets a re e m ployed The n ger holds the stri n g dow n over
the fret an d thus cha n ges the le n gth of the stri n g
236

Of

a co n st a n t

2 nL

1
n oc

passi n g from on e stri n g to a n other the pitch of the

lower s t ri n gs is dimi n ished by i n cre a si n g their de n sity This
is acc om plished by wr a ppi g them with silver wire The
stri n gs would be t oo clumsy an d t oo rigid if the s a m e m a ss
were give n to the stri n g by u se of catgut The wr a ppi n g o f
silver wire a dds n othi n g to the rest ori n g force b u t does i n
cre a se the mass to be moved an d he n ce di m i n ishes the fre
que n oy
These three facts a re most briey an d de n itely summarized
1 9 2 ) as follows
by writi n g E q 8 2
3

In

m;

Eq

u.

82

from which it follows that other thi n gs remai n i n g co n sta n t

i
n varies a s V T
( )
,

( iii )

vari es

1
as

varies as

L
1

the vi oli n the le n gth of the stri n g is n o lo n ger determi n ed

the p o siti on of the fret but is u n der the e n tire c o trol o f

In

by

S O UN D

245

the player The violi n is therefore much mor e r espo n sive to

the will an d to the skill of the pl a yer tha n is the guitar
The p
i an o is an i n strume n t of betwee n 8 0 an d 9 0 stri n gs or
sets of stri n gs each of which is employed to pr o duce on e n ote
o n ly The te n si on an d le n gth of e a ch stri n g is i n te n ded to
remai n c on sta n t A n ythi n g which cha n ges the te n sio n of a
stri g o n ce adj usted is said to put the pian o out of tu n e
The h arpis esse n ti a lly a pia n o i n which the stri n gs are
plucked by the n gers i n stead of bei n g struck by hammers
.

Vi brati n g M embran es

The

H u man Voi ce

this cl a ss the d ru m is the well -k n ow n example

B u t by a ll odds the most i n teresti n g an d m o st m a rvel o us
i strume n t of this or i deed of an y class is that which pro
duces the h u man v oi ce H ere i n ge n eral three factors
e n te r :
n s of the so -called v o cal cords
a
The
vibratio
( )
( 6) The vibratio n s of the to gue
( 0) The vibratio n s of the lips
The vocal cords co n sist of membr a n es situated on e on each
side o f the throat ( lary n x ) By ch a n gi n g the muscul a r t en
sio n f these on e e a sily ch a n ges the pitch o f h s v orce B y
a lteri n g the fo rm of the mouth on e e a sily cha ges the over
to n es an d he n ce the q u a lity of the to n e I n this ma n n er the
various vowel sou n ds are produced
23 7

Of

P
1

r ach i g a l arge b i l d i
p
p
u

s ec on d l ater I

t an d

ea r

r o b l em s

i
eh

a p f t
a a ay i s t h

g at n gh t , I s t m my
t he c o
H ow f r w
n

oo

on

th e

bu ld

i i

Ans
2

W h at

i s the

it c h
p

s ou n d w h ose w av e len gth

of

in

a ir

ave
p
g?
m

cm

is

A n s 1 000
.

xp
l ai h w t h vi l i i st v a r ie s th p
itc h f y
s t r i g by p
l ac
i g h i ge r p i t
4
A we ll i s 1 8 00 m d e p H w l g a t i me w i ll b re q i red
f ra s
d t t r av l f r m t h b t t m t t h t pf t h w e ll ? H w l
g
b i
w ill a st
f al l i g f r m t h t pt t h b t t m f t h w ll ? H W
l g t he a f ter t h st e i s l t f all bef re y hea r t h s p
l a sh
A
T t a l i t rv al
5
d t h at t h
A K d t t be is ll ed w ith hyd r ge
d i t i s t he f
d is ta ce b et w ee t h s cc e ss ive d s t h e ap
s is
t i me s as gre at
wh e
3

on

ou n

on e

on

n,

un

on

on

an

on
O

ou

n s.

on e

an

sec.

n e
n

o un

as

G ENER A L

246

PH

YS I C S

s ame n ote i s s ou n ded i n t h e t ube lled w i t h ai r Fr om t hi s c omp

u te
Ans
m p
er se c o n d
eed of so u n d i n hyd rogen
t h e sp
6
The b rass rod u sed t o ex c i te a ce r t ai n Ku n d t s t ube i s j us t 1 m
l o n g ; t h e d u s t h eap
s w hi c h i t p
r o d u c e s i n a i r a re 9 9 m m a p
a r t W hat
Ans 3 3 53 m p
er Se c
i s t h e sp
eed of s o u n d i n bra ss ?
ip
e 1 6 6 cm l on g w i ll yiel d a n ote of w h at p
itc h
7
A n op
e n o r ga n p
th e

Ans

1 00

cl o se d or gan p
ip
e 6 2 c m l on g w i ll yiel d what n ote ?
l a i n h o w i t i s t h at t h e s p
eed of s ou n d i n a gas i n crea ses a s t he
9
Ex p
er at ur e ri se s Sh o w t h at an e qu at ion of t h e f oll ow in g f orm d e scr ibes
t e mp
h e n o me n o n
t hi s p
t m et ers p
ers e c o n d
V
m
t
ers e c on d
1
t
e
ers p
)
(
l ace d on th e s a me ele c t r i c c i rc u i t so t h at
h so u n d e rs are p
1 0 Two te l e gr ap
O n e o f t h e se s ou n d ers i s x ed t h e o t h e r
t hey cl i ck e ac h v e t i m es a se c on d
I can c arry off to so m e d i s t a n ce H o w fa r a w ay s h all I h av e t o t a ke t he
m ov ab l e o n e i n o r d e r t o h e a r i ts n t h cl i ck at t h e s a m e i n s t an t t h a t I h e a r
me t h o d f o r
1 ) t h cl i ck of t h e x ed s o un d e r ? Th i s i s t h e u n i s o n
t h e (n
An s
m
ee d of s o u n d
me a s ur i n g t h e Sp
11
i tc h o f a s t r i n g w h i c h
I n h ow m a n y w ay s c o ul d yo u c h a n ge t h e p
n ow e m i t s t h e n o te C so t h at i t w o u l d e m i t t h e n o te G i n t h e s a me o c t a v e
12
W o u l d i n crease of tem p
er at ure c h an ge th e p
i tc h of an o rga n p
ip
e?
ip
W o u l d i t c h a n ge t h e r ati o of t h e f re q ue n c ie s of a s er
ies of p
es
8

S hearer, 12 6 5

f ret s o n a gu i ta r an d Sh o w h o w s tar ti n g
f ro m an y on e s t r in g an y o th er s tr i n g m ay be t u n ed by t h e u se o f beat s
14
A ss u m i n g t h e de n s i ty of h yd roge n a s
n d t h e sp
eed of
s o u n d i n hyd rogen u n de r n or m al at mos p
h er i c p
re ss u r e o f 7 6 cm
15
A ssu m i n g t he d e n s ity of ma rs h gas t o b e
n d t h e te m p
er a
t u r e at w h i c h t h e s p
eed o f s o un d
ee d of s o u n d i n a i r w i ll b e e q u a l t o t h e s p
i n m a rsh gas at 0 C
16
A b r ass an d an i r o n rod h av e ea c h t h e s ame s i z e Sh ap
e an d de n si ty
Th r o u gh w h i c h w ou l d you ex p
e c t s ou n d t o t rav e l more r ap
i d ly ? Why ?
H ow m u c h m o re r ap
i d ly
R e fe r en c es
13

ak e a

a a

d i gr m

of

th e

l t
p
p

i ce
B
Th ry f S
d
I ter ati al Sc ie ti c Serie s Pr i c e
BA
P r c ti c l A c
ti
Th t hi rd v l m e f Ste w a rt
d Ge
P r cti l P hy i
( M a c m i ll a ) Pr i ce
rt
E
M si c
Se c t i
Sc i t i c B a s i s
f M si c p
y B rt
p
1 02 1 06 by Pr fe ss r B s a q et
H LM H L T
S
ti
t r a s by E ll i s ( L
f T
) Pr i ce
gm
TH M
P Y TI
A
S
d ( G ri f
TA Y L
S d l ey
S
d
d M i ( M a c mi ll a )
A p
pl ar d sch l arly
ht f t h at i t e r es t i g d m ai w h i c h l ie s b et we
Ac s t i cs
d M ic
TY N D A L L

Lec tu res

LASE R N A
R N ES

NG

OR,

an

en s a

ND

accou

us

cs

on e,

SO N

oun

ou n

on

an

o u

an

e s

on

en

an s

on

us c

on

on s o

Pr

e on

o us

ou n

s cs

ca

nc

eo

(A

S ou n d

on

an

en

ou

C H APTE R VI I
TH E O R Y

cold cover a wide ran ge

We u se the words hot warm an d ol d with gre a t accur a cy
A n d yet he a t is so m ethi g c o cer n i n g which o u r two m ost
i m port a n t se n ses sight an d he a ri n g give us n o direct i n
f or m a tio n I n deed there is stro g evide n ce for thi n ki n g th a t
this i n t a n gible i n visible s o m ethi n g which we c a ll he a t is
n ot a subs t a n ce at a ll but r a ther a fo r
The ob
m of e n ergy
jcet of the prese n t chapter is to disc o ver the co n s t a n t eleme n t s
i n the n a ture of he a t a d especi a lly to exami n e the evide n c e
for thi n ki n g it a ki d of e ergy an d n ot a v a rie t y of matter ;
i n S hort to reduce t he idea of he a t t o o n e of matter an d m otio n
a s w as d o n e i n the c a se of sou n d The subject is o n e which i s
so i ti m ately co n n ected with al l the v a ri o us p a rts o f P hysic
that it is well n igh impossible t o offer an y system a tic a n a lysis ;
but perh a ps the followi n g order of treatme n t will serve our
purpose
I D isti n cti on bet w ee n H e a t a d Te m perature
II
Thermometry
M e a sureme n t of Temperature
III Q u a n tity of H e a t C a lori m etry
IV
Tr a n sfer of H e a t
V
S o m e Eff ects o f H e a t
V I Nature of H eat
238

O u rexperie n ces

HEAT

OF

with heat

an d
c

D I S TI N CT I ON

ETW EEN H E AT A N D T EMP ER A TU RE

23 9
M ost people will agree that a cup o f water take n from a
boili n g kettle has at the i n sta n t it is dippe d ou t the sa m e te mper
t
ature a s that of the boili n g w a t er M ost people will likewise
a gree that for heati n g purposes the l a rge kettle is much m o re
ef cie n t th a n the small cup o f water A w a ter b a g or a water
b ottle th a t h olds a g a llo n will give out m ore he a t an d give it
o u t l o n ger o ther thi n gs bei n g equal th a n on e which holds on ly
a pi n t If the te m perature o f t h e t w o vessels o f w a ter are the
1

2 47

GENE RAL

248

HYS I C S

same the larger is said to co n tai n more heat If a bath tub

be half lled with cold water on e can heat it more by p o uri n g
i n a gallo n of boili n g water tha n by putti n g i n a quart of b o il
i n g water ; for although the temper a tures are the s a m e the
gallo n co n t a i n s more heat th a n the quart These simple fa cts
are cited merely to show th a t popular n otio n s c o n cern i n g the
disti n cti o n betwee n heat an d temper a ture are perfectly cle a r
They are also correct B ut before the word temperature can
be ad m itted to the rather select vocabul a ry of P hysics it must be
de n ed i n u n mistakable En glish This we n ow pr o ceed to d o
Im a gi n e three vessels of water A B 0 ( Fig
each
c on tai n i n g a differe n t q ua n tity of w a ter If A an d B are
pl a ced side by side i n co n tact
a n d B thereby gai n s he a t b e
it ever so little -A h a s im
parted heat t o B ; an d A is said
to h a ve a higher temperature
FIG 17 1
tha n
P u t 0 i n co n tact with B ; if B thereby loses heat b e it
heat h a s
a
ssed
i
n to 0
an d C is said t o be at
ever s o li t tle
p
a lower temper a ture th a n B
Wh en i n gen eral on e body is p
l ace d i n con t act w it h an oth er
t h e d i ffer en ce of t em p
er atur e betw een t h e bod ies is th at w h i ch
If the heat o w s fro m
d etermi n es w h i ch w ay t h e h e at ows
A to B A h a s the higher te m per a ture ; but if the heat ows
fro m B to A the n B h as the higher tem
.

'

pr t

e
e a ur

C o n sider t w o

vessels of water E an d E
on
Fig
c
ected by a rubber t u be
(
D o es the w a ter a lw a ys ow fro m the l a rge
vessel to the sm all on e ? What d oes deter
mi n e the directio n oi the flo w ? If t h e
w a ter flows fr om E to F d oes the surface
of the water i n F rise by the sam e amou n t
Fm 1 72
that the surface i n E f alls ?
R etur n i n g n o w to F ig 1 7 1 we O bserve that t h e a n alogy is
'
very perfect Whether heat ows from A to 0 or vice versa
depe n ds n ot at all up o n the size of the vessels but upo n their
di ffere n ce of heat level or more accurately up on their di fferen ce
of temperature
,

THE OR Y

OF H EAT

249

The followi n g de n itio n s will n ow be clear to every on e

who h a s mastered the foreg oi n g f a cts
er at u r e of a bod y
D EF I N I TI O N O F T EM P ER A TU RE Th e t emp
ef er en ce to i t s p
i s i t s t h er mal s t at e con si d er ed with r
ower of com
mun i cat i n g h eat t o oth er bod i es
D EF I N I TI O N O F H I G HER A N D L O W E R T EM P E R A TU RE
If
24 0

when two bod i es

ar
e

bod i es l oses hea t,

ou t

hea t i s

from

C O R O LL A RY

mu n i cati on ,
two bod ies

LA W
tu r
es

ar
e

OF

l aced i n therma l

t hem l oses

tem

a tu r
er
es

t hen s ai d t o

EQ UA L

orga i n s

the

or

T EM P E R A TU RE

tem

to tha t

f the

B od i es whose tem

er
a tu

res

tem

e u al

sa

ar
e

The

er
at u e

iu
e u il ibr

sam e

be i n therma l

co

heat , t he t wo bod i es

me body ha ve t hemsel ves

- M A XW E LL
Theory of H ea t, Ch II
,

ar
e e u al

e u al

f the

on e o

If when two bod i es a re

n ei ther o

t o have

sa id

it

co

r gai n s hea t tha t body whi ch gi ves

higher tem eratu re t han that whi ch

othe

to ha ve a

s aid

recei ves hea t

mmu n i ca ti on

l a ced i n therma l

d the

an

e a

The poi n t i n this de iti on which c a lls for e m phasis is the

f a ct that temperature is a state of a body
It is a c on ditio n
an d n ot a theory which co n fro n ts us
24 1 I n esti m ati n g temperatures the stude n t must be wa
rn ed
agai n st dr a wi n g i n correct i n fere n ces from his se n sati on s For
i n j udgi n g the temperature of the a tmosphere it is well k n own
th a t our estimate is greatly i n ue ced by an y wi n d th a t m ay
be blowi n g an d by th e prese n ce of m o isture i n the air If the
h a n d be d ipped i n to hot water an d i m medi a tely a fterward i n to
t a p water the tap w a ter will feel disti n ctly cold B ut if a
piece of ice be held i n the ha n d for a m o m e n t the same t a p
water will immediately a fter feel disti n ctly warm The i di
c a ti on s of ther m o m eters such as are usually employed i n the
l a bo ratory are m uch more i n depe n de n t of their previous history
th an are the se n satio n s of t h e human han d
n

II

T EM P ER A TU RE T HERM O METRY
2 42 The m ercurial thermometer i s an i n stru m e n t which
bel on gs quite as m uch to the household as t o the physical
labor a tory But the pri n ciples up on which it is co n structed
e n ot s o well k n own as th e i n strume n t itself
ar
M E A S U REM EN T

OF

G ENE R A L

2 50

PH

YS I C S

Si n ce

he a t itself is i n visible an d i n ta n gible an d can be per

cei ved o n ly through its e ffects upo n bodies we m us t empl o y
some on e of these e ff ects for the measureme n t of heat For
urp
ose s t h e u n iv ers al ch oic e h as been ch an ge i n s iz e
or d i n ar y p
w h i ch alw ays accomp
a n i es a ch a nge i n t e mp
We m ight
er at ur
e
t a ke a br a ss rod 1 0 ce n timete rs lo n g an d the n de n e on e
degree as that di ffere n ce i n temperature which is required to
1
l e n gthe n the brass rod by 5 6 millimeter
Such an i n s t ru
me n t would be port a ble a d would give the same re a di g for
the sa m e temperature ; but it would be impossible to meas
ure such a m i n ute el on gatio n except by mea n s of elaborate
app a r a tus
If a glass bulb tted with a hollow stem were partially lled
with water we might de n e on e degree as th a t di ffere n ce of
te m perature which would i n cre a se the volume of w a ter by lm
B ut u n fortu n a tely water does ot a lw a ys i n crease
o f itself
i n v olume a s its temper a ture rises
M ore o ver each p a rticular
v olume of the w a ter does n ot corres p
o n d to on e particular
te m per a ture A s we sh a ll see prese n tly a body o f water at 6
A w a ter thermo m eter w o uld
h a s the s a m e volu m e as at
therefore be a mbiguous i n its re a di n gs H e n ce water is n ever
used for m a ki n g thermometers
,

But there is on e s ubsta n ce viz mercury which has

A mo n g t h e
S how n itself emi n e n tly adapted t o the purpose
adv a n t a ges of mercury m a y be me n tio n ed the followi n g
( a) It is easily prep a red i n a pure st a te
b
I
t
does
n
o
t
wet
gl
a
ss
or
stick
to
it
( )
n ds r a pidly with rise of te m perature s o th a t its
I
t
exp
a
c
( )
cha n ges i n v olu m e are e a sily read
T
o each p a rticul a r v o lume correspo n ds a de n ite tem
d
)
(
243

at u r
e
er

o es n o t freeze except at temper a tures c o m par a tively

d
( )
low an d d oes n o t b o il except a t temperatures c o mp a r a tively
h igh
n d most solutio n s it requires a
C
omp
a
red
with
w
a
ter
a
(f )
very s m all amo u n t of he a t t o r a ise i t s temperature through
a give n ra n ge
The i n dic a tio n s of temperature which a re give n by the m er
curial thermometer hi n ge upo n the fac t that merc ury expa n ds

It

e
,

TH EOR Y

OF

HE AT

2 51

n does glass
ith
rise
of
temper
a
ture
more
r
a
pidly
tha
I
f
w
therefore a gl a ss tube h a vi n g a bulb blow n at on e en d be
p a rti ally lled with mercury an d i mm ersed i n a bath a t h igher
te m per a ture th a n its ow the mercury will rise i n the tube
I f the i strume n t is immersed i n a b a t h of lower te m per a ture
he a t will o w fr o m the mercury to the b a th an d the mercury
will desce n d i n the tube Whe n the mercury is n either r i s i n g
lli g it is fa ir to suppose th a t the thermometer is at the
n orf a
or a t least the part of the bath
s a m e te m perature as the b a th
immediately ab out the thermometer
.

M an ufa ctu re of

M ercu ri a l Thermometer

The steps i n the process are a s f ollows

The selectio n of a piece of thick -walled capillary tubi n g
1
o f very u n ifor m b o re
2
A bulb is blow n on the en d o f this tube
The bulb is lled with mercury It is the n highly heated
3
se a led o ff
an d
4
The tube of the thermometer is gr a duated
This l a st step is o n e which dema n ds further co n sideratio n
2 44

Fi xed P oin ts

Thermometer

It s o happe n s th a t there are t w o temperatures which

c an be easily produced an d reproduced at a lmost an y pl a ce a d
a t an y time o n e of them is t he m elti n g poi n t of ice the other
is the b o ili n g p oi n t of w a ter
It has b ee n agree d u p
on by t h e wh ol e s cie n tic worl d
th at
oi n t of i ce an d t h e boili n g
eratures the melti n g p
t hese t w o tem p
oi n t of water
sh oul d be calle d zero an d on e h u n d re d d e grees
p
res p
ectivel y Toge t h er t he y are k n ow n as t h e x e d p
oi n ts of t h e
The i n terv a l betwee n these two xed poi ts is
t h er mometer
d ivide d i n to 1 00 steps
degrees i n such a way th a t the ap
p a re n t ch a n ge i n volu m e of the mercury betwee n an y two
p a rt o f the total app are n t cha n ge
s uccessive steps is exactly
Til U
i n v olu m e betwee n 0 an d
This is k n ow n as the ce
t i grad e scale
C
a n d is ge n erally i dicated by writi g a
a f t er the n u m erical value of the te m perature
Thus 4 8 C
me a n s 4 8 degrees on the ce n tigrade scale
The rst step i n the gr a duatio n of a therm om eter is the n
to determi n e the xed poi n ts an d m a rk them on the tube
2 45

GE NE R A L

252

HYS I C S

the 5 0 poi n t is s o chose n that t h e

volume ( n ot the le n gth ) of the tube betwee n
5 0 an d 1 00 i s equal t o the v olume betwee n
I n like m a n n er the 2 5 poi n t
5 0 an d
m ust h a lve the volume betwee n 0 an d
The ma n n er i n which these poi n ts are deter
mi n ed will be co n sidered i n the lab o rat o ry

Next

a tu r
er
e
Temp

S ca l es

Fa hren hei t

an d

R eau m u r

the ce n tigrade scale which i n

a modied form w a s suggested by C elsius
there are two others which are wi d ely used i n
I n the on e pr o posed by
everyd a y life
F -1 7 3
Sh w i g Fahre n heit
the xed
t h e volume betwee n
t g s m th
p
is
divided
i
n to 1 8 0 p a rts ; while the
o i n ts
f a
m a fac t r
m r
ri i t h r zero is placed a t a poi n t W hich is 3 2 o f these
m m t
degrees below the melti n g poi n t of ice
I n the other proposed by R eaumur the volume betwee n t h e
freezi n g poi n t an d the b oili g poi n t of w a ter i s divided i n to 8 0
degrees the former o f these t w o poi n ts bei n g employed a s zero
It is imp o rt a n t t o n otice that these three thermo m eters C elsius
Fahre n heit an d R eaumur di ffer i n n o esse n ti a l respect They
are ide n tic a l i n pri n ciple mode of co n structio n an d u se t h e
o n ly d i eren ce bei n g i n the size of the degree employed
2 46

B esides

IG

S a

u e o

nu

cu

e e

s sen ti al Fe ature s of a Good Th ermometer

1
I t must be e a sily p ort a ble
2
It m ust be perma n e n t
3
I t must always give the same readi n g whe n s ubjected to
the s a me temperature
4
It must be possible fo r the user to test the correct n ess o f
its gr a du a tio n a d to determi e an y errors i n its graduati
5 It must be rel a tively sm a ll so th a t whe n placed i n con
tact with a sec o d body the temperature of the seco n d body
will n ot be seriously a ffected
24 7

H i stori cal D evel o men t

the

Thermometer

the thermometer is on e o f the ol d est i n st ru

me n ts of physical scie n ce a d has a histo ry coveri n g thre e
2 48

A lthough

THE OR Y
h u n dred

H E AT

OF

253

years there is eve n n ow sc a rcely a year goes by th a t

d oes n ot bri g either s om e n ew form of therm o m eter or som e
i m porta n t i m proveme n t
I n W i n kel m an n s H a d bu ch d r P hy sik P ern et tr a ces the
develop m e n t of the i n s t rume n t thr ough a series of steps which
are s omewhat as follows
( i ) S o m e ti m e previous to 1 6 03 Galileo had made an d used
i n lec t ures at P a du a a thermoscope or i n dic a t o r o f temper a ture
which i n its esse n tial features is show n i n Fig
,

1 74

glass bul b with a rather lo n g an d u n ifo rm

ste m is i n verted with its lower en d pl a ced u n der
the surfa ce o f s om e c ol o red liquid such as wi n e
B u t before the stem is pl a ced i n the liquid the
bulb must be he a ted to a temperature a little
higher tha n an y te m perature it is aft erw a rd
desired to measure A t the sta n dard tempera
ture say that of the r oo m t h e l i q u i d ris es to
a certai m a rk o n the sc a le an d remai n s there
except fo r v a ri a tio n s of the b a r om eter Whe n
t ake n out-of-d o ors the air i n t h e bulb exp a n ds or
co tracts an d the w a ter i n the tube thus f a lls
with rise of temper a ture an d rises with a f all
of temper a ture This si m ple device is surpris
F IG 174 G
se
n s i t i ve
n d pr o ved useful
eve
n I n G ah
In l
a
gy
wd
th
m m t r
leo s ti m e for the detectio n of fever
ii
n o ted by P a sc a l i n 1 6 4 3 the re a di n gs of this ther
A
S
( )
m om et er are depe n de n t upo n the simulta n eous re a di n gs of the
barometer To a void this difculty Father S choot i n 1 6 5 7
se aled the liquid off from the atmosphere by ben di n g the tub e
an d se a li n g a bulb o n each en d as show n i n Fig 1 7 5
Wha t
this device i n dic a tes is evide n tly the d iff r n c i n temper a ture
be t wee n the t w o bulbs A an d B It is theref ore called a d i r
A

'

eb

e e

a,

e e

en ti a l

t her
mometer

( iii )

each o f the precedi n g i n strume n ts a gas is employe d

as a thermometric subst a ce ; but i n 1 6 3 1 a Fre n ch physici a n
Jean R ey rst made use of the exp a n sio n of a l iquid for t h e
measurem en t of te m per a ture A gl a ss bulb provided with a
stem an d lled with w a ter w a s used by him t o disti guish
betwee n n ormal blood temper ature an d thos e o f fever p a tie n ts
In

G ENER AL

2 54

PH

YS I C S

( iv ) The rst liquid thermometer to secure i n depe n d e n ce

atmospheric pressure was m ad e abou t 1 64 1 by se a li n g off

the en d of t h e gl a ss stem A bout this time the
A cademy of Scie n ces at Flore n ce i n tro d uced the
use of mercury an d a scale graduated so th a t on e
en d i n dicated the lowest temper a ture of wi n ter
the other the highest temperature of summer
( v ) These rough an d i n accurate sta n d a rd tem
er
at u r
es were p a rtly replaced by the o n e excel
p
le n t sta n dard i n 1 6 6 4 ; for it was i n this year
t hat R obert H ooke S ecretary of the R o yal S ociety
o f L o n do n
suggested the melti n g poi n t of ice a s
I n the ye a r f oll owi n g
t he sta n dard te m per a ture
H uyge n s proposed the boili n g poi n t o f water a s
the sta n dard n either of these m en havi n g yet
recog n ized the fact that at le a st two xed p o i n ts
n ecessary
i n order to m a ke the
a
re
absolutely
Sc h t s d i f
f r t i l t h r thermometric re adi n gs from on e i n strume n t com
m m t r
par a ble with those from a n other
nt
This
import
a
step
the
use
of
two
de
xed
i
n ite
v
( )
oi
n ts w as rst proposed i n 1 6 88 by D al an ce who a dopted the
p
m elti n g poi ts of ice an d butter as the t w o temper a tures i n
uestio
N
ewt
o n co n structed a thermometer o n this pri n ciple
n
q
usi n g the m elti n g poi n t of ice as zero an d t h e temper a ture of
h is o wn b ody as
H e a lso tested the u n ifo rmity of th e bore
i n the stem of t h e ther m o meter thus i n troduci n g a process
A s a thermometric substa n ce
w hich is n o w called c a libratio n
he empl oyed li n seed oil
( vii ) The n ext adva n ce is due to F a hre n heit ( 1 6 86
w h o i n troduced
a D a n ish mecha n icia n livi n g i n A msterd a m
the m o der n mercury ther m ome t er with cyli n dric a l bulb a d
For xed p o i n ts h e used v a rious
s tem about the ye a r 1 7 1 4
temperatures am n g the m th a t of a mixture of s a lt an d ice

melti n g ice
blood he a t
b o ili n g w a ter
Which pair were take n a s sta n d a rd i n an y particular case
a ppears t o have bee n determi ed l a rgely by the r a n ge of tem
h
r
m
n t was i n te n ded
for
hic
that
particul
a
r
i
stru
e
r
a
t
u
es
W
e
p
( viii ) The Rea umur scale described above w a s i n troduced
L ittle i n terest attaches to th is thermometer other
a b o ut 1 7 3 0
t ha n its wi d e use i n domestic an d i n dustrial circles
of

oo

e en

e e

THE OR Y

HE AT

OF

2 55

4
2
n ders C elsius
ix
professor
of
a
stro
omy
at
I
n
1
A
n
7
( )
U ps a l a proposed a sc ale with the zero at the boili n g poi n t o f
w a ter an d with 1 00 a t the melti n g p o i n t of ice The i n versio n
o f this sc a le which gives us the m o der n ce n tigr a de i n strume n t
poss ibly a ls o t o St rOmer
i s due to C hristi n i n Fra n ce
i n U ps a l a
n ti m e m a n y i n vestig a tors h a d bee n searchi n g
x
the
me
a
I
n
( )
f or the c on d itio n s which determi n e the exact temper a tures
B u t it w a s the G erm a n
a t which ice melts an d w a ter b o ils
- 1 77 7
m
1
2
8
n ally pl a ced the scie n ce
hysicist
La
bert
7
who

(
p
)
its moder b a sis by usi n g a ir as a
o f thermo m etry u po n
a bsol ute zero
t herm o m etric subst a ce a d proposi g a s an
t h a t te m perature at which the g a s w o uld c on tr a ct s o much a s to
bri g t h e particles of air i n t o a ctu a l c on t a ct with on e a other
B esides this he i n tr o duced m a n y i m p o rta n t correctio n s which
re n der the air thermometer an i stru m e n t o f precisio n
2 7 0 an d 2 9 1 ) the abs olute zero of
A s will be see n l a ter
L a m bert whe n de n ed i a m o re pr a ctic a ble m a n n er is esse n
Y et it w a s the ex a ct m e a sureme n ts
t i al l y th a t i n u s e t o d a y
o f the Fre n ch physicist R eg n a ult ( 1 8 1 0 1 8 7 8 ) upo n the pr oper
ties O f gases an d vapors th a t made p ossible a re a s on a bly ex a ct
So much for pr a ctic a l ther
a bs o lute sc a le o f temper a tures
The dy n a m ic al fo u n d a tio n upo n which the abs olute
m o m et ry
s c a le is b a sed can be c on sidered o ly after we have looked i n to
the subject of thermody n a m ics
,

M ea su remen t of H igh Tem

a tu r
er
es

The determi n a ti on o f te m per a tures which lie a b ove s a y

dem a n ds methods which
t h e b o ili n g p oi t of sulphur 4 4 5 C
a l m st a sep a r a te scie n ce pyrometry an d on e
c on stitute
which c a n n ot here be c n sidered It m ay however be m e
t i o ed that these meth o ds a re practic a lly a ll based up o n o n e
o r m o re o f the three f ollowi n g pri n ciples
which the stude n t
will meet l a ter
n ce with te m perature
i
The
v
a
ri
a
tio
n
of
electric
a
l
resista
( )
givi n g rise to wh a t is k n o w n a s electric a l resist a ce ther
si ce the resist a n ce
m o m et ry an d pl a ti n u m te m per a tures
used is ge n erally th at of a pl a ti n u m wire V aluable b o th fo r
moder a tely high a d for very l o w temper a tures especi a lly use
ful betwee n 4 00 an d 1 2 00 C
24 9

G ENE R AL

2 56

HYS IC S

T
h
ii
e variatio n with cha n ge of temperature of either
( )
( a)
the t o tal amou n t of e n ergy radiated by a h ot body or ( b) the
e n ergy ( bright n ess) of a particular wave le n gth ( color ) of ligh t
r a di a ted by a h ot body
The total e n ergy varies accordi n g to a l aw rst determi n ed
by St efa n an d B oltzma n n ; the partial e n ergy accordi n g to on e
i n vestig a ted by Wie n an d Pla n ck
These are the b asis o f what is k n ow n as blackb ody tempera
t u res si n ce the methods are stric t ly accurate o n ly for bodie s

which a re perfectly black

A vailable for the highest tem
peratures k n ow n
iii
The
vari
a
tio
n
of
electromotive
force
i
n
a
circuit
mad
e
)
(
of two wires of d i eren t material whe n the temperature of on e
of the j u n ctio n s of these two wires is cha n ged a method whic h
leads to thermoelectric thermometry
,

T AB LE

OF

R E L I A B L E M E L TI N G

AND

B O I L I N G P O I N TS
C

i q i d H yd r ge
Li q i d O xyge
Fre z i g M e rc ry
M el ti g I c e
B il i g p
i t f W a t r t 760 mm p
ress re
B i li g p
i t f A i l i e t 7 6 0 mm p
re ss re
B il i g p
i t fN p
ht h l i
t 760 m m p
r ss re
B ili g p
i t f D ip
he y l a m i e t 7 6 0 mm p
re ss re
B ili g p
h r t 760 m m p
i t f S lp
re ss r e
M e l ti g p
i t f Ti
M el t i g p
i t f Le ad
M el t i g p
i t f Zi c
M e l ti g p
i t f A tim y
M el t i g p
i t f Al mi i m
M e l ti g p
i t f N Cl
M e l ti g p
i t f Si lver (i air )
M el ti g p
i t f Si lv er (i red c i g at m sp
he re )
M e lt i g p
i t f G ld
M e l ti g p
i t fC p
e r (i a i r )
p
M el ti g p
i t f K 80
M e l ti g p
i t fC p
e r (i red c i g at m sp
h e re )
p
M e l ti g p
i t f N i ck e l
Melti g p
i t f P re I r
L

E N TI R A DE
G

FA

H R E N H E IT

2 53

42 3

1 82

2 95

o n

o n

o n

o n

o n

ne a
n

o n

o n

o n

o n

o n

o n

o n

o n

o n

o n

o n

o n

o n

o n

1 169

on

12 1 4

1 4 72

9 55

1 7 63

1 9 47

on

1 07 0

1 95 8

1 08 4
1 42 7
2 73 7

THE O R Y

OF

HE AT

2 57

The precedi n g table prep a red by D r J A H a rker for the

C a mbridge S cie n tic I n strume n t C o i n 1 9 06 gives a fair idea
o f the r a ge of te m per a tures employed i n moder n physics
E ve n higher melti g p o i n ts tha n those listed i n the precedi n g
table have bee n measured with remarkable accuracy
Thus
Waid n er an d B urgess at W a shi n g t o n usi n g three di ffere n t
methods obtai n for palladium 1 5 4 6 C an d for plati n um
1 75 3 C ; while M e n de n h all an d l n gers oll at M adiso n have
determ i n ed the melti n g poi n t of rhodium to be 1 907 r
1 9 6 8 C an d that of iridium to be 2 2 9 2 or 2 3 8 8
accordi n g
to the value accepted for plati n um co n cer n i n g which there
lyi n g s omewhere betwee n
a ppears to be stil l an u n certai n ty
1 0 an d 5 0 C
The temperature o f the positive crater of the
electric a rc lies prob a bly betwee n 3 6 00 an d 3 9 00 C ; while
that of the s un is probably i n the n eighborhood of 78 00 C
.

III

Q U A N TI TY

OF

H EAT

We have already le a r n ed that temperature is merely a

co n ditio n determi n i n g the directi o n of the o w of heat very
much as pressure is a co n ditio n determi n i n g the directio n o f
the curre n t whe n t w o vessels of co m press ed a ir are co n n ected
A n d j ust a s we n eed a m e a n s of me a s uri n g the a m ou n t of air
which escapes fro m either of the t w o vessels i n to the o ther so
we n eed a method of esti m a ti n g the qua n tity of heat which
p a sses from on e body to a n o ther whe n they a re brought i n to
co n t a ct with a di ffere n ce of temperature
Whe n a hot b ody is brought i n t o the n eighborhood of cooler
bodies we have excelle n t re a s on for thi n ki n g s omethi g passes
fr om the hotter o n e because the cooler o n es a lw ays rise i n
te mpera t ure If a cold body is brought i n to the midst of hotter
o n es we observe agai n that whe n the temper a t ure of the cold
body rises i t is always a t the expe n se of the h otter surrou n di n gs

L et us call this so m ethi n g which pas ses heat an d pr oceed to

disc o ver what factors deter m i n e its a mou n t The S implest
method of doi n g this is perhaps through the followi n g series of
experime n ts
It
( i ) T a ke e q u al mas ses of water an d mix them together
will be fou n d that the te m perature o f the mixture is an ex a ct
me a n betwee n the two origi n al temperatures w hatever the
masses may h a ve bee n
2 50

'

G ENE R A L

258

ii
( )

N o w t ake

PH

YS I C S

masses
of
water
which
we
may
i
n
q
d i cat e by ml an d m2 h a vi n g temperatures t1 an d t2 respectively
O n mixi n g these t w o it is fou n d that the n a l temperature 0
is obt a i n ed by m ultiplyi n g the mass of each by its origi n al
temperature addi n g these products an d dividi n g by the s u m
of the masses This result seems rst to h a ve bee n f or m ulate d
by the R ussi a n physicist R ich ma n n ( 1 7 1 1
it is k n ow n
as Ri chm an n s rule an d is most clearly expresse d by the follow
i n g equatio n
u n e u al

'

m1

Eq

m2

88

If we assume th a t as much heat is give n up by on e m a ss of

water as is gai ed by t h e o ther the n the experime n tal f a c t
e xpressed by R i ch m an n s rule Shows that the am o u n t of heat
give n up or a bs orbed by an y body depe n ds upo n the m ass an d
the ch a n ge o f te m per a ture This i n fere n ce will be clearer if
we rewrite E q 88 i n t h e followi n g fo rm
n

m1 ( t 1

This equatio n may i n d eed

qu a n tities of he a t
,

6)
be

771

9
0
2

t2 )

co n sidered as a de n itio n of equal

f H eat

Un i t

o n ce d iscovered a method of duplicati n g a give n

qu a n t ity of heat the me a sureme n t of heat becomes possible so
so on a s a u n it of he a t h a s bee n agreed upo n For this purpos e
we have o n ly to pl ace equal to u n ity both the mass an d t h e
ch a ge o f temperature i n the precedi n g equatio n a pr o ces s
which le a ds t o the followi n g w idely e mpl oyed de n itio n
eratu re of
U n it of h eat is that q ua n ti t y whi ch will raise the tem p
on e gra m of water f r om 0 t o 1 C
Th is u n it i s calle d a gr am
E gi n eers m o re freque n tly e m pl o y the British Ther m a l
cal orie
U i t ( writ t e n
which is the a m ou n t o f he a t re
quired to r a ise the te m per a ture of on e pou n d of water on e
Fahre n heit degree
It h a s bee n suggested by P rofessor E H G ri f ths th a t i n
order to make the m echa n ic a l equivale t of heat 2 8 9 ) alm ost
ex a ctly 4 2 milli on ergs per gram d egree we s hou l d d e t he
2 51

H avi n g

ne

un i t o

hea t

t he tem

as

fol l ows
f

a tu r
er
e o

on e

vi z

t he

r
a
m
g

u a n t i ty o

hea t

n ecessa r

wa terfrom 1 0 to 1 1

'

to

ra ise

THE OR Y

OF

HE A T

2 59

n de a li n g with a si n gle substa n ce

iii
S
o
far
we
have
bee
( )
n a m ely w a ter
a m ost co n ve n ie t m a terial bec a use it is easily
ob t a i n e d i n large qu a n tities a d i n a st a te o f high purity N ow
m i x t w o liquids which di ff er i n che m ic a l c o m p o siti on but hav e
chemic a l actio n up on e a ch other It w a s discovered by
no
the S c o ttish chemi t Bl a ck ( 1 7 2 8
that u n der thes e
circu m st a ces R i ch man n s rule must be modi ed H e f ou n d
th a t equ a l m a sses of di ffere n t subst a ces whe ch a n gi n g tempera
t u re by equ a l am ou n ts do n ot give o u t equ a l a m ou n ts of he a t
a n d was led to assig n t o e a ch subst a ce a certai n co n sta n t whic h
w u ld i n dicate the specific e ff ect o f he a t i r a isi g the te mper a
ture of th a t p a rticul a r subst a n ce If we de n o te this c on st a n t
by c the n R ich man n s rule i n its ge er a lized form bec omes
,

This equatio n which

ml cl

m ay

Eq

W 2 02

89

be writte n

mI HCh

6)

tz) a

h ows th a t i n ge n er a l the a m oun t of he a t which a body give s

up with o ut cha n ge of s t a te depe n ds i n ge er a l upo n three
f a ct ors n a m ely m a ss differe ce of t em per a ture an d a speci c
c o st a t which is o w c a lled Specic he a t an d which i s
de n ed a s f ollows

D EF I N I TI O N

OF

S P EC I F IC H EA T

am ou n t of h eat r eq uire d t o raise th e

tem p
erature of an y body on e d e gree an d that re q uire d t o raise t h e
t em p
erat ure of an e q ual mass of water on e d e gree is k n ow n as
the s p
e cic h eat of the body
2 52

Th e rati o betwee n

the

The n u meri al val u e o f t h e specic heat of an y substan ce will

be the qu a n t i t y of he a t ( n u m ber of cal o ries ) required to cha n g e
the t emper a ture o f on e gr a m of the subst a n ce by on e degree
L et us de ote by Q the qu a tity o f heat added to a body
whose m a ss is m an d wh ose Specic he a t i s ; l et tl be t h e
i iti a l an d t2 the n a l temper a ture of the b o dy ; accordi gl y
the cha n ge i n temper a t ure produced by Q will be t2 t1
The n
c

eat .

G EN ER AL

2 60

HYS I C S

becomes the de n i n g equatio n for the average Specic heat be

twee n the temperatures t1 an d t2

on
n
An other useful c ceptio
is that of heat capacity of a
body which is de n ed as the amou n t of he a t i n c a l o ries re
quired to r a ise the temper a ture of th a t particul a r b o dy
ce n tigrade degree E vide n tly therefore the he a t c a p a city of
a body is me a sured by the product of i t s mass an d Specic
heat
V arious applicatio n s o f E q 9 0 will be take n up i n the labor
n der the head of ca l or
u
i
m
etr
at or
y
y

TA B L E

M PE R AT R E
DE REE
C E N TI R A D E

TE

LI D S

SO

IN

OF

i i

n u

C p
pr
D i am d
G l ass cr w
G l ass i t
h i te
G r ap
o

A lc oh o l ,

Me rc u ry

1 12 8

P t ro l eu m

1 0 5 0

161

Sea

1 0- 5 0

1 17

160

5 02

1 09

2 10

I ron

Le d

MP

TE

et hyl
m et h y l

090

E AT

A lc o h ol ,

on

HE ATS

LIQ U I DS

20

I IC

SP E C W I C

A l um

SP E C

S
.

P CI F IC
E

E AT

5 1 0
2 1- 5 8

w ater

511

93 8

03 0

Fr om

Tabl es

S mi th son i an

p
p
.

2 94-2 96

T R A NS FER O F H E A T
H a vi n g n ow de n ed temperature an d qu a n tity of heat
2 53
i n such a way th a t w e c a n measure e a ch of them we n ext con
sider the various modes by which heat is tr a n sferred or di ffused
O f these o n ly two ge n eral methods are k n ow n v i z ( 1 ) C on
ductio n an d ( 2 ) R adi a tio n
IV

H eat Con du cti on

The han dle of a sp o o n may become very hot whe n the

bowl of the sp o on is placed i n a cup of tea The process by
which the heat is tr a n sferred from the lower to the upper part

of the S poo n is called co n ducti on

The s a me spoo n whe n
use d with ices m a y become very cold H ere agai n the proce ss
by which the heat is tran sferred this time from the ha n dle to
the bowl of the spoo n is called co n ductio n
2 54

THE OR Y OF H E A T

V ery

2 61

little i n deed is k n own about the m echa n ism by which

the p a rticles of a solid body ha n d on the heat from on e to
a n other A gre a t de a l else however i s k n ow n a bo ut hea t con
ductio n A t an y rate we k n o w that t h e process does n ot de
pe n d upo n the v isible motio n of m a tter A g a i n every on e
k n ows that he can hold the stick of a bur n i n g m a tch for 3 0 or
4 0 sec o n ds wi t h o ut dif culty ; but a copper wire o f the s a me
size an d sh a pe held i n a match ame for that le n gth of time
becomes u n be a r a bly hot
A n ir o n an d a copper rod each of the same le n gth s ay h a lf a
m eter an d o f the s a me cr o ss sectio n each havi n g on e en d
pl a ced i n the s a m e a m e will become u n equally heated a t equ a l
dista n ces fr o m the j u n ctio n ( see Fig
For if at equal
dist a n ces fr o m the
a m e on each rod
be pl a ced either bits
of w a x or matches
th se on the copper
W ill melt or bu m F IG 1 76 Ill s r i h f ct h t c r i b t t r
p
g
p
earlier tha n those on
c d c t r th i r
the iro n A series of bicycle bal l s atta ched with w a x
three ce n timeters a p a rt alo n g e a ch bar will melt O H i n such
a w a y a s t o Sh o w the progress of te m per a tures i n the bars
It is here to be bor n e i n mi n d that the r a pidity with which
the iro n an d the C opper cha n ge temper a ture a t an y p oi n t d e
pe n ds n ot on ly up on the r a te of co n ductio n but also upo n the
specic he a ts of iro n an d copper I n the prese n t experime n t
h owever these two values are so n early equal th a t the relative
co n ductivities o f ir on an d copper a re f a irly represe n ted
A g oo d experime n t to illustrate d i eren ces i n co n ductivity
is the foll o wi n g the results o f which a re f a miliar to us all
Take a piece of w o ole n g o od s a piece o f gl a ss an d a piece of
ir on P u t the m i n s ome cold pl a ce where their temper a ture
will fall 5 0 or 60 F below that of the huma n body If these
t hree b o dies a re n ow ex a m i n ed the ir on will feel very cold to
the h a n d bec a use it co n ducts off the heat of the ha d most
r a pidly ; the glass will feel moderately cold while the wo ole n
piece is quite co m fort a ble bei n g a very poor co n duct o r N ow
place these same bodies i n an ove n where they will re a ch a t em
n
u
e
r
a
u
r
n
t
5
0
F
above
bl
od
heat
the
iro
will
be
e
or
6
0
o
;
p
,

u t at n
on

an

s a

on .

G EN ER AL

2 62

HYS I C S

comfortably hot because it co n ducts heat to the han d so rapidly

while the w o ole n goods feels merely warm bei n g u n a ble to give
up its heat quickly H ere is a case th en where se n satio n is
determi n ed largely by power to co n duct h eat a property which
is c alled c on ductivity
It is a curious f a ct that all subst a n ces which are good
co n ductors of electricity a re also good c on duct o rs of heat
I deed o n e of the m ost brillia n t achieveme ts of m odern
electric a l theory is the expl a n atio n by the l a te P ro fessor D rud e
of Berli n of j ust h ow this i n teresti n g f a ct c o mes about a
matter which must be postpo n ed u n til after the electro n theory
has bee n co n sidered
.

the v a rious a pplicatio n s of therm a l co n duc tivity

of
n o n e is perh a ps more i m p o rt a n t th a n the cl a ssic a l i n ve n ti o
the s a fety l a m p by S ir H u m phry D a vy The explosive m ixture
of g a ses which o ccurs i n m a n y mi n es an d which is k n ow n
as re d a m pmust of course be pro tected from n a ked a m es
F or this purp o se D avy suggested th a t the a m e be i n cl o sed
The e ffec t ive n ess of this
i n a sm a ll c a ge o f wire gauze
device rests up on the f a ct that whe n the re damp pe n etr a tes
the h o od an d bur n s the a me ca n n ot strike back through
the meshes of the gauze bec a use the heat
o f c om busti on
is c a rried o ff so rapidly owi n g
t o t he con d u ti vi ty f t he iron that the tem
r
at u r
e
j ust outside is always lo wer th a n
e
p
that of ig n iti on T hat this is true may be
Show n eit her by loweri n g a piece of at wir e
gauze o ver an ordi n a ry B u n se n a m e ( Fig
whe n it will be see n th a t the a m e
does n ot p a ss thro ugh the m eshes or by
F
l l

o wi n g the
rst
all
gas
to
p
a
ss
through
h
t
e
ggilg tz gi i:
I n th e
1
D vy gauze an d the n lighti n g 1 t above
f th
p
af ty lamp
latter c a se it will be observed th a t the ame
remai n s e n tirely upo n the upper Side Si n ce hum a n n ature
is what it is the lock on the s a fety lamp which preve n ts
the mi n er from lighti n g his pipe fro m it is a feature quite as
esse n tial perhaps as the wire gauze
2 55

A mo n g

'

'

THE ORY

OF

HE AT

2 63

M easu re of Con d u ct i vi ty

Were we to a ttempt to melt ice by mean s of a C opper

bar o n e en d o f which is held i n a a me at c on sta n t temper a
ture the other en d on the ice we sh o uld n d the ra te a t which
the ice is m elted d epe n ds upo n the dime n si on s as well as upo n
the compositio n of the bar If the bar were made twice as
thick the he a t w o uld be tr a n sferred n e a rly twice as rapi d ly
But if the cross secti on re m a i n ed c on st a n t while the bar were
m ade twice a s l o n g we should n d the ice melti n g o n ly about
h alf a s r a pidly as before
By such experi m e n ts it has bee n fou n d th a t the rate at

which he a t o w s thr o ugh a solid from on e surf a ce to

a n other whe n these surf a ces are a t co n st a n t but d i eren t tem
1
r
t
u
r
e
depe
n ds up on fo u r thi n gs on ly viz
the
subst
a
n
ce
s
e
a
)
(
p
from which the s olid is m a de ( 2 ) the dis t a n ce a p a rt o f the
surf a ces ( 3 ) the a re a of the surf a ces an d ( 4 ) the di ff ere n ce i n
temper a ture betwee n the s u rf a ces L et H de n ote the a m ou n t
of heat which p a sses duri n g the time t fr o m o n e s u rf a ce whose
are a is s t o a n other of equal are a The n if k represe n ts the
therm a l c o n ductivity of the s ubt an ce 6 1 the te m per a ture of
the rst surf a ce an d 02 the temper a ture of the seco n d we may
describe the above f a cts by writi n g
2 56

Eq

91

where l is the distan ce a p a rt of t h e surfaces

S i n ce all the qu a n tities except k h a ve a lready bee n d e n ed
this is evide n tly the de n i n g eq u a ti o n for thermal co n ductivity
The m oder n the o ry o f co n ducti on is a l m ost e n tirely the cre a t i on
o f a si gle ge n ius the Fre n ch physicist F o urier ( 1 7 6 8
wh ose results a re c on t a i n ed i n his An a ly ti a l Theory of H at
I n aCt u al c a ses which occur i n t h e l a bor a tory we do n o t
ge n er a lly me a sure the heat acr o ss a li m ited surfa ce draw n i n a
s olid but a b a r or s ome body of de n ite form is selected a d
the o w fro m on e en d to the other is me a sured I n an y such
case where l is co n sider a ble a s it ge n er a lly is it is cle a r th a t
on e h a s to recko n als o with the a mou n t of he a t which esc a pes
sidewise fr om the l a teral surface of the b a r It is these

b o u dary c on diti o n s which i tr o duce m a y o f the m o st

difcult problems i n experi m e n t a l an d m a the m atical physics
.

G ENE R AL

2 64

HYS I C S

i
has devised a clever method forex p
er
me n ts of this ki n d i n which he ma n a ges to co n ti n ually se n d
back i n to the S ides of the bar j ust as much heat a s esc a pes thus
elimi n a ti n g i n stead of correcti n g for the surface loss of heat
I n the c a se of gases an d liquids it is fou n d th a t the con
d u ct i vi t i es are i n ge n er a l very sm a ll c o mpared with thos e
of solids as will be see n from the followi n g table :

P rofessor E

H H all
.

T A B L E O F T HERM A L
V
a
lue
expressed
i
n
(
SO

i i

Al u m

I UI

LIDS

L Q

C G S
.

a ss
C ar b
C p
p
C rk
fr m
G l as s t
on

226

Et h

0004

72 1

GA S

0007

Air

er

02 01

C a rb d i x i d e
Hyd r ge

0003 5 5

N i tro ge

0005 2 4

0012

O yg

0005 63

0003 0

e rc ry
P et r l e m
W ater
u

u n its)

DS

A lc oh o l

Br

C O ND U C TI V I TI E S

on

x e

0003 07
0003 2 7

002 3

I r on

i lv er

From

Ta bl es ,

S mi th son i an

p
p
.

1 9 71 98

r o b l ems
G i v e i n w or d s a d e n i t ion o f th e r m a l c on d u c tiv i ty de r i v ed f rom Eq
1
t k u n i ty
9 1 by m ak i n g all t h e q u an t i t ie s o n t h e r i gh t e x c e p
o u r i n g i n h ot w at e r
l ai n h o w t h e b re ak in g of a gl a ss tu mb le r by p
2
Exp
oo n a l on g
r e v e n t ed b y p
l ac i n g i n t h e t u m b le r a s ol i d s i lver sp
may be p
ou r e d
w h i c h t h e w at e r i s p
3
Wh y is i t t h at cork h a n d les on a b i cycl e ar e c oo l er i n s u mm er an d
w a r m e r i n w i n t e r t h a n m e t a l h a n d l es
ip
acked i n gl ass w oo l ora sbes to s ?
4
es p
W h y a r e s t ea m p
5
Th ree r od s on e of b r a ss o n e of i ro n an d on e o f s i lv er h av e th e s a me
W h i c h on e w o u l d yo u u n de rta ke to h ol d i n a ame for t he
d i m e n sio n s
l on ges t t i me w i t h ou t bu rn i n g you rs el f ?
Fr o m E q 9 1 n d t h e d i me n s io n s of t h er ma l c o n d u c t iv ity Ob serv e
6
e r at u re w i ll can cel o u t o n e ac h S i d e o f t h e e q u at i o n
t h at t e m p
P

Con vecti on Cu rren ts

The toy balloo n s which a fter bei n g lled with hot air
may be see n risi n g on each Fourth of July illustr a te i n an ex
2 57

THE ORY

HE AT

OF

2 65

ma n n er how the pri n ciple of heat co n ductio n combi n ed

with the pri ciple of A rchimedes le a ds to a large n umber of
our m ost i m port a n t an d vital phe n o m e n a
The air i n side the b a llo on is heated by co n ductio n from the
a me a t the mouth of the ball o o an d the n rises l li n g the
b a ll o o n with a g a s wh o se de n sity is much less th a n th a t of
the surrou di g a ir The bu oy a n t f orce thus pr o duced lifts the
b alloo n i t o the upper atmosphere where it n ds a p o siti on of
equilibriu m deter m i n ed by the te m per a ture an d pressure of the
surro u n d i g a ir
If a cup of tea be too hot t o dri n k we may co ol it by a ddi n g
cre a m or cold water H ere the heat of the te a is tr a n sferred
but t h e hot
t o t h e c o oler liquid by the pr o cess of c o ductio n
an d c o ld portio s of the te a d o n ot n eed t o be stirred ; t hey
will mix a lth ough a little m ore sl o wly of themselves This
r ocess is call ed
au t omatic mi x i n g w h i ch is a mer e me ch an i cal p
con ve cti on
The h o t air o f a chi m n ey rises mixes with the outside air
The h ot a ir
an d gives so m e of its he a t t o the outside air
rises because its de sity is less th a th a t of cold a ir This pro
cess of carryi n g the h ot a ir up the chim n ey is ag a i n con vec
ti o n A be aker of w a ter to which a
a me is appl ied on o e S ide as i n
Fig 1 78 bec o mes equ a lly he a ted
all through First o f a ll the w a ter
j ust o ver the ame becomes h t by
con d u ction thr o ugh the gl a ss
The
by c n v ti n the h ot w a ter just over
the am e is displ a ced by the c older
water which is he a vier a d therefore
S i n ks t o the bott om
as i dic a ted by
the a rrows The pote n ti a l e n ergy of
t h e sys te m is thus less tha n if the c old
w a ter re m a i ed on top
c rr t s
ti
This c old water i n turn becomes F -1 78 C
i w at r
hea te d by
thr o ugh the
d u t on
gl a ss Th ese curre n ts p
r od u ce d by d i ffere n ces of d en sity an d
easil y d et ect e d b y s mal l
arti cles i n t h e water are cal le d
p
con v ecti on curr en t s
They a re exhibited on a giga n tic
sc ale i n the equ a t o rial regio n s of the e a rth where the lowe r

i
u
i
s
t
e
q

n,

ec

IG

o n v e0

con

c i

0n

en

G ENE R AL

2 66

HY SI C S

layers of t h e atmosphere i n co n tact with the water of the

ocea n s or with the l a n d bec ome highly heated by on du cti on an d
the n rise by on v ti on The air rushi n g i n from n orth an d s o uth
co n stitutes the well -k n ow n trade win ds
P erh a ps the best illustratio n o f c on
vectio n curre ts is o btai n ed by the si m
ple experime n t i n dic a ted i n F ig 1 79
B is a gl a ss tube with both e n ds tti n g
i n t o a cork i n the bottom of a lamp
chim n ey The chi m ey A is lled with
c olored water ; but the tube B is lled
with cle a r w a ter The circulati on be
co m es very evide n t i n a few seco n ds
aft er a a m e is a pplied to on e side
O bserve th a t here ag a i n the hea t is co m
m u n i cat ed to the w a ter by con d u ct ion
F IG 1 79
i
C i rc l i
t by
br
b
b
gh t
through
the
glass
while
the
wa t er is
c v c t i c rr t s
tra n sferred from on e p a rt of the vessel
to a n o ther by the mecha n ic a l ( n ot therm al ) pr o cess of on v t ion
Fr o m the precedi n g it will be evide n t t hat i n uids we h a ve
i n ge n er a l b ot h processes co n ductio n an d co n vectio n always
a t w o rk ; while i s olids con
oss i
vecti o n is n ecess a rily i m p
ble Whe n h o wever he a t is
applied t o t h e upper l ayers o f a
u id co n vecti on m a y be reduced
t o a m i n imu m
To illustr a te put a s m all
piece of ice say t w o gr a m s i n
the bottom of a test tube a d
h old it a t the b o tt o m by me a s
WIR
AU
of a little coil of wire or wire
g a uze ( s ee Fig
The tube
m a y be fi lled with water an d
held over a ame u n til the
F
1 80
Ill st rat g t h fac t
water i n the top of the tube
w t r i p r c d ct r f h t
b o ils
The heated portio n s
bei n g lighter tha n the cold re m ai n on top while w a ter is such
a p o or co n duct o r of heat that the ice i n the botto m is n ot easily
m elted
,

ec

u at o n

ou

eg ,

ou

on

on

en

ec

'

ZE

EG

ICE

IG

a e

s a

oo

in

on

ea

THE O RY

OF

HE AT

2 67

I n all the varied processes of heat c on ductio n whether a ided

by c on vecti on or n ot it will be O bserved th a t t h e he a t is tr a n s
ferred fr om pl a ces of higher te mper a ture to pl a ces of l ower
te m per a ture I t hi s resp
ect he a t beh a ves like s t e a m an d a ll
other uids i n owi n g fr o m p oi n ts of higher pressure to poi ts
of l o wer pressure W e Sh a ll later n d electricity behavi n g i n
a si m il a r w a y o wi g from places of higher to pl a ces of lower
electric al pressure
,

'

R a d i a ti on

f H ea t

Whe n the h a d is held so m e i ches at the side f or u n d er

n e a t h an i c a n desce n t electric la m p the se n s a ti on o f he a t is
disti ctly rec og ized The s a m e is true of the h a n d pl a ced
be e a th a he a t ed m e tal b a ll ( see F i g
We hold our
h a ds before an O pe n grate re to w a rm
the m H ow d oes the he a t p a ss f ro m
the re to t h e h a n ds ? C ertai n ly n ot
by co ductio n
For a ir is on e o f the
very poore st co n duct o rs k ow ( see
T a ble
N o r is it a c a se o f con
ducti o n a ided by co n vecti on curre ts
Fo r i n e a ch of the three c a ses cited
the curre n t s due t co n vectio n
a b o ve
ar
l the han d
e such a s t o c
I n d ee d on e of t h e e arliest observ ati on s F 1 8 1 R d i m f h t
m a d e af ter t h e d is covery 0f the ai r p
um p d w w rd fr m a h i r
b n
ass th r ou gh
w as t h at both heat an d li gh t p
There i s every re a so n for be
a vac uu m wi t h the ut most e ase
lievi g th a t the sp a ce which sep a rates us fr om the su i s m ore
n ear
ly a perfect v a cuum th a n an y other k n ow n ; yet a cross
this v a st an d s o: c alled empty regi on th e e a rth d a ily receives
e or m ous qu an ti t ies of he a t B ut by wh a t process ? W e call
it ra d i ati n But wh a t is r a di a ti on ?
The q u estio n here raised can be a n swered ( but o ly very i m
perfec t ly ) by a n ticip a ti n g S ome of the results of optics an d
ther mo dy n a mics A t this p o i n t we must co n te t o urselves
with sayi n g th a t there is m ost excelle n t evide n ce for thi ki n g
t h a t light is a for m of e n ergy that light co n sists i n a wave
m oti on th a t this wave m o ti on is pr o p a gated i n a m ediu m c a lled
t h e ether which per m eates all bodies an d lls all i n t erstellar
2 58

oo

IG

n o

ot

ea

on

'

'

G ENE R A L

2 68

PH

YS I C S

space an d that this wave motio n travels i n free space ( i e space

devoid of matter ) at the r a te of 3 00 millio n meters per sec on d
but ge n erally more slowly i n space which is n ot devoid of
matter
,

N ow the ex

i
er

men tal

f orthi n ki n g

evi d en ce

t hat

radi an t heat i s

all
the
f
more import a n t laws of r a di a n t he a t an d o f light a re i n clu d ed
u n der on e si n gle an d ge n eral stateme n t of the L aws of R adia n t
En ergy
If h owever we o n ce take for gra n ted the evide n ce for thi n k
i n g radi a n t heat a wave motio n we may immediately predict
i n terfere n ce reectio n refr a ctio n an d other properties of wa
2 5 9 These results have bee n a mply veried by more tha n
two ce n turies of experi m e n ts c o veri n g the w o rk of N ewto n
M el l on i S tewart Ki rch h o Ty n da ll La n gley an d o thers
The followi n g experime n t by N ewt on sets fo rth the f a ct an d
the expla n a tio n with esse n tial truth an d cle a r n ess
I f i t w l a rge cyl i d r i c al ve ss el s f gl ass i ve r t d t w l i t tl e t h rm m
t r b s sp
e ded as t t t c h t h v essels d t h ai r b d raw t
f
f t h es e v e ss e ls
d t h e se v sse l s t h s p
r ep
are d b c arr ied t f a
c ld p
l ac e i t a w a r m
w i ll gr w w ar m a s
; t h t h e r m m e te r i
d al m s t as s
m ch
as t h t h er m met er w h i c h i s t i
d
;
w h th ve ss l i s c arried b ack i t t h c l d p
l a c e t h t he r m m e t r i
w i ll gr w c l d al m s t as s
a s t h t h r t h e r m m e t r I s t t h he a t f
t h w ar m r
m c v ey d t h r gh t h
m by t h v i br a t i s f a m c h
s b t i ler me d i m t h a ai r w h i c h af ter t h a i r w a s d r aw
t r e m ai e d i
th
c m ? A d i s t t h i s m ed i m th s ame by w h i h l i gh t i re f r ac ted
rr c t d
d b y w h s v i b r at i
s l i gh t c m m i c a te s h ea t t b d ie s
d is p
t i t t
f
? A d d
t
d e a sy Tr a s m i ss i
y R ti
t h v i b r at i
s f t h i s m ed i m i h t b d ie s c tr ib te t t h i te se ss
d d r at i
f t h ei r h e at ? A d d
i c ate t hei r h at
t h t b d ie s c m m
ti g
t c
s c l d es by t h v ib r a ti s f t h i s m ed i m p
r p
agat d f r m
t hem i t t h c l d
e s ? A d i s t t h i s m ed i m
d i gl y m re r a r e
d s bt i l e t h a t h ai r
d ex c ee d i gly m re l t i k
d ac t iv e ? A d
d th i t
t r e ad i ly p
e rv ade all b d ie s ? A d i i t t (by i t el as ti c f rce )
ex p
a ded th r gh t h heave s ?
ti
B k I I I Q e ry 1 8
Op
A stro n g argume n t for thi n ki n g th a t r a di a n t he a t is p
rop
a
gated by the same mechan ism as ordi n ary light is fou n d in the
fact th a t after a solar eclipse the he a t r a ys an d light rays re a p
pear as n early a s can be o bserved at the s a m e i n st a n t From
this an d evide n ce to be adduced later it a ppe a rs th a t he a t waves
light wav es an d electric waves all travel with the stupe n dous
ex actl

t
h
e
y

sa

me

n a tu r
e as

l ight i s

over
whel

mi ng

An d

e e s

so

on e o

no

n o

en

o on

oo

e va u u
e

an

an

on

'

ea s

e ec

on o

on

o no

on

ou

e as

cs ,

oo

o no

ne
e

an

no
,

un

ex ee

no

no

an

on

on

un

on

n va c uo

an

ou

an

vacu o
e

on

on

no

on

ou

n ou

no

vac u o

e va cu u

no

s o

o e

e o

an

uo u

an

on

an

ou

oo n

on

ou

on e

an

an

THE O RY

OF

HE AT

2 69

speed of 3 00 millio n meters per seco n d

ide n tical except as regards wave le n gth

an

ar
e

esse n ti ally

M easu remen t of R adi ati on

The rst step tow a rd disc o veri n g the laws of an y phe

n om en on is the i n ve n ti o n o f s o me meth o d for measuri n g t h e
qu a n tities i n v olved There a re three pri n cipal meth ods for de
t ermi n i n g the amou n t o f r a di a n t e n ergy which f alls up on a
b ody Th ese are each d e p
en d e n t u p
on t h e f act th at w h e n r
adi an t
on a w ell -bla ck e n ed bod y
en ergy i s i n ci de n t up
su ch as on e
black
r acti call y al l the i n ci d e n t e n er gy of
cover ed with la mp
p
The me a sure m e n t
w av e moti on is tr an sf or med i n to h eat e n er gy
of r a di a t i on the n reduces itself t o the me a sureme n t of a rise i n
ge n erally very small Bodies which a bs o rb a ll
t emper a ture
the radi a n t e n ergy falli n g on the m are s a id to be perfectly
bl a ck
The three methods are the foll o wi n g
i
a d i omi cr
om et er
The
earliest
of
thes
i
n strume n ts w as
R
e
()
the ther m oc o uple ( see 3 6 9 ) an d g a lva n ometer i n which t h e
ju ctio of t w o d i ff ere n t metals is the blacke n ed body a
d evice used with gre a t e ffective n ess by the Italia n physicist
M el l o i an d greatly re n ed by the G er m a n physicist R ube n s
B u t this h a s bee n surp a ssed i n c o n ve n ie n ce by a modic a ti o n
due t o P rofess o r C V B oys who suspe ds a sm all wire circui t
of two di ffere t met a ls betwee n the p oles of a m a g n et as
see n i n Fig 1 8 2 The j u n ctio n m a rked J1 is
shielded fro m the radiatio n while th a t m arked
J2 is bl a cke n ed an d exposed to the r a di a ti o n
The di ff ere n ce i n temper a ture thus produced
ge n er a tes an electric curre n t i n the circuit
a d the
curre n t causes the thermocouple to
rotate
By me a n s of this i n stru m e n t which is called
a radi om icro m eter pl a ced at on e en d of a
l a rge r o m B oys h a s bee n a ble t o Show t o an
audie n ce the radiati on from a si n gle ca n dl e
rad i mi cr m t r
pl a ced a t the other en d of the r o om
h
e
ii
R
a
i
o
m
t
eve
more
se
sitive
i
n
strume
t
is
d
e
e
r
A
n
n
n
t
( )
m odicatio n of C rookes s radiometer i n tr oduced by P r ofess o r E
F N ich ols o f C olu m bi a U n iversi t y This i n stru m e n t con sists
ly
e sse n tially of a horizo n tal bar delic a tely suspe n ded i n a p
rop
er
2 60

e e

G E NER AL

2 70

HY SI C S

xhausted vessel A t e a ch en d of the bar is attached a thi n

glass disk blacke n ed o n on e side The radi a tio n is admitted t o
the i n strume n t through a wi n do w of uorite which is remark
ably tra n sp a re n t to all wave le n gths O n striki g the black
s urface
the radia n t e n ergy is degr a ded to he a t an d the bl a ck
disk repelled prob a bly o wi n g to the
b o mbardme n t of the sm a llest particles
of air which i n a vacuum o f this degree
are reected freely fr om the disk to
the w a ll of the c on t a i n i n g vessel a d
acquire greater ki n etic e n ergy as the
mm
temperature rises So delicate is this
i stru m e n t t h a t by me a n s of it N ichols
an d
H ull a d Lebed ew h a ve bee n
able to a ccurately me a sure the pressure
exerted by a be a m of su light
a
v a stly sm a ller e ff ect tha n th a t of the
FIG 183 Th r d i m t r r a dia n t e n ergy which c o m es to us i n
such a be a m a d which must be elimi n ated before the light
pressure ca be measured
( iii ) B ol met r H ere the blacke ed body is a thi n strip of
met a l which f or ms on e a rm of a VVh eat s t o e bridge an elec
B ef o re
i cal i n stru m e n t which will be met i n the lab o r a t o ry
tr
the r a di a tio n is a ll o wed to fall up on the wire the g a lv a n meter
re a di g is zero
B u t the r a di a tio n he a ts the wire an d thus
i n creases its electric a l resist a ce This thr o ws the bridge ou t
of b al a ce an d the g a lv a n o meter n eedle is deected thr o ugh
a n gle which is proporti on a l t o the a mou n t of the i n cide n t
a
r a di a ti o
The l a te S ecret a ry o f the S mithso i a n I n stitu t io n
P r o fessor La n gley w h o perfected this m eth o d sh o wed th a t dif
feren ces of temper a ture of eve n less th a n a millio n th of a degre e
ce n tigr a de co u ld be detected i n this way

e e

L aws

R a di ati on

By mea n s o f s u ch m eth o ds a s th se j ust i n dic a ted two

ge n er a l results co n n ecti g r a di a tio n an d temper a ture h a ve
bee n obt a i n e d
n
i
f
aw
It
w
a
s
first
suggested
by
S
tef
a
t
an -B l tz man
L
S
()
a fterwards predicted fr om theory by B ol t z m a n n an d h a s bee n
amply veried by experime n t that t h e t otal r ad i ati on (i e ra
261

THE O RY

O F H EA T

2 71

w av e le n gt h s ) of an y p
erf ectl y bl ack h ot bod y is
ower of its ab s ol ute t em
r op
ort i on al t o t h e f ou rt h p
d ire ct l y p
d i ati on

pr t

of al l

e a ur
e

Premi si n g

th a t the absolute sc ale o f temperature begi n s with

a zero 2 73 C below that of melti n g ice an d de o ti g the
total radiatio n by E t his l aw m ay be expressed as foll ows
4
L aw
2
9
Eq 9 2
E
00
7 0 St fa B l t z ma

n-

nn

where 0 is a co sta n t through out a wide r a ge of te m per a tures

o bee n fou d th a t if the
ii
i
a em n t L aw
It
h
a
s
a
ls
D
s
l
)
(
p
various radi a ti on s be sep a r a ted s ay by a pris m s o th a t the
di ff ere n t w a ve le n gths are se n t o ff i n di ffere n t directio n s an d
if the r a di a ti on of e a ch w a ve le n gth be me a sured th a t w a ve
le gth a t which the r a diatio n is m ost i te se bec o m es sh o rter
a n d shorter a s the t emper a ture rises a f a ct which is true fo r
a ll b o dies An d accurate e x p
eri me n t s h ows th at t his variati on
i n the case of bla ck bod ies occurs i n such a w ay that the p
r od u ct
a d iatio n an d the absolute
of t h e wave len gt h Am of ma x imu m r
eratur e is c on stan t or i n ter ms o f algebr a
t emp
n

C on sta n t

2 73 )

Eq

U p on

93

l a ws such a s these are b a sed the optic a l a d r a di a ti on

methods forhigh te mper a ture m e a s u re m e t described i
24 9
an d widely empl oyed
n o t o n ly by i vestig a t o rs
b ut a lso by
e n gi n eers
( iii ) S t ewart M r hh L aw L et us de n o te by H the a m o u t
i n o e sec o d
o f he a t which f a lls up o n a b dy a t te m per a t ure t
a n d by I de n o te the a mou n t o f he a t which this b o dy a bs o rbs i
n

on e

seco n d whe n a t the s a m e te m per a ture

The r a ti o

is

wh a t Kirchhoff c alls the ab s orp

ti on o f the b ody a d is de n oted
by A A b ody which a bsorbs a ll the he a t f a lli n g up o n it is
said to be ab s ol ut e l y bl ack its a bsorptio n is u ity
Let us n o w de o te by E t h e a m o u n t of heat which this s a m e
body at this s a me temperature w o uld e m it i n on e seco d i
virtue of i t s h ot ess o ly This qua n tity E is c alled the
N o w Balf ou r S t e w a rt i n E n gl a d a n d
emissi on of the body
Ki rch h o i n G erm a n y i n depe n de n tly pr o ved th a t
I Th e rati o of t h e emissi on t o t h e ab s or p
ti on of an y body
d ep
en d s u p
erat u re on l y ; an d
on t h e t emp
,

G ENE RAL

2 72

II Th i s

rati o i s n umeri cal l y

HY SI C S

eq u a

pr

t o t h e emi ssi on of a

s ame t emp
er at u r e
The qua n titative form i n which these laws a re expressed is due
to Kirchho ff From these two stateme n ts it is evide n t that a
piece of polished metal will n ot emit so stro n g a light as a
piece of m et a l covered with la mpblack an d heate d to the sam e
te m perature For si n ce the abs orptio n of polished metal is less
its emissio n will a lso be less This result is i n thor o ugh accord
wit h wh a t we might expect if r ad i an t h eat co n sists i n a w av e
F or i n our study of vibr a ti n g bodies ( see R son an e
moti on
we have fou n d th a t an y source of vibratio n e g a
tu n i n g fork or a pe n dulum can absorb o nl y those vibratio n s
which are of the s a me period as i t s ow n
It h as
A s o urce of vibratio n s is a source of radia n t e n ergy
bee n prove d that t h e red -hot c a rbo n emits w av es of al l l en gths
It m ight theref ore be expected th a t the c a rbo n whe n c ool
w o uld abs orb w av es of al l le n gths an d thus a ppear bl a ck p
ro
vi d ed the disturb a n ces i n volved i n t h e r a diatio n of heat ar
e
ordi n ary mecha n ical disturba n ces such as we have bee n study
i g u n der th e subject of dy n amics an d sou n d
O n ce i n posses
sio n of this ge n eral law we h a ve the explan atio n of a host o f
i mportan t househ old an d meteorological phe n o m e n a
For
i n st a n ce la n d bei n g i n ge n er a l a m uch better a bsorber th a n
w a ter for radia n t e n ergy it f oll o w s th a t the surf a ce of the la n d
will co ol m o re q uickly th a n the surface of a l a ke on a cle a r
n ight
co n versely it will rise i n temper a ture m ore r a pidly th a n
the w a ter duri n g the day whe n the s u n is shi n i n g I n deed t he
grou n d at the b ott o m of a l a ke or river m a y radi a te e n ergy
through the w a ter s o r a pidly a s t o dr op the te m per a ture of t h e
l a ke bott om below the freezi n g p oi n t thus pr oduci n g a co a ti n g
of ice which cli n gs f a st to the bottom an d is k n ow n as a n chor
ice
A ir bei n g a very poor absorber of heat t h e radia n t e n ergy
of the su n p a sses directly through it with small loss strikes
the gr o u n d is there tra n sfo rmed i to heat an d r a ises the tem
at u r
er
e of t h e air j ust over it by co n ductio n an d co n vectio n
p
fectl y bl ack bod y

th e

at

SO ME E FFE C TS

OF

HEAT

the m ultitudi ous e ff ec ts of h ea t the follo wi n g

two h a ve bee n selected a s bei n g perh aps the most importa n t
26 2

Am on g

T HE O RY
1

C ha n ge

of
C ha n ge of
C H AN G E
1

2 73

D ime n sio n s

or of Stre ss
M olecular S tate

D I M EN S I O NS

OF

Ex

HEA T

OF

a n s i on

f S ol i d s

The fam il ar fact th a t solids as a rule i n cre ase i n size

as their temperature rises is illustrated i n the m a n ufacture of
l a rge gu n s which are built up of coaxial cyli n ders the i n side
d i a m eter of e a ch on e bei n g a trii n g bit sm a ller tha n the o u t
s ide di a m eter of the precedi n g
Whe n the outside cyli n der is
over the i n side o e an d on
s ufficie n tly he a ted it will Slip
c ooli g will shri n k so as to form what is pr a ctically a si n gle
piece of met a l but o n e which is stro ger th a n a si n gle casti n g
Wago n tires are shru n k o n to woode n wheels i n the same m an
n er
O n accou n t o f the cha n ges i n le gth caused by tem p
era
t ure vari a tio n s e n gi n eers ge n erally rest o n e en d of a girder
bridge n ot directly upo n the pier but upo n an iro n roller as
s how n i n Fig 1 8 4
263

Coei ci en ts

f Ex

an s ion

M an y

accur a te experime n ts by methods which must be

s tudied i n the l a boratory have S h o w n th a t the cha n ge i n le n gth
i s fo ra m od erate
r a n ge of temper a
t ure pr oportio n al
to the ch a ge i n
t e m per a ture
If a b a r wh ose
l e n gth is l ce n ti
F
184
R ll r p
r vi d i g f r xp
a s i f i r b r id g
m e te r s ch a n g e s
i n le n gth by e ce n ti m eters while i t s temper a ture ch a n ges by
t
the cha n ge i n u n it le n gth per degree is
This i n cre
,

IG

on

on o

e.

m en t in

le n gt h experie n ced by e a ch u n it of le n gth fo r o n e

degree rise i n temper a ture is called the coe ci en t of l i n ear
a n si on for t h e materi al of which the bar is m ade
ex p
L et us de n ot e this coe f cie n t by a th e n
6
D
i g q f rc f
E
9
4
a
q
l i r xp s i
?
E
.

n n

n ea

an

oe

on

GENERAL PHYS IC S

2 74

The three qu a n tities on the right -ha n d side of this equati on

can each be me a sured i n the laboratory an d the coef cie n t 0:
thus determi n ed
We are accordi n gly led to the followi n g expressio n fo r the
le n gth of a b a r l at an y temper a ture t whe n ZO i s its le n gth at
the zero of temperature
,

100

Eq

O bserve

95

th a t the value o f the coe fcie n t of li ear expa n si o n

will v a ry from o e ther m o m etric scale to a n other M e a sure
me n ts of the highest precis i o n show a lso th a t this c o e fcie n t
itself is a fu n ctio n of the temperature thus re n deri n g the le n gth
of a bar a fu n cti on of b o th the rst an d seco n d power of t he
temperature as expressed i n the foll o wi n g equatio n :
n

l,

at

bi

Eq

96

ge n er a l the coefcie n t 6 is very small

I n the case of m a n y alloys the expa n sio n is profou n dly
264
modied by the perce n t a ge comp o sitio n T a ki n g a dv a t a ge of
this f a ct the Fre n ch physicist G uill a u m e h a s succeeded i n dis
coveri n g a n ickel steel alloy a b o ut 3 6 % n ickel for which
the li n ear coe fcie n t a h a s a v a lue of less th a n on e p a rt i n a
millio n O wi n g t o the f a ct th a t the size of a body co n structed
o f this met a l is practically i n variable with temperature t h e s u b
st a n ce h a s bee n c a lled i n var
The v a lue of its li n ear coef
cie n t is as follows
In

to) l

0
'

6
.

The useful n ess of such a m etal forsc a les of le n gth empl oyed i n
ge o detic measureme n ts a d fo r clock pe n dulums is at o n c e
app a re n t
T A B L E O F L I N EA R C O E FF ICI EN T S
( C t igr ad Sc al )
1
Gl a ss
m ,
1
P lati n um
m ,
S t eel
K i m,
B r a ss
C opper
Alumi n ium
m i ., 6
Zi n c
I n va r
gm
n

en

l
l

T HE O RY
Study

O F HEA T

2 75

his table to discover why pl a ti n um wire i s fused i n t o

the glass of an i n can desce n t lamp i n stead of copper or an y
other cheaper wire
U n der cert a i n circumsta n ces it is possibl e for a s u b
2 65
ar
sta n ce to have a coefcie n t of expa n si on which is ap
en t l
p y
Th a t is the substa n ce m a y co n tr a ct i n ste a d o f ex
n egative
p a n di n g on bei n g heated as the followi n g experime n t shows
Take a piece of ordi n ary r u bber tubi n g fr o m three t o ve
feet i n le n gth I n t o e a ch e d f a ste n a three-way co n n ecti n g
tube of br a ss a s show n i n Fig 1 8 5 These can be wired i
very easily The upper en d of
the tube is att a ched to a supp o rt
To the lower e d i s xed a he a vy
stretchi n g weight C ork up o e
of the Ope n i n gs at the t o pa d
i n to the o ther i tr o duce a curre n t
of ste a m The rubber will con
tr a ct to such an exte n t a s t o be
easily see n a t o n ce by the wh ole
class We m ight be i n cli n ed to
say th a t u n der these circu m sta n ces
rubber h a s a n egative c oe f cie n t
of exp a n sio n
If however the
he a vy weight be repl a ced by a
light o e we sh a ll n d th a t the
rubber exp a n ds whe n the steam is Fm l 8 Th
r
f r bb r
h a i g
i n troduced Fr om this it would
ar
en t l
n egative coef cie n t of expa n sio n is d u e
seem th a t the ap
p y
to a ch a ge o f the el a sticity of the rubber w he n he a ted I n
other words we may say that Y o u n g s M odulus
1 2 7) fo r
rubber i n creases on he a tin g so th a t a give n stretchi g f o rce
produces less el o n gatio n The ab ove phe n ome n o n c a n ot th e

be pr operly c a lled n egative expa n sio n n ot at least i n the

usual se n se of this term
t

e co n t

ac t i o n o

e t n

P ro b l e m s

e
f s p
r c i al
e rat re
t e mp
2
Pr v e i
t h ree t i m s t h
1

on

a ri g eac h si de f Eq 95 t h at f r y s l id t h c f c ie t
t h at i s t h
xp
a si
r ate t w h i c h a r ea i creas e s w i th
i s t w i ce t h l i ear c ef c ie t
l ike ma e r t h a t t h
i i t f v l m i al ex p
a si
i i t
l i ea r

Pr ov b y sq u

coe

e coe

c en

an

nn

oe

c en

o u

on

18

GENERAL PHYS IC S

2 76

en d ul u ms i n so me e n c cl o e d i a
m
n
t
e
d
s
j
e
c
c
e
s
a
u
b
t
o
f
o
p
p
p
y
p
e a t is e o n p
l ai n the p
r i n c ip
l e by me an s
hys i c s an d be a ble to e x p
o rl ar ger t r
o f a d i agr a m o n t h e b l ack bo ar d
4
A w agon t i re 3 00 cm i n c i rc um fere n c e i s heate d u n ti l i ts l e n gt h h as
B y w ha t p
er ce n t
er cen t
i n cre a se d by 1 c m i e by on e thi rd o f o n e p
h as th e a re a i n cl os ed by t h e t i re i n cr e as e d ?
A n s Two thi r ds o f on e p
erc e n t
5
y d egree (ce n tigr ad e) t hat i r on i s h eated it i n cre ases i n
For e ve r
er c e n t
W hen t h e te mp
e r at u re r is e s
l e n gth by on e th o u s a n d th o f on e p
h o w m u c h l on ge r w i ll an i r on b r i dge of 2 00 fee t s p
an
f ro m 0 t o
An s
in ch
be c o m e ?
h
t
n
n d c on t r a c t a a i n
6
r
e
x
a
n d on
e
a
i
a
e
t
c
e
Si n c e gl a ss c o p
g
g
p
p
l oy a rod of d e n i te le n gth made of s ome o n e
o n c oo l i n g w h y n ot e m p
e r atu re s ? To e ach l e n gt h of t he rod
o f t he se m ate r i a ls t o m e a s ur e t e m p
a de n ite
w o ul d c o rre s p
ond
C PP R
INO
e r a tu r e W h a t p
rac t ic al
t e mp
ob j e c t i o n s
7 Ex p
l ai n by d i agram on
b l a ck bo a r d j u s t h o w a s t r i p
of
z i n c s o l d e r ed t o a s t r i p
o f s h ee t
c op
e r a s i n d ic ated i n Fig
p
loyed t o an
1 8 6 can be e m p
n o u n c e (by t he r i n gi n g o f a
be ll ) w h e n a r oo m i s too h o t
m
a n d w he n t oo c o l d
F I G 186
Devi ce for an n oun ci n g ch an ge of
3
An i r on c a n n o n b a ll of
t emp
erat u re
r a d i u s 5 c m i s h e a te d u n t i l
i ts r ad i u s h as bee n i n cre a sed by 3 5 o f on e p
e rc e n t
F i n d by w h at p
erc en t
t h e v ol u me o f t h e b a ll h as bee n i n cr e a s ed
9
Lon g h o r i z on tal s te a m p
ip
e s are always s u p
o rt ed i n s uch a w a
p
y t h at
t hey a re f ree t o m o ve at o n e en d
Wh y ?
1 0 A br a ss w i re 1 00 f t l o n g i s x e d at i t s u p
e r en d an d c a rr ie s
p
a sc al e p
a n at i t s l o we r en d
W h e n a m a ss of o n e k i l ogram i s ad d ed t o t he
To w h at e x te n t m u s t the te m p
s c a le p
an t h e w i re i s e l o n gat ed by I ,
er
; in c h
a tu re o f t h e w i r e b e l o w e re d i n o r d e r t o re s to re t h e w i re t o i t s or i i n a l le n t h ?
g
g
11
A cl ock w i t h a s te el p
en d u l u m i s ad j u s ted t o bea t se c on d s at a t em
er
a t ur
e of 2 0 C
F i n d h ow m a n y se c on d s i t w i ll ga i n e ac h d ay w hen i ts
p
e falls to 0 C
tem p
er at ur
12
A n i ro n r ai l 3 0 fee t l on g i s l a i d d u r i n g t h e s u mme r w h e n t h e t em
er
at u r
e is 3 0 C
F i n d i t s le n gt h i n w i n te r w h e n t he weat he r i s 10 C :
p
be l o w zero
13
A n i r o n te l egr ap
h wi re i s s tretc hed bet ween t wo p
ol e s w hi c h a r e
4 00 ft ap
art an d h as a sag of 5 f t an d a st ress of
lb p
er sq ua re
i n c h W h at s t re ss w i ll be c au se d by a dropi n te mp
e r a t u re su i ci en t t o
m ak e t h e s ag o n ly 4 ft I

Loo k

the

n:

T HE O RY

O F HEA T

2 77

p
pse th l i mi t f acc r acy i meas r i g t h sta d ard met r t
mm
W h a t v a r i at i i t e m p
er at re f th b r i magi e i t t
lat i m w ld b p
r m i ss i ble d r i g t h me as r e me t
p
14

Su

on

nu

ou

C H AN G E
2

be

be

O F D IM ENS I O NS

Ex

an si on

L i qu i ds

liquid bodies are de n ed 1 2 2 ) as those which

h a ve n o sh a pe of their o wn but assume the shape of the con
t a i n i n g vessel it is evide n t that a liquid body has n o ch a racter
i s t i c edges or li n es an d he n ce n o coe fcie n t of li n ear exp a n sio n
B u t liquid bodies h a ve ch a racteristic volumes an d these do
ch a n ge whe n heated
2 66

S i n ce

D en i ti on Qf Coe ci en t

Ex

an si on

Li qu id

If we de n ote by VI an d V2 the v ol u m e of a liquid at the

temperatures t 1 an d t2 respec t ively an d if we call the coef
cie n t of expan sio n 6 its de n i n g eq u a ti on becomes
,

VI

t
(

for
cal ex p
an sion

1) e n i n go
u bi

t1)

eq

Eq

'

97

Whe n therefore we Spe a k of the c o e f cie n t of expa n sio of

an
a liquid w e sh all alw ays refe r to its coei ci en t of cub i cal ex p
s i on
i e t o t h at fr acti on of itself by w h ich a vo l u meof l i q ui d
i n cre ases w h e n h e ate d th rough on e d egree
O f a ll liquids water an d m ercury a re perh a ps the t w o of
m ost i m porta n ce i n the physical scie n ces
W e Shall co n sider
these briey
,

M ercu ry

The very elega n t meth od by which R egu aul t deter

mi n ed the de n sity of mercury a t various te m per a tures an d
he n ce its coe fcie n t of exp a n sio has lo n g served a s a model
for succeedi n g experi m e ters The pr o cess is as f ollows
Tw o U-tubes lled with mercury as sh ow n i n Fig 1 87 a re
co n n ected at the bottom by a tube of s m all caliber ; an d this
tube co n t a i n s a little a ir which serves t o sep a r a t e the two
colum n s of mercury We have the n re ally t w o U-tubes o f mer
cury j o i n ed by a c apillary t ube of air
R
l t (b 1 8 10 d
a Fr ch p
h y s i c i s t d is t i g i sh d f rh i
pri
g
m tal s kill
2 67

E
"

en

e n au
.

en

s ex

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

2 78

the portio n of the tube marked 0 the pressure must be

the same throughout the volume of air For if the pressur e
due to e a ch of the mercury colum n s wer e
n ot the same the mercury surf a ces would
move on e way or the other u n til they
were equal
S uppose n ow that we b eat the mercury
i n the bra n ch B u n til it reaches a tem
r
t
n d that i n the bra n ch A w e
at u r
e
e
a
p
2
i cool to the temper a ture t1 The de n sity
of the mercury i n B will dimi n ish on
heati n g ; co n seque n tly the di ffere n ce of
level i n dicated by y2 will i n crease Th e
J de n sity of the mercury i n A will i n
cre a se on cooli n g an d he n ce the dif
F
18 7
R g lt s
fere n ce of level i n A will dimi n ish ; call
prim t
this di ff ere n ce y l
The pressure i n 0
due to mercury i n A is by the Third L aw of H y d rostatics
i
n
while
the
same
pressure
due
to
is
0
B
;
y
y zn
l l
B u t thes e pressures must be the sa m e
H e n ce
In

IG

n au

en

ex

'

D
yI I Q

91

92n

D2

D2

91
.

measuri n g y2 an d y 1 R eg n ault was thus e n abled t o

d etermi n e the fractio n of itself by which the d n si ty of
mercury w as cha n ged whe n its temper a ture v a ried from
By

tl

t o f2

B ut h o w can on e obt a i n from this fr a ctio n the value of th e

coefcie n t o f exp a si on ?
C o n sider a n y c o n st a n t mass o f mercury M whose volume is
cha n gi n g i n co n seque n ce of a v a ri a tio n i n temperature Th e
de n i n g equatio n fo rde n sity gives
n

V, D , = V2 0 2
2

D2

T HE O RY

N ow

substituti n g

O F HEA T

2 79

i n E q 9 7,
.

9 1 02

Eq

98

are
fere
di
f
n ces of level correspo n di n g to tem
yl
y2
r
r
t
u
t
n d t respectively an d b is the coe fcie n t of cubical
a
e
a
e
s
p
1
2
expa n sio n
These qua n ti t ies y l an d y2 are h o w
ever difcult t o measure with accuracy
O f c o urse we might take a si n gle tube of mercury
Fig 1 88 an d measure its height at two di ffere n t
te m peratures ; but here the d if culty is that the
gl a ss vessel co n t a i n i n g the mercury expan ds with
the he a t so that the volume of the mercury is n o
lo n ger proportio n a l t o the height of the c olum n
I
this way we should obtai n o n l y th e ap
ar
en t
p
an si on
It i s t h e ap
ex p
an si on of mercury
ar en t e x p
p
whi ch is used i n gl as s an d mer cur y t h er momet ers
F
The be a uty of R eg n a ult s method is t h a t the ig
bi t
height of the c olu mn depe n ds o n ly on the tempera xp si
R eg n a ult
ture an d n o t at all u po n the co n t a i n i n g vessel
thus measured the absol ute ex p
The value which h e
an si on
thus obt a i n ed for the aver a ge c o e fcie n t of expa n sio n of mer
cury betwee n 0 an d 1 00 w a s
The most a ccur a te of rece n t values i s probably that obtai n ed
1
a t the R eichs a n stalt n amely
where

an d

'

an

on

Water
2 6 8 From ma n y poi n ts of view water is a remarkable sub
st a n ce This is striki n gly exhibited i n its behavior u n der
h e at
I n ge n e r
a l w a r m liquids are less de n se tha n the s a m e
liquids cold ; an d this is true of water except betwee n the tem
r
e
The m a n n er i n which water ex
C
pat u res 0 C an d
pa n ds u n der he a t is clearly set forth i n the curve Fig 1 8 9
The coefcie n t of exp an sio n of water has rece n tly bee n deter
R i ch
ati al p
t l t th
h y s i c al l ab r at ry f G r ma y s i t at d
gr at
i C h rl t t b rg a s b r b f B rl i
.

s an s a

en

on

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

2 80

R
DIN AT
T
HI U R
XT E N D A
U
T
6 M ET E R
W T HI
N

THE O
OF

ES
VE

S C

BO

BELO

S LI E

Exp
a si f w at r
mi n ed at the R eichsa n stalt by the method which R eg n ault
employed for mercury The results are summarize d i n the
followi n g table :
D ENS I T Y O F WA T E R
FIG 1 89

on o

T E M P E R A TU R E
C EN TIG R A D E

E N IT
S

Th e precedi n g gure ( 1 8 9) is merely a graphic a l descriptio n

of the results co n tai n ed i n this table O r if desired a still

briefer descripti on of the facts may be obtai n ed i n the fo llowi n g
empiric al equatio n
.

V. = V. 1 +

Eq

144 000

9 8%

where V is the volume of an y give n mass of water at t C an d

V4 the vol u m e of the same mass at 4 C
The maximu m de n sity o f water a t 4 C m a y be dem on str a ted
by loadi n g a small h ollo w glass Sphere with sa n d u n til it will
j ust si n k i n w a ter at
If placed i n a vessel of ice water it
will si n k ; if n o w the ice be removed the water will gradu a lly
rise i n temperature the oat will also rise an d after the temper
ature passes 4 C the oat will agai n si n k The e n ormous

T HE O RY

O F HE AT

281

e co n om i c I mportan ce of this a n om a ly of water is see n i n the

f a ct that it preve n ts our l akes an d rivers from freezi n g except
over the surface
.

r o b l em s
1
G r a h am s c o m p
en s ated p
en d u l um i s made of a s tee l rod w h i c h c arrie s
at i ts l o w e r en d a gl a ss c y l i n d e r c on t a i n i n g me rc u ry
Sh o w t h a t t he l i n ea r
ex p
an s ion of t he stee l (w hi c h ex ten d s t o th e b a se of t h e cyl i n der ) w i ll b e
v ery ap
rox i m ately c o un ter ba l a n ced by t h e c u bi c a l ex p
an si o n o f t he m er
p
cu i
w
h
e
n t h e h ei gh t of t h e m e rc u ry i s 1 t h e h ei h t o f t h e s teel
en d u l u m
y
g
1 5
p
2 A l arge t h e r m o mete r bu l b m ad e o f gl as s an d p
l a c e d i n m e l t i n g i ce
hol d s 2 00 g of merc u ry H ow m u c h m erc u ry w ill ove r o w w h en p
l ace d i n
heri c p
a b a th of s team at at mo sp
r e ss u r e
3
A merc u ry b ar o m ete r i n a l ab o ra tory at 1 5 C re ad s
mm
W h at
are the t h ree m os t i mp
o r t a n t c o rr ec t i on s wh i c h m u s t b e m ad e i n o r d e r to
o b t a i n t h e t r u e bar o m e t r i c h ei gh t ?
4 A gl ass c yl i n d e r w h i c h w e i gh s 5 g i n a i r wei gh s on l y
g i n w ater
F in d i ts w ei gh t i n w ater at 4 0 C
at 2 0 C
5 C o mp
are t he d en sity of w ate r at 3 0 as obtain e d
( i ) f ro m t h e t abl e i n 2 6 8 w i t h t h at ob tai n ed
ii
f
r
om E q
)
(
P

C H AN G E

O F D I M ENS I O NS
3

Ex

a n s i on

OR

O F S T R ESS

f Ga ses

2 4 8 ) th a t the earliest ther

We h a ve already see n
m omet ers were m a de by i n closi n g a cert a i n m a ss o f g a s i n a
gl a ss bulb whose ste m w a s sealed by im m ersi n g the en d i n a
liquid S uch a device is a t o n ce the simplest an d earliest for
studyi n g the e ff ects of he a t upo n g a ses
H avi n g substituted merc u ry for water i n the thermometer of
G a lile o A m on t on s i n 1 6 9 9 d isc o vered th a t the ch a n ge of pres
sure pr oduced by he a ti n g thr o ugh a r a n ge of 1 00 was the s a me
wh a tever the a mou n t of air i n closed i n the bulb
2 69

L aw

f Charles

By de n iti on the volu m e of a gas is alw a ys the volume of the

c on t a i i n g vessel B oyle s L aw st a tes the experi m e n t a l f a ct
th a t t o each volume of gas there c o rrespo n ds a de n ite pressure
prov i ded the mass an d the temper a ture rem a i n co n st an t If
h wever the te m per a ture v a ries the e ect m a y be
a
ch
a
ge
of
v
1
n
o lu m e while the pressure rem a i s c o n st a n t ; o r
( )
m
on st a n t
or
m
a
cha
ge
of
pressure
while
the
volu
e
re
a
i
s
c
2
n
( )
a
cha
n ge of bot h press u re an d v o lume
3
( )
,

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

2 82

To determi n e the eect of heat on a gas w e must the n meas

ure either
1
the
ratio
of
i
n crease of
volume
o origi n al
t
( )
volume i n a g a s kept at co n sta n t pressure ; o r
2
the
ratio
of
i
n crease of pressure t o origi n al pres
( )
sure i n a g a s kept at co n sta n t volume
i n each case for a rise of o n e degree i n te m perature
These two qua n tities were rst roughly measured
by C harles afterwards more accurately by the
Fre n ch chemist Gay-L ussac ( 1 7 78
The c a pit a l discovery w a s thus made that
n tities are the s a me for an
These
two
qu
a
a
( )
y
o n e gas
( 6) They have very approximately the s a me
l
L
ater
n umeric a l v a lue for a l l g a ses
n amely
e
an d more accurate observatio n s h a ve S how n that
this value is more n e a rly
The
actu
a
l
measureme
n t o f these qua n tities is a
F
recau
G lil s
s omewh a t di f cult matter requiri n g ma n y p
m m t
th r
ti on s an d m a y well be reserved for the stude n t s
seco n d or third ye a r i physics B u t the algebraic descripti on
esu l ts is a matter of the utmost S i m plicity
o f G ay -Lu ss ac s r
It is as follows
L et V0 an d V represe t the volumes of a g1 ven mass of g a s
at the temper a tures 0 a d t respectively the n so lo n g as the
ressure
rem
a
i
n s co n st a n t
p
L w f C h arl s
Eq 9 9
VO ( 1
V
If i n like m a n n er P 0 an d P represe n t the pressures o f a
give n mass of g a s at the temper a tures 0 an d t respectively
t he n s o lo g as the volume rem a i n s the s a m e
,

1 00

IG

eo

e en

P , = P 0( 1

Eq

1 00

result may be sum m arized by sayi n g that the

pressure of a give n mass of gas at a y temperature t varies
directly as a factor ( 1 at) where a h a s the value

-Lu ss ac s

Gay

B oy l e s La w

havi n g a lready sh ow n th a t the pressure varies

i n versely a s the vol u m e we may combi n e these two results i n to
a S i n gle expressio n thus
2 70

B oyle

T HE O RY

O F HEA T

2 83

Eq

where 0 is a prop ortio n ality factor

C leari n g of fractio n s

1 01

P V=
.

01

P V

w h ere

an

2 73

d T

2 73

Eq 1 02

other words if we measure temperature from a zero which

C bel o w the melti n g poi n t of ice an d de n ote these tem
I s 2 73
r

n d th a t the pressure an d the volume e a ch

at u r
s
T
by
we
e
e
p
vary directly as the temperature A gas whi ch obey s B oy l e s
l aw p
erf ect l y i s sai d t o be an i d e al orp
Temper a tures
erf ect gas
measured on t hi s sc a le are c a lled ideal gas temperatures
P erfect gases do n ot occur i n n a ture ; but L ord Kelvi n h as
proved th a t if they d id occur tempe ratures meas ured by u se of
an
o n e o f them w o uld coi n cide with absolute temperatures
y
which we shall meet a little later
The value of R i n E q 1 02 is a qua n tity which will have
d i eren t v a lues for e a ch p a rticul a r g a s but will remai n co n sta n t
f o ran y o n e gas
For u n it m a ss of a ir the value of R is
6
B
u t if pressures be me a sured i n pou n ds
1
C
1
0
s/
r
er
X
g g
per squ a re foot m a sses i n pou n ds an d volumes i n cubic feet
In

F
If we de n ote by m the m a ss of the g a s bei n g studied an d
c on sid er this as a variable the n Boyle s L aw may be writte n i n
i t s most ge n er al f o rm a s f ollows
lb 1

P V=

772

13 T
.

KI NE T IC T H E O R Y

O F G ASES
2 7 1 A n y satisfactory theory of g a ses must explai n at least
the f oll owi n g observed phe n om e n a
1
The La w of Boyle
2
The La w of C h a rles an d Gay-L ussac
3
D alt on s La w A mixture of g a ses h a vi n g n o chemical
reactio n on each o ther exerts at an y give n te m perature a total
.

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

2 84

pressure which is equ a l to the su m of the partial pressures

which would be produced by each gas separately if it alo n e
occupied the co n tai n i n g vessel at the give n temper a ture
4
The H ypothesis of A vog a dro th a t the masses of mole
cules are i n the same ratio as the de n sities of the gases to which
they bel on g or wh a t a mou n ts to the s a me thi n g the n u mber
of mol ecu l es i n e u a l vol u m es o
f a l l gases i s t he same I t is here
q
supposed of course that the temperature an d pressure is the
same for each gas
.

A ssu m

ti on s

The ki n etic theory of gases which is largely the creatio n

of Ber n ouilli C lausius an d M axwell begi n s with the followi n g
assumptio ns
n
i
That
a
g
a
s
co
sists of a l a rge n umber of small s m ooth
( )
particles which rebou n d with u n ch a n ged speed whe n they strik e
the w a ll of a co n t a i n i n g vessel a t the same temperature as that
of the g a s
ii
That
the
particles
are
s
o
small
as
seldom
to
collide
with
)
(
each other
n o appreci a ble attractio n upo n
iii
That
the
particles
exert
)
(
each other
From the rst assumptio n it would follow that the ki n etic
e n ergy of s uch a system ought to remai n co n stan t s o lo n g a s
the walls of the co n tai n i n g vessel remai n at the same tem
2 72

er
at u r
e

D en i ti on s

2 73

L et

P
V=

N
n

pressure of gas measured i n d yn es/

cm
volume of co n tai n i g vessel i n cm3
total n umber of particles molecules
,

2
.

N
i}

umber

of

particles per

cm

3
.

mass of e a ch particle
u
square root of mean square of the speed of t h e
particles
2
Vs
where
are the com
0
v
v
n en t s of the me a n velocity of all particles alo n g the axes o f
o
p
X Y an d Z respectively
m

y,

THE O RY

HEA T

OF

2 85

We proceed to show th a t the pressure may

simple dy n a mical pri n ciples to be
n

mu

be

computed from

Si n ce

the p a rticles are supposed to move at ra n dom i n all d i rec

tio n s the su m of the squ a res of the u s v s an d 12 s are each
equ a l to the other ; an d he n ce

Nu

or

32

Eq

1 03

2
the m ea n v al ue of
u
E q 1 04
The fu n dame n t a l hyp othesis of the gas theory is that the
pressure o n an y w a ll of the c on tai in g vessel is due t o the m o
me n tum which is d elivered to th a t wall per seco n d by the
gas p a rticles Im a gi n e the vessel to have t wo parallel w alls
perpe n dicular to the axis of X an d these w alls t o be a ce n ti
meters apart The Y an d Z c o m po n e n ts of the vel o ci t y bei n g
each p a rallel t o these walls will co n tribute n othi n g to the pres
sure ou these w a lls
ar
t i l e this p a rticl e
L i mi ti n g ou r n s i d era ti on n w to a si gl e p
%
will travel to an d fro fro m on e of these w a lls to the other
.

co

times per seco n d At each imp a ct the vel o city of the particle
cha ges by 2 v an d its m om e n tum by 2 mv The m ome n tum
imp a rted to t h e w a ll per seco n d by this p a r t icle is therefore
v
m

2 mu
or
B u t m ome n tum per seco n d me a n s average
.

x,

force ; so th a t the expressi on just obtai n ed gives us the mea n

force which a particle rebou n di n g fro m on e of these walls to
the o ther w o uld exert upo n each of them
the n if the total force on each o f
N w c n s id r N p
ar
ti l es
these walls be de n oted by E we sh all have
.

mv

But

si n ce u}

g
,

it follo w s th a t
F

Nu

Eq

If s is the area of the w a ll over which this force is exerted

pressure will be
E

Ea

1 05

the

GENERAL PHYS IC S

2 86
'

S ubstituti n g

th e value of F from

Eq

1 05 ,

we have

V
m
%

2
u ,

hich is the fu n dame n tal equatio n of the ki n etic theory of

gases a result which we n ow proceed to i n terpret

L aws

B oy l e

Charles

an d

If n ow we make the commo n an d perhaps reaso n able

a ss u m ptio n that the ki n etic e n ergy reside n t i n an y mass of gas
is the ki n etic e n ergy of tra n slatio n of the small particles an d
2 7 0) is pr o portio n al t o the
th a t the ideal g a s temperature
z
mea n kin etic e n ergy of all the particles we have T l mu an d
2 74

oc

Eq

where 0 is an u n k n ow n proportio n ality co n sta n t

L et R be a co n stan t such that
R 2 3 0 x total n umber of particles
2N
The n it follows from E q 1 06 that

1 07

30

RT

PV

which is precisely the law of

experime n t

C harles

an

d B oyle

as derived by

D a l ton

Total

L aw

ressu re = S u m

ar
ti a l

ressures

This f oll o ws at on ce si n ce we assu m e that the particles

ar
e s o small as n o t to i n terfere with on e a n other ; he n ce the
pressure would vary a s the total n umber N of particles i n the
vessel or
2 75

oc

lv
.

ph

A vogadro s Hy

2 76
e

For

an

ot

two gases we m a y write from our fu n dame n tal

,

quatio n

an

esi s

2
l
=
P 1 Z n l ml u l

P2=

2
2 2

T HE O RY

O F HEA T

2 87

Si n ce

the t emperatures an d pressures are the same for each gas

we have
2

an d

B ut

Pl

these equatio n s

which is

A vogadr os

V
2

P2
can

3;

hypothesis

E FF EC T S O F

2
u n
2 2
2

be true simultan eously o n ly whe n

C HA NG E

ml u 1

H E A T ( con ti n u ed)

M O L E C U L A R S T AT E

OF

There are prob a bly n ot m a n y people whose memories

re a ch back to ye a rs s o e a rly th a t they recall their s u rprise at
rst seei n g a piece of ice melt i their ti n y h a n ds an d appar
The ch an ge from water to steam which o ccurs
e n tly disappear
i n a boili n g teakettle is equ a lly famili a r These t w o i n sta n ces
o f m elt i n g an d boi li n g are so typical o f ma n y similar cases met
with i n n ature that they deserve close atte n tio n
2 77

M el ti n g

the rst pl a ce it is well k n ow n that water an d

ice have the same che m ical c om p o sitio n an d pr a ctic ally the sam e
chemic a l pr operties A si m ilar stateme n t co n cer n i n g s olid a d
liquid p
ar
af n e w o uld be true
ii
I
the
seco
n d place a gl a ss o f water SO lo n g a s it con
n
( )
t a i n s ice an d is stirred does n ot beco m e either h o tter or colder
The ice may melt aw a y ; but s o l on g as there is
o n sta n di n g
a n y ice left the w a ter will re m a i n a ppr o xi m ately at what we
the te m per a ture of melti g ice
c a ll
m
iii
Thirdly
the
te
per
a
ture
o f melti g ice can be ch a ged
( )
by placi n g the ice u der pressure The m ost co ve ie t
method of showi g this is perh a ps the followi n g
C ho o se a bl o ck of ice havi n g a secti on of fr o m 1 00 t o 2 00
squ a re ce n ti m eters S upport it as i n dic a ted i n the gure up o
t w o sto ols or b o xes
O ver the ice tie a lo op o f steel pia n o w ire
about on e h alf milli m eter i n diameter H a n g a m a ss of a b out
2 5 kil o gra ms o n the wire
this way you can s u bject the
I
ice t o a pressure of sever a l hu n dred kil ogr a m s per square
ce n timeter C ompute the are a of the wire i n co n t a ct with the
2 78

In

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

2 88

ice The weight of the mass attache d divided by this area will
roughly give the pressure The block of ice will i n ge n eral
be n ot far from its m elti n g temper a ture ; but the mel ti n g will
all occur at the surface u n til pressure is put on the wire ; it
will the n be observed th a t the ice j ust u n dern e a th the wire
melts als o an d lets the wire cut its w a y through the block
B ut the w a ter behi n d the wire freezes at o n ce SO that the i ce
rem a i s a solid block a lthough it h a s just bee n cut thr o ugh
The e ffect o f pressure is
the n to prod u ce melti g
to lower the freezi n g
i e
poi n t of w a ter
This process of melti n g
u n der pressure an d ag a i n
f r e e z i n g i s k n o w n as

In
regelatio n
this
FIG 191 B t t ml y xpri m t sh wi g pri n ciple lies the expl a n a
m lti g p
i t f i
r ss r
t f p
ti on of the f a ct t h at c old

s n ow will n ot p a ck i n to a good s n owball ; als o of the f a ct

that glaciers app a re n tly o w dow n a mou n t ai n side as if

ice were a very viscous uid I n fro n t of poi ts of grea t
ressur e t h e ice melts ; the pressure bei ng by this mean s
tra n sferred to some other p oi n t the water agai n freezes bu t
I n this ma n n er the glacier gradually
i n a n ew c on guratio n
a d a pts itself to the shape of the valley as it proceed s
down ward
O u r experie n ce with ice an d all other solids may be sum
mariz ed i n the followi n g state m e n t
.

ec

u e on

en

o n

ce

Ex

i
er

men ta l L aw

ressur e
Th e p

f M el ti n g

rem ai n i n g t h e sam e th er e i s a de n ite melti n g

r ovi de d t h e m ass be stirred) h owever
oi n t forever y s oli d ; an d (p
p
much h e at be slowl y ap
lie d t h e tem p
eratu re of t h e w h ole re
p

m ai n s at t h e melti n g p
oi n t til l t h e l ast p
arti cl e is melte d
T A I T H ea t C h V III

B oi l i n g

like m a n n er t h e chemic a l compositi on an d t h e

che m ic a l properties of ste a m do n ot di ffer from those of w a ter
i
ii
owever
m
uch
you
boil
the
w
a
ter
its
H
n the te a kettle
( )
temperature does n ot cha n ge a fter boili n g h as o n ce begu n
2 79

In

T HE O RY

O F HEA T

2 89

e a sily satisfy himself of this with an ordi n ary mercury

ther m ometer
o ili n g water is
m
iii
But
the
temperature
of
b
very
uch
( )
ch a n ged by a cha n ge of ressure
This is m ost e a sily proved by boili n g i n a kettle of water a
b ottle h a lf lled with w a ter If this b ottle be c orked while
still b oili n g it m ay be rem oved with s o little a ir i n closed i n it
th a t the pressure on the i n closed w a ter s oon becomes gre a tly
U der these circu m
less tha n that o f the a t m osphere
sta n ces the water i n the bottle will co n ti n ue t o b oil lo g
a ft er it has reached a temperature n ot u n comfortable to
the han d
I n the labor a tory this phe n ome n on is most c o mmo n ly show n
b y boili n g o ver a Bu n se n a me a Flore n ce a sk h a lf lled with
R emove it at on ce to a
C o rk the ask while b o ili n g
w a ter
V iole n t
s upport previ o usly prep a red an d cool with cold w a ter
b oili n g will occur duri n g the c ooli n g
r
o cess
To
sho
w
th
a
t
to
each
dif
p
feren t pressure correspo n ds a de n ite
boili n g poi n t a very simple method
i s th at i n d ica te d in F i g 1 9 3
Thr o ugh the cork of a l a rge n ecked
a sk i n sert a therm o meter a U tube
th a t can be partially lled with mer
c ury an d used as a pressure g a uge
also an escape pipe e
The esc a pe pipe is tted with a tip
of
rubber tubi n g an d a pi n chcock
F
1 92
r
i
p
B y a little ma n ipulatio n o f the pi n ch
m t h w m g b l mg p
mt
fp
l w r d by d i m i t i
rs
c o ck o n e can pr o duce an d mai n tai n
s
r
a n y desired height h i n the pressure
g a uge I n like ma n er to observe the effect of di m i n ished
ressure on e can co n n ect the esc a pe pipe c with an air pump
p
Fo re a ch d i eren t h the thermometer registers a di ffere n t boil
i n g p oi n t
It will thus be see n th a t the boili g p oi n t of w a ter
i s much m o re se n sitive to cha n ges of pressure th a n is the melt
i n g poi n t of ice
N ot o n ly so but the e ffects of pressure i n
these two cases are exactly opposite the melti n g p oi n t of ice
is lowered by pressure ; the boili n g poi n t of water is raised
by it
On e

can

I G"

'

en

e e

OI

nu

on o

u e'

GENERAL PH YS IC S

2 90

experie n ce co n cer n i n g boili n g

may be summarized as follows

Th e p
ress ur e rem ai n i n g t h e same
m
th ere i s a d e n ite boili n g p
oi n t for t h e
fr
e e surface of every liqui d ; an d (p
ro
vi d ed t h e m ass be stirr ed ) h ow ever mu ch
h e at be ap
lie d t h e tem p
erat ure of t h e
p
w hol e rem ai n s at t h e b oili n g p
oin t ti l l

t h e l ast p
ar
ti cl e is ev ap
or ate d
T A I T H eat C h IX
2 8 0 It can be sho wn that liquids are
u n dergoi n g ev a poratio n at all tempera
B u t the regio n over the fre e
Fm
193
B i ] i g po i nt tures
rai s d b y i cr as f p
r s surface of a liquid may co n tai n so
m
much v a p o r from the liquid that con
de n s a tio n will occur as r a pidly as n ew vapor is formed
The atmosphere over the liquid is the n s a id to be S aturated
The process of boili n g occurs whe n the temperature h as
reached a poi n t where vapor is formed i n the i n teri o r of the
liquid an d rises to the top B ut u n less the pressure of this hot
vapor were equ a l i n pressure to that at the free surface of the
liquid the bubble of vap o r would coll a pse i n the liquid
Th e temp
er at u r
e of boi li n g ( w h at w e or di n aril y cal l t h e boi l
in g p
l y th at t emp
er atu r e at w hi ch t h e satu
oi n t) i s th en s i mp
rated v ap
or oi t h e l i q u i d ex ert s a p
r essure eq ual t o th e p
r
ess u r e
e e surf ace of t h e l i q u i d
at t h e f r
O ur

ncn

e o

su

P R ESS U R E

O F S A T UR ATE D WA T E R

V AP O R

TH E OR Y

OF HE A T

2 91

The precedi n g tab le due t o R eg n ault ; shows us very clearly

just h ow the boili n g poin t of water varies with the pressure
,

D i sti n cti on between

G as

an

pr

Va

With such appar atus as th a t i n dicated i n Fig 1 9 3

ad apted of c o urse to a ccura t e l a boratory measureme n t it i s
re a dily sh o w n n ot o n ly th a t t h e
pressure of a satur a ted vapor of
give
a
n s u bst a n ce depe n ds upo n
y
its temperature but a lso that it
d e p e n d s up o n n o th i n g e ls e
E very stude n t sho u ld c l e a r l y
gr a sp the ide a th a t the s a turated
vapor pressure does n ot depe n d
upo n the volume of the vap o r
The simplest an d clearest illus
t rat io n of this is perhaps the
followi n g
Fill a baro m eter tube with m er
cury an d i n vert it over a deep
F -1 94
i
n
n
b a si n of mercury as Show
Fig 1 9 4 At the top of the tube there will be a s m a ll Tor
With a p
en l l er h a vi n g i t s tip be n t a s
ricel l i an vacuum
i n dic a ted i n the acc om p a yi n g gure a few dr ops of sul ph u ric
ether may be i tr o duced i n t o the bott o m of the baro m eter
tube The ether a t o n ce rises to the surfa ce of the mercury
a d the Torricellia n v a cuum beco m es lled with t h e v a por o f
ether The result is that the mercury col u m n f a lls fro m a
height of 7 6 t o a height of perh a ps 3 6 ce n ti m eters ; for the
pressure of this v apor is determ i n ed by the te m er a ture o f the
r oom which is prob a bly ab out 2 0 C The e tire v olu m e of
the tube above the mercury is lled with s a turated ether v a por
If n o w the b a r om eter tube be
r a ised or lowered i n the m er
F - 195
cury b a th it wi l l be observed
th a t the height of the mer u ry c ol u m n i side the tube d oes
n o t v a ry
so l on g a s the te m per a ture remai s c st a n t S ee
Fig 1 9 6 where the s a m e b a ro meter tube is Sh o wn i three
di ffere n t positi on s I n other words the vapor pressure does
2 81

IG

IG

on

GENERAL PHYS IC S

2 92

vary with th e volume H o w does the mass of vap

or vary
as the tube i s raised an d lowered ?
Now take a similar tube ll it
with mercury an d i n vert it so as
to form a barometer a s before ;
but i n to the Torricelli a n v a cuu m
i n troduce n ow a few bubbles of
air i n ste a d of ether The behav
I o r of the mercury colum n as the
tube is raised an d lowered is n ow
totally di ff ere n t Whe n the v ol
m e is h a lved the pressure is n o w
doubled an d so o n ; i n short the
g a s obeys B oyle s Law an d the
apor does n ot
This e n tire questio n as to the
a gas an d a
F
196 I ll s t rat i g t h fact t h at di ff ere n ce betwee n
v pr p
r ss r i i d p d t f v a por w a s cle a red up ab o ut 1 8 69
v l m
who
by A n drews at Gl a sg o w
S howed th a t two co n ditio n s must be fullled i n order to con
de n se a gas i to a liquid v i
n critical poi n t
i
The
temper
a
ture
must
fall
below
a
certai
()

n ot

IG

a o

o u

u e

e en

en

e.

z.

an

( ii )

The pressure must for

e a ch particul a r te m per a ture
ris e above a certai n de n ite
value
H e illustr a tes this by p
lotti n g
the pressure as a fu n cti o of
the volume for a give n m a ss of
c a rbo n ic acid g a s a t various
temperatures Whe n the com
pressio n occurs at a c on sta n t
te m per a ture the curve which
co n n ects pressure an d volume
h a s the f o rm show n i n Fig
1 9 7 an d is c a lled an
i s o t h er

m a l curve
The h oriz on tal
porti on such as th a t i n dic a t ed
by a b i n the gure represe n ts
,

"

F IG

1 97

Isoth ermals forcarboni c ac id

gas

T HE O RY

OF

HEA T

2 93

st a te i n which the substa n ce is partly gaseous an d partly

liquid Thus at a the pressure a ssumes a co n sta n t value an d
ret a i n s it u n til the co n de n satio n re a ches the poi n t
5
It is this co n sta n cy o f pressure which as we
have see n ab o ve i n dic a tes saturatio n of the vapor
N ow A n drews discovered that after reachi n g a
c ert a i n te m per a ture ( i n the c a se of carbo n ic acid
g a s about 3 1 C ) the is o ther m als ceas ed to have
regi on of s a tur a tio n i e they n o lo n ger
a y
s howed an y h o rizo n t a l portio n s
I
other words whe n c on d e n s a tio n from a gas
t o liquid t a kes pl a ce a bove a certai n temperature
n o free surf a ce occurs i n the liquid ; the ch a nge is
a perfectly co ti n uous on e
a

very satisfactory mode of illustrati n g

t h e p a ss a ge o f a liquid from the regio n below to
t h e regio n above the critical te m perature is by
u se of what i s c a lled a
critical tube that is a
bi
h
T
r
i m
n
thick walled gl a ss tube a little less tha h alf lled
t b
with ether an d closed at both e n ds Whe n this
tube is suspe n ded i n a test tube lled wit h melted par a f n an d
i s heated still further with a Bu n se n bur n er it will be observed
th a t prese n tly the liquid expa n ds very r apidly the me n iscus
atte n s an d n a lly disappe a rs The ether n o w lls the w h ole
tube an d h a s beco m e a g a s Whe n the ame is removed a
h a zy cloud form s i n the middle of the tube a me n iscus re a ppe a rs
rapid co n tr a ctio n occurs the critic a l te m perature h a s agai n bee n
p a ssed an d the ether has n ow return ed from a state of gas to a
st a te of liquid a d vapor
2 82

e'

Th e

e mp
er atur e

s oth erm al at wh ich t h e s ub

s t an ce ceas es t o Sh ow a fr
i n g con d en s ati on i s
ee s u rf ace d ur
er ature The p o i n t on the isotherm a l
k n ow n as t h e criti cal te mp
a t which the horizo n t a l p o rtio n j ust disappears is called the
The pressure an d the v olume corresp on di g to
criti cal p
oi n t
this poi n t a re called the criti cal p
ressur e an d criti cal v olum e
respectively

We a re n ow i n a positio n to den e v a por an d gas

or
V ap
i s t h e n am e gi ve n t o a s ub stan ce i n t h e gaseou s con di
tion w h en bel ow t h e cr i ti cal te mp
eratu re ; w h il e th e t erm gas
28 3

of

th e i

GENERAL PHYS IC S

2 94
is

t n
t emp
at ur e
er

n n ed

co

ti cal

cr
i

to

i n t h e gas eous

sub s a ces

con di

ti on

wh en

a bove

t he

S U B ST

A N CE

A B LE O F C RI T IC AL D A T A
SY M B

C
L

Air

R I TI A L
C

TE I P E R ATU RE

141

C arb
C ar b
E th e r

i x id e
m
x id e

on

on

e
N i t r ge
O xyge
W a t er
H yd r og
o

CO 2

on o

CO

77

H
O
4
IO

A
EE
E
E
ZS
EE
C RITI C

1 97

H2

22 0

N2

146

3 65

02

H 2O

From

Lan d h o l t

an d

B erns tei n

Tabl es

meteorological occurre n ces with which we are

most vitally co n cer n ed as well a s some of t h e most exquisite of
n atu r
a l phe n ome n a such as geysers are merely Special cases o f
cha ge of st a te brought about by cha n ge of te m per a ture
Thus d ew f og l ou d s an d rai n are four f o rm s of water which
m a ke their a ppe a ra n ce whe n the air is saturated with w ater
vapor at an y temperature an d after ward m ore or less co oled
below this temperature The ma n n er i n which the n ecessary
cooli n g is brought about is n ot always the same
I n the case of de w the bodies upo n which the moisture is
deposited are cooled mai n ly by radi a tio n ; these bodies i n tur n
cool the adjace n t l a yers of air below the poi n t of saturatio n or
d ew poi n t as it is sometimes called
The result is that the
moisture formerly i n the air is n o w deposited over the surface
of the st on e pla n t o rwh a tever the body may be A s we have
already le a rn ed
there i s for e a ch particular temper a
ture a certai pressure which water vap or can sust a i n ; whe n
the a mo u n t of v a por i n the air is a t an y time gre a ter tha n wh a t
is su fficie n t to supply the pressure the excess of moisture is
n atur a lly precipitated
I n the case of clouds an d r a i n the co n ditio n s which bri n g
about the cooli g of the air are m a i n ly
( i ) The i n termixture of two masses of air at di ffere n t tem
2 84

M an y

er
at u r
es

TH E O RY

H EAT

OF

2 95

( ii ) A

la n d breeze bri n gi n g the moist air of the oce a n over

the cooler la n d ; an d
n vectio n curre n ts which lift mass es of moist air i n to
iii
C
o
( )
higher altitudes an d thus a llow them to cool by exp a n sio n
Kelvi n an d A itke n have show n th a t there is a lso a n o ther
co n ditio n for rai n fall n ot depe n de n t upo n ch a ge of temper a
ture n amely the prese n ce i n the a ir of sm a ll particles of dust
o r as we n ow k n ow io n s ) up on which the m o isture can con
(
de n se The stude n t i s n ow prepared to follow the expla n a ti on
of this fact which he will n d discussed i n on e of the larger
text books such as that of Watso n A mes or H as ti n gs
.

the case of geysers which were rst satisfact o rily ex

pl a i n ed by the great G erma n chemist B u n se n i n 1 8 4 7 we h a ve
a crevasse ge n erally i n an old l a va bed the heat of w hic h
is su f cie n t to raise the te m per a ture of the spri g water which
feeds i n to this crev a sse a bove the boil i n g poi n t The water
i n the l o wer part of the crevasse ( which has usu a lly bec o me
closed up on the sides so a s to rese m ble a tube ) i s u n der con
si d er
abl e pressure
owi n g to t h e superi n cumbe n t w a ter Its
te mper a ture therefore rises a bove 1 00 C If n ow an y thi
horiz o n t a l l a yer o f water i n this tube becomes displ a ced
tilted perh a ps SO that a part of it whose temper a ture i s s ay
1 02 C
gets i n to a regio n where the boili n g poi n t is on ly
1 01 9 C the result i s t h a t so m e of the water is tr a n sfor m ed
i n to ste a m This ste a m pushes s ome o f the w a ter out of the
crevasse an d thus slightly dimi n ishes the pressure on the w a ter
bel o w This dimi n utio n o f pressure i s foll owed by a m uch
l a rger co n versio n of w a ter i n to stea m which i n exp a n di n g ex
pels a l a rge qu a n tity of w a ter u n til the e n tire m a ss is c ooled
t o the n or m al b o ili n g poi n t o r bel o w
M uch of the w a ter is
w a sted a d does n ot f a ll b a ck i n t o the tube this w a ste is sup
plied by Spri n gs The above process of he a ti g an d expl o si o
is the n repe a ted an d so on i de n itely so l o g as the sources
of he a t an d w a ter rem a i n I n the geysers of the Y ellowst on e
P a rk this peri o d is fou n d to vary from a few mi utes t o sev
er a l d ays
I n Fig 1 9 8 is sh ow a model suggested by Bu se n c o sist
i n g of a sheet -iro n tube the upper e d of which is soldered i t o
a b a si n t o c a tch the w a ter whe n f a lli g b a ck Three ther
2 85

In

GENER AL P HYS IC S

2 96

corked i n to
the S ide of the upright tube
prove that the geyser goes i n to
actio n o n ly whe n the tempera
ture co n ditio n s are th ose de
scribed a b o ve A triple or
qui n tuple B u n se n a me at the
bottom takes the place of hot
lava i n n ature
m omet ers, A, B , 0,

H eat of Fu si on
.

It has bee n fou n d by ex

r
m
n t th a t a d e n i t e amou n t
e
i
e
p
of h eat i s r
eq uir ed j u st t o mel t
am of a s u b stan ce i e to
on e gr
ch a n ge it from a solid to a liquid
w i th ou t ch an gi n g i ts t emp
er a
n tity of heat i s
t ur
e
This
qua
F
B
s s m d l f g ys r
1 98
i n ge n eral di ffere n t for each
d i eren t substa n ce an d is called the H e at of Fusi on of the
For the last hu n dred years this qu a n tity has bee n
s ubst a n ce
k n o wn as the Late n t H eat of the substa n ce This n a me is
however r a ther misleadi n g for as we shall prese n tly see it is
ex a ctly duri n g the prese n t ce n tury th a t men have le a rn ed th a t
he a t is a for m of e n ergy which whe n employed to melt a body
dis a ppe a rs as heat of an y ki n d an d assumes s om e other form of
e n ergy co n cern i n g which we k n ow comparatively little There
is p o ssibly on e j usticatio n for the n a m e i n the f a ct that whe n
a subst a n ce freezes i n stead of melti n g this i n ter n al e n erg
is
y
retur n ed i n the shape of heat
B ef o re water a t 0 C can tur n
i n to ice it must give off a very co n sider a ble a mou n t of he a t
If H calories be required j ust to melt m gr ams o f an y
s ubst a n ce the heat of fusi on of this substa n ce E is measure d
a s follows
i
f rh at
ti
1 08
E
H
F
2 86

I G.

un en

e o

i f

gq
p
e

ua

s ol

on

the case of ice the heat of fusi on is foun d to be very

n early 7 9 calories per gr a m
In

H eat of Va
2 87

i t t akes

In
a

or
i z a ti on

a strictly a n alog o us m a n n er experime n t shows that

d e n i te amou n t of h eat j u s t t o ch an ge on e gr
am of
,

T HE O RY

O F HEA T

2 97

li q ui d i n to vap
e This
er atur
or with ou t ch an gi n g t h e t emp
qu a n tity for an y p a rticul a r substa n ce is c a lled its H e at of
oriz ati on
Vap
I n the c a se of water b o ili n g u n der sta n d a rd a t m ospheric pres
sure ( 76 0 millimeters of mercury ) it is fou n d th a t 5 3 6 c al ories
are required to evaporate on e gr a m with o ut ch a n gi n g its
te m perature The he a t of vap o rizatio n of water is therefore
said t o be 5 3 6 calories per gram
an y

TH E

O F H EA T
I n our study of the e ff ects of heat we have n owher e
2 88
co n sidered the questio n a s to wh a t this so m ethi n g is which
ch a n ges the size of a b ody alters its temperature melts an d
v a porizes it
t o the begi n n i n g of the prese n t ce n tury it w a s thought to be
Up
a f orm of matter s om ewhat like a ir o n ly o f much greater t en ui t y ;
fo ri n this w a y it w as e a sy to expl a i n the f a ct that i n con d u c
ti on the a m ou n t o f heat le a vi n g on e system of bodies is a lway s
equal to that e n teri n g the other This substa n ce which w as
give n the n a me of c aloric was supposed to be so thi n
th a t it w o uld pe n etr a te s olid bodies with the utmost ease It
w a s supp osed to be without weight bec a use h ot bo dies do n ot
weigh an y more tha n the s a m e bodies whe n c old
Th a t there is n o such substan ce as c a loric an d that heat
is a fo rm of e n ergy w a s est a blished through the e ff orts of a
large n umber of i n vestig a t o rs But the picture will perhaps
be esse n ti a lly correct if we say th a t this accomplishme n t i s
m ai n ly due to the joi n t labors of R umfo rd D a vy an d J oule
C ou n t R umford ( 1 7 5 3
who was by birth an A merica n
but by reside n ce an E n glish m an an d a Germa n successively
w a s gre a tl y i m pressed by the fact that i n the bori n g of ca n n o n
the met a l chips c a m e ou t very hot I n some experime n ts which
he tried i n the a rse n a l at M u n ich he fou n d th a t the heat gen
er
at ed by a blu n t
tool was pr oporti on al to the ti m e duri n g
which the tool w as drive n an d n ot propo rtio n al to the amou n t
of a br a ded m etal The cal orici st s expl a i n ed the heat whic h
m a de its a ppe a r a n ce i n the chips by sayi n g th a t the speci c
heat of br ass i n a n ely divided co n ditio n w a s less than th a t
o f s o lid brass
B u t R u m f o rd showed by experi m e n t th a t this
w as n ot true ; an d he suggested th a t this somethi n g
which
VI

N ATUR E

,
,

'

GENERAL PHYS IC S

2 98

syste m of bodies can co n ti n ue to furn ish i n u n limited q ua n

t ities can h a rdly be a material substa n ce
S ir H umphry D avy ( 1 7 78
the E n glish chemist
showed that by rubbi n g together two pieces of ice i n a ro o m
whose temperature w a s below the melti n g poi n t of ice he
could n ot o n ly melt the ice but obtai n a product of abr a sio n
n amely
water whose specic he a t so f a r from
so to speak
bei n g less is more tha n twice as large as that of ice R u m
f o rd s experi me n ts were i n this m a n n er thoroughly co n rmed

F irst L aw of Thermodyn ami cs

It remai n ed for M r J ames P J oule ( 1 8 1 8

an
E n glish physicist to discover the ex a ct relatio n betwee n heat
a d mecha n ical
e n ergy H e a rr a n ged a paddle wheel i n a
vessel of water i n such a w a y th a t the p a ddle wheel could be
kept i n r a pid rot a tio n by mea n s of a desce n di n g clock weight
By pl a ci n g a thermo m eter i n the water he fou n d that the
more the w a ter was stirred the warmer it bec a me B ut w h at
is m or e i mp
ortan t h e me asure d t h e w or k d on e by t h e d es ce n d i n g
wei gh t an d t h e corres p
o n d i n g h eat p
rodu ce d by t h e p
add l e i n t ur n
i n g i n t h e water an d f ou n d that i n ever y cas e t h e r
ati o betw een
th es e t w o q u a n ti ti es w as t h e sa me
L et us de n ote by W the w o rk do n e i n raisi n g the mass m
1
n
Fig
through
the
height
the
9
9
h
;
(
)
W mgh
B a rri n g a slight correctio n for frictio n at the beari n gs this
is also the a mou n t of work which the desce n di n g weight does
the paddle wheel
o
L et us de n ote by M the mass of the w a ter stirred an d by
the rise i n temperature pr o duced by the stirri n g
tl
t2
The n t he he a t acquired by the water H is
2 89

M ( t2

The c a pit a l discovery o f J oule was that for every u n it of

s a s the weight desce ds a
ar
m ech a ical e n ergy which d i sap
p
s i n the stirred
de ite an d con stan t qu a tity o f he a t ap
ear
p
w a ter ; i a H is proportio n a l to W
I n terms o f algebra
e

M ( t2

tl

c
a
lories
)

TH E O RY

O F HEA T

2 99

the use of this equ a ti on J oule determi n ed the n umeric a l

v a lue o f this c on st a n t J an d fou n d it to be very n early
By

TH

ERMOMET

PA DD LE

DES EN DING
C

I
C

F IG

AT ER

VES SE O F W

1 99 Jou
.

le s exp
eri m en t t o d eter m i n e th e mech an i cal equi v al en t o f h eat

The physical mea n i n g of this co n sta n t which is c a lled the

M e ch an i cal Eq u iva l e n t of He at is as follows v i 42 milli on ergs
of w ork must be d on e i n or d er t o p
rod u ce on e cal ori e of h e at ; in
l ike ma n n er w h e n on e calorie of h e at d is ap
ears s ome oth e rf or m
p
of e n er gy eq u iv al en t in amou n t t o 42 milli on er gs of w or
k alw ay s
ap
ears
p
J o ule expressed his results i n ter m s of fo o t -pou n ds by sayi n g
t hat the a m o u n t o f work which will r a ise the temperatur e of a
pou n d of water on e degree F a hre n heit is 77 2 foot -pou n ds It
is i n this f orm th a t E glish e gi eers alw a ys use the me
c h an i cal equiv a le n t of he a t
The s a m e result may be expressed
i n the metric syste m by writi n g
J 4 2 4 gr a m meters per calorie
The i n fere n ce the n is si n ce work dis a ppears a s heat appears
Th e p
a d vi ce v r
ri n ci p
le ex
s a that h eat i s a f or m of en er gy
resse d i n t h e eq u ati on
p
,

Eq

1 09

k n own as t h e First Law of Therm odyn a mi cs The tra n s

f orm a ti o o f he a t i n t o fo r m s of e n ergy other tha n mec h a ic a l
will be discussed i n followi n g chapters
H a vi n g show he a t to be a f o rm of e ergy we see th a t t h e
rst l aw of therm od yn amics is m erel y a s p
eci al case of t h e Law
of t h e Con servati on of En er gy
is

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

3 00

S econ d L aw

f Thermodyn ami cs

the middle of the n i n etee n th ce n tury C lausiu s

an d Kelvi n established the ge n eral pri n ciple th a t it is i mp
os
s i ble fora s el f-acti n g m achi n e u n ai d e d by an y e xt er n al a ge n cy
er atur e t o an other bod y at
t o con ve y h eat fr om a b od y at on e tem p
a h i gh er t em p
er ature Kelvi n S h o wed by an a rg u me t which
must be reserved for ad va n ced study that it is i m possible by
u s e of the most perfect im a gi n able he a t e n gi n e t o co vert i n t o
mech a n ic a l work m ore tha n a certai n de ite fractio n of th e
he a t i n an y body Let us suppose an e n gi n e worki n g u n de r
the most favorable circum sta n ces an d receivi n g an a m o u n t of
heat H 1 at a temperature of t1 E very he a t e n gi n e dispose s
of a part of the heat which it receives t o a body at some lowe r
temperature t2 Let us de n ote by H 2 the h e a t give n out by t h e
e n gi n e to the refrigerat o r whose temperature is t2 The n Kelvi n
showed that if temperatures are measured on the ideal gas
scale the m a ximum possible value for the ratio betwee n use
ful work an d heat take n i n a qua n tity ge n erally called
2 90

A bout

e fcie n cy

is

t1

t,
t1

of algebra we have
Efcie n cy

O r, putti n g

this same result

in

term s

H1

H2

t2

t1

H1

Eq

t1

110

This e f cie n cy equ a tio n may be co n sidered as a qua n titativ e

expressio n for the seco d l a w of thermody n a m ics
n

A bsol u te S ca l e of

Tem

e a tu

res

a n other w a y of putti n g this result is to say that

the e f cie n cy of the most perfect he a t e gi n e worki n g u n de r
the m ost fav o rable co n diti on s is a fu n ctio n o n ly of the te m pera
tures of the source an d refriger a tor respectively
O e of the i m port a n t applicatio n s of the seco n d l aw of
thermody n a mics is the determi n a tio n of temperature by a
method which is i n depe n de n t of the p a rticul a r therm o m et r
ic

substa n ce employed S uch temperatures are s a id to be abso

lute
A n outli n e of the method by which this is d on e is as
follows : E q 1 1 0 may be tra n sformed by S imple algebr a so
as to read
Eq 1 1 1
2 91

Still

H2

t2

TH EORY

With clear visio n

Kelvi n

HE AT

OF

3 01

saw th a t the ratio

is

I n depe n d e n t

of the m a terial a d bei g a fu n cti on of the te m per a ture a l on e

m a y be used as a me a s u re of the ratio of two tem per a tures on a
n ew an d a bsolute sc a le
The experi m e n tal d e t ermi n atio n of the n umeric a l v alue of
this rati o H1 fora substa n ce worki n g betwee n the b o ili n g a d
,

H2

freezi n g poi n ts of water w a s ma d e by

9
3
1

fo u n d to be

Kelvi n

an d

J o ule

an d

This is of course a lso the v a lue of 1 forthe

,

2 73

t2

s a me two xed poi n ts I n o rder to de n itely deter m i n e either

of these t w o te m per a tures o n the abs olute sc a le it rem a i e d
o n ly to discover a n other equ a ti on betwee n them This we
h a ve i n the u n iversal co n ve n tio n that the di ff ere n ce betwee n
the melti n g poi n t of ice an d the boili n g p oi n t of w a ter shall be
or calli n g t1 the temperature of steam an d t2 the m elti n g
.

pl t
O Il

Of

108 ,

t1

an d

E limi n ati n g t1

an d

we have
Temper a ture

t2

of

t2

1 00

51

3 7s

t2

2 73

0
3

Eq

112

respectively betwee n these two equatio n s

melti n g ice = t

the a bs olute cen

ad e sc a le an d
t i gr
3 7 3 o n the absolute cen
ad e sc a le
t i gr
ab s ol u t e s cale is i d en ti cal
2 73

on

Temperature of boili n g water

t1

I t th u s

p
prs

th at t h e zer o on th e
w ith th at on t h e i d e al gas s cal e
From E q 1 1 0 it follows th a t th e ab s ol u te zer o is s imp
l y th e
temp
e fri gerator at whi ch a p
erf ect e n gi n e w oul d
er atu r e of a r
lie d t o it
con v ert i n t o m echa n i cal w or
k all t h e h e at su p
p
O bserve th a t the siz e o f the degrees here e m pl oyed is deter
mi n ed by E q 1 1 2 an d th a t they a re ce n tigr a d e If t1 t2 h a d
bee n xed at
the size of t h e degrees would h a ve bee n Fah
ren h eit an d the absolute zero would the n have bee n 46 1 below
that of m elti n g ice
a

ea

H eat E n gi n es

We have see n h ow J oule tra n sf o rm ed mechan ic a l

e n ergy i n to heat by mean s of h is raised weight an d p a ddle
2 92

GENERAL PHYS IC S

3 02

The heat e n gi n e is a m a chi n e devised to accomplish the revers e

to tr a n sform heat i n to mecha n ic a l e n ergy Th e
O peratio n vi z
most importa n t of these e n gi n es are i n cluded i n the three
followi n g groups
i
i
This
o a ti ng
steam en gi n e
s the ordi n ary
T
h
e
r
e i r
)
(
p
stea m e n gi n e of which the com m o n railr o ad l oco m otive is an
ex a mple Its esse n ti a l features a re the followi g b i l er H
i n which he a t f urn ished by combustio n of fuel is employed t
ev a porate water ; a cyl i n d r i n which slides a close -t t in g
i
n dicated i n Fig 2 00 ;
ston hea d
a
n
d
a
i
t
on r
od R
as
i
s
P
p
p
a steam chest S co n tai n i n g a n autom a tic valve which admits
.

F IG

200

the steam alter n ately to on e en d an d to the other of the cyli n der

B y mea n s of a co n n ecti n g rod this to -an d -fro motio n of t h e
pisto n is tr a n sformed i n to a circular motio n of the sh a ft an d
pulley i n a ma n n er which will be clear from an i n spectio n of
F ig 2 00 bi s This
form of e gi n e i s
very l a rgely the
crea tio o f the
Scottish e n gi n eer
Ja m es Watt
In
mari n e eu
F IG 200 bi
gi n es ( an d i n s o me
others also ) the exhaust steam is collected co n de n sed i nto
water an d a gai n retur n ed t o the boilers The s a me water I s
thus used over an d over agai n The steam is n ot used up but

is merely a worki n g substan ce a c a rrier to tra n sfer t he

e n ergy of the combi n i n g coal an d oxyge n i n the furn a ce to
the machi n ery which is doi n g mech a n ic a l work
The stude n t who would k n ow more of the history or t h e
.

s.

THE ORY

OF

HE AT

3 03

heory of t h e steam e n gi n e should co n sult the very read a ble

a rticle of P rofessor E wi n g on this subject i n the E n cy l pdi a
B ritan n i a ; a lso the biographical sketch of J a m es W a tt t here
give
n water escapes from pressure
ii
Whe
b
i
ne
T
h
e s team tu r
( )
2
its e n ergy bec o mes ki etic
mo
If a stream o f w a ter s ay
a sle n der jet is d irected ag a i st a at surf a ce such a s a d o o r
it exerts a pressure up on this surfa ce If the d oo r gives w ay
a n d m oves i n the directi o n o f the force work i s d on e up on it
an d this w o rk is performed a t the expe n se o f the ki n etic
Es
For m a n y years the mi n ers o f
e ergy of the movi g w a ter
the west used a form of w a ter -wheel the h u rd y gurdy
This wheel w a s
m a de up o f a t va n es att a ched to a S h a ft
The
m ade to ru n by pl a yi g a jet of water on the v a es
P elt on water -wheel o f the prese n t d a y e m pl oys the s a m e pri n
l e but by u se of u rved v a n es is a ble to utilize a much l a rger
cip
pr op o rti o of the ki etic e n ergy o f the w a ter
Whe n ste a m esc a pes fr om pressure the vel o city f a ct o r of its
ki etic e ergy is very gre a t C on seque tly a j et of ste a m
directed a gai n st a resisti g surf a ce exerts up on it a force si m i
l art o th a t o f the wi n d with which we are a ll fa m ili a r ; b u t the
f orce due to a jet of steam is likely t o be of f a r gre a ter i n t en

c o

ce

si t y

r ough sort of ste a m e gi n e may be made by ru n i n g

steam thr o ugh an ordi n a ry P elto n water -wheel ; while the
D e La val ste a m turbi n e is S i m ply the
P elto n wheel properly desig ed for the
u s e of a light an d expa n sive m edium
ste a m
The disadva n tage of the D e La v a l
wheel is that it m ust ru n at an ex ces
s i v el y high speed i n order t o a bsorb a
l a rge fr a ctio of e n ergy fr o m the s t ea m
which h a s freely expa n ded an d h a s Fm 201 Th D L v l s m
t rb i
thereby acquired an e n or m ous speed
We have see n th a t i the ordi n a ry reciproc a ti g s t ea m
e n gi n e the ste a m does w ork by exp a n di n g the volu me of the
cyli n der i n which it is co n n ed
I n the P a rs o s turbi n e this pri n ciple i s a lso m ade use o f t o
so m e exte n t i n order to a bsorb the e n ergy fr o m the steam a d
A

a a

t ea

ne

'

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

3 04

yet to keep the speed of the ste a m dow n to about fo ur hu n dre d

feet per seco n d
To accomplish this the cyli n der ( stator ) i n ste a d of bei n g
tted with a pisto n is provided with a coaxi a l shaft ( rotor)
L CIT
TEA
m
ered with small
blades i n l i n d
.

VE O

400 n

Y OF 8

sec.

to

the

ax i s

the
same pri n cipl e
that the blade s
of a wi n dmill
n cli n ed
are
i
to
T EA M P R E U R
w
w
p
the d l eCt Il 0 f
F
201 b
L gi t d i al s c ti
s t rb i
f Pars
its Sh a ft C o r
respo n di n g t o each movable blade on the rotor there is a x ed
blade on the i n si de of the stator
A ccordi n gly we may thi n k of the pass a ge of the particles o f
steam betwee n these blades as si m ilar to their pass a ge thr ough
a lo n g rect an gular pipe on e side of which is co n st a n tly reced
i n g from the other an d is therefore a bsorbi n g e n ergy
Th e
impulse pri n ciple th a t of the D e La val turbi n e is also
employed i n the P arso n s to abstract still a n other portio n of
the e n ergy of the ste a m
This type of e n gi n e is especially a d a pted for the smooth run
n i n g of steamships an d dy n amos
The steam turbi n e owes i t s
i n iti a l developme n t largely to the E n glish e n gi n eer P arso n s
a
h
i
n
t
n
l
co
m
b
u
t
i
on
n
iii
e
r
The two precedi n g
T
s
e
( )
gi n e
e n gi es derive their e n ergy from fuel which is bur n ed outsid e
the cyli n der B u t there has rece n tly bee n perfected a type of
machi n e which bur n s its fuel ( either g a s or a spray of oil )
right i n side the cyli n der Whe n the proper fuel is used t h e
products of co m bustio n are e n tirely gaseous so that the cyl i n
der easily cle a rs itself These are the little e n gi n es so famili a r
to us on aut o m obiles I n most o f them there are four step s
through which the worki n g substan ce is take n These are
i dic a ted i n Fig 2 02 These four steps co n stitute wh a t i s
k n o w n as the O tto cycle after the G erma n e n gi n eer O tto
who did much to perfect the m oder n gas e n gi n e I n thes e
e n gi n es the pisto n does w ork on ly whe n movi n g i n on e d irec
t he

SS

1 5 0 L8 8

IG

CH

en so. IN.

aa

on

on

on o

s ha

ft

on

n e.

T HE O R Y

HEA T

OF

3 05

tio n ; they are therefore said to be

si n gle acti n g to disti n guish the m

f rom the ordi n a ry reciproc a ti g steam
which does w o rk both on the
e n gi n e
f orward an d on the backw a rd stroke

double act
a n d is he n ce s a id to be
ing
The use o f i take an d exhaust
v a lves I an d E shown i n Fig 2 02
will be su i cien t l y clear from the dia
r
a
m
The
i
n take v a lve ad m its the
g
e xplosive m ixture
s ay a ir a d g a so
li n e vapor ; co m pressio n the n o ccurs ;
expl o sio n is the n produced by an elec
XHA U T
tric sp a rk ; the products of comb u s
F IG 202
tio n 0 0 2 etc a re the n swept out
through the exhaust valve E These are the four steps i n t h e
O tto c y cle
R f r
M A XW E LL
G re
Th ry f H t ( L gm
p
p3 43 Pri c e
F i rst f r c h ap
e c ially v al ab l e f rt h begi e r
t ers e s p
TA I T H t ( M ac m il l a ) p
E x c ee d i gly l c i d
p3 6 8 Pr i ce
C vers t h w h l e s bj e c t
T N A LL H t
A
t
l
e
2
r
c
e
M d f M ti
5
9
P
i
)
p
p
p
p
(
A s r ie s f p
eri m e t l
pl ar l ct res m arked by t hei r w ealt h f ex p
i ll st ra ti
H E M H O LT
P p
F ir t S ri
l et ) P r i ce
l r L t r
p
( Ap
S ve t h l c t r e r c m m d ed
K EL I N
A rt
H at
E cy B rit p
i
p5 54 565 are e spc ially r m
m e d d t b gi ers
P R E T O N Th ry f H t (M ac mi ll a ) p
A t r ti
p7 1 9 Pr i ce
re c m me ded t t h ad v a d s t d e t a s
e x ce ll e t c mp
e di m f
b t h exp
r i m e t a l d m a t h e m a t i c al r s l t s
E WI
Th St m E gi
m
C
a
br i d ge P re s )
d Oth r H t E gi
(
Pr i c e
R EE E
Th rm dy mi f H t E gi
(M ac mill a ) P r i c e
B C IN HAM
Th ry f Th rm dy mi c (M ac m i ll a )
S T O OLA
Th S t m T rbi
N st ra d )
tra
by L w e s t i ( V

e e en c e s

eo

en

an s,

on

ea

ou

ea

ea

on

on

on

ec u es ,

nn

ea

en

es

on

eco

ea

e o

e o

NG

eo

nn

u a

as

n ce

e u

n e an

an

an

ea

ea

se

n es

na

cs o

eo

ea

ea

na

ns

n e,

n es

oe

an

e n

r o b l em s
1
The av erage re ad in g of t h e b ar om e te r at th e top
o f M ou n t H a m i l t o n
t
h
t he r ef o re d oe s
er at ure
( e Li ck O b serv ato ry) i s 6 5 cm At w h at te mp
w ater b oi l on M o u n t H a mi l ton
r ox i mately
A n s 9 5 C ap
p
2
At t he t op
of Pi k e s Pe ak w ate r bo i ls at a t emp
W hat
er a t u r e o f
t her
ef or e i s t h e av er a e r e ad i n
?
a
r
r
i
k
e
s
e
a
k
f
t
h
e
b
m
e
t
e
o
n
P
P
o
o
g
g
P

A ns

GENERAL PHYS IC S

3 06

atm s p
here i ap
r x i m a tely 1 5 l b w eight t t h
p
b i le r f
At l a t i c l i e r c a rr ie s a s te a m p
re ss re f
3 00 l b t t h sq ar e i ch
W h at i s t h t e m p
e rat re f t h w ate r i thi s
b i le r ? S
R eg a l t s t b l e
C
A
4
ex p
l ai t h fac t th at as a ve ss e l f p
f r m t h map
le
H wd y
t ree i s b i l d a w ay t h p
rce t age f s ga r i th s l t i l e ft be h i d
ti
l l v i cre a se s ?
5
Exp
l ai h w
w ar m h i h a d s by r bb i g t he m t ge the r
6
Ex p
l ai t h f act t h a t a p
iece f i r i s he ate d by h ammeri g Wh at
k i d f e e rgy i s h ere t ra s f r med i t h at ?
7
E xp
l ai t h f ac t th at w he a p
iece f c p
e r w i re t y pi t i s
p
d i rec t i
t h e i th
r ap
idly be t rs t i
t h e r i t b c me s h t
8
H w i s i t t h at whe t h t i r e f a bi cycl e i s bei g p
mp
ed p
be c m es w ar m
( ) t h b arre l f t h pm p
h
b
t
h
r
bb
e
r
h
s
e
c
e
c
t
i
t
)
g
pmp d th t ire bec mes w arm ?
(
9 At a p
f gr a v i ty i s 9 80 a b ll et w h s e
l a ce wh re t h acc eler ati
m a ss i s 8 g i s all w d t f al l f r m a heigh t f 1 000 m
W h at w i ll b
ergs j st bef re i t st rik e s t h gr d ?
t h k i e t i c e e r gy f t h b ll e t i
T w h at f r ac ti
f a c al r ie w i ll t hi s me c ha i c a l e er gy b e q i v a le t ?
A
rgs
c a l r ie
10 S p
r e c ed i g p
r bl e m th at w he th b ll e t s t r i k es t h
pse i t h p
hal f i t k i eti c e e rgy g es t he at t h b llet t h ther h al f t
d
gr
h eat t h gr
d
I f t h sp
ec i c heat f lead i s by h w m c h w i ll t h
er at re f t h b lle t b rai sed ?
C
t emp
A
11
H w
( ) Th h ei ght f t h Am er i c a F al l s t N i agar a i s 5 0
m c h k i e t i c e e r gy w i ll a gr a m f w a ter a cq i r e i f a ll i g t h r gh t h i s
ergs
A
d i st a c
(g
h
h
W
h
a
t
w
i
l
l
b
t
e
q
i
v
a
l
e
t
f
t
i
s
e
e
r
y
i
h
e
a
t
i
t
s
b
g
( )
c al r ie
A
B
h
m
c
h
t
he
w
i
ll
t
h
t
e
m
r
a
t
r
e
f
t
h
w
a
t
e
r
t
t
h
b
t
t
m
w
p
)
y
(
?
A
ce ti gr ade
b i cre ase d v er t h at t t h t p
8
1 2 T r a i s e a m a ss f 1 0 l b t h r
h
a
v
e
r
i
c
a
l
i
s
t
a
c
e
f
f
t
t
d
8
g
( 0
f t p d s ) req r es h w ma y e rgs f w rk ?
rg s
A
1 07 9 m i ll i
13
A ss mi g t h at t h s c i c h e at f i r
is
d th
m be r f
i t s re q i red t r ai se t h t e mpr at re f 3 00 g f i r f r m 2 0 C
he at
t 3 60 C
14
e s ha d give s h i m th
Why i s i t t h at alc h l r e t he r p red
f c ld ?
s s at i
15
H w m c h h e at m s t b gi v
r d er
t 1 2 g f w at er t 4 0 C i
t m ak e i t b i l ?
16
cl th es p
t t m a ke
c h illy
W h y a r e d a mp
17
T l b f w ate r at 0 C are m i xe d w i t h 4 0 l b f w ate r t 50 C
F i d th tem pr a t re f t h m i x t re
Th e p
re ss u r e
The
Sq u ar e i n c h
3

ee

sa

o n e ca n

o u

on

co n

on o

an

on

on e

ou n

ou n

e o

1
3 6,

ns

In

ou

n s.

un

n s.

oo - ou n

ui

un

on e

ns.

ou

ns

oun

o n

an

e o

ns

e o

on n

on ,

on

on e

n s.

ou

an

n ua

t he

of

on

nu

on

en

on

ou

o n on

en

en

on e

T HE O RY
18

n to

O F HEA T

3 07

G i ve v e i ll ust r ati o s of t he t rans form ati o

n

e at

som e for m

n of

of

e ergy
n

B y a s e a b r eez e
W h at i s m ean t by a lan d br eeze
H ow d o
l ai n t hese ?
you e xp
2 0 W r i te an e xam i n at i o n p
ap
e r of ve qu e st ion s on t he s ubj ect of heat
ar t ly of w oo d an d p
ar tly of i r on i s
21
A h a rv e st in g m a c h i n e made p
I n t h e m o r n i n g w hi c h p
all o w ed t o stan d ove rn ight i n an op
ar ts
en e l d
w i ll be c ov ered w ith d ew t h e i r on ort h e w ood ? Wh y
W h at are cl ou d s an d h ow a re t hey p
rod u ce d ?
22
a rtly c ove re d wi th d irt or
23
Wh y i s i t t h at i n w i n ter i ce whi ch i s p
ash e s me l ts s oon e r t han cl ean i ce ?
24
r ov i ded w i th wooden h an d les ?
Why are te ap
o t s o f te n p
25
F i fty c ubi c ce n t i meters of w ater a re he ate d f r om a te m p
e r at u r e
F i n d t he c h an ge i n v o l u m e t hu s p
r od u c e d
1 5 C to 3 5 C
26
A s tee l r ai l 10 m l o n g w i ll c h a n ge i t s l e n gt h by h ow m an y m i ll i
m et ers w h e n he ated f ro m 0 C t o 50 C ?
27
o u r h o t wa ter o n t h e n e ck o f a b o tt l e w hen y ou w is h
Wh y d o you p
er ?
to l oo se n t he gl a ss s t op
p
28
l ai n h ow t h e te mp
er a tu r e o f a gr een hou s e n ot h e ated a r ti c i a lly
Exp
r i se s ab ove t h at of t h e s u rr ou n d i n g a i r
29
W h at i s t h e t h eo ret ic a l ef c ien cy o f a s tea m e n gin e w h ose boil er i s
er at u re of 16 0 C an d w h o s e c on d e n s e r i s at 4 0 C
at a te m p
3 0 Su p
e rat u re o f c omb u stion i n t he cyl i n der of a gas o lin e
os e t h e temp
p
er at u re of t he e xh aus t 3 50 C F i n d t he
e n gi n e to be 1600 C an d t h e temp
highes t p
o ss i b l e e f c ie n cy
31
ro c eed to gr ad u ate an el ec t ri c a l r es is t an c e t h er
Ho w w o u l d you p
19

m o meter?
32

in

i s t h er m als f c arb d i x id e
d be l w t h cr i t i c a l p
i t

Sk t c h t h e

f or m above

an

on

o n

an d S

ow

h ow t

hey d i

er

C H AP T ER V III
M A G N E TI S M

w h i ch attracts i ron li n gs i s sai d t o be magn et

i z ed an d is call ed a m agn et
O n e ki n d o f iro n ore is fou n d to be already mag n etized as it
If a p i ece of this ore ( which mi n er
c omes fr o m the earth
n to a box of
be
dipped
i
al ogi st s call m a g n etite or l o adst on e
)
iro n li n gs it is see n that cert a i n regio n s o f it attract the
li n gs very stro n gly while t h e remai n i n g parts attract scarcely
a t a ll
Those parts which attract the iro n li n gs most stro n gly are
c alled ma gn eti c p
ol es
293

An y body

LE A D I N G

FA C T S

OF

M A G NE T I S M

The follo wi n g t en f a cts prese n ted i n esse n tially the

are perhaps the most
o rder i n which they were discovered
import a n t phe n o me n a co n n ected with this subject
1
If a p
iece of m agn etize d iron ora p
ie ce of l oa d ston e be fr eel y
en d e d it will alw ay s set itsel f s o t h at a certai n d ir ecti on i n
s u sp
h i cal mer
i d i an i e w ith
i t makes a x e d an gle with t h e ge ogr ap
t h e n ort h an d s ou t h li n e
2 94

The M arin ers Com

ass

This fact is illustrated by the ordi n ary compass an d con

A sle n der piece of steel is
s t i t u t es its fu n d a me n tal pri n ciple
mag n etized by drawi n g it over a mag n et or loadsto n e an d
is the n mou n ted o n a sh a rp pivot so th a t it i s free to tur n i n
a n y directio n
This idea of the compass which dates fr o m a
time cert a i ly n ot much l a ter th a n 1 2 00 A D is the rst i m
porta n t disc o very i n the scie n ce of m a g n etis m
I n the c a se of a lo n g sle n der mag n et such as is u sed for a
c omp a ss n eedle
there is i n ge n er a l o n e p ole n ear each en d
Th at p
ole w h ich t ur n s t ow ar d the n ort h w h e n t h e m agn et i s fr
ee
.

3 08

M AGNE T I S M

3 09

ole ors im p
is cal le d th e n orth seeki n g p
l y the n orth p
ole
th at p
d th e s outh is calle d t h e s outh p
ole which t ur n s towar
ole
Th e d irecti on of t h e l i n e j oi n i n g t h e p
ol es is calle d th e ma gn e ti c
This den iti on o f a xis will l a ter n eed
ax is of t h e ma gn et
a slight revisio S i n ce the poles h a ve n o t yet bee n de n ed a s
m a the m a tic a l p oi ts
Th e d ire cti on assu me d by the ax is of a freel y sus p
e n d e d mag
n et is calle d the ma gn etic meri d ia n
Th e a n gle betwee n t h e ma gn etic an d ge ogra p
h ical meri d ia n s is
I t is ge er a lly expressed i
calle d t h e ma gn etic d e cli n ati on
degrees m n utes an d sec on ds I n m a ki n g a accur a te d et erm i
n a tio n of the m a g n etic decli n atio
o e m ust be c a reful n ot to
assu m e that the m a g n etic an d geometric axes of the n eedle
c oi cide
I n actual measureme n t a y u n certai ty as t o the p o siti on of
the pole is eli m i n a ted by u si g a thi n a t c om p a ss n eedle an d
by observi n g rst with on e f a ce up the n with the other Thus
i n Fig 2 03 if G G be the rst positi on of the compass n eedle

ot ate ,
to r

n,

A N TIC AXI

M G E

G
.

FIG

203

I ll us tra ti

re ce i di rec t i o n
m ag et i c axes

g t h e d i ff e

b et

wee

r c an d

g eom et i

its sec o d p o sitio n we Sh a ll d that while the magn etic

axis re m a i n s xed i n sp a ce whichever f a ce of t h e n eedle is up
the ge m e t ric a xis d oes n ot B ut the directio n s of the ge om etric
a xis GG an d G G are th o se which a re a ctu ally re a d up o the
gr a du a ted circle H e ce the d if ren e o f the two re a di gs
before an d after the n eedle is reversed i i t s beari gs will give
us twice the a gle by which the m a g etic an d geo m etric a xes
diverge N o t o ly s o but the mean of these two re a di n gs will
give us the c o rrect direc t i on of the m a gn etic m eridian O n e
thus a v oids the n ecessity of loc a ti n g the m a g n etic a xis as a
m at h em at i cal l in e i n t h e body o f the n eedle
A little l a ter it will be cle a r h ow we m ay av o id the ecessi t y
of l oc a ti n g the m a g etic p
ol e a s a m a the m a tic a l p o i t S itu a ted
the m a g n etic axis at a certai n dist a ce fr o m the a xis of
o
r o t a ti on

an

dGG
'

'

'

'

GENERAL PHYS IC S

3 10

stude n t Should re a d i n the E n y cl op

ced i a B r
i tan n i ca
a rt C ompass the descriptio n of a beautif ul n eedle devised by
L ord Kelvi n i n 1 8 76 an d n o w used on practically a ll t h e sea
goi n g vessels of the w o rld a S imple device which elim i n ates
prac t ically a ll diverge n ce betwee n m a g n etic an d mech a n ical axes
E very

Th e

iscov ery of Colu mbus C olu m bus us ed the

compass on his rst voy a ge to A m erica U to this d a te i t
EO RAP CA
had bee n supposed by E ur ope a n n avi
mm
gator
s that while the s usp
en d ed m agn et
m m m
i n the compass did n ot always poi n t
exactly n orth an d south it did alw a ys
poi n t i n the same directio n ; i e they
supposed the a n gle betwee n the geo
graphic a l an d m a g n etic meridi a n s to be
co n stan t B u t C ol u mbus much to his
ow n asto n ish m e n t an d much t o the dis
m a y of his sailors f o u n d that as h e
procee d ed west the n eedle poi ted t o a
p a rt of the sky w hich l a y m ore an d
m ore to the west an d thus d iscovere d
t hat t h e m agn etic d e cli n ati on varies fr om
F IG
on e p
oi n t t o an ot h eron t h e earth s s urf ace
This we m a y c all the sec o d i m p o rt a t disc o very i n m a g n etism
A other way of p u tti g it w o ul d be to s ay th a t wh a t C o lum
bu s disc o vered is th a t the ge n er a l state m e n t co tai n ed i n 2 9 4
is tru e o ly for a si gle geogr a phical loc a tio n ; or m o re strictly
for the l o cus o f a ll geogr a phic al poi n ts fo r which the m a g n etic
decli a ti o n is the s a m e
Curves d raw n i n su ch a w ay that t h e ma gn etic d ecli n ati on i s
con sta n t f or ever y p
is ogon i c curves
oi n t on t h em ar
e c alle d
The a cc o mp an yi g m apwill Show the tre n d of these isogo i c
li n es n various parts of t h e w o rld
2 95

HI

"

"

'

Augu s t

Me

10 E

14 E

ew Y rk
C l v la d
K xv i lle Te
C hi c ag
e

B os t on

M A G NE T IC D E C L I NA T I O N S ( 1 9 00)
16 W
N ew O rl ea n s
12 1V
Kan s as Ci ty
9 W
O m ah a
2 1V
D en v er
0
San F r an c i sc o
3 E
Tac o ma W a sh

no

nn

17

23

MA G

NE TI SM

3 11

G
N

o
i

r
a

c
l

r
i

n
i

GE N E RAL P H YS IC S

3 12

The precedi n g table shows the v a lues of the decli n atio n i n

di ffere n t parts of the U n ited S t a tes to the n earest degree W
an d E i n dicate west an d east decli n atio n s respectively
,

The M agn etoscop

e

the labor a tory on e has freque n tly occasio n to use a

co m pass n eedle of some sort A most
co n ve n ie n t an d e a sily prepared form is
the followi n g A woode n block about
o n e decimeter
square is bored halfway
through by an an ger ( exte n sio n bit)
which has the same di a meter as the gl a ss
chim n ey of an A rga n d l a mp The chi m
ne
is
the
n w a xed i n to the block an d a
y
F
206
Si m p
l f rm f small steel mag n et is suspe n ded by a
m g t sc p
ber through a c o rk at the top S uch
an i n strume n t is n o t disturbed by curre n ts of air i n the room
It is called a magn etos cop
Why ?
e
2 96

In

IG.

ne o

'

The magn eti c di p N ot l on g after the ti m e of C olum

iro n
bus it w a s fou n d by H artm a n ( b 1 4 89 d 1 5 64) that if
i
n eedle be suspe n ded so as to lie hor
it takes
z on ta l before mag n etiz a tio n
up a di ff ere n t positio n after m a g n et
Imagi n e the n eedle before
i at i on
it is m a g n etized to be horizo n tal
A fter m a g n etiz a tio n it is fou n d that

the n orth en d dips dow n as if it

h a d bec o me heavier th a n the s outh
en d
B u t N o rm a n
the i n
e r
ve n t or o f the dippi g n eedle r
pe
se n ted i n Fig 2 07 weighed the iro n
n eedle
an d
f o u n d th a t it was n o
he a vier a fter m a g n etiz a tio n tha n be
fore A s we sh all see l a ter this di p FIG 20 Di i
dl
7
p
p
g
is due to the fact th a t the e a rth itself
is a gre a t m ag n et On l y the d ire cti on t herefore an d n ot t h e
I n the
w ei gh t of t h e n eedle i s ch an ge d by m agn etiz ati on
souther hemisphere it is the south en d of the mag n et which

dips
2 97

n ee

e.

M A G N ET I S M

3 13

the U n ited S t a tes it is customary to attach a small weight

t o the south en d of a surveyor s compass n eedle i n order t o
coun ter a ct the e ff ect of the dip
The phe n o m e n o n of mag etic dip might be c a lled the thi rd
importa n t discovery i n this subject
In

oles r
i p
ep
e l each oth er ; u n li ke p
oles attr
act e ach
The evide ce fo r this m a y be Show n i n a v a riety of
ot h er
w a ys ; perhaps the m ost co n ve n ie t method is the followi n g
M ou t t w o mag n ets a s show n i n Fig 2 08
D etermi n e the
n orth e d of each an d
slip bits of p a per o ver
them a s i n dic a ted
Whe n on e m a g n et is
br ought n e a r the other
the repulsi on betwee n
208 Sh w i g a t r c t i
FIG
r
tw
d
b
th
t h e t w o no rt h poles 0
s h pl s
betwee n the two s o uth
p oles is very evide n t ; likewise the attractio n betwee n a n orth
a d a s o uth pole
N orm a n m a g n etized a sewi n g n eedle an d oated it on w a ter
B y bri n gi n g i n to the n eighb o rhood a n other m ag et he had a
delic a te m e a n s of

298

L ke

ou t

on

o e

een n o

an

act i on
sh o w i n g at t r

repulsio n of
the poles
C o cer n i n g the
am u t of this at
ul
tr a cti on or rep
si on it w a s rst
F
209
F l t i g mag t d wi r f rp
l ac i g i t
sh ow n by the
h w t r
Fre n ch electr c a n
C oul o mb ( 1 7 3 6
an d a fterw a rds accur a tely veried by
the G er m a n a stro n o mer G a uss ( 1 7 77
th a t the att ra ctio
f o e p ole for a n o ther i n a i r v a ries i n versely a s the s q u a re o f
the dist a n ce separ a ti n g them an d directly as the pr o ducts f t h e
p ole stre gths a qua n tity which will be de ed a couple o f
p a ges he n ce If we de n ote this dista ce by r a d the pole

stre n gths by m an d m respectively we may describe C oulomb s

result by writi n g
an

IG

oa

ne

an

a e

on

G ENE R AL

3 14

7c

HYSI C S

'

o u omb

Eq

Law

where for air k is a mere co n sta n t of proportio n ality

may be determi n ed later

w h i ch

113

The M agn eti c

Field

Lin es

Force

If a sheet of white paper be laid over a mag n et an d

iro n li n gs be spri n kled over the paper on e obtai n s very strik
i n g evide n ce that the regio n a bout the mag n et is d i eren t fro m
other parts of space The iro n li n gs arra n ge themselves i n
curved li n es an d these curved li n es remai n the same howeve r
man y times we repeat the experime n t
2 99

W e n ext
ac tion s whi ch

c e a met hod of c on cei v i n g an d de scri bi n g m agn eti c

Si n c e a m agn e t
w as i n v e n te d an d m u c h u sed by F a r ad ay
ac ts u p
on
a m agn eti c n eed le
l a ced an yw h e re i n t h e s urr o u n d
p
i n g sp
ace w e c all t h at sp
ac e t he
magn e ti c e l d of t h e m agn e t
Ne gl e c ti n g t he ea r th s m agn e t
i s m w e m ay map
o u t thi s e l d
a s f oll ows : C on cei ve an y p
l an e
d ra w n t h r o u gh t he ax i s o f t h e
l a c e i t s o t h at t h i s
ma gn et an d p
Th e
FIG 2 10 Meth od o f map
i g magn et i c
Pl an e Sh all b e h o r i z on ta l
p
el ds
l an e p
l ac e
oi n t i n t h i s p
at an y p
a v ery s mall m agn eti c n eed le an d
n ot e th e d i re c t i o n w h i c h i t s ax i s a ss u m es u n d e r t h e a c t i o n of th e m a n e t ;
g
t he n p
r oc eed t o m ov e t h e c e n te r o f t h e n eed le i n t h e d i recti on i n w h i c h i ts
n o r th
ol e p
o i n t s a n d c o n t i n u e t h e m o t i o n so t ha t at e ac h
oi n t t h e c e n te r
p
p
i s foll owi n g th e d irect ion i n d i c ated by t h e n or th p
ol e

Th e l i n e t h u s t ra ced w i ll at l a s t ou t t h e s u r f ace of t he m agn et at s ome

oi n t
l yi n g t o w a r d t h e
p
s o ut h p
ol e ; an d i f w e co n
t i n ue t h e l i n e b a ckw ar d by
f o ll o w i n g t h e d i re c t i on con
t i n u al l y i n d i c a te d by t h e
s ou t h p
ol e o f t h e n ee d le i t
w i ll cu t th e s u r fa c e of th e
m agn et at so m e p
oi n t l y
i n g t o w a r d t h e n o r th p
ole
Su c h a l i n e i s c a ll e d a l i n e
FI G 2 1 1 F i el d ab u t a s t rai gh t magn et
of ma gn et i c f orc e ; an d s i n c e
o n e s u c h l i n e c an
b e d r a w n thr o u gh e v e ry p
l an e a n d an y
o i n t i n t he
p

n t od u

M A G ETI SM
nu

er
ce v e

mb

con

of

l a n es
p
t
ar

B rah ,

E n cy

Wh ole

t he

can

aw t h r gh th axi s f t h m ag et we
-C H Y TA L
ti c e l d lle d w it h s c h l i e s

be d r

ou

m gn e

a ei

M gn t s m

3 15
n

c an

Figure 2 1 0 i n dic a tes the process of m a ppi n g these elds

Figure 2 1 1 shows the eld a b o ut a str o g b a r m agn et The
e ff ect of the earth s eld i s here n egligible
re
Fig u re 2 1 2 rep
se n ts a s m a ll porti on
of the eld due to the
e a rth a l on e
A m a g n etic eld as
a ctu a lly m a pped i
the l a b o r a tory wi l l
2 12
FIG
U i f rm m g i c ld d t art h al
a lways be the result
an t of the earth s eld an d the eld of the m a g n et
.

a n et

ue

o e

on e.

I n ten si ty

f M agn eti c

Fi eld

f a r we have co n sidered o n ly the f a ct that a m a g n etic

eld has a t every oi n t a cert a i de n ite directi on If h o w
ever a sm a ll horseshoe magn et be brought
i n t o the eld o f a l a rge on e a d held
betwee n the thu m b an d fore ger the oh
server will e asily feel t hat the little
mag n et experie n ces a f r e drivi n g it
tow a rd o e pole or the
other of t h e l a rger mag
n et
always te n di n g to
move i n to the str o gest
part of the eld O h
serve tha t i n those p a rts
the
eld
where
the
of
F
2 13
Il l s t r i g
n
h
u
es
f
rce
a
re
e a rly
o
f
o
t h f rc w h i h
m g
i c l d x rt s p
p a r allel to e a ch other the
am g t
force is very m i n ute
nl
i
F
S uppose n ow that the little m ag n et h e
i g gg ngt
m o u ted up o a sewi n g n eedle a s a vertic a l
wh ic h m g i c
P

l
x
r
s
d
a xis a ft er the m a er sh o w n i Fi g 2 1 4
a mag t
The n eedle m ay well be pl a ced i n a block of
wo od so th a t the r o t a ti g sys t e m m ay be xed a t v a ri o us

So

3 00

o c

IG

n et

a ne

at n

on

a n et

nn

ne

'

G ENER A L

3 16

HY SI C S

heights above the poles of the larger mag n et N ow the force

o f tra n slatio n
is cou n teracted by the reactio n of the n eedle
a very co n vi n ci n g ma n n er the torq ue which
an d o n e can feel i
a mag n etic eld i n ge n er a l exerts upo n a mag n et placed an y
where withi n it
H avi n g deter m i n ed that a mag n etic eld exerts both a force
an d a t o rque upo n an y ma g n et pl a ced withi n it we n ext i quire
wh a t is mea n t by a stro n g o rweak m a g n etic eld a questio n

n
n
which can be clearly a swered o ly after the stre n gth of a
m a g n etic p o le h as bee n de n ed For this latter purpose the
.

mm
k

law of C oulomb F
,

is employed

D en i ti on

Un i t M agn eti c P ol e

To begi n with we assu me that the value of the co n sta n t

k i n E q 1 1 3 d oes n o t depe n d upo n t h e medi um i n which the
p oles a re pl a ced so l on g a s the medi u m i s the ordin ary atm s
m
n d a rd
we
assu
e
a
ir
as
our
st
a
i
a ir; i n other words
h
er
p
mag etic m edium N ext let us assu me th a t the two poles
which are attr a cti n g each other are equ a l an d are placed a t a
dist a ce of o e ce n timeter ap a rt If u n d er t hese con d iti on s the
re p
el
ol es be ch ose n of su ch a size t hat t h e y attr act or
t w o equal p
th e y are sai d to be u n it
each other with a f or ce of on e d y n e
m agn et p
e n gth
oles orp
oles of u n it str
The chief a dva n tage of this de n itio n which m ay a t rst
gl a n ce a ppear rather a rbitr a ry is that it makes the c o sta n t k
Fo r h a vi g a ssu m ed
dis a p p
ear fr o m C oulo m b s E q 1 1 3
1 whe n F
r 1 it follows that i n air k must alw ays
m
m
be u n ity a u n it vector i n deed ; whe n ce follows
3 01

mm

Eq

2
7

1 14

which n ow becomes n ot o n ly the law of C oulomb for air but

also the de n i n g equatio n for the u n it magn et pole
,

M easu re of M agn eti c I n ten s i ty

time i n a p
ositi on t o d e n e what
is m ean t by t h e i n te n sity of a m agn eti c el d n amel y th e rat i o
ol e ex p
of t h e f or ce w h ich a m agn et p
eri en c es i n th at el d t o t h e
stre n gt h of t h e p
ole
3 02

We are n ow

f ort h e rs t

M A G NE TI SM

3 17

de n ote the i n te n sity of eld

which the p ole m is urged The n
Let R

an d

the force with

iiglgy i
gl i

eld

777,

Eq

1 15

Field i n te n sity bei n g a ratio o f a vector to a scal a r qua n tity is

itself a vector qu a n tity an d is therefo re t o be res olved a d
c o m p ou n ded a ccord i n g t o the rules for vect o r a dditi on From
E q 1 14 it follo w s th a t a eld of u n it i n te n sity is o e which
will act upo n a u n it m a g n et p ole with a force o f o n e d y n e
B y i n ter n a ti on a l a greeme n t ( P a ris 1 9 00) this un i t is called
after th e emi n e n t G erma n astro n omer a g a uss
We are n o w provided with a cle a r an d simple de n itio n for
the i n te n sity of eld ; but si n ce we have as yet n o practical
m ethod for measuri n g pole stre n gths E q 1 1 5 ca n n ot be c a lled
a l a bor a tory equ a tio n
J ust h o w this di f culty is avoided will be cleared up i n the
foll o wi n g sectio n s whe n we come to co n sider the earth s m a g
n etic eld
,

re at magn et W e have see n that

at a n y o n e poi n t on the e a rth s surface the c o m p a ss n eedle
p o i n t s i n a de n ite directio n ge erally n ot f a r fr o m n orth
We h a ve see n th a t i n the n o rthern he m isphere the n o rth en d
o f the n eedle dips ; while i n the s o uther n he m isphere the s o uth
e d dips
But t his is ex a ctly the m a n n er i n which a s m all compass
n eedle would beh a ve i n
the prese n ce of a l a rge iro n sphere
which h a d bee n m a g n etized A ccordi n gly D r G ilbert w a s
led t o suggest that the earth itself w a s a large m a g n et A n d
si ce his ti m e the theory h as bee n co n rmed by n avig a tors w h o
h a ve l o c a ted the n o rth m a g n etic p ole of t h e earth n ot f a r fro m
B af n s B ay an d the s o uth mag n etic pole somewhere betwee n
A ustr a lia a d the s o uth geogr a phic a l pole
If we m a p the magn etic eld of the e a rth by me a n s of com
p a ss an d pe n cil as i n dic a ted i n the precedi g p a r a gr a ph we
sh a ll d th a t t h e li n es of f orce d ue t o t h e e art h are in an y
li mite d regi on p
ract i 6a11y p
arallel t o each oth er
3 03

Th e ear
th

i ts e l f

'

a
le

Dr
.

E gla
n

nd

Wi l l i am Gi l ber t (b 1 5 40 d
d u r i n g t h e r eign of Q u een E l izabet h
.

th e

l ead in g

m an

of

scien c e

in

G ENE R A L

3 18

HY SI C S

ti on a cou p
le I n a precedi n g sectio n
n sidered the disti n ctio n betwee n a motio n o f
we
h
a
ve
co
1
5
( )
tr a n sl a tio n an d on e o f rot a tio n To a system o f fo rces which
p roduce rotatio n o n ly the n a m e cou p
le h a s bee n give
Nor man
eri me n ts t o Sh ow th at t h e eart h
offere d t h e f oll owin g t hre e e x p
on a magn et
or as
t an y f or ce of tr
an sl ati on up
d oes n ot e x er
we might say three reaso s for thi n ki n g that the f o rce which
the e a rth d oes exert upo n a magn et is a coup
le
3 04

Th e earth

s ac

w ei ghed sev er al s m a ll p
iece s of s teel i n a d el i c a te bal an c e an d
t h e n m agn e t i z e d t h e m b u t c o ul d n ot d etec t t h e sl i gh te s t a l te r at i o n i n t h ei r
wei gh t t h o u gh e ve ry on e of t h em h ad r ec ei ved v i r tu e s uf c ien t to l i f t u p
hi s fe ll o w

h er i c a l p
u s h e d a s t eel w i r e t h r ou gh a s p
iece of c o rk an d
Se c o n d ly h e p
c aref ully p
are d t h e l atte r so th at t h e whole sa n k t o a ce r tai n dep
th i n a
v essel of w ate r an d rem a i n e d t here t ak i n g u pan y p
o s i ti on ab o u t t h e c en te r
in di ffere n t ly Af te r t h e w i re w a s m agn etiz ed v e ry c arefu lly w i t hou t d i s
t h a s be f o re n ei t h e r
tur
b i n g i ts p
o s i t i o n i n t h e c o rk i t s an k t o t h e s a me d e p
m o r e n or le ss t he o n ly d i ffe ren c e bei n g t h a t n ow t h e w i r e set i t s el f p
er
a rall el to th e m agn eti c me r i di an t h e
s i sten tl y i n a d e n i te x e d d i r e c t i o n p
n o r t h en d d i p
i n g ab ou t 7 1 o r72 b e l o w t h e h o r i z on
p

Thi r d l y h e a rr an ged a magn e t i z ed n ee d l e o n a c ork so a s to oat o n t he

s u r fac e of w a te r an d f ou n d t h at al t h ough i t set i n t h e m agn et i c mer i d i an
t he re w a s n o t t h e sl i gh te s t te n d en cy to t r a n sl a ti o n i n an y d i re c t i o n

H e c o n cl u d e s t h a t t h ere i s n o f o rc e o f t r a n sl a ti o n o n t h e m agn et ei the r

v er ti c a l o rh ori z on t al
C H R Y S T A L E n cy B rit art M agn et i s m
F i rs t

he

R ecalli n g

the fact that a couple

made up of two parallel

an d equ a l f o rces a cti n g i n
opposite se ses but n ot i n
the same str a ight li n e we
co n clude that the earth s
a cti o n is a c uple preci ely
because its li n es of f o rce
throughout the limited re
gi on of an y si n gle ex p
er
i
m e n t a re p a r a llel
If the dish o f w a ter show n
i
Fig 2 1 5 be supp o rted
over a r a th er str on g per
F
2 15
m a e t mag et an d if the
m a g etic n eedle be o a ted on a s m all c o rk it will be see n th a t
this a rtici al eld exerts both a couple a d a fo rce up on the
is

IG

M A GNE TI SM
fl o ati n g

3 19

mag n et co ti n u ally dr a wi n g the mag n et b a c k tow a rd

The expla n a ti on of this lies in
t h e str on gest part of the eld
the orth p ole of the
t h e f a ct that here the f o rce a cti n g upo
o a ti n g needle i s n ot ex a ctly opp o si t e i n directio t o th a t acti n g
up on t h e south pole H e n ce the resulta t of these two forces
zero The a dva n ced stude n t will n d th a t the
c a n o t be
o a ti g mag n et here simply mov es i n such a way as to m a ke
i t s pote n ti a l e n ergy a mi n i m um
n

D igres sion

on

the

M easuremen t of

the E arth

M agn eti c Fi el d

bo t h hist o ric a l an d so en t i c grou n ds the followi g

pro ble m i s o e worthy of r a ther careful study ; for n ot on ly is
i t t h e rst proble m i n which the absolute system o f u n its was
i n t roduced i n t o the scie n ce of electricity a d m a g n etism but it
i s a thoroughly typic a l exa m ple of the m a n n er i n which physic a l
s cie n ce de a ls qua n titatively with phe n ome n a which are very
i mperfectly comprehe n ded
A s a prelimi n ary it is n ecessary to de n e
3 05

On

M agn eti c M omen t

a qua n tity of freque n t use i n m a g n etic me a sureme n ts

Th e
m agn etic m omen t of an y ma gn et is d en e d as t h e p
r odu ct of
ole stre n gt h m by the d ist an ce l b etw ee n its p
This
i ts p
oles
qu a tity is ge n er a lly de n oted by M an d is de n ed by the
f ollowi n g equatio n
i g q
D

ti
f r
116
ml
E
.

n n

e ua

on

m agn et i c m om en t

H O R I ZO N TA L

I N TEN S I TY

OF

We h a ve a lre a dy lear n ed

TH E E A R TH

F I ELD

a ge n er a l w a y a t l east
how the decli n a tio n an d the dip of the c omp a ss n eedle m a y be
m e a sured
I n o rder t o c o m plete the deter m i n a tio n of the
e a rth s eld it re m a i n s o n ly t o me a sure the horiz o n t a l c o mp o
n e n t H o f the tot a l i n te n sity T
S ee Fig 2 1 6
C o n n i n g o u r a tte n t io n n o w t o the p a rallel eld which b e
l on gs t o the e a rth let u s imagi n e a m a g n et s u spe n d ed i n this
eld by me a n s o f a delic a te ber The m a g n et will oscill a te
t o an d fro a b ou t its p o siti o n o f equilibriu m an d will the n c om e
to rest p o i n ti n g al o n g the m a g n etic m eridi a n If the m a gn et
3 06

in

GENERAL P HY S I C S

3 20

lies i n a horizo n tal pla n e the o n ly directive force acti n g upo n

it i s the h o rizo n t a l i n te n sity H
,

To determi n e the n umerical value of H the t w o follow

i g steps are n eeded
i
h
t
or u e a cti n
i
o
o
b
t
a
n
t
on
t
h
e
n
t
o
e
T
u
e
dl
e
i
e
r
m
s
n
()
g p
f i ts
q
n the suspe n ded m a g n et is rotated through an
Whe
er
i
od
p
an gle 0 about its suspe n di g ber a s an a xis
there will be a force m H acti n g upo n the
n orth pole of the m a g et an d a force
mH
acti n g upo n its south p ole
If we de n ote by l the dista n ce betwee n the
3 07

FI G

21 6 Il l u st r
at

rel at i on
b et ween t h e f o u r
magn et i c el emen t s
n amel y
h o ri z on
v ert i cal a d
t al
t o t al
i n t en s i t i es
a d a gl e o f d i p
6
in g

th e

FI G

am

ag n et

su sp
en d ed

c o up
le
in t h e

ac t s pon

ar t h s l d

two poles l si n 0 will be the perpe n dicular dist a n ce betwee n

the li es o f a cti on of the t w o fo rces + mH a d 77 17 The
c o uple L a cti n g up on the n eedle will therefore be mH l s i n 9
A n d si n ce the S ig of the c o uple which te n ds to restore the
n eedle to its positi on o f equilibrium is a lw a ys opposite to that
of the a n gul a r displaceme n t 6 we m a y write
,

L=

Whe n

ml H Si n 0 =

M H s in 6

Eq

1 17

is very small we have wi t h su f cie n t accuracy

,

Eq 1 1 8
.

D ividi n g

e a ch side of this equ a ti on by the rotatio n a l i n ertia

I o f the mag n et we obtai n for the a n gul a r acceleratio n A
,

L
I

Eq

119

It thus a ppears that the a n gul a r a cceleratio n of the vibrati n g

system is at every i n st an t proportio n al to the a n gul a r dis
,

MAG

NE TIS M

3 21

placeme t an d opposite i se n se The beh a vi o r o f the m a g n et

5 3 ) for simple har m o ic
therefore s a t ises the cri t eri on
m oti o
A d S n ce the period o f an y simple h a rm o ic m o ti o
n

is

"

it f oll o ws that the period of vibr a

2 7r

a t i on
el er

tio n of this m a g n et is
T
:

Now

Tan d

2w

djj

Eq

120

are easily measurable qua n tities ; but these d a ta

d o n ot e a ble us to determi n e either of the two u n k n o w n qua n
tities M an d H E qu a tio n 1 2 0 m erely gives us t he product
H e n ce the n ecessity for the seco n d
M E i n terms of Tan d I
step n a mely
t
he n eed l e i n t erm s f M an d II
t
ecti on o
t
ii
T
o
o
b
a
i
n
h
e
d
e
f
( )

G auss h a s show n h o w this relatio n m a y be obt a i n ed by a very

si m ple experi m e n t
H avi n g suspe n ded a n other an d much smaller m a g n et with
a sm a ll m irror rigidly att a ched
to it so th a t the directi on of
the mag n etic eld i n which it
is placed m a y be a t o n ce i n di
cat ed
o n e t a kes the m a g et
H R TH
N S ( Fig 2 1 8 ) whose peri o d
he has just me a sured an d
xes it a s n early a s possible
at right a n gles to the m a g
n etic meridi a n an d at a dis
ta n ce r east or west o f the
suspe ded n eedle 0
Befo re the deecti n g mag
F 2 18 Sh wmg t h
f
rp t m
p
n et N S w a s b l o ug ht I n to the
art i cial ld p h arth s ld
f th
d h c
the suspe n ded
s q t d ti
n eighb o rhood
d d
dl
s
s
p
n eedle p o i n ted n orth an d s o uth
al o g the m a g n etic meridia n If there were n o m ag etic eld
due to the earth the s u spe n ded n eedle w o uld n ow p o i t e a st an d
west due to the eld R of the deecti g m a g n et but Si ce b o th
elds a re prese n t the suspe n ded n eedle sets itself al o g the
N o w if
r su l tan t o f the two elds a s i n dic a ted i t h e gure
we k n ew the i n te n sity of e a ch f these el d s w e c o uld e a ily
I

NO

IG

an
an

e su e

u on t

en

on

n ee

u en
e

o sx

ee
ec

on

u 0
e

G ENERAL

3 22

HY SI C S

compute the directi on of the resulta n t ; for si n ce the se

elds are at right a n gles to e a ch other

t wo

R
H

Eq

t an

1 21

whe re (I) is the deectio n i e the directio n of the resultan t

referred t o the e a r t h s eld
C o n versely if w e k n o w the directi on 1) an d the i n te n sity R
we can co m pute H This l a tter we n ow pr oceed to do The
m a gn etic eld at 0 due to the p ole N a lo n e i s by C o u lo m b s
,

while the eld at

3 01 )

l aw

H e n ce

the total eld R due to

th e

due to

alo n e is

e n tire magn et

NS

is give n by
E =m

O r,
s on

if we choose
2
with r

r so

large th a t
,

on e

this value of

has

m a y be n eglected i n compari
2

M
,

Eq

R in Eq 1 2 1

2 Mr

R
Substituti n g

m -2 l r

an d

solvi n g for

122

M
/
'

r3 t an

are e a sily m e a sured we h a ve here a l a bor a tory

eq u atio n for the r a ti o E /
M O u rsec on d step is n ow c omplete
S i n ce r an d d)

3 08

at e
thus

Betwee n E q s 1 2 0 a n d 1 2 3 it is n ow p o ssible to el i m i
a d o bt a i n the horizo n t a l i n te n sity of the earth s eld
.

(M E )

or to elimi n ate
m a g n et thus

H,

= H

Eg 1 2 4
.

()

an d

obtai n the m o me n t of the deecti n g

Eq

125

M AGNE T I S M

3 23

sh o uld be observed th a t this method of Gauss avoids t h e

ecessity of m e a suri n g either the p ole stre gth m o r the d i
t a n ce betwee the poles l The n e a t ma n n er i which this is
d o e is t o c o mbi n e these t w o qu a tities i n to a product M a d
the eli m i a t e M by m e a n s of a seco d eq u a tio n which is ob
t ai ed o f course by me a s of a sec o n d ( de ectio ) experime t
rox i
The adva n ced stude n t w ill d that s om e o f the ap
p
m a ti o s here i n troduced are n o t permissible i n work of high
a ccur a cy he n ce cert a i n corre cti o n s must be m a de to E q s 1 2 4
an d 1 2 5 ; but the philos o phy of the subject is n o t thereby
ch a ged
R e t ur n i n g fr o m this digressi on we n ow proceed to the n ext
fu n dame n t a l f a ct i n t h e sci en ce of m a g etism
It

u
b
r
A
s
ears
at
heat
e
d
p
p
y
st a ce which is a ttr a cted o r repelled by a m ag et i s s ai d t o
p ossess m agn eti c q u ality It h a s bee n fou n d th a t the on ly
substa n ces which exhibit
m a g n etic qu ality to an y
gre a t ex te n t are ir o
an d c o b a lt
Iro n
n ickel
is the o ly re a lly i m p or
t a n t magn etic subs t a n ce
B u t if a piece o f
k n ow
ir on ors t eel be m a g e t ized
a d the n he a ted u til red
h ot a ll o ver i t will be
Ill
FIG
2 19
r m g h d is p
r
a
c
f
p
found to h a ve lost i t s m ag
mag t c q al ty
r d h at
l l et i at i O IL
A S s oon as
the iro h as co oled a g a i however it will be f ou n d to h a v e
reg a i n ed its m a g etic qu ality for it w ill n o w a ttr a ct ei ther en d
o f a c o mp a ss n eedle
There i s the a m a rked d i ere ce
betwee n a piece of ir on which is m a g etized a d on e which is
n ot
Th e iro n w hich is n o t m a g etized s t ill possesses mag eti c
u a l i ty a t a ll o rdi a ry te m per a tures ; but it does n ot p ossess
q

3 09

M agn eti c q uality d isa

'

us t

ne i

at

at

ea

e o

an y

magn et i c

Th e

agn et i z at i on
m
y
fo rthi n ki n g th a t m a g n etic

ol es o r a n

evide ce
qu a lity dis a ppe a rs
a t high te mper a t u res i s si m ply sh ow n a s f oll o ws
M o u t a c m p a ss n eedle so m e ve o r S i x i ches l on g on a
si n gle piv ot a s Sh ow i n Fig 2 19 Bri n g n e a r it i n a w o d
n

G ENERAL

3 24

HY SI C S

cla m p a piece of u n m a g etized iro n wire s ay ve or si x i n ches

lo n g The compass n eedle will mag n etize the wire an d will be
de ected from the mag etic meridi a n so that o n e en d of it will
If n ow a B u n se n a me be
s w m g about an d touch the wire
brought u n de rn e a th the iro n wire u n til it beco m es a bright red
the compass n eedle will let go an d will swi n g back i n to the
meridia n sho wi g that the hot iro n has l ost its m a g n etic
quality O n re m ovi n g the a m e the iro n will be see n t o c ool
a n d o n e en d o f the comp a ss n eedle to swi n g arou n d i n to co n tact
with the iro n showi n g that the wire on c o oli n g has regai n ed its
magn etic q uality
n

M agn et i zati on

mol ecu l ar

r prty
p

The evide n ce
fur n ished by the precedi n g experi m e n t together with the f a ct
that a m a g n et say
a piece of mag n et
i z ed w a tch spri n g
B
?
may be broke n i n to
f m g
t i z d w a tc h s p
i c
220
Ap
ri g b r k
u n li m ited n u m
F
an
ts
ach fragm t r mai i g a c mp
l t ber of pie ces Fig
i t f ragm
(
t
mag
each of which
remai n s a complete m a g n et with n orth an d So u th pole le a ds
us to thi n k th a t wh a tever m a g etis m m a y be it is s o m ethi n g
which belo n gs to the smallest p a rticles o f which the b ody is
made up The experime n t of bre a ki n g u pthe m a g n etized
watch spri n g Sh ould be tried by each stude n t for himself The
fragme n ts are e a sily exami n ed by u se o f the mag n etoscope
A tube of iro n li n gs represe n ted i n Fig 2 2 1 m ay be m a g
by pl a ci n g it across the poles of a str on g perm a n e n t
n et i z ed
m ag n et
It may be
a gai n de m ag n etized
by shaki n g A n d it
221
At b
f ir
l i gs m g t i z d
F
is n ot impr ob a ble that
whe n we heat a m a g n et red -hot we produce such vi ole n t m ot io n s
i n its smaller p a rts a s t o c on ti n u a lly
S h a ke out
an y m a g n et
i z at i on th a t m ight be i n tr o duced
rs i n le n gth an d
A l o n g wire of s oft ir o n s ay 7 0 ce n timet e
1 o r 2 m illimeters i n di a meter
m a y be str o n gly m a g n e t
i ed ; but if it receive eve n a slight j a r its m a g etizati on will
a lmost e n tirely dis a ppe a r This a ls o w o uld le a d u s t o thi k
8

3 10

o e

IG

en

n o

ne

e e o
,

ne

en

n n

en

e e

a
.

'

3 z
:

"

IG

e o

on

a ne

M AGNE T I S M

3 25

m a g etiz a ti on n ot a property of the surface of the body n oro f

the body as a whole but of its i n n erm o st structure th a t i s i ts
m olec ul a r structure
This we m ay c a ll the eighth i m p ort a t
disc o very i m a g etic scie n ce
fo r S epte m ber 1 8 9 0 P r o fess o r
I the P hil s p
hi al M aga i
J A E wi g the E glish e gi eer explai s pr a c t ic a lly a ll the
phe o m e n a of m a g n etis m an d electro m a g etis m ( see 3 1 2 ) i
term s of this molecular hypothesis an d illustr a tes them with
a n exquisite m odel i n which molecules are represe n ted by small
comp a ss n eedles
n

o o

z ne

Th e p
h en ome n a of

ma gn etic i n d ucti on
If we bri n g
a piece o f soft ir o n e a r a m a g et we Sh a ll n d th a t the iro n
a cquires m a g etic poles i e it exhi bits m a gn etizati on as well
as m a g etic qu a lity
A wire n a il is ma de o f s o ft ir on an d he n ce sh ows this phe
very easily a s i n
n o m en o
d i cat ed i Fig 2 2 2
I f the iro n a il be tethered
a t i t s lower e d it will re
m a i suspe ded i n m i d a ir
Th a t it is a m a g et is a t
o ce sh o w n by the f a ct th a t
its l o wer e d will a ttr a ct
F
2 22
A wi r
il b c m s a m g t
s m all a ils o ri ron li gs
w h b r gh t i t a m g t i c l d
A wi re n a il held n e a r
either e d f a m a gn et osc ope will a ttr a ct the n eedle B u t if
the m a g et N S be brought up n e a r the a il the l a tter will
a t t r a ct o e p le o f the m a g n et osc ope an d repel the other
O e o f the very best illus t r a ti o s o f m a g n etic i ducti o is
the foll owi g T a ke a strip o f tin pl a te so c a lled ( which is
re ally Sheet iro n pl a ted with t i ) h a vi g di m e n si on s s omethi g
like 1 i n ch by 1 2
If this strip h a s n o t bee m a g n etized either en d of it will
a ttr a ct t h e n or t h pole of the eedle i n a m a g et osc ope N ext
h old t h e strip with on e e d d ow n an d be d it t o a d fro Sh a rply
betwee n y o ur t hu m b a d f ore n ger a t v a ri o us p oi t s thr ough
o u t i t s le
O ex a m i i g it with the m a g et o sc o pe it is
gth
o bserved t h a t the e d w hich h a s bee
held d o w i the e a r t h s
eld n o w repels the n rth p ole f the n eedle The be n di g
3 11

IG

e na

en

ou

e o

ne

ne

GENERAL PHYS IC S

3 26

a pp a re n tly gives freedom t o the p a rticles of iro n an d they pr ob

a bly a rr a n ge the m selves i n a n ew w a y u n der the i n ue n ce of
the e a rth s eld If n o w the other en d of the strip be held
d o w n duri n g the be n di n g pr o cess the poles of the strip wil l be
reversed E xpl a i n this by a di a gr a m
iece of ir on theref ore we n ee d n ot t ou ch it
To ma gn etize a p
with a ma gn et ; we n ee d on l y bri n g it i n to t h e n ei gh bor h ood of
a ma gn et i e i n to a ma gn etic el d
rop
rocess is calle d m agn etic i n ducti on more p
This p
er l y mag
n et i z at i on by i n d ucti on
It is here a ll-i m p ort a n t to n ote that the origi n al magn et loses
m
a
g
n etism i n a n other
n o n e of i t s o w n mag n etis m by i n duci n
g
body
If we a ssume th a t a m a g n et is m a de up of small particles
or m ol ecules an d that e a ch p a rticle is a m a g n et the n the phe
n o men on o f m a g n etic i n ducti o n
is e a s ily explai n ed as foll o ws A
piece of iro n is m a de up of m ol ec
ul a r magn ets which are arr a n ged
i n n o p a rticul a r o rder a rra n ge d
FIG 22 3 P r b b l rra g m t f i n f a ct i n the utmost d is o rder
i c
a rt cl s i a p
f rd i
ry i r
p
a s i n dicated i n Fig 2 2 3
B ut
whe n this iro n is brought i n to a m a g n etic el d whe n for
i n st a n ce it is brought n ear a m a g n et
the n orth poles of
these little m a g n ets will e a ch te n d to poi n t i n a de n ite
directio n an d the south poles e a ch
i n an opp o site directio n
The re
sult will be that the little m a gn ets
will be br ou ght m o re or less i n to
li n e produci n g a n orth pole a t 0 1 3 FIG 2 2 4 P r b b l arr g m t f
i
f m ag t i z d
en d o f the iro n an d a s o uth p ole
pr i cl s i p
at t h e o ther a s i n dic a ted i n Fig
2 24
The ir on is the n said to be m a g n etized by i n ductio n
A l l m a g n ets I n f a ct a re pr o duced by i n ductio n
,

'

e a

e e o

en

na

on

" OD

n a

an

en

ne

ece 0

The

E l ectromagn et

of the most rem a rk a ble a d fu n d a me t al fa cts o f

electrical scie n ce is th a t every electric curre n t is s u rr u ded
by a m a g n etic eld ; or i n other words every electric curre t
3 12

On e

M A G NE T I S M

3 27

c a rri e s with it a m a gn etic eld A ccordi n gly a piece of iro n

b ro u ght i to the eighb orho o d of a electric curre t will i n
ge er a l bec o m e m a g n etized by i n ducti on j ust a s it w o uld if
bro u ght n e a r a per m a n e t mag n et A n
o f this
ki d which is c alled an
electro m a g et is the m o st
i mporta n t c a se o f mag etic
i n ducti on E c on o m ic ap
l
i
p
c a ti on s of the el ect rom ag
n et
such as o ccur i n the
telegr a ph telepho n e d y
n amo
a d m o tor
f o rm an
i m po rt a n t ch a p t e r i the
e n gi n eeri g achiev eme n t s
of the i etee n th ce n tury
S o m e of these w il l be st u di ed
i n a l a ter ch a pter
.

3 13

Iron

10

h as

ea
gr
of
o ce

ctivity forl i n es f r
Wh e n a piece o f iro n is pl a ced
i a m a g etic eld n o t o n ly does the iro n bec o me m a g n etized
but t he t re n d of the li n es of force i n the eld beco mes gre a tly
altered This alterati o n is
a lways such as on e might
ex p
ect if the li n es of f o rce
h a d a d eci ded prefere ce
for the iro
They a ppe a r
t o go out of their w a y s o
t o spe a k for the s a ke o f
passi ng through the ir o
Figure 2 2 5 represe n ts the
eld betwee t h e t wo p oles
of a h o rseshoe m a g n et
Figure 2 2 6 represe n ts the
s a m e eld with a sm a ll
bl ock of ir on pl a ced betwee n the t w o poles
If an electric curre n t be passed through a spiral of wire it
will be f ou d th a t the i n terior of the c il will be a mag n etic
eld The li es of f o rce will p a ss fro m o e e d of the helix
t o the ther
But if a iro n rod be slipped i n to the helix t h e
con d u

GENERAL PHYS IC S

3 28

mber of li n es of force passi n g thr ough will be multiplied

m a n y ti m es I n this case man y n ew li n es of force are cre a ted
by the i n t rod uc
tio n of the iro n
If
B is the
C RE
n umber of li es
of force passi n g
throu gh e ach
u n it of area of
the cross sectio n
of the iro n rod
an d H the n u m
ber of li n es pass
FIG 22 7 Ill st r t i g t h gr t c d c i vi t y f i r f r i n thr o ugh the
g
l s f mag i c f rc
same u n it of a re a
whe n the helix was lled with air the n we may d escribe the
precedi n g facts by writi n g

n u

O
OF M R

in e

ea

on

n et

u t
e

on

where pi s a prop orti o n a lity f a ct o r for which L ord Kelvi n pro

p osed the n a me magn eti c p
er
meabi l i ty
This factor pis h o w
ever n ot a co n st a n t but a vari a ble depe n di n g upo n H an d
i n the case of iro n ra n ges i n value from 1 to 2 000 whe n me a s
ur
ed o n the C G S
system
.

M agn eti c Vari ati on s

that me n tio n ed i n 2 95 there is a n other ex cep

tio n to the ge n eral stateme n t that the directio n of the mag n etic
There are several disti n ct ch a n ges co n
n eedle rem a i n s xed
These variati on s a s they are c alle d
s t a n tl y taki n g place
may fairly be recko n ed amo n g the m o st i n s t ructive cosmic a l
phe n ome n a with which we are acquai n ted The two most i m
porta n t of them are perhaps the followi n g
1 T
he di u rn al vari ati on
I n the n o rther n mag n etic he m i
S phere duri n g the e a rly m o r n i n g h o urs the n orth -seeki n g en d
of the n eedle is f o u n d to be swi n gi n g to the e a stward ; this it
c on ti n ues to do u n til 7 to 9 A M s ome time duri n g which i
t erval it has i n ge n eral reached its most easterly p o sitio n
A fter
hoveri n g n ear this extre m e fo r a while it tur n s a bout an d
begi n s to march westward A b o ut 1 0 t o 1 1 A M it p a sses
3 14

B esides

M A G NE T I S M

3 29

through the average positio n for the whole 24 hours a d by

The n it
1 to 3 P M h a s reached its extreme w esterly positio n
o ce more tur n s to the e a stward recrosses the me a n positio n i n
ge n er a l some time betwee n 6 P M an d mid n ight an d gr a du ally
retur s t o the positio n fr o m which it started i n t h e morn i n g
The a ver a ge tot a l cha n ge i n the course of a y ear betwee n the
m o r n i n g an d a fter n oo n extremes is gre a test i n the U n ited
S t a tes i n o rther n M i n n es o t a where it am o u n ts to as much a s
while i n southern Florida i t is a s low as
these qu a n
tities v a ry with the seaso n s bei n g a bo u t on e third greater i n
midsu m m er an d a like a m o u n t less i midwi n ter
I n additio n to this d a ily oscilla
2
Th s cu l ar variati on
ti on the m a n p
osi t i on about which the n eedle swi n gs is itself
slowly ch a gi g The a n n u a l am ou n t of this secular cha n ge
v a ries n o t o n ly for d i eren t loc a lities but a lso with tim e I n
resen t ti me ( 1 9 07 )
this c o u try the n o rth -seeki n g en d h a s at th p
pr a ctically n o secular variatio n fo r p o i n ts a lo n g a li n e passi n g
a pproxi m ately through the wester n en d of La ke S uperior an d
the extre m e e a ster n p o rti on of A l a b a ma For places e a st of
this li e o f-n o -ch a n ge the me a n p ositio n of the n orth seeki n g
en d of the n eedle is n o w movi g to the westw a r d an d fo r
res n t an
pl a ces west o f the s a id li n e t o the e a stw a rd The p
the regi o of the P a cic C oast
u a l r a t e of secul a r ch a n ge i
This ch a ge
st a tes is a b out 4 an d i n N ew E n gl a d a b o ut 3
is of great imp orta n ce to surveyors an d m a p makers If suit
a ble correctio n s are n ot m a de for the secul a r v a ri a ti on a
bou d a ry li n e whose directio n h a s bee n determi n ed by m e a n s
f the c o m pas s n eedle will whe n res u rveyed s o me ye a rs l a ter
nd
f
f
h a ve a directio n ap
di
ere
t
from
that
previously
fou
en tl
ar
p y
n

R efe

PE R K

NS

an d

E l ectrici ty

Magn etis m ( H

a gn et i s

e ry H
n

AN D

Art

R SON

GE E

P racti cal E l ec tric i ty

M gn et s m ,

an d

E n cy B rit
.

P ra c ti cal E l ectric i ty

an d

Fl

M agn etis m, V ol

n etis

g
i n t he

M ASCA R T

Ga

p
p
.

1 9 2 6

A m od

er

U n d ou b ted l y t h e b es t

Tra ite d e M agn etis mo Terrestre

II

te r V I
C h ap
l ab r at ry

m,

v al u ab l e gu id e fo rad v an c ed w ork
EWI N G
i ll a n eti z ation
Other M etal s
of I r on a d
g
t re at i s e on t h e s u b j ec t i n t h e E n gl i sh l an gua ge
an

C hap
te rs V I I I

lt

H ENDE

on

IX

S T EW A R T
C H Y TA
R

an d

r en c es

i r Vi ll ars

u th e -

ar i

s,

1 900

C HAPTE R I X
E L E C TR O S TA TI C S

If a sheet of dry writi n g paper held a gai n st the wall be

give n a few quick a ps with a piece of a n n el the p a per will
adhere to the wall quite stro gly The rubber h a n dle of a
fo u t a i n p
en whe n rubbed o ver the S leeve of o n e s w o ole n c o a t
a cquires the pr o perty of attr a cti n g sm all bits of p a per or wood ;
glass rubbed o Silk behaves i n the s a m e way
The subst a n ce e a rliest fou d to have this proper ty was a
fossil resi n ( o rdi ary a m ber ) f ou d o n the Sh o res of G reece
These f a cts h a ve bee n k n o wn ever si ce the ti m e of Thales
R C ; a d fo r t w o th o us a n d years f oll o wi g h i m they
6 00
co n stituted pr a ctically the whole of electric scie n ce barri g
some k n owledge of light i g an d of the electric e el which n o
with the amber
o n e the n imagi n ed to h a ve an y co n n ectio n
phe n om e n o n
B od ies that have acq uire d t h is p
r op
erty of attra cti n g small
ap
er are sai d t o b e elec t rie d or to h ave an ele ctri c
b its of p
char ge
FI R S T L A w O F E LE C T R O S T A T I C S
3 15

a
le

more rece n t times h owever it h as bee n fou n d th a t

n
an
d
f
t
w
o
i
fere
n
t
substa
ces
whe
rubbed
t
o
gether
or
eve
n
y
whe brought i n to c on tact bec o me electried
B ut bef ore we can ex a m i n e the evide n ce for this stateme n t
it will be ecess a ry for us to devise s o m e me a n s by which we
can detect the prese n ce of a
electric charge O n e m eth od is
that i n dicate d ab o ve viz the attr a ctio n of bits of thre a d o r
str a w but this is n o t a very se n sitive test ; much s m aller
charges can be detected by the gold le a f ele ctros cop
e an i n s t ru
me n t which we sh a ll n o w describe
Th G r k s c all e
d t h i s resi
l tr
A d h c l at r D r Gil
h
m
be rt c all ed t h is p
d gav
r w rd l c tri i ty
l tri c
3 16

In

4'

ee

en o

en on e ec

e ec
,

on

an

e u s ou

en

e e

e
.

E L E C TR OSTA TI C S
The

E l ect ros co

an

331

d P roof P l an e

This device is esse t i ally a m et a l rod supp o rted on a cork of

se a li g w a x o r be t t er still of sulph u r an d c a rryi n g two le a v es
o f a l u m i iu m o r g old fo il suspe n ded fro m its lo w er e d the
le a ves bei g i n cl osed i n a glass vessel as sh o wn i n
Fig 2 2 8
If n o w an y electried b dy he br o ught i to
c o tact with the k o b K o r a s we sh all see
prese n tly eve n i n t o t he n e a r n eighborh ood o f K
the le a ves of g ld foil will diverge If the b o dy
is n ot electried the le a ves will ot diverge
We have th u s a si m ple a d exceedi gly delicate
me a n s fo r detec t i g electric ch a rges The theory t r
pm d
of the el ect O SC Op
e we sh a ll co n s der prese tly
f E rl
m y
Try t o uchi n g the tip pf a c a m el s h a ir brush on ash d 1
mm m { 1
Rub
the t a ble top a d the n t o the electr osc ope
the brush ge n tly o ver y o ur o w h a ir a d a g a i n bri g it t the
electrosc o pe
rod uced by such sli ght
S in ce ele ctri cati on i s p
mea n s w e are l ed t o thi n k th at an y t wo d iffere n t s ub stan ces
This is possibly the
br ou ght i n to con tact become el ectr i ed
m o st f u d a m e t al f a ct of electrost a tics an d m a y be c a lled the
ostati cs
First Law of Ele ctr
But we s om etimes wish t o exa m i n e the electric a ti on of a
body which is t oo l a rge t o c a rry to the electr o sc o pe or of
a b ody which w e d o n ot wish to m ove I n s u ch a c a se it is
m ost c on ve ie t to w a x a
pe n n y to the e d of a gl a ss
rod ( see Fig
o r rubber
We m a y use the
gl a ss rod as a h an dle an d
the n by touchi n g the pe y
a lter n a tely to the b ody an d
t o the electr sc o pe w e m a y
Pr f p
l
F
229
deter m i e whether or n ot
l an e
the b ody is ch a rged S uch a device is c a lled a p
roof p
3 17
S e sitive as is the f o r m described ab ove the g old le a f
electros c ope w as m odied by C T R Wilso n of C am b ri d ge
i n 1 9 01 so a s t be m uch more e fficie n t
H e supports a rigid strip o f br a ss B fro m a small bl ock of
n

osco

'

en

an

01

a e
e,

'

nn

IG

oo

an e

GENERAL PHYS IC S

332

sulphur S O n the side of this at brass rod a n a rro w strip

of gold le a f is attached by its upper en d The wh ole system
of sulphur brass strip an d g old le a f
is suspe n ded by a rod T which is
rigidly a ttached to the co n t a i n i n g v es
s el by me a n s of a block o f ebo n i t e
S ulphur is such a superb n on co n
duct or th a t i n re a s on ably dry air an
electroscope of this ki n d will hold its
charge for sever a l h o urs I n or d er
t o commu n ic a t e a ch a rge to the s u s
pe n ded syste m a sm a ll wire 0 is
passed through the h a rd rubber block
n t ai n i n g vessel an d
n
o
top
of
the
co
Fm
l
d
g
l af l c t r sc p
the n be n t twice at right a n gles
Whe n the gold leaf is o n ce ch a rged the c o n t a ct betwee n it
an d this wire m a y be br oke n by S imply rot a ti n g the upper e d
of 0
C O N D UC T O R S A N D N O N C O ND U C TO R S
3 1 8 A se on d g reat discovery i n electrost a tics was m a de by
Stephe n G ray i n L o n do n ( d
H e fou n d that whe n a

glass rod is electried by rubbi g the electrificatio n le a ks

o ff
if the rod is held i n the ha n d or if the rod is supported
by c tt on thread or met a l o ra moiste n ed stri n g of a y ki n d
By co n n ecti n g an electried gl a ss rod t o a dista n t p o i n t by
m ea n s of a wet stri n g he w as able to tra n sfer the electric a ti on
thr ough a dista n ce of m a n y meters
H e fou n d also th a t if a body co n tai n i n g an electric ch a rge
w a s supp o rted o n glass or rubber or suspe n ded by a dry silk
thread the ch a rge dis a ppe a red very slowly Th os e s ubs ta n ces
whi ch lead off the charge q ui ckly are calle d con d u ct ors ; t h ose
w hi ch p
reve n t the ch ar ge fr om es ca p
i n g are calle d n on con
d u ct or
s or i n sulat ors
A co n duct o r supp o rted up o n a n o n
c on duct or is s a id to be i n sul a ted
B ut there are some
subst a n ces such as carb on an d most acids which occupy an
i n termediate positio n an d can h a rdly be called either con d uc
tors or n o n co n ductors The f ll wi n g list f subst a n ces
mostly from Perki n s s Outl in s f E l ectri ci ty a n d M ag ti sm
p 1 2 is arra n ged i n the order of their ability to co n duct
electricity
.

e e

e
;

ne

E L E C TR OSTATI C S

Tw o KI N D S

OF

333

E L E C TR I F I C A TI O N

gre a t discovery w a s m a de i n electrostatics by

a Fre ch s oldier an d electrici a D ufay ( b 1 6 9 8 d
H e fou n d th a t if a light electried body s ay a pith ball be
suspe n ded by a silk thread o ther electried b o dies behave
a lw a ys i n o n e o f t w o w a ys whe n they are brought n e a r the
suspe n ded b ody S o m e ch a rged bodies will a ttract the pith
b all an d so m e will repel it The electric a ti on which appe a rs
the elec
o n glass whe n rubbed with silk beh a ves i n o e way
t ri cat i on which a ppe a rs o n gutta -percha ( o r a rod of se a li n g
w a x ) whe n rubbed with a n el beh a ves i the o pposite way
D uf a y called these t w o ki n ds of electric a ti on vi tr ou s a n d
r s i u s respectively ; but the f oll o wi g n a m es suggested by
Be ja m i n Fr a n kli n a re i n s om e respects h appier an d have bee n
a d opted by the whole w orld
D EF I N I TI O N S 1
Th at ki n d of ele ctri cati on which makes
its ap
eara n ce on glass whe n r ubbe d wi t h silk is calle d p
ositive
p
That ki n d of ele ctricati on whi ch a p
ears on seali n g w ax
2
p
er ch a whe n r ubbe d wit h an n el is therefore cal le d
or gutta p
n e ga t ive
I t will be observed th a t the rst of these de n itio n s is a
purely a rbitrary on e The f a ct of n ature is th a t there a re
but whi ch on e we sh a ll call posi
t wo ki n ds o f electric a tio
tive an d which on e n eg a tive is a m a tter of ch oice The sci en
t i c w o rld h as
however a greed upo n the de n iti on s give n
a b ove The a dva n ced stude n t will n d evide n ce for thi n ki g
th a t if the n o m e n clature of electr ost a tics had bee n p ostpo ed
u til the prese n t day these t w o n a m es positive an d n egative
w o uld h ave bee n i n terch a n ged
Figure 2 3 1 m a y aid the stude t t o be a r i n mi n d n ot o n ly the
prese n t co n ve n tio n but als o D uf ay s evide n ce for thi n ki n g
there are t w o ki d s of electricity
3 19

A thi rd

no

n,

GENE R AL P H YS IC S

334

I t is i m p o rt a n t here to observe that the pith ball is always

repelled by the gl a ss rod whe n i t has bee n charged from the
glass rod while it is always repelled by the se ali n g wax i f it
,

I A LL HA R

P TH

R M LA

F O

GE

SS ROD

FIG 2 3 1 Di ff r c s i b h vi r f t h t w l tri t i
has bee n ch a rged fr o m the se ali n g w ax ; i n o ther words lik e
i cat i on s a lw a ys repel e a ch o ther
el ec t r
We n ow s ee why it is that the g ol d le a ves of the electro
scope alw ays diverge whe n they a re charged F or which
ever o f the two el ect ri cat i on s is give n to the electroscope
the leaves will e a ch be ch a rged i n the s a me w a y an d will
therefore repel e a ch o ther It is I m p o rt a n t a lso t o o bserve
th at the u n ch a rged electr osc ope gives the s a m e i n dicati on i e a
H ow
d iverge n ce fo ra p o sitive ch a rge as fo ra n eg a tive on e
the n can we deter m i n e whe n we a re de a li n g with a positively
ch a rged body an d whe n with a n eg a tively charged body ?
.

e en

e a

ca

o e ec

on s

Ex

i
er

men tal D i sti n cti on between P osi ti ve

an

d Nega ti ve Char
ges

F irst

ch a rge the electros c ope with a k n ow n ki d of

electrica t io n s a y positive The n if the positive ch a rge on
the electrosc ope be i creased the diverge n ce o f the le a ves will
i n crease ; if h o we ver we give to the electr o sc ope a n eg a tive
charge the diverge n ce of th e leaves will di m i n ish
If w e k n o w the o rigi a l ch a rge on the le a ves to be positive
we will the h a ve n o di fculty i n s a yi g jus t wh a t the sig n of
n cre a ses t h e
a
o ther ch a rge is ; for if the u n k n o w n ch a rge
y
d iverge n ce it must be positive ; but if it dimi n ishes the diver
ge n ce it m ust be n eg a tive
3 20

S EC ON D

LA w

OF

E L E C T R O S T AT IC S

If we ass um e n ow th a t t wo di ff ere n t s ubstan ces whe n

brought i n t o co n tact become electried an d that b odies havi n g
ch a rges of the same Sig n repel e a ch other while bo dies havi n g
321

ELE C T R O S T A T IC S

335

h a rges of opp osite Sig s a t tr a ct t he n ext i n quiry is H w d

these b o dies a ttr a ct ( or repel ) e a ch ther ? This ques t i o it
will be observed is for elec t ric a l ch a rges exactly the s a m e on e
w hich N ewt on a sked c o n cer n i n g t h e behavior of pieces of o rdi
n a ry m a tter
The Fre ch physicist C ou l om b ( b 1 73 6 d 1 8 06 ) a n swered
t h e questi o
fo r electricity by a series o f experi m e n ts which
dif cult t o repe a t
ar
e s o mewh a t
th o ugh very si m ple i n ide a H e
showed that t he experi m e n t al facts
are as f ollows
( i ) The repulsive ( o ra ttr a ctive )
f o rce betwee n t w o qu a tities of
electric a ti o ( Fig 2 3 2 ) is directly
propor t i on a l to the pr oduct o f the
E qu a l qu a n tities
two qu a tities
electricity can a lw ays be oh
Of
t ai ed by ex a ctly duplic a ti g an y
pr o cess which produces el ect rica
FIG
232
tio
( ii ) The force which on e ch a rged particle ( or a body a cti g
as a p a rticle ) exerts upo a n other v a ries i n ver sely as the squ a re
o f the dist a ce sep a r a ti g the b o dies
I
t
o
o
o
iii
a
dditi
the
a
b
ve t w o f a cts discovered by C o u
( )
l om b it w a s sh ow n by C a ve n dish an d F a r a d a y th a t the force
which o e ch a rged pa rticle exerts upo n a other depe n ds a lso
up o the m a teri a l of the n o n c on duct o r which sep a r a tes them
This n on c on d ucti n g material is ge n er al ly calle d t h e med ium or
t h e d ielectri c
A su m m a ry of these three f a cts which we may c all the
S o d L aw of E l ectrostati s is
more eleg a n tly m a de i terms
o f a lgebra as foll o ws
Let c a d e ( Fig 2 3 3 ) de
n ote the electric ch a rges O f the
r t h e dist a n ce
t w o p a rticles
which sep a r a tes the m an d K
F
23 3
a quan tity which expresses
n
t
u cti n g m edi u m
me
a
sures
the
ef
ect
of
the
o
c
d
he
f
n
o
n
(
)
we k ow by exp erime t th a t
n

n,

'

ec n

IG

GENERA I PHYS IC S

336

oc e

'

oc e

rl ;
2

H en ce

d F

oo

'
cc

or

an

at

If r2

ee

Eq

127

where 0 is a co n stan t of proportio n ality This qua n tity K is

k n ow n as the di el ectric con stan t an d is assumed arbitrarily to
have the v a lue of u n ity whe n the dielectric is a vacuum B u t
its value for air
diff ers so little fro m u n ity th a t for
a ll ordi n a ry purposes we m a y put K 1 i n air For various
ki n ds of glass K ra n ges from 3 to 1 0 ; while for ebo n ite an d
p a ra f n its value ge n er a lly lie s betwee n 2 an d 3
The esse n tial thi n g here is to u n dersta n d that the force
which on e charged particle exerts u po n a n other depe n ds upo n
t h e medium i n which the particles are situated as well as u po n
t h e dista n ce betwee n the particles
.

D en i ti on

which describes the l aw of i n verse

squ a res discovered by C oulomb can be of an y value for pur
poses of c om put a tio n it will of course be n ecessary t o eval
u a te the co n sta n t 0 This is do n e as follows L et the t w o
charges i n dic a ted i n F ig 2 3 2 be take n equ al to each other an d
let the m be placed at a dista n ce o f on e ce n timeter ap a rt i n a ir
The size o f either charge w e h a ve still left u n determi n ed I n
terms of algebr a we have assumed on ly the followi n g
3 22

B efore

Un i t Char
ge

Eq

1 2 7,

c ;

r= 1 ;

K= 1

an d

If n ow i n a dditio n t o these assumptio n s we agree to call e u n ity

whe n F 1 it follo ws by substituti n g these v alues i n E q 1 2 7
that 0 1 A n d this is precisely the reas on for cho o si n g a
u n it charge of this size n a mely that the co n sta n t of propor
t i on al i t y is thus made to dis a ppe a r from the equatio n givi n g
us the worki n g form
,

Eq

I fr

128

arge of el ectri cit y is the n on e of su ch a siz e th at i t

w il l re p
el w i t h a f orce of on e d y n e an eq u al ch ar ge of t h e s ame
si gn p
lace d at a d ista n ce of on e ce n timeter i n ai r
A

un i

66

ch

E LE C I R OSTA TI C S

337

C ompare

this l aw of f orce with those which hold for gravita

ti on an d m a g n etism The fu n d a me n t al importa n ce of this l a w
will be re alized whe n it is u n derstood that this is the rst
bridge which co n n ects the t wo great domai n s of electricity an d
mecha n ics The co n n ec t io n is however o n ly a qu a n titative
o light is shed upo n the n a t ure of an electric charge by
o e
thus de n i n g i n terms of a force an d a dista n ce a certai n
ch a rge wi t h which other charges are to be comp a red A t the
s a me time this is a most esse n tial step t o w a rd discoveri n g
v a rious f a cts which do illumi n ate the n ature of electrical phe
.

no

m en a

Whe n the co n sideration of electrical curre n ts is take n u p

we sh a ll n d that the u n it of electric a l qua n tity employed by
e n gi n eers the Cou l omb is 3 000 millio n time s as large as the
electrostatic u n it ab o ve de n ed
,

E LE C T RIC F I E LD

AN

ge n eral a force is exerted upo n on e positively

ch a rged body i n the prese n ce o f a n other positively charged
body it is clear th a t we sh all h a ve to d o work upo n on e o f
these ch a rged bodies if we m ove it n e a rer to the other o n e
A n d i n ge n eral if we move either body i n an y directi on either
we Sh a ll have to d o w ork upo n it or it will do w o rk fo rus
A re gi on i n whi ch w ork must be d on e t o move an ele ctric ch arge
from on e p
ic eld
oi n t t o a n oth er is cal l ed an electr
Th e i n te n sit y of t h e eld i n an y d ire cti on at an y p
oi n t is
meas ured n umeri cally by t h e am ou n t of w or k in er gs w h i ch
m ust be d on e t o m ove a u n it qua n tit y of electri city th r ou gh u n it
d ista n ce al on g t h e giv en d i re cti on i n t h e n ei gh bor h ood of t h at
oi n t
p
E lectric i n te n sity is of course to be measured i n the s a m e
f u n d a me n t al u n its ce n timeters grams an d seco n ds as a re
mechan ic a l forces an d mech a n ical w o rk
I n a ccor d a n ce wit h this d en iti on a u n it el ectric el d is on e
i n w h i ch a u n it char ge is act ed u p
on w i t h a f or ce of on e d y n e
If theref o re a b od y c a rries a ch a rge of e u n its i n an elect ric
eld whose i n te n sity S R the force F a cti n g up on this b o dy
will be give n by
i g q a i
f ri
D

F
R
3 23

S i n ce

in

n n

e u

t on

l c r c eld

t en i t y o f e e t i

G ENE R AL

338

PHYS IC S

which is the de i g equ a tio n fo rR a n d which is a strict an a

l ogue of the equa t io n ( 1 1 5 ) which de n es the i n te n si t y o f a
m a g n etic eld
S i n ce F is a vect o r qu a n tity an d e a scalar it follows that R
is a vecto r H e n ce i n order t o specify an electric eld it is
quite as n ecess a ry to st a te its directio n as its i n te n sity
n

L i n es

E l ectri c Force

This fact led F a r a d ay t o i n tr o duce i n to electrical sci

e n ce the co n ceptio n of li n es of f o rce a most helpful mode o f

descriptio n H e im a gi es th a t i n a y regio n where there a re
ch a rged b o dies these li n es of f o rce run from the p o sitive
ch a rges to t he n egat i ve o es A t a y p o i n t i n space the li n e
of fo rce takes the d irectio n of the electric eld a t that poi n t
N ot o n ly so but the close n ess ( de n sity if you like ) with which
the li n es of force a re draw n a t an y poi n t i n the eld is pr op o r
t i o al to the i n te n sity of the el d at that p o i n t
I n this m a n
n er F a r a day an d M axwell g a ve a si m ple lucid
an d accurate
gr a phic al descripti on O f a electric eld
A s o e of t he si m plest possible illustr a tio n s co n sider a posi
t i vel y charged m et a l S phere pl a ced o n a t a ble i n a r oo m
H ere
the n gati ve ch a rge lies as we sh all
prese n t ly lear n upo n the walls of t h e
ro o m If n ow the regi on about the
charged sphere be tested by a bit of li n e n
thre a d s ay 2 i n ches l o g supported a t its
middle poi n t by a silk bre it will be
fo u n d th a t the bit of li n e n ac ts a s a c oin
p
ass n eedle fo r the e lectric eld an d that
F
Li
f f rc
234
i g h
l c ri c the electric eld is radi a lly distributed
rm
ld b t
c h rg d a bou t the sphere
H e ce the li es of
h r
p
force are t o be dr a w n i n a radi a l d irec
ti on as i n the accomp a yi g gure
A S a ther ill ustrati on c on side r two equ a l p a rallel pl a tes
A a d B Fig 2 3 5 o e ch a rged positively the other h oldi g
equ al n egative ch a rge I n such
a
a n a rr a n ge m e n t t h e electric eld is
li m ited al most exclusively t o t h e
regi on be t wee n the pl a tes he n ce FIG
rb i
d
f
Sh w i
als o a re t he li n es o f force A d
rp
n i p
ch arg s
m
3 24

IG

eg en

a ou

n es

e e

e e e t

'

no

o ve

ng

lst

u t on o
es

ELE C T R O S TA T IC S
si n ce the eld i s als o u n ifor m it
foll ows th a t its represe n t a ti on
m ust be very like that i n dic a ted
i n Fig 2 3 6
The a n al ogy be
twee n electric an d m a g n etic
h ues of f o rce 3 ob vr
ou s

339

Em

l c t ri c el d b e
arall el p
lates i n t erms of li n es
p

23 6 Sho vvi n g

e e

wee
of fo rc e
t

C AUTIO N

The stude n t is here war n ed n ot to im a gin e that electric a l

f o rces differ i n an y respect fr om the other forces which he h a s
studied an d will study They pr o duce the s a me e ffects up
on
bodies a s gr a vit a ti o n a l forces they a re measured i n the sa m e
u n its ( dy n es ) as gravi t a ti on a l forces an d they a re n o m ore
mysteri o us th a n gr a vit a tio n a l f orces A n electric a l f orce of 1 3
dy n es acti n g up o n a charged b ody will produce the s a me a ccel
er
at i on i n the body as an y other f o rce of 1 3 dy n es
.

S E C O N D M E T H O D O F P R O D U C I N G A N E L E C T R IC C H A RG E
E L E C T R O S T A T IC I N D U C T I O N

For chargi n g b o dies there are ot her meth ods besides

fricti on O n e of t h e most i n teresti n g of these is the f ol l o wi n g
1
He
which appears to h ave bee n discovered by S tephe n Gr a y
fou n d th a t o e m ay ch a rge a body provided this bod v be a
c on ductor by simply bri n gi g it i n to the eld of a n other
charged body
L et A ( F ig 2 3 7) be a charged bo dy A t i n can o a block
of p a ra f n or a hollow brass sphere supported on a gl a ss
stem will a n swer
well
L et B i di
cate an i n sul a ted
co n ducto r w hich is
n ot
charged
A
bl ock of wo o d cov
ered wi t h le a d f oil
a d supported on
a
gl a ss o r r u bber stem
F
23 7
Th p
h
m
f l
r t i i d
i
will a swer well
Bri g B i n t o the n eighb orh o od o f A S av withi n t hree orf o ur
P gg d rff G
hi h t d rP h y i l p8 3 9
3 25

IG

en o

e ect

en o n o

os at c

u ct o n

es c

en

s c,

GENERAL PHYS IC S

3 40

ce n timeters of i t an d exami n e B with the proof pl a n e an d

electroscope 3 1 6 ) a s follows
1
T o uch t he pro of pla e to the charged body A C arry
this ch a rge t o the electroscope Y ou will get a disti n ct separa
tio n o f the g old leaves
2
T o uch the proof pla n e to the en d of B which is n earest
A an d c a rry the ch a rge to the electroscope while the le a ves
still diverge The diverge n ce of t h e leaves di m i n ishes show
i n g th a t the ch a rge on this p a rt of B is opposite t o that

on

R epe a t

the process u n til the leaves have c o mpletely coll a psed

They are n o w charged with the same
an d h a ve agai n diverged
ki n d of electric a tio n that is on the n e a r en d o f B
Touch the proof pl a n e to the en d of B that is most remote
3
fro m A The leaves begi n to coll a pse a g a i n showi n g th a t the
two e n ds of B have ch a rges o f di ffere n t Sig n s
This experi me n t should always be repeated u n til the evide n ce
is perfectly clear for thi n ki n g th a t whe n an u n charged co n ductor
is brought i n to the eld o f a charged body the u n ch a rged body
bec o mes electried ex a ctly a s i n dicated i n F ig 2 3 7 ab ove
h en ome n on
Th e ch ar ges on B are sai d t o be i n duced an d t h e p
i s c alle d el ectr ost atic i n duct i on
A t this poi n t it is all -importa n t to n ote that the i n duced charg e
.

A R TH

FIG 2 33 Ch argi g b y i d c i
It is produced
on B does n ot at all dimi n ish the charge on A
by m e a n s o f the charge on A but n ot at the expe n se of the
charge on A
3 26
to this poi n t we have co n sidered e a ch of the con
Up
i n sulated Im a gi n e n ow the b ody B t o be
d u ct o r
s A an d B
n

u t on

E L E C TR OS TA TI C S

341

onne cted with the e a rth whi ch we know to

du ctor
We h ave then

be

good

con

I N T E R E S T I N G SP EC I A L CA S E C H A R G I N G B Y I N D U C T I O N
O u r condu ctor B ( Fig 2 3 8) h as now b een v e ry mu ch en
l arged ; indeed it in cludes the e arth itself so th at B is at
le ast 8 000 miles long There is therefore only one en d of B
whi ch is ne ar enough for u s to e x amine an d at this en d we
n d as before an ele ctri cation whi ch is opposite th at on A
Th e bo dy B is ag ain
S uppose n o w we remove the wire
redu ced to its former size ; b u t it will n o w be ch arged neg a
We h a ve th us l earn e d
t i v el y while A is ch arged positively
i cti on an d wi th out dimi n
h ow t o ch ar
ge a bod y w i th out u si n g fr
AN

i shi n g t h e

i gi n al
or

ch

arge on A

The

E l ectro horus

simple illustration of the foregoing prin ciple as well

as one of the most c onvenient instruments in the l ab or atory for
produ cing ele ctri c ch arges qui ckly an d e asily is the ele ctro
h o ru s invented by the It ali an physi cist V olt a
It consists of
p
a pl at e of h ard rubber rosin or some subst an ce whi ch can be
ele ctried by fri ction an d a met al disk 0 whi ch is provided
with an insul ating h andle H an d whi ch is called a carrier
Th e r ubber pl ate P gener ally rests upon a sheet of met al S
whi ch is called the sole pl ate
Suppose the pl ate to h ave been rubbed with catskin an d there
fore to be n eg atively ele ctried Then when the carrier is m ade
to appro ach the pl ate of ebonite the indu ced ch arges will be
di stributed as sho w n in Fig 2 3 9
When the carrie r is pl aced
upon the pl ate it will be supported by
slight rugosities s o th at it does not re
cei ve a ch arge from the pl ate
If n ow
the nger be tou ched to the carrier the
5
neg at ve ch arge W i ll run off to eai th
E
lectrophor
F
23 9
a d the positive ch arge rem ains bound
f V olt
W hen however the carrier is removed
by the h andle to a dist an ce from the pl ate the bound ch arge
b e comes
free an d av ail able for ch arging other bodies
E vidently this pro cess m ay b e repe ated as m any times as
one likes
3 27

G '

us

GENERAL P HYS I C S

3 42

M achines

h a ve b een re cently perfe cted by the joint l abors of

l er an d Wimshurst by me ans of whi c h one can
H oltz Toep
st art with an indenitely sm all ch arge on a b ody A an d pro
du ce an indenitely l arge ch arge on B These m achines a re
b ased on the simple prin ciples whi ch we h ave j ust been study
ing ; bu t they are somewh at compli cated in their action an d
the student beginning physi cs is advised to rst observe the
stru cture a nd beh avior of one of these m achines an d then con
sul t some of the l arger te x t -books or en cy clopedi as for its
des cription a nd e x pl an ation
,

TH I R D

LA W

OF

E L E CT R O S T A T I C S

us n ow modify the ele ctros cope des cribed 3 1 6

either by tting with a hollow metal vessel as i ndi cate d in
Fig 24 0 or by conne cting it by use of a
light wire to a hollow insul ated vessel as
di agr ammed in Fig 2 41
A ny ch arged body introdu ced into this
can will affe ct the gold le aves e ven more
th an if it were b r
ought up ne ar to the
ele ctros cope itself ; for indeed the can is
now a p art of the ele ctros cope
A nd
what is most rem ark able it m atters not
in wh at p a rt of the can the ch arged body
is pl aced the e ffe ct on the gold le aves is
j ust the s ame
We are n ow prep ared to try the follow
FIG 24 0 E q l ty f
T
ake two
fund
a ment al e x per i ment :
in
g
po i t
d neg ti ve
ch rge
non co n du cting gl ass rods A an d B Fig
242
A bout the end of one of them f asten a short po cket or
tube of woolen goods so th at it will not e asily slip off O n the
side of this po cket sew a nother simil ar po cket of woolen clot h
into whi ch the se cond gl ass tu be will slide with gentle fri ction
B y merely inserting the gl ass rod into the po cket an d
twisting it about one is e asily able to ele ctrify the lower end
of the free gl ass rod positively an d the woolen po cket
neg atively
O bserve then th a t
( i ) N o e ffe ct is produ ced upon the ele c tros cope so long as
both the rods a re held in the can When they are ele ctried
3 28

Let

ua i

an

E L E C T R OS T A T I C S

343

twisting the gl ass rod in the po cket no divergen ce of gold

le aves follo w s
B
u
t if either the free rod or the one th at carries the
ii
( )
woolen cloth be removed
the gold le aves diverge
showing th at both the
cloth an d rod ar
e ch arged
T
h
iii
e ch arge on the
( )
gl ass is Opposite in sign
to th at on t he woolen
F I G 24 1
cloth
Th e s ame series of e x periments m ay be tried with a pie ce of
silk an d a gl ass rod
In e ach cas e we h ave two Oppositely ch arged bodies su ch
th at their com bined e ffe ct on the ele ctros cope is zero Th e
s ame phenomenon is observed in d eed wh atever two bodies are
ru bbed together Th e infer
en ce is therefore th at when
ever we produ ce by fri ction a
c ert ain ele c tri c ch arge
we al
w ays produ ce at the s ame time
an
equ al ch arge of Opposite
sign This is also tr u e in the
If we indu ce
case of indu ction
two Opposite ch arges on a con
F
242
du ctor a d then remove the
indu cing ch arge we nd th at the indu ced ch arges will j ust n eu
tr
al i e e ach other ; al l eviden ce of ele ctri cation dis appe ars
sho w ing th at the two indu ced ch arges are equ al an d O pposite
This general truth e x pressed as follows m ay be called the
by

10

Thi rd L aw of E l ectrostati cs
Wh en electr i ca ti on i s p
r oduced

ther me an s t h e
re al w ay s equ al

by an y o
du ced a

psiti ve
o

by
an d

fri ct i on by i n ducti on or
ro
n ega ti v e ch a r
ge s s o p
,

F O U R T H L AW O F E L E C T R O S T A T I C S
3 29
I t is also interesting to e x amine bym ea s of a proof
pl ane an d el ect ros c0 p
e the v arious p arts of the s u rf ac e of a
irregul arly sh aped condu ctor su ch as th at represented in
Fig 2 4 3
.

3 44

Th e proof pl ane

E N E R AL

HYS I C S

fter being brought on ce into contact with a

at portion of the body does not produ ce ne arly s o gre a t a
divergen ce of the gold le a ves a s when tou ched on ce to either
end of the body The sh a rper the end ( i e the gre ater the
urv
ture
of
the
surface ) the gre ater the ch arge whi ch the
a
c
proof pl a ne carries aw ay
We see fro m e x periments of this kind th at the ele ctri ca tion
Th e sh arper an y
i s not uniformly distributed over a c ondu ctor
Whe n
e n d or point the more the ch a rge tends to c olle ct there
,

FIG

24 3

E lectric ch rge
a

accumu

l ates near sharp end of b od y

FIG

rge resides on
ou tside of cond uctor
244 Ch a
.

we e x amine the inside a nd outside of a tin cupin the s a me

m anner we nd th a t pr acti cally a ll of the ch a rge resides on the
outside
I n gener al it h a s bee n found th a t the m a nner in whi ch
ele ctri cation distributes itself upon a condu ctor depends only
upon th e sh ape of the body a nd upon the presen ce of su r
rounding ch arges
To des cribe each of these v a rious distributions would be an
innite t ask ; b ut we m ay always be cert ain th at t h e ch arge on
t h e ou ts i de of an y cl os ed con d uctor i s d istr i bu t ed i n s uch a w ay
t h a t i t w il l p
r oduce n o el ectri c el d n o el ectri c force in si d e
t h e cl ose d con d uct or
E ven in the case of a condu ctor su ch as a tin p a il whi ch is
not quite closed the ele ctri cation is very ne a rly al l on the
outside a nd the intensity of the ele ctri c eld inside is very
sm all
A ccor d ingly if we wish to prote ct a ny instrument from ele c
i cal distur b an ces we h ave only to pl ace it inside an ele ctri cal
tr
c ondu ctor whi ch is close d or n e arly closed
,

E L E C T R OS TA T I C S
Take

3 45

sm all ele ctros cope an d

pl ace it inside a roll of wire
s creen as shown in Fig 2 4 5
If the meshes of the s creen a re
re ason ably ne there is s car cely
ele
tri
al distur b an c e you can
an
c
c
y
produ ce outside the s creen whi ch
will aff e ct the sensitive gold le aves
inside
Th i s gre a t f act t h a t an y e l ectri cal F m mw m m
m protect d
di stu rb an ce ou ts i d e a cl os ed con d uc
tw r
k f w i re
by
egi on i n s id e
t orh as n o eff e ct on t h e r
t h e cl os ed con d uct or w as th or ou gh l y esta bl is h ed by Fa r a d ay
W e m ay call it the Fou rth L aw of E l ctrosta ti s
a

IG.

a ne

330

With this prin ciple in mind M ax well suggested th at

,

the best method for prote cti n g houses from lightning is to

pl ace them in a network
of condu ctors ( Fig
whi ch sh all be as ne arly
as possible equiv alent to a
f
B en
c ondu ctor
closed
j amin Fr an klin in 1 76 0
rst s uggested the use of
single metalli c rods con
n ec ted w ith the e arth as a
FIG 246 M xw ell meth d of prot ction m eans of prote ction ag ainst
.

a ai n s t

l ightn ing

t n in g

The I d ea of

E l ectric P oten ti al

of the prin cip al am b itions of every student of

physi cs shoul d be to obt ain a simple an d unitary vie w O f the
entire su bje ct an d likewise of e ach subdivision O f it Few con
c e t i on s
perh aps none h ave ever been introdu ced into the
p
tre atment of ele ctri city th at h ave b een more helpful in the w ay

of simpli cation th an th at of potenti al an ide a whi ch is due

to the celebr ated Fren ch astronomer Lapl ace Th e n ame is
due to t h eE nglish physi cist G reen
331

On e

G ENE RAL

3 46

D en i ti on

Th e d ifferen ce of

pte

HYS I C S

f E l ectric P oten ti al

ti al

en

pi t

e l ec
tri c el d say P an d S i n Fi g 2 4 7 i s d e n e d as t h e w ork requir ed
ositive ele ctr
i city from P t o S agai ns t t h e el ec
t o ca rr y a u nit of p
i cal for ce s i n t h e el d
tr
It is important to observe th at i n this denition al l for ces
su ch as fri ction whi ch are alw ays opposed to the d ire ction of
motion are espe ci all y ruled o ut ; the only for ce considered is
a n ele ctri cal one whi ch as C oulomb h as sho w n depends upon
the distan ce only Sin c e this is true a little consider ation will
S ho w th at the work done on the unit ch arge in p assing from P
t o S is indepe ndent of the p ath pursued between these two
points For suppose th at less work is done when the ch arge
is carried along t h e route A th an along t h e route B ; a d
im agine the ch arge to be carried along the entire c ir cuit
If the work done along the p ath P A S is positive
P A SB P
th at along the p ath S B P will be neg ative ; in other words the
eld will do work upon the ch arge as it p asses from S to P
along B
An d sin ce more work is
done along the p ath B th an A it
follows th at we sh all by going
through
this
cy cle
get
more
work
B
o ut of the eld th an we h ave spent
upon it ; a nd every time this cy cle
is
repe
ated we sh all g ai n a denite
FIG 24 7
a mount of energy
B u t sin ce i t is
impossible to cre ate energy
we must con clude th at
our hypothesis is wrong an d th at the s ame amo u nt of work
will be required to carry a ch arge from P to S along an y
p a th wha tsoever
o

be w e

an y

t wo

o n s

in

an

P oten t ial D if eren ce

S ca l a r

Qu an ti ty

From the denition j ust given it will be seen th at dif

feren ce of potenti al is a r atio between a certain amount of
work an d a cert ain ele ctri c ch arge I t s dening equ ation if
we denote potential differen ce by P D work by W an d ch arge
by Q is
eni n eq t ion
W Dfor
d fference of E 1 3 0
3 32

'

ua

potenti al

E L E C T R OS TA T I C S

347

sin ce W an d Q a re e ach s cal ar qu antities it follo w s th at

potenti al di ff eren ce is also a s cal ar

an d

S
333
t wo

eci a l

Case

Fi n d the d if eren ce of

oi n ts

an d

oten

ti al between

an

S w hen the el ec/

ri c eld i s d u e t o

0
Q
p
For the s ake of simpli ci t y w e may a ssume ( wh at
w ill not detr act from the gener ality of the result )
th at the three points 0 P a nd S al l lie in the
s ame straight line as indi cated in Fig 2 4 8 Let
u s n o w suppose the dist an c e P S to be divi ded into
of sm all equ al p a rts
a l arge num b er
say n
rl rl rz rzrg
rp
r 1 r3
R emembering th at ele c
tri c intensity is the for ce on unit positive ch arge
we h a ve
Q
Ele ctri c i n ten sity at P
2
a cha r
ge

on

s ma ll

here

at

Fm

E le ctri c

i n t ensity a t

r1

E le ctri c

intensity

at

r2

at

et c

Ele ctri c

intensity

H en ce

A verage intensity over dist an ce r r, i

P

A ver age

intensity over dist an ce

et c

H en ce

Tp
rl

rl r2 =

;1 7 2

very appro x m ately

the work in ca rrying the posi tive u ni t

from Tpt 0

Tl =

from

r2 =

r1

to

rl
rp

r
T
( p l)

Q (r1
7 7
_

r2 ) =

1 2

et c

from

very appro x im ately

rn

to

r3

( rn

rs )

GENERA L P HYS I C S

3 48

us n ow t ake the s u m of these sm all qu antities of w ork

an d it will b e O b served th at al l the intermedi ate terms ca n c el
o ut a nd we h ave for the total work done in ca rrying a unit
ch a r e from P to S the qu antity
g
Let

whi ch is the solution of the problem

P oten ti al

P
oi n t
y

su ch a gre a t dis
t an ce ( say a t innity) from the ch a rge Q t h a t l
0 ; then
the intensity at P is also zero a nd we h ave an e x pression for
the amount of work done in bringing the positive unit from an
3 34

Let

the initi al point

a t an

be chosen

at

innite dista n ce to the point

n a mely

S,

Q
'

7s

Th e p
ot en ti a l a t an y p
oint i n an e l e ctr
i c e l d i s a ccordi n gl y de
k w h i ch mu s t b e d on e i n car
n e d a s t h e a mou n t oi w or
r
y in g a
om an i n n ite d ist an ce t o th a t p
This
os iti v e u n it ch ar
oi n t
p
ge fr
qu antity m ay be denote d by V3 an d for a single ch a rged ar
ti ole m ay be dened algebr a i cally as follows :
.

Eq

'

7s

13 1

It is import ant to observe th at the theorem j ust proved applies

not only to a eld produ ced by a ch arged p arti cle but also to a
body whi ch acts as if i t s ch arge were al l con centrated in a
single point A ch arged sphere a cts i n this w ay n amely as if
its entire ch arge were con centr ated at the center of the sphere
If there be several bh arges in the eld then the total poten
ti al at an y point S is Obt ained by adding the sep ar ate potenti als
P otenti als it must
at the point S due to e ach sep ar ate ch arge
H en c e follows the gen
be remembered are s cal ar q u antities
oi n t S i n an e l ectr
eral theorem th at t h e p
i c el d
ot en ti a l a t an y p
i s obt a ine d by a d d i n g t h e qu ot i e n t s of ea ch ch arge d i v i ded by i t s
d i s t an ce from t h e p
oi n t S
For purposes of comput atio n the following algebr a i c e x pres
sion of this theorem is convenient :
,

Eq

132

E L E C T R OS T A T I C S

3 49

When this e x pression is positive it me ans th at work must be

,

done up
on the positive unit to bring it from innity to the
point S bu t when neg ative the me aning is th at work wil l be
done by the positive unit in coming from a n innite dist an ce to
the point S
,

Zero

P oten ti al

it is not ne cess ary to go to innity in order

to re ach a point where the ele ctri c intensity is zero For the
re
e arth is su ch a tremendous body th at its po tenti al is not ap
p
ci abl y affe cted by an y O per ations whi ch we m ay carry o n in our
l aboratories an d factories Hen ce t h e ea rt h i s ch ose n a s a body
l e th at
ri n ci p
d p
ot en t i al on e x a ctl y t h e s a me p
of zer o or s t an d ar
d
t h e mea n s ea l evel i s ch osen as a s u rf a ce of z er o or s t an d ar
h ei gh t
335

O rdin arily

E qu i

o ten ti a l

Sur
faces

of the best methods for des cribing an ele ctri c eld

is simply to join together al l those points in it whi c h h a ve the
s ame potenti al as a ny sele cted point P In gener al the lo cus
of these points will be a surface an d this surface is s aid to be
equipotenti al
Accord in gl y an eq ui p
f a ce i s d en ed as on e on w hich
ot en t i al s ur
th e p
ot enti al h as t h e s a me v a l u e a t eve r
oi n t
y p
Thus if the ch arge whi ch produ ces the eld is situ ated on a
singl e p arti cle a n d if the ch arge rem ains const ant the poten
ti al at an y point S will d epend only upon the distan ce of S
from the p arti cle ; an d hen ce for al l points whi ch lie on the
h ere dr awn about the ch a rged p arti cle a s a center
surface o f a sp
336

On e

Q
r

onsta nt

A ny one of the cir cles shown in Fig 2 4 9 represents therefore

a se ction
by the pl ane of the p aper of an equipotenti al
surface ( a sphere ) due to a point ch arge at Q
Sin ce there is no ch ange of potenti al o ver an y one O f these
surfa ces it follows from the denition Of potenti al th at no
work will be done in carrying a unit ch arge from an y one point
to an y o t her point on the s ame equipotenti al surface B u t in
t aking a positive unit from the surfac e p assing through P to
the surface p assing through S one must do V
V units of
,

GENERAL

3 50

HYS I C S

work The simpli city O f this e x pression for work shows the
c onvenien c e a nd import an ce of the ide a of po tenti al
When the ch arge resi d es upo n
a b ody other
th an a p arti cle or a
S phere the equipotenti al surf aces
be come of c ourse more compli cated
th an those shown in Fig 2 4 9
Th e work done in carrying a unit
ch arge from one point to a nother in
a n ele ctri c eld m a y also be reg arded
as the produ ct of the aver age i n
rf ce tensity of the eld B an d the dis
Fm 2 49 E q i p tent i l
t
d
pi t h rg
t an ce s betwee n the two points
Therefore
Eq 1 3 2%
Rs
VP
V
where s is the dist a n ce between P an d S See Fig 2 4 9
ot en ti al su r
F rom thi s it fol l ow s th a t bet ween an y t wo e q ui p
ea tes t i n t h e dir
ecti on i n w hi ch
f aces t h e i n t ensit y B w i ll be gr
t h e d ist an ce 8 i s l ea s t
3 3 7 A nd this le a ds us b a ck ag ain to the ide a of
.

ue

o a

a su

o n

Lin es

Force

For the dire ctio n of a n ele ctri c eld at a ny point is merely

the dire ction in whi ch the ele ctri c intensity is gre a test th at is
ot en
the dire ction i n whi ch the dist a n ce between a ny t wo eq u ip
ti al surfaces dra wn ne ar th at
point is le ast Th e d ire cti on
of t h e ele ctri c i n tensit y a t an y
oint is t h eref ore n or mal t o t h e
p
ote n ti a l
equi p
su rf ace p
a ss i n g
t hr
ou gh
This
th at
oi n t
p
result would also follow i m
medi ately from the denition
o f an equipotenti al surf ac
e as
o n e along w h i ch no work is
requi red to carry an ele ct ri c
c h arge
When t h eref n e a eld h as F 2 50 Ill tr ting h rel tion b etw een
f
o n ce b een d es cr
l b ed b
l i ne of force d eq ipotenti l rf ce
y dr aw

IG-

us

an

su

E L E C T R OS T A T I C S

3 51

ing i ts equipotenti al surfaces it be comes a m atterOf gre at e ase to

For w e h ave merely
also des cri be it in terms of lines O f for ce
Thus in
t o dr a w the norm als to these surf aces at every point
Fig 2 5 0 the equipotenti al surfaces are indi cated by dotte d
lines ; the norm als whi ch are shown solid are therefore the
lines of for ce
,

S ur
faces

f Con d u ctors

E qui

ar
e

oten ti al

A little consideration will sho w th at whe n a condu ctor

is insul ated an d ch arged it will be an equipotential s urface as
s oo n as the ele ctri c ch arge c omes to rest whi ch it d oes a lmost
instantaneo us ly For if the component of the ele ctri c intensity
a long the surf ace of the c ondu c tor h ad at an y point a v alue
other th an zero the ele ctri city at this point would move in the
dire ction of the force e x erted upon it B ut by h ypothesis the
e st i s
ch arge is at rest
An y con d u ct or h ol d in g a ch arge a t r
rac
efore an equ ip
Indeed this is the one p
ote n ti al s u rf a ce
t h er
ti cal method for m anufacturing equipotenti al surfaces in the
l abor atory
A t this point the student will nd it helpful to show by
me ans of a di agr am just h o w one can arr ange a condu ctor
( i ) s o th at it wi ll h ave a positive ch arge while it rem ains at
zero potenti al an d ( ii ) s o th a t it will h ave zero ch arge while it
is at positive potenti al
Th e adv an ced student will dis cover th at the entire s cien ce of
ele ctrosta ti cs redu ces itself a lmost to a spe ci al case O f the poten
ti al theory
338

M eas u remen t of P oten ti al

The simplest me ans for obt aining

qu anti ta tive indi ca

tion of potenti al di ff eren ce i s perh aps the gold le af ele ctros cope
B u t why some o n e asks does not the divergen ce of the gold
le aves me asure qu antity ins te ad of potenti al ? For it is evident
at on ce th at the for c e whi ch d rives the gold le aves ap art i s
d ire ctly proportion al to the a mount of ch arge on the le aves
Th e reply to this query is th at if the ele ctros cope be isol ate d
an d entirely dis conne cted from a
y other b ody the divergen ce
of the le aves d s me asure the q u an ti ty O f ch arge on the i n st ru
ment as w el l a i ts pt ti al I f however the ele ctros cope be
c onne cted
by mea s f a ra ther l ong wire w ith anothe r an d
mu ch la rger body it is cle ar th at the amount of work done in
339

oe

o en

GENE RAL P HYS I C S

3 52

bringing up a unit ch a rge from innity ( or from the e arth ) to

the instrument will depend not at al l upon the ch arge of the
se cond body but on ly u pon the qu antity of ele ctri city on the
in
other
words
the
po
enti
al of the system m a de
el ectr
osco e
t
p
up of the ele ctros cope the wire an d the se cond body is show n
dire ctly by the divergen c e of the gold le aves
Wherever the ele ctros cope be pl aced the conne cting wire
insures th at it s potenti al sh al l be the s ame as t h at of the body ;
for this wire renders the entire system a single met alli c con
d u ctor
If while the ele ctros cope be still c onne cted with s ay the tin
in Fig 2 5 1 a nother ele ctried body or c ondu ctor be
c up
brought into the immedi ate neighborh ood of the i nstrument its
,

FIG

25 1

Il l ustrati ng

t h e use

of the electroscope to meas ure potenti al

divergen c e m ay ch ange very mu ch but i ts potenti al will rem ain

const ant
Th e re ason the divergen ce m ay ch ange is pre cisely
b cau se the potenti al of the gold le aves does rem ain c onst ant
For if a unit ch arge be now carried up to the ele ctros cope from
innity the ch arge on the neighboring body B in Fig 2 5 2
w ill either a id or oppose the motion ; a nd hen c e the c h arge on
the le aves will need to be either l arger or sm all er respe ctively
th an b efore i n order to m aintai n their potenti al at th e s ame
v alue
Therefore in order to use an ele ctros cope as an instrument
for me asuring potenti als it is only ne cess ary to conne ct the
body an d the ele ctros cope by a wire whi ch is long in c omp ari
son with the dimensions of the body an d to see th at no third
body inuen ces the gold le aves
It need h ardly be added th at the size of the ele ctros cope
must be sm all in c omp arison with th at of the body whose poten
,

E L E C T R OS T A T I C S

3 53

ti al is to be m e as ured otherwise the origin al ch arge on the

body wo ul d be appre ci ably diminished a nd i ts potenti al thereby
redu ced
,

FIG

25 2

Ill ustr ati ng

eff ect of a neighb oring b od y o n

electroscope

th e

the

read ing of an

The

E l ectrica l Ca

aci ty

le ar understanding of wh at is me ant by ele c

t rical qu antity Q an d ele c tri cal potenti al V the me aning of
ele ctri cal cap acity be comes a very simple m atter for the el ec
acity of an y c ondu ctor is dened as t h e ra ti o of its
i cal ca p
tr
s i n t h e n ei gh bor
ot en t i a l w h en al l ot h er cbn d u ct or
ch a r ge t o i t s p
e conne ct ed t o e arth
h ood ar
Th e cap acity of a condu c tor is n t therefore the amount of
ele ctri city it will hold when it is f ull b u t its numeri cal v alue
is the s ame as the amount of ele ctri city whi ch the condu ctor
holds when its potenti al is unity ; in other words it is the
c onst ant r atio whi ch e x periment sho w s to e x ist b et w een the
ch arge a n d the potenti al of the c ondu ctor
If cap acity be denoted by C its denition may be given
in algebr a as follows
i ng e q
i on
D
en
t
Q
340

H aving

I d ea

a c

ua

"

Eq

for electri c al
c apaci ty

13 3

This equ ation will be found e x ceedingly useful i n computing

one of the three qu antities involve d an d m ay indeed

g arded as the fund amental equ ation O f ele ctrostati cs

an y

be re

pi y

Ca

ac

S here

A s will be le arned by the adv an ced student the cap acity

O f a b ody depends entirely upon its geometri cal form an d upon
To compute
the diele ctri c const ant
3 2 1 ) of the medium
3 41

G ENERAL

3 54

PH

YS I C S

the ca p acity of a c ondu c tor from geometri cal d ata is in general

a r ather d i f cult t ask ; b u t in the c ase of some simpler forms
the pro cess is e asy Thus in the case of the sphere let us as
sume for ele ctri cal for ces wh at N ewton proved for gr avit ation al
for ces n amely th at in the cas e of a spheri cal shell the forces at
al l points e x cept on the inside ar
e the s ame as if the entire
For t h e
ch arge were c on c entr ated at the c enter O f the sphere
potenti al of an y point on the surface O f a sphere of r adius R
an d ch a rge Q we m ay then write
.

( q)

Eq

where 9 deno t es a ny sm all element of the ch arge

A nd sin ce in al l cases we h ave V
it follows th at in the
.

ca

se of a sphere in a ir
,

Eq

13 4

This result serves to illustr at e wh at is me a nt by s aying th at

p acity is

ca

purely geometri cal qu antity

CA P A C IT Y
3 42

OF

Tw o C O N C EN T R I C

W ith very little trouble it

se of con centri c spheres su ch

the cap acity C of the system is

ca

Su ch

proved th at in the
di a grammed in Fig 2 5 3

m ay b e

as

SP H E R ES

'

Eq

25 3

m ad e

pof t w coneen
o

tric sph eres

ar

Ca

aci ty

9,

f Two

P arallel P lates

With

equ al
e ase it may be shown
th at in t h e case O f
two p a r allel pl ates
FIG
a
a
in ai r e ach of re
3 43

135

is frequently called

n
a
ele ctri cal condenser
O n e of the
most commo n forms of condenser is a
bottle w h i ch is lined b ot h inside an d
outside with tin foil This devi ce rst
used in Leyden is called a Leyden
J

a rr angement

an

FI G

254 C
.

ondenser made up
of two p arallel pl ates

E L E CTR OS TA TI C S

sep ar ated by
system is
A

an d

sm all dist an ce
0

E FFE C T

the

t,

p acity of the

ca

Eq

4 7rt

M E D I UM

OF

3 55

ON

CAP AC IT Y

If the medium between the two spheres or bet ween two

pl ates h as a diele ctri c const ant K whi ch is di fferent from th at
of ai r then the se e x pressions for cap acity be come
3 44

KR R

equ ations whi ch

e x periment

ar
e

Ll l

KA

respe ctively

useful in determining the v alue of

by

E n er
gy

Charged Con du ct or

If for a moment we dene re cent s cien ce as d ating fro m

the middle of the nineteenth century one might perh aps with
f airness say th at the all -important problem in re cent physi cal
s cien ce is the determin ation of the amount a nd transform ation
of energy involved in its v a rious phenome n a
In t h e e a rlier periods of s cien ce stress w a s l aid m ainly upon
the for ces involved ; but in View of the fact th at the energy of
ele ctri cal as well as me ch ani cal or therm al
an y isol ated system
rem ains const ant the energy e x pression i s n ow a m atter of
the utmost importan ce
To Obt ain the energy of a ch a rged condu ctor is not a d i f
c ult m atter ; for by the l aw of the c onserv ation of energy we
h ave only to me asure the amount of work done in bringing the
ch arge up an d putting it on the c ondu ctor
Suppose we s t art with an insul ated condu ctor whose potenti al
is zero ; let it be ch arged by condu ction from some sour ce
We m ay think of an y nite ch arge whi ch is given the condue
tor as b rought u p
in very minute ch arges one at a time ; e ach
one of these will slightly in cre ase the potenti al of the condu ctor
so th at when the ch arge is complete the n al pote n ti al of the
c ondu c tor will b e s a
y V
H ad t h e potenti al of the condu ctor rem ained at its initi al
v al u e ( zer
o ) the work required to bring up an y sm all ch arge
would h ave been v anishingly sm all sin ce the potenti al of an y
3 45

G ENER AL

3 56

HYS I C S

ondu ctor is the a mount of work required to bring up a unit

ch arge from the e arth to th at condu ctor
I f on the other h and the condu ctor h ad been at po tenti al V
during the whole of the ch arging pro cess then the amount of
work required to bring u pa ny sm all ch arge 9 would h ave
been 9 V
B u t as a m atter of f act the potenti al of the condu ctor v a ried
dire ctly as the amount of ch arge pl aced upon it so th at
roces s was
i n g t h e ch a r
ot en t i al d ur
t h e me an v al u e of t h e p
gin g p

If

th e n

t t

r e

t h e o al ch a g

be cal l ed

th e

a mou n t

of

wo k r
e

rin ci p
le
qu ir ed t o ch ar ge t h e con d uctor i s Q V ; an d thi s by t h e p
res en t s t h e e n er gy of t h e ch arged
ep
of the con s erv a ti on of e n e r
gy r
In virtue of the dening equ ation for cap acity
con d uct or
n
x
a
this
energy
e
pression
m
a
y
t
ke
a
C
V
Q
y one of the three
following forms e ach of whi ch is useful n amely
2
E nergy O f
Q
Eq 1 3 7
V
9
C h arged C ondu ctor
0
,

When C Q

e ach me asured in C G S units it fol

lows of course th at E q 1 3 7 gives the energy in terms of ergs
aror other c ondu ctor is dis ch arged this ex
W hen a Leyden j
pression gives us a me asure O f the he at whi ch is prod u ced in
the sp ark gapa nd in the wires whi ch le ad to it Th e rst to
me asure this he at w as D r Kinnersley ( c ontemporary an d
friend of Fr anklin ) who in closed t wo knobs bet ween whi ch the
dis ch arge took pl a ce in a gl ass bul b whi ch w as essenti ally the
bulb of an ai rthermometer Th e le ad wires from the t w o co at
ings of the j
arp a ssed through the gl ass w alls of the bulb
,

an d

V are

The

Osci ll a tory D i s char

ge

It w as rst O bserved by Joseph H enry ( 1 8 42 ) th at

when a Leyden j
aris dis ch arged through a coil of wire s o as to
m agnetize a sewing needle pl aced inside the coil sometimes
the needle is m agnetized in one w ay sometimes in the opposite
w ay even though the inner co ating of the j
ar be alw ays ch a rged
with ele ctri city of the s ame sign an d the coil conne cted in the
s ame w ay See Fig 2 5 5
This fact H enry e x pl ained by supposing th at the ch arge
os cill ated from one c o ating to the other b ut b e came a little
3 46

E L E C T R OS T A T I C S

3 57

sm aller at e ach os cill ation A ccordingly the l ast dis ch arge

whi ch was strong enough to reverse the m agnetiz ation of the
needle w as the one whi ch determined whi ch end of the needle
would be the north pole an d whi ch the south
ar
L ater ( 1 8 57) Feddersen e x amined the sp ark of a L eyden j
dis ch arge by me ans of a rot ating mirror su ch a s th a t whi ch is
used for viewing a m ano
metri c ame
only
turning mu ch more r apidly
a nd found th a t in this mir
ror the im age of the sp a rk
looked something like a
string of be ads thus fur FIG 255 Ill tr ti ng Henry experi ment
mishing i rres t is t ibl e eviden ce th at the sp a rk w as under his
a periodi c phenomen a
c onditions
I n more re cent times C V B oys a nd m any others h ave
photogr aphed this os cill atory dis ch arge
Th e adv an ced student will be interested in follo wing L ord
Kelvin s be autiful predi ction of this periodi c phenomenon m ade
i n 1 8 5 5 before F edd ersen h ad proved it by e x periment For

this see E n cy B rit art E le ctri city p 8 1 H ere Kelvin

proves wh at h as sin ce been veried by e x periment th at the
period of the dis ch a rge is
r
.

us

T -7r\ l
i

Eq

13 8

where C is the cap acity of the j

ar an d L a qu a ntity whi ch rep
resents the el ectrical inerti a of the cir cuit an d whi ch is known
as s elf i n d u ctan ce
The re cipro cal of cap acity represents there
fore by an alogy with the pendulum spir al spring an d other
vi brating systems the ele ctri cal el asti city of the cir cuit B u t
this is a m atter whi ch can be cle ared up only by more advan ced
study
-

E l ectrical R eson an ce

If t wo Leyden j ars whi ch are alike in size an d sh ape

so as to h ave pr acti cally the s ame period of os cill ation b e pro
v i d ed e ach with a wi re fr ame su ch as th at shown in Fig 2 5 6
then one of them can b e set into ele ctri cal vi bratio n by me ans
of a dis ch arge at the other Th e wire frame serves to m ake
the period denite an d the s ame for e ach j
ar
3 47

GENE RAL

3 58

HYS IC S

c
B
the
i
r
uit
is very s mall say %milli
c
g p
whi le th at in A is l arger say in ch When the spa rk
m eter
of the el ectri c m ac hine p as ses a cross S a periodi c disturba n ce
i s p rod uced which
sets up surgings of
ele ctri city in B on
the s ame p r i n c i p l e
th at one pendul u m
will
set
into
motion
tg
g
m m
an o t h e r
o f e q u al
period if there be an y
asti c c onne ction b e
el
FIG 2 56 Lodge experi ment
tween the t w o
W he n these surgings be co me su f ciently l arge the ch a rge

slops over so to spe ak an d a sm all sp ark is seen at G Th e

e ff e ct of the dis ch arge in the rst j
aris to send through the me
d i u m whi ch sep ar ates t h e j ars a properly timed ele ctri cal
pulse rst in one dire ction an d then in the other ; this impulse
sep arates the t w o ele ctri cities an d produ ces the sp ark Th e
distur ba n ce in the medium is m ade up of e l e ctri c w a ves su ch
This form of the exp
as a re used in wireless telegr aphy
er
i
ment is due to Si r O liver Lodge

Th e spa rk

'

G in

'
c

l ted con d u ct i n g sphere w h o se rad i u s i s 7 i s ch arged u nt i l

Ans 3 5
F i n d the a m o u nt of i t s ch arge
it s potent i al i s 5
2
ec
Tw o i n su l ated con d u ct i ng sphere s w ho se r ad ii are 3 an d 8 resp
e 5 an d 1 0 re spect i vely
F in d
t i vel y ar
e ch arged so th at the ir potent i al s ar
the co m m on pote nt i al w h i ch the se t w o s phere s w i l l assu m e w hen connected
A n s 8 11?
by a w ire w hose c ap ac i ty m ay be neglected
3
l n the preced i ng proble m nd the energy of e ach of th e t w o c harge s
before th e Sphere s are connected T hen co m p u te th e energy of the n al
ch arge E xpl a i n the d i fference
4
A s m all s phere of ro si n c arri e s a ch arge of 2 electro st at i c C G S
u n i t s an d i s pl aced i n an electr i c eld w h o se i nten s i ty i s 2 5 C G S u n i t s
F i nd the force i n dyne s wi th w h i ch the sphere w i ll be u rged
F i nd the attract i on bet w een t wo s m all b all s 4 c m ap art i n ai r on e
5
of the m h avi ng a po si t i ve ch arge O f 1 2 u n i t s the other a ne gat ive ch arge
O f 5 u n it s
6
A t e ach of t w o corner s of an eq u i l ater al tr i angle w ho s e s i de s are
F i nd the i n
6 0 c m i s pl aced a ch arge of 40 C G S u n i t s of electr i c i ty
ten si ty of the electr i c eld at the thi rd corner
1

in

r o b le m s

An

su a

EL E C T R O S TAT I C S

3 59

ond u ct in g sphere of 2 0 c m rad i u s c arr i e s a ch arge of 80 u n i ts

I f i t be m ade to sh are i t s ch arge wi t h another i ns u l ated s phere
w h o se r adi u s is 5 c m
w h at w il l be the r at i o of the ch arge s on the
t wo sphere s ?
A

'

F i nd the electri c potent ial

po i nt 4 0 cm d is t an t fro m the cen

r ad i us ch arged w i th 60 C G S u n i t s of
at

of a hollo w sphere of 4 cm
electr i c i ty
S uppo se the r adi us of the hollo w sphere to be 1 00 cm h ow wi ll the
re su lt be aff ected ?
9
F i nd the d i men si on s of electr i c al q u ant i ty electr i c al pot enti al
an d electr i c al c ap ac i ty
t er

conden s er m ade u p
of t w o concentri c
re spect i vely an d sep ar ated by ai r

F i nd the c ap ac i ty of

10

h av i n g r adii of

1 00 an d 9 8

h
p

ei es

e d i m en si on s as i n the preced i ng proble m

ar
e ex actly al i ke except th at i n one c as e the s p ace bet w een the sphere s i s
lled w i th an oi l w hose d i electri c con st ant i s 2 H ow w il l a ch arge of 1 00
u n i ts d i v i de i t s elf bet w ee n th e se t w o conden sers ?
11

Two conden sers of the

s am

W h i ch w i ll req u i re the gre ater w ork ; to ch arge a conden ser

of c ap ac i ty 1 0 to a poten ti al 5 or a condens er of c ap ac i ty 3 0 to a
potent i a1 3 ?
12

ch arged i n su l ated di sk i s conn ected w i th a gold le af electro scope

D e scr i be an d expl ai n the ch ange O f d i vergence i n the le ave s as a secon d
d i sk held i n the h and i s m ade to appro ach the r st
13

14
an d

E xpl ai n

in

p ar allel

the diff erence bet w een j o i n i ng

pL eyden j ars

in

er i e s

9)

p ar allel pl ate conde n ser i n ai r h as i ts pl ate s s ep ar ate d by a d is

W h at ch ange i n i t s c ap ac i ty w i ll be prod u ced i f the pl ate s
t ance of 4 m m
ar
e sep ar a ted to a d i s t ance of 2 m m a n d the i nte rven i ng sp ace lled w i th
a n O il w h o s e d i electr i c con s t ant i s 3 ?
15

16

D r aw

on

t ric i ty

e arth
17

the l i ne s of force w h i ch repre se nt the d i str i b u t i on of elec

L eyden j
ar the o u ter
co at i ng of w h i ch i s connected to
,

H ow m u ch

3 000 C G S
.

p o w er w o u ld be req u i red to ch arge a conden ser h av i n g

u n i t s of c ap ac i ty to a po tent i al 2 00 C G S u n i t s i n 5 second ?
1

conden s er w ho se c ap ac ity i s
W h at di m i n u t i on of energy w i ll occ u r
?
O ff to e arth
18

ch arged w i th a q u an t i tv Q
w hen one h alf th i s ch arge i s led

C is

W h at m u s t be the r ad i u s of a sph ere

u n i t s m ay r ai s e i t s potent i al 1 6 u n i t s ?
19

in

order th at

ch arge of

80

proceed to nd th e d i fference of potent i al bet w een

t w o po i nts kn o w i ng the i r d i s t ance ap art an d the aver age i nten si ty of the
eld bet w een the m ?
20

H OW w o u ld yo u
,

GE N ERAL

3 60

th at an eq u ipotent i al
an y other eq u i potenti al s urf ace
21

P rove

PH

su

YS I C S

rf ace

can

int

ect ne i ther i t sel f n or

er
s

W h at i s the c u rve w h i ch exh i b i ts the rel at i on bet ween the ch arge

the p
otent i al of an i n su l ated cond u ctor ?

22
an d

23

w h i ch
u

n it s ?

W h at

t he i nten i ty of eld
m
p rt d d i ffer i

is

e 316 c
ar

an

bet w een t w o pl ane con dens er

potent i al by 2 00 C G S electro s tat i c
.

CH APTER
E LE C TR I C

3 48

CU R R EN

TS

We now pro ceed to study some of the rem a rk a ble prop

whi ch are ac quired by a wire an d the reg on about it

when th at wire is m ade to conne ct two ch arge d condu ctors
Suppose we sele ct for our
t w o ch arged bodies the
LA
inside a d outside c o at
i gs of th e L eyden
whi ch we h ave been using
in our study of ele ctro
st ati cs
ing long
F
25 7
A ele tri c ch rge p
O n winding a copper
coi led wi re m gneti e
ewi ng needle
wire about a sewing
needle as shown in the gure no e ect is produ ced on the
needle ; bu t if we t ake the copper wire an d ( h andling it by
m eans of a gl ass rod ) conne ct one end to the positive co ating
an d the other to the neg ative
we S h all n d th at when the
dis ch arge o ccurs the needle b e comes m agnetized ; th at is to say
this little coil of copper wire h as suddenly acquired the ability
to m agnetize a pie ce of S t eel A fter the sp ark h as o cc urred
a n d the two c ondu ctors ar
e dis ch arged it will be O bserved th at
the wire no longer h as the ability to m agnetize steel A wire
w h i ch p
r op
ert y of carry in g with it a ma gneti c el d
ossesses t h is p
i s s a i d t o h a ve a n ele ctri c cur
rent owin g th r ou gh it
A n even simpler m an ner of illustr ating this so called ele ctri c
c urrent is to c onne c t the carrier an d the sole pl ate of a V olt a
ele ctrophorus with the t w o le ad wires of a g alv anometer say a
R owl and -D A rs o v al as indi cated in Fig 2 5 8
Th e r
e ader is here as ked to t ake it for gr anted for a moment
th at a g alv anometer is merely an instrument whi ch will indi cate
the presen ce of an ele ctri c c urrent First put one termin al of
er
t i es

S S RO D

IG

a.

ass

s a s

361

GENERAL

3 62

PH

YS I C S

the g alv anometer in conne ction with the sole pl ate Then
when the ele ctrophorus h as b een ele ctried by fri ction pl ace
the carrier by mean s of i ts han dl e upon the pl ate Th e carrier
n ow
two
c ont ains
ch arges
a neg ative
one on top w hi ch is
free to run O ff as
soon as c onne ction
is m ade with the
a
g
round
or
sole
l
te
p
FIG 2 5 8 Showing t h c rrent whi ch i prod ced
U
OS
G
one
V
an d a
w hen
el ctroph or i d c h rg d
P
whi ch i s held bound
by the neg ative ch arge on the ebonite When the se cond ter
min al of the g alv anometer is n ow conne cted to the carrier this
neg ative ch arge p asses to e arth vi a the g alv anometer a d sole
pl ate giving a d ee ction of the g alv anometer i n one dire ction
When however the carrier is lifted O ff the pl at e the psi ti ve
ch arge will be come free an d will o w O ff through the g alv a
n om et er giving a dee c tion in the O pposite dire ction
E ither
of the two pre ceding e x periments will su f ce to illustrate the
conne ction b etween the subje c t we h ave j ust left an d the one
we are j ust appro aching
A s w e sh all pres ently see there are m any other an d more
r
be
p
odu
c ed
convenient w ays in whi ch ele ctri c c u rrents m a
y
I n W i res
,

an

us

is

M ET H O D

OF

ST U D Y I N G E L E C T R I C C U R R EN T S

I t will be remem b ered th at in t aking up the study of

m agnetism we e x amined a num ber of m agne t i c phenomen a
a d employed a c omp ass needle a m agnetos cope as it is some
times called to dete c t the presen ce of a m agnet It is thus
not di f cult to say whether or not a ny p arti cul a r pie ce O f steel
is a m agnet ; but it i s very diffi cult to Say j ust wh at m agnet
is m
is
It is pre cisely s o w ith ele ctri cation we were able to dete c t
its presen ce very re adily by me ans of the gold le af ele ctros cope
though no one h as yet be en able to nd ou t w h at ele ctri city
is Wh at copper or iron is no one kno w s altho u gh very mu ch
is
E le ctri city
else is kn own abo u t copper a d about iron
then just as mysterious as C opper b u t o m ore so
3 49

E L E C TR I C C U R R E N T S

3 63

We sh all n o w consider some of the phenome n a conne cted with

ele ctri c c urrents ; bu t as before we sh all rst need some re ady
method of detec ting the presen ce of an ele ctri c current in a wire
This on ce o bt ained we sh all be in a position to study some of
those rem arkable properties of ele ctri c currents whi ch h ave
prov ed s o useful during the nineteenth century
These will be grouped under three he ads v iz :
I The P rodu cti on of E le ctri c C urrents
II The M e as urement of E le ctri c C urrents
I II Some E ff e cts of E le ctri c C urrents
,

GA L V A N O M E T E R

P R E L I M I N A R Y C O N C E R N I N G TH E

we h ave alre ady seen an d sh all see m an y times ag ain

every wire conveying an ele ctri c current is surro u ded by a
m agneti c eld whi ch is just li ke th at surrounding a m agnet
o n ly the lines of for ce about the wire h ave a dire ction di ff erent
from those about the m agnet
This m agneti c eld is su ch th at if the wi re be pl aced p arallel
to a c omp ass needle the needle will be dee ct ed so t ha t it will
not rem ain p ar allel to
the wire This is the
f und ament al dis covery
m ade by t h e D anish
p hysi c st O ersted in
1 820
8 11 011 an l n smu
o cop
e i w h i ch h m gnet
F
25 9
A g lv
r
i m ov b le w h le the w i re conveyi ng t h
ment; is the one mos t;
r
xed
c ommonly used to de
"
l
m
r
a
n
o
e
t
e
i
r
a
teet the p
resen ce of a c u rrent an d is called a g
A lmost im medi ately after a current ce as es to ow in the wire
the m agneti c eld ab out the wire ce ases to ex ist an d th e wire
no longer aff e cts the comp ass needle But p
r a cti cally a s soon
a s t h e curr ent be gi n s t o ow the ne ed l e t en d s t o set itself a t ri gh t
an gles t o t h e d i r
e cti on of t h e current This typ
e of current i n di
ca tor i s t h e r
ef ore call e d a movi n g ma gnet gal v a n omet e r
B u t if the c omp ass needle i s x ed a d the wire mov able then
the wi re tends to set itself at right angles to the comp ass
needle Th e student will O bserve th at this is merely another
As

3 50

'

IG

an

e cu

'

t 18

T he r t g lv nom eter

freshly prep ared frog s leg w h ich t w itched

w henever a c u rrent p assed along the sc iat i c nerve an d m us cle s of t h e h i nd leg
*

w as

G ENE RAL

3 64

PH

YS I C S

instan ce of the gre a t gener al fa ct th at action an d re action are

equ al an d O pposite
In pr acti ce a comp ass needle is not so convenient a s the
Th e mov able wire is a
U-sh a ped m agnet shown in Fig 2 6 0
c oil whi c h can rot ate a bo u t
a verti cal
ax is
This de
vi ce rst u sed by Kelvin
an d
D A rson val is called

a
moving coil gal van om
eter
We h a ve seen
2 99)
th a t a m agnet is surrounded
by lines of for ce le avi n g
its north pole an d running
to its south pole A si m
l
er a n d mu ch more useful
p
FIG 2 60 A g lv no cope i wh i h prt S t atement O f the fund a
f the w i re convey i ng the c rrent i
menta l pri n ciple of t h e ga1
m ov b le whi le t h m gnet i ed
v an om et er s th i s
C ons i der
c ondu ctors
an
losed
ele
tri
ir
uit
e
a
series
of
joined
i
c
c
c
c
c
y
end to end so as to form a closed p ath
m
h
i
m
n
n
h
l
t
i
T
h
r
i
n
c
i
le
f
t
e
m
o
v
n
a
e
t
a
v
a
e
te
r
e
n
i
s
o
e
o
p
p
g
g
g
)
(
i c cur
re n t ow s t h rough an y ci r cu i t a
t h a t w h en ever an el ectr
a ss nee dl e i n t h e n ei gh bor h ood t e n d s t o s et i ts el f s o t h a t th e
com p
n
n
f
r
l
h
w
il
re
a
test
ssi
l
u
m
e
r
o
f
i
t
l
i
e
o
f
o
c
e
a
s
s
t
rough
o
b
e
b
s
s
p
p
g
t h e cir cu it ;
W
h
h
i
n
co
il
n
m
r
ii
ile
i
n
a
v
a
t
t
h
e
r
c
i
l
e
o
f
t
e
m
v
l
o
e
e
is
o
p
p
g
g
)
(
th at t h e p
ort i on of t h e cir cu i t w h i ch i s mov abl e s et s i t s el f al w a y s
om t h e
os s i bl e l i n e s of f or ce f r
so as t o i n cl u d e a s ma n y as p
ma gn et In either case the ele c tri c c urrent announ ces its pres
en ce by produ cing a rot ation i e a n angul ar displ a cement
From wh at pre cedes it will be cle a r th at e ach of these two
forms of g alv anometer indi cates a c urren t by the fact th at i n
gener al the current e x erts a turning moment on the m agnet
or wh at am ou nts to t h e s ame thing the m agnet e x erts a turn
ing m oment upon a p a rt of the cir cuit conveying the current
Th e adv a n ced student will dis cover th at this beh avior of the
c omp ass needle an d the moving c oil is merely a spe ci al ca se of
t h e gener al prin ciple th at a body at rest tends to move into a
position where its p
otenti al ener gy is a minimum
.

E L E CTR I C CU RR E NTS

M E TH O D S

We

3 65

P R O D U C I N G E L E CTR IC

OF

C U R R EN T S

pro ceed to consider the three most import ant

methods of produ cing ele ctri c c urrents viz
h
e method of G alv ani an d V olt a
the
a) T
o -called V olta i c
s
(
cell

h
b
T
method
of
F
r
a
d
a
y
e
a
c utti n g lines of m agneti c
( )
for ce
the thermoele ctri c couple
T
h
method
of
eebe
k
e
S
c
( )
351

n ow

( a ) TH E
3 52

Th e simple

an

V O L T A I C C E LL

well-est ablished facts of the

V olt ai c

ell

follows
A t the very close of the eighteenth century ( 1 7 9 9 ) it w as
dis covered by the It ali an physi c ist V olt a th at a ll c ondu ctors
of ele ctri city can be di
v i d ed
into two cl asses
This division is b ased
upon the following ex p
er
i
ments :
I f we m ake a closed cir
c uit out of sever al di ff er
ent met als i e if we m ake
an endless c h ain in whi ch
e ach link is composed of a
d i eren t simple su b st an ce
su ch as zin c c opper or
iron we see th at no ele c
FIG
enti rely of con
26 1 Ci rc i t m de p
tri c current is prod uce d
d
t r of t h r t cl
Al l s ubstan ce s wh i ch w h e n
j oine d t ogeth er a t t h e s a me te mp
er a tu re i n an y or d er a s i n Fi g
261 p
r od uce n o cur rent are call ed con ductor s of t h e rst cl a ss
V olt a foun d however
th at if into a cir cuit su ch
as the ab ove
he intro
d u ced on e link c omposed
R
AC I D
of a omp
ou n d su b st an ce
su ch as b rine ( a solution
INC
of
t
s
alt
or
dilute
able
)
FIG 26 2 Combin tion of cond ctor of r t
sulph u ri c acid or c opper
d econd cl
pr d c ing c rrent
ar
e as

uc o s

ass

D OP OF
SU LPHURSO

an

ass

G ENE RAL

3 66

PH

YS I C S

sulph ate he then alw ays obt ained an ele ctri c current Con d ue
t or s of th i s k ind w h i ch Volt a called con ductors of t h e s e con d
cl a ss
od u ce d
al w a y s u n d ergo ch e m i cal d ecomp
os i ti on w h en i n t r
i n to a cir cuit co n t a i n i n g t w o d iff ere n t met al s an d al w a y s y i el d a
The modern n ame for a c ondu ctor of the se cond cl ass
curr en t
is ele ctrolyt e i e an y substan ce whi ch is de composed when a
ract i
current p as ses through it
st cl ass p
C ondu c tors of the r
c ally in clude only carbon an d the v arious met als
,

D en i ti on

Vol tai c Cel l

It h as bee n foun d by ex p
eri me n t t h a t n o t wo con ductor s
w hen j oine d t oget h er w i ll p
r od uce a current s o l on g as t h ey are
a t t h e s ame t emp
er ature We m ay use an y O f t h e three com
b i n at i on s indi cated in Fig
2 6 3 but no cu rrent w ill thus
be O bt ained B u t the follow
ing com bin ation suggested by
V olt a an d n amed a fter him
the V olt ai c C ell will always
give a c urrent
Th e Volt a i c cell i s d en e d as
th re e or mor e con ductors i n
s er i es
T I N rC ER
e ach con ductor bein g
T
m
a
d e Of a d iffere n t s u b st an ce
FIG 263 N tw cond ctor
t
an d n ot al l b el on gi n g t o t h e
V olt i c cell
s a me cl a ss
3 53

'

SOLU

OPP

OU LPHA E

s can ac

as

Typ
i ca l

Vol tai c Ce l l

the S implest forms of these cells is the following :

Take a strip o f she et c opper say one centi
meter by ten ; solde r it end to en d to a
simil ar strip of zin c Take a sm all be aker
O f dilute sulphuri c ac id s a
one
p
art strong
y
sulphuri c acid to ten p arts of w ater C om
l
t
c
cuit by bending the c opper -zin c
e
e
the
ir
p
strip into a U sh ape a d dip p
ing the ends
into the acid as shown in Fig 2 6 4 B ub
bles of gas are given O ff from e ach me t al FIG 26 4 l y p
i l V l
i
11
m
but mu ch more freely from the copper
3 54

O n e of

'

" 09

ca

E LE C T R I C C U R R E N T S

3 67

H ere

the zin c an d copper are the condu ct ors of the r st cl ass

the dilute sulphuri c acid is a condu ctor of the se cond cl ass O n
d ipping the meta ls into the acid wh at eviden ce presents itself
th at the acid u n dergoes de composition an d hen ce belongs to
c ondu ctors of t h e se cond cl ass ?
N o w t ake two strips one of zin c an d one of copper ; immerse
t hem in dilute sulphuri c acid an d conne ct them by wires to a
galv anometer an d determine whether or not an ele ctri c current
is o w ing while the gas is being given o If the strip of zin c
be w ell cle aned a d h ave a little mer cury ru bbed over it until
i t is thoroughly am alg am ated the gas will no longer b e given off
from the zin c B u t under these cir cumst an ces it i s fou n d th at
the zin c is still e aten up by the acid Zin c sulph ate is
formed an d d issolved in the solution whi ch be comes less a nd
less a cid Th e c opper rem ains int act while hydrogen gas is
Th e am alg am ation h as merely the
set free at the c opper strip
effe ct O f preventing a lo cal w aste of energy an d thus se cures
the transform at ion O f a l arger per cent O f chemi cal energy into
ele ctri cal energy
T he e p
heno men r m m ri ed by the che mi t follo w
:

a a e su

H 28 0

Zn

Zn SO 4

H2

as

T he stu dent w h o i s f ami l i ar w i th the ele m en ts O f che m i st ry w i ll tr an s

l ate th i s eq u at i on i nto w ord s as follo w s : T he ch an ge s i n th i s cell t ake pl ac e
i n the follo w i n g proport i on v i z : 6 5 gra m s of zi nc u n i te w i th 98 gra m s of
s u lph u r i c ac i d to for m 1 6 1 gr am s of z i nc s u lph ate a n d l i ber ate 2 gr am s of
hydrogen
,

SO M E D EF I N I T I O N S

ir cuit A series of cond u ct ors j oine d en d t o en d

s o a s t o f orm a n en d l ess ch a in is s a i d t o b e a cl ose d cir cuit
It
m ay or m ay not h ave an ele ctri c c urrent p assing thro u gh it
Op
e n cir cuit Whe n a cl ose d cir cuit i s cut or i n t erru p
ted a t
a ny p
oint it is the n ca l le d a n op
en cir cu i t
P oles
If there be a V olta i c cell in the cir c uit the t wo ends
thus left free by O pening the cir cu it are called the p
ol e s O f the
Th e pole whi c h is conne cted with the copper pl ate or
c ell
with the pl ate w hose ele ctri cal b eh avior is like th at of copper
to w ard zin c is called the p
Th at pole whi ch is
ositive p
ol e
c onne c ted w i t h the zin c pl ate o rw i t h a pl ate whose ele c tri cal
beh avior is li ke t h at of zin c tow ard c opper is c alled the n e ga
t ive p
ol e
3 55

Cl osed

GENERAL P HYS I C S

3 68
Di r
ect i on

Cu r r
en t

W hen the cir cuit is closed by

wire
j oining the positive a nd neg ative poles the dire ction of the
in this
c urrent
wire is s aid to be
from the positive
to the neg ative
pole
We may
here after there
EA R T
fore spe ak of the
c urrent as le aving
the positive pole
a nd entering the
neg ative pole It
m ay be shown by
the follo wing ex
to
m
due
r
i
en t
e
p
th at the
V olt a
dire
of
the
ct ion
Il l tr t i ng the re on for c ll ing the copper
above
as
current
pole of cell po i t i ve
dened is the di
re c tion in whi ch the positive ele ctri cation tr avels Take an
adjustable p ar allel pl ate c ondenser su c h as th at S hown in Fig
2 65 an d join the positive pole of a V olt ai c c ell to one pl ate
the neg ative pole to the other pl a te C onne ct one pole say the
neg ative to e arth also P l ace
a n ele ctri c key between the
c opper pole an d
the mov able
pl ate of the c ondenser Then
if an ele ctros cope be joined to
the mov able pl ate it will be
O bserved th at this pl a te alw ays
ac quires a positive ch arge when
the key is depressed In order
to m ake the ch arge as l arge a s
possible the condenser pl ates
s hould be
brought very close
together b efore the key is d e F 266 V rio p rt f V l t i
cell
pressed ( in order to in cre ase
the cap acity of the system ) an d then sep ar ated after the key
h as been rele ased
In like m anner it is found th at when the
of

us

as

IG

us

s o

a c

E LE C TR I C C UR R E N T S

3 69

poles of the cell are reversed the ch arge on the ele ctros cope is
also reversed
We h ave alre ady seen th at at le ast one member
Ele ct r
od es
in the ch ain of cond uc tors whi ch m akes up the c ir cu it of a V ol
t ai c cell must be an ele ctrolyte pr acti cally alw ays a solution
Th e two condu ctors whi ch conne ct with this liquid are called
,

Th e ele c trode by whi ch the c urrent enters the ele ctrolyte is

an od e ; an d th at ele ctrode by whi ch the current
called the
le aves the ele ctrolyte is called the cath od e In the typi cal cell
.

whi ch we h ave j ust studied the zin c pl ate is the anode a d the
E tym ol o gy of these two words ?
c opper pl ate the c athode
V ery O ften a current from some outside sour ce is p assed thro u gh
in su ch a case both ele ctrodes
a c ell cont aining an ele ctrolyte
m ay be m ade of the s ame s ub st an c e
a
A
number
of
V
olt
i c cells conne cted together is
B a tte r
y
called a batt e r
y
Th e eight denitions j ust give n are so frequently an d s o
th at
continu ally used in all dep a rtments of ele c tri cal s cien c e
the student should m a ster them here an d now on ce for all
n

TH R EE

PR ACT I C A L

F O R M S O F TH E V O L T A I C C E LL
This cell is composed of a c oppe r
3 56 1 Th e Gr a vi t y Cell
pl ate immersed in a s aturated solution of copper sulph ate an d
a zin c pl ate immersed in a solution of zin c
s ulph ate gener ally arranged essenti ally as
indi cated in Fig 2 6 7
Th e copper sulph ate is somewh at denser
th an zin c sulph ate an d hen ce rem ains in
the lo w er h alf O f the j
ar while the zin c
sulph ate when carefully poured in o ats

on top H en ce the n ame gr avity cell

O n e of t h e chief merits O f this cell is
th at so long as the c ir cuit is Open there is
- A gr v i ty C ell
F
26
7
not mu ch waste of m ateri al t aking pl ace
in the cell When however the c ir c uit is closed an d the ele c
tri c current begins to ow we O bserve th at the zin c pl ate
grows sm aller th at the c opper sulph ate grows less a d less
while the zin c sulph ate in cre ases a d the C opper ele ctrode be
c omes c overed with a c o ating of fre h met alli c c opper
.

IG

GENERAL

3 70

PH

YS I C S

the shorth and of che m i stry thes e ph en o m en a are d escri b ed quan t ita
t i vel y as follo w s
In

Zn

Zn SO ,

C u SO1

Cu

2 Zn SO 4

2 Cu

T he m et all i c z i nc h as d i sappe ared ; the m et all i c copper h as i n cre ased at

t he expen s e of the copper s ulph ate
A ccord i ngly if su ch a b attery i s t o
f u rn i sh a c u rrent cont i n u o u s ly i t m us t n o w an d then be su ppl i ed w i th a
n ew z i nc pl ate a n d w i th a fre sh s ol u t i on of copper su lph ate
,

Th e sour ce of energy is here evidently the zin c

hi ch i s
b urned
o x idized
if you li ke -to form zin c sulph ate
This cell is well ad apted to work in whi ch sm all currents are
needed very frequently or for a long while at a time
,

Th e

In this cell the two condu ctors

O f the rst cl ass ar
e zin c an d c ar b on ; the ele ctrolyte i s a solu

tion of ammonium chloride sometimes called sal ammoni ac

W ith the ca rbon is mi x ed some dio x ide of m ang anese an d both
ar
e held in a porous
sm
T
h
urrent
ar or
all ca nv as ba
e
c
g
j
e asily p asses through the pores of the j
ar or the meshes of the
b ag
Th e carbon pl ate here evidently
corresponds to the copper pl ate of the gr av
ity cell
H ere ag ain the zi c is used u p
whenever the poles are joined an d the cu r
rent ow s Th e sal ammoni ac also d imin
ishes A ccordi n gly from time to time the
zin c an d sal ammoni ac must be renewed
Th e student h as pro bably al re ady asked
himself why the o x ide of m ang anese is
mi x ed with the carbo n Th e answer is
found in the fact th at if carbon alone
h
A L l
F
26 8
is
used
the
carbon be comes c overed with a
cell
l ayer O f hydrogen gas soon after the cir cuit
is closed ; be cause t h e ammonium chloride ( N H 4 01) b re aks up
giving off ammoni a ( N H 3 ) a d depositing free hy d rogen ( H )
Th e chlorine unites with the zin c
at the carbon ele ctrode
This co ating of hydrogen m akes t h e carbon pl ate c e ase to
act as a c ar bon pl ate an d to beh ave like a met alli c pl ate ; it
also o ff ers more resist an c e th an car b on to t h e p ass age of the
i z a ti on w hi ch may be d e n ed as a
Th is i s cal l e d p
ol a r
c urrent
o si t e t o t h a t fu r
te n d en cy t o se n d a current i n a d irect i on op
p
n i sh ed by t h e cel l
3 57

ll

Lecl an ch Ce

IG

ec an c

E LE C T R I C C UR R E N T S

3 71

Th e e ffe ctiven ess of a cell is alw ays diminished when pol ari
z at i on occ urs
Th e m ang ane s e dio x ide however uses up the
hydrogen an d keeps the carbon pl ate cle an Th e purpose of
,

the m anganese dio x ide is then to prevent pol ariz ation It doe s
this by furnishing o x ygen whi ch uni t es with the hydrogen t o
form w ater ; an d on ce in union with o x ygen the hydrogen is
h armless
I n the l g ge of che mi try the ct ion of the L l h ce ll i de
cr i b d follo w
,

an

as

ua

ec an c

s :

2 N H 4 01 + 2 M n o2

Zn

T h i s sam e eq u at i on al so de scr i be s

cell n ow i n su ch co m m o n us e

i2

M 11 2 0 3

2 N H3

w h at

goe s on

in

the

H20

c lled

so- a

dr
y

Th e

Lecl an ch cell

is e x cellently ad apted to furnishing a

c urrent for a sm all time or for intermittent use as in the c ase
It will rem ain on O pen c ir cuit with
O f a door b ell or call b ell
sti l l le ss w aste th an o ccurs in the gr avity cell
,

Th e

In this cell the ele ctrod es a re of

le ad an d le ad pero x ide respe ctively ; the ele ctrol y te is dilut e
sulphuri c acid Th e le ad pl ate is the neg ative one ; the le ad
o x ide is the positive one
W hen the cir c uit is closed
the le ad pero x ide pl ate gives
up a p art of its o x ygen while
the le ad pl ate the negative
ele ctrode be comes o x idi zed
until n ally the two ele c
trodes be come very mu ch
alike an d the c urrent there
fore becomes less an d less
other thi n gs being the s ame
FIG 269 A tor ge cell
Th e b attery is n o w s aid to be
dis ch arged For as we h ave alre ady seen
t w o ele c
trodes whi ch are alike never give a c urrent when immersed i n
an y one ele ctrol te
y
B u t in order to put the c ell ag a n n good working S h ape it
is ne cess ary only to p ass an ele ctri c current through the cell i
a dire ction O pposite to th at O b t a ined when the c ell w as in use
Th is p
roce ss of rege n er ati on is kn ow n a s ch a r gi n g
Th e ch arg
ing simply restores the o x ygen to the positive pl ate an d
3 58

S tora ge Cell

3 72

GE N JR A L P H

YS I C S

removes the o x ygen from the neg ative pl ate le avin g it spong y
met alli c le ad Wh en t h e cell i s u se d a s an el ect ri c ge n e ra t or t h e
rocess is kn ow n a s d is ch a r g in g
p
Th e f llowing t w o fe a tures distinguish the stor age b a ttery
from most other Volt ai c cells
T
h
e f ac t th at the pl ates ar
a)
e
prep
a
red
m
de
hem
i
e
a
c
(
i cal l y di fferent by ele c tri cal me ans
h
T
e f ac t th at
they are cap able of yielding c urren t
b
( )
whi ch are enormous comp ared with th ose from oth er forms O f
b atteries
T he che mi c l beh v i or f the le d tor ge cell i e en ti lly
follo w
(i ) D r i ng the ch rge t the node or po i t i ve gri d
,

Du ri n g

2 H2 0

8 0,

th e ch arge

P h so.

ii
( )

Ploso4

Pb

as

P h o2

the c athode or

at

ss

or

n eg at i ve gr i d
H , SO ,

T he i on SO, of the rs t equ at i on an d the i on H 2 of the secon d resul t from

the deco m po si t i o n of the su lph u r i c ac i d by the ch arg i ng cu rrent
( iii ) D ur i ng the d i sch arge we h ave at the po si ti ve pl ate
.

H 2 SO 4

Ph O2

i
v
( )

D ur i n g

the di s ch arge

at

Pb

PhSO 4

the n eg ati ve pl ate

Ph sO 4

SO 4

2 H2 0

th at w h i le the e ff ect O f the ch arg i ng c u rrent i s to deliver hydro

gen at the n eg at i ve pl ate t he e ffect of the d i sch arg i ng c u rren t i s to prod u ce
hydrogen at the p
os iti ve pl ate
E di son h as recently dev i sed a stor age cell i n w h i ch the an ode i s s po n gy
i ron the c athode n i cke l perox i de an d the electrol yte c au s ti c po t ash
I n ch arg i ng the i ron salt i s red uced ; i n d i sc h arg i n g ox i d iz ed
O b serve

A stor age cell is often spoken O f as an accumul ator not b e

ca use i t stores up ele ctri city but b e ca use it stores up chemi cal
energy j ust as the I n ain sp
rin g of your w at ch stores up me ch an
i cal energy i n order to give it o u t ag ain as needed
It will be O bserved th at al l three forms of c ells j u st des cribed
h ave this one c ommo n fe ature vi z they co n sist of t w o diff er
ent condu ctors of the rst cl ass joined in series with one or
more di ff erent condu ctors of the se cond cl as s
,

TH E C O M M U T A T O R

I n most of our work with batteries whether in the

cl assroom or in the l ab or atory
we sh all need to ch ange the
dire ction of the current in some p art of the cir cuit This can
3 59

E L ECTRI C

C UR R E NTS

3 73

be done in m any w ays but the devi ce represented in Fig 2 7 0

is typi cal of them al l Th e blo ck A B CD is m ade of wood an d
h as four holes b ored about h alfw ay through it
These holes
pl aced one at
e ach corner Of a
squ are act as
to hold
c ups
mer c ury Into
the sides O f the
blo ck
ar
e
in
s e rt e d
four
wires E F C
E ach
of
II
these wires con
FIG 270 A typic l comm t tor
n ec t s
with the
m er c ury in the cu p
ne arest it The poles of the b attery are
joined to two di ametri cally opposite c ups s ay B an d D ; the
wires from the rest of the cir c uit s ay from a g alv a nometer are
joined to the rem aining two c ups A a d C
For closing the cir cuit two short thi ck C opper condu ctors
P an d Q are mounted on a mov able blo ck as S hown in the g
ure These c ondu ctors P an d Q m ay be pl aced in t h e mer
c ury cups in su ch a w ay as to c onne c t B with A an d hen ce C
with D or they m ay b e pl aced so as to conne ct B with C an d
hen ce A with D
In the one case the current ows from E to G through the
g alv anometer in the other case from G to E through the gal
v an o m et er
To ch ange the dire ction of the c urrent in the
al v anometer cir c uit we h ave
therefore only to lift the top
g
blo ck a n d rot ate it through 9 0 in either dire c tion
An i n str
u
m e n t w h i ch may be th u s use d t o reve rse t h e d ire cti on of a cu r
rent i s cal l ed a commu t a tor To b re ak the current we h ave
merely to lift Off the top blo ck An y d ev i ce w hi ch i s t h u s em
l oy ed t o in te r
ru p
t a curren t is s p
ok e n of a s a k ey ors w i t ch
p
.

u a

( 6) I N D U C T I O N
3 60

OF

E L E CTR I C CUR R E NT S

We return from this digression on the commut ator to

onsider t h e se cond O f the three import ant methods mentioned

3 5 1 ) for produ cing ele ctri c currents
ab ove
2 9 9 ) t hat th e region ab o ut
Th e re ader h as alre ady seen
c

'

GENE RAL

3 74

PH

YS I C S

m agnet is endowed with properties totally di fferent from

other portions of S p ace This m agneti c eld as it is called
does not appe ar to the n aked eye to be d i eren t from an y other
portion of sp ace but we know th at it is di fferent for a m agnet
brought into su ch a eld beh aves in a m anner pe c uli ar to this
m agneti c eld A S h as been pointed
out F ar ad ay des c ribed su ch a mag
neti c eld by con ceiving it to be lled
with lines of for ce purely im agi
n ary lines dr awn at e ach point i n
the eld in the s ame dire ction in
whi ch the ax is O f a m agnet would s et
Fm 27 1
Re ol t i on of the
M gnet i c F i el d
itself if pl aced at th at point Th e
Entortht w component
e arth I tself be i ng a gre at m agnet the
whole of the sp ace inh abited by the hum an r ace is a m agneti c
eld In these elds the lines are distri buted j ust far enough
ap art to m ake the number whi c h p asses through unit are a
dr awn perpendi cul ar to the dire ction of the eld numeri cally
equ al to the intensity of the eld
Th e lines of for ce whi ch des cribe a m agneti c eld being
dire cted i e ve ctor qu antities they can be resolved into com
on en t s
W e accordingly spe ak of the verti cal component an d
p
the horizont al c omponent of the e arth s eld as represented in
Fig 2 71 where T represents in dire ction an d in amount t h e
tot al m agneti c for ce of the e arth on an y m agnet pole ; V
represents in dire ction an d amount the verti cal c omponent of
Ton the s ame pole an d H the horizont al c omponent of T on
the s ame pole
a

'

If the pre ceding is cle a r we are now in a position to

c onsider the be autifully S imple method by whi ch F a r ad ay in
the autumn of 1 8 3 1 rst su cceeded in pro d u cing currents
without the use O f the V oltai c cell an d without the u se of he at
If we consider an y closed cir c uit ( s ay a pie ce of copper wire
bent into the form of a cir cle or squ are ) pl aced in a m agneti c
eld we m ay think O f it as cont aining or in closing a certai n
number of lines of for ce just as a fen ce might in close a group
of trees
In Fig 2 72 six lines of for ce are represented as bei n g in closed
by the wire cir cle If by a ny me ans the m agneti c eld were
3 61

E LE CTR IC

C UR R E N TS

3 75

m ade twi ce as strong we should represent this ch ange by

dr awing the lines of for ce twi ce as close together so th at n ow
the cir cle would in close twelve
inste ad of six lines O r if the
c opper c ir cle were carried p
ar
allel to itself to a
nother region
where the m agneti c eld is
not so strong then we sho u ld
des cribe this ch ange by d r aw
F
2 72
M gnet i c li ne of force i
l n g f wer h ues O f for ce through
clo ed b y
electri c c i rc i t
the C I Cl e
F ar ad ay s dis covery m ay then be des cribed in a qu antit ative
m anner as follows Wh en by an y me ans w h a tever t h e t ot al
n u mber of l i n es of f or ce p
a ssin g t h r ou gh an y circuit is ch a n ged
an ele ct ri c cu rrent is p
r oduce d i n t h at ci rcuit S u ch a cu rren t i s
re n t
cal l ed an in d u ce d cu r
,

IG

an

Va ri ou s I l l u strati on s

I n d u ced Cu rren ts

the termin als of a D A rson val

al van om et er with a c opper wire

so th at with the suspended
g
c oil a closed c ir cu it is formed
Take a S i gle loop in this ci r
cuit an d thrust through it one
pole of a perm anent m agnet
Su ch a m agnet carries its m ag
neti c eld ( i e its lines of for ce )
A nd when these
ab out with it
invisible lines are thrust through
the loop we observe th at for
the i nst ant a c u rrent p asses in
the g alv anometer
See Fig
F
2 73 A
electri c c rrent pro
2 73
N ow remove these lines
d
d b y t h r ti ng l i ne of force
removing
the
m
agnet
a
ou r
th ro gh
rc t
rent p asses but now i n the op
o
s i t e d ire ction
h
h
u
r
n
l
t
e
v
a
t
it
e
a
s
r
t
a
s
i
n
r
c
e
t
e
c
e
h
r
e
s
O
b
s
e
t
p
on l y so l on g a s t h e moti on of t h e ma gn et con ti n u es
3 62

Ex

er
i

men t 1

C onne ct

IG

u ce

us

a Ci

ui

the pre sent ati on of the pheno men a of i nduced c u rrents a fai rly sen si tiv e
2 0 to $
40 is gre at econo my of ti me an d
D Ar
son val g alv ano m eter co st i ng fro m $
energy The R o w l and for m ans w ers ne arly every p u rpose for wh i ch a galva
n ometeri s re q u i red i n the l ab or atory or in de m ons tr at i on work
*In

GENERAL

3 76

PH

YS I C S

support
the
m
agnet on some con
p
v en i en t st and an d slip the loop of wire over one end of the
m agnet
See Fig 2 74
A current is ag ain ob
served I f we slip th e
c oil off
the di recti on of
the c urrent is reversed
If the loop of wire be
slipped on an d off qui ckly
a c urrent will b e produ ced
FIG 2 74 A el ectri c c rrent prod ced by m
whi
ch ows rst i n one di
co il i m gnet eld
i g
re cti on the n I n the other
reg l r d cont i n o
(i ) A c rre t w h i ch ch nge i t d i rect i on i
3 63

Ex

er
i

men t 2

N ow

n a

ov

m an ner i s

u a

u us

an

c alled an altern at i n g c u rrent

(ii ) B u t if th e c u rrent d u r i ng cert ai n in terv al s of t i m e ce ase s e nt i rely
i t i s sai d to be i nter m i tten t
( i i i) C urre nt s w h i ch ow cont i n u o u sly i n on e d i rect i on are s ai d to be

d i rect

From these t wo e x periments it is evident th at it m akes no

di fferen ce whether it is the loop of wire or the lines of for ce
th at are moved Th e rel a ti v e moti on of t h e w i re an d t h e mag
n et i c e l d ch a n ges t h e n umber of l in es of f or ce i n cl osed
an d
rod uces t h e curren t
h en ce p
,

we
live
on
the
surf
ac e of a l arge
p
m agnet it be comes i nteresting to see h o w we must move a
closed c ir c uit in the e arth s m agneti c eld in order to produ ce
an ele ctri c current
If a l arge loop of wire be
m ade in one p art Of a closed
c ir c uit
c ont aining
a g alv a
n om et er we
h a ve only to
hold this loop altern ately in
a n e ast -an d -west an d in a
n o r t h -a n d -s o u t h v e r t i c a l
AL A N M E T E R
pl ane When the pl ane of
the loop i s verti cal an d north FIG 275 , A electric c rrent prod ced by
rt h
the
W re i
no m agneti c lines
an d -south
from the e arth p ass through
it ; they p ass along e ach si d e O f it B u t if the coil be suddenly
rot ated about a verti cal ax is so a s to lie in an e ast -an d-wes t
3 64

Ex

rimen t 3

Sin ce

ea

E L E C T R I C C U R R EN T S

3 77

pl an e the e arth s lines of for ce will thre ad through it an d we

If we rot ate the coil
O bserve in the cir cuit a n indu ced c urrent
of wire back into a north an d -south pl ane the current is in the
If in eit h e r of t h e p
reced in g ex p
eri me n ts w e
O pposite dire c tion
e u n ch a n ged an d t ak e t w o tu r
ns
l e a v e t h e t ot al l en gt h of wi r
of wir
e i n ste a d of on e t h e d ee cti on of t h e gal v an omet er i s
v ed t o be t wi ce as gr ea t as bef ore
obs e r
If a coil of wire whi ch lies at on the t able ( Fig 2 75 ) be
qui ckly turned over the lines of fo r ce p assing thro u gh it will be
For if in the rst case
c h anged by twi ce the origin al number
there were N lines p assing through in say a p
osi ti ve dire ction
when t h e coil is turned over there will be N lines p assing in a
t h e ch ange will be
n egati ve dire c tion i

there
a
re
still
other
w
ays in whi ch
p
we m ay alter the number of lines of for ce p assing through a
W e h ave seen th at a wire conveying a c urrent i s
cir c uit
surrounded by a
m agneti c eld If
we bring a loop of
our galv anom eter
cir cuit ne ar su ch a
b attery current we
S h all nd th at the
A electr c c rrent prod
FIG
e
d
loop
of
2 6
m agneti c l ines from
b t t ery c i rc i t i the ne i gh
b m k ing or b re ki ng
3 65

Ex

men t 4

er
i

B ut

uc

bo rh ood

of t h e loop

In a

will in general
thre ad through the g alv anometer c ir cuit a nd will thus produ ce
an indu ced c urrent
In Fig 2 76 lines of for ce m arked 3 4 5
an d 6 e ach p ass through the g alv anometer cir c uit as well as the
b attery cir cuit W hen the motion ce ases the current ce ases
If inste ad of b ringing the loop an d the b attery c urrent ne ar
together we simply pl ace the cir cuits side by S ide an d suddenly
open or close t h e b attery cir cuit we O bserve in e ach case an
indu ced current in the g alv anometer cir cuit To interrupt or
bre ak the b attery current is equiv alent to carrying it O ff to a
very gre at dist an ce To close the b attery cir cuit is ele ctri cally
equiv alent to bringing it suddenly into the neighb orhood of
the galv anometer cir cuit Indeed anything whi ch in cre ases t h e
,

GENERAL

3 78

PH

YS I C S

b atte ry cu rrent as for inst an ce shortening the wire in the

is equiv alent to movi n g it ne arer to the g alv anometer
c ir c uit
c ir cuit ; while anything whi ch diminishes the b attery c urrent
h as the effe ct of motion in the opposite dire ction
,

P ri mary
3 66

an d

S econ d ary Cu rren t

Th e two cir cuits of whi ch we h ave j ust been spe aking

frequently used in physi cs th at spe ci al n ames h a ve been

given to them Th e ci rcui t w h os e cu rre n t furn ish es t h e m a gn eti c
l i ne s of f or ce i s ca l l ed t h e p
ri ma r y cir cu i t t h e on e i n w h i ch t h e
cu rre n t i s i n d u ce d i s cal l ed t h e secon d a r y ci r cu i t
Th e f acts of the ca se may be st ated more gener ally still by
s aying th at an y v ari ation O f the prim ary current will in gener al
indu ce a c urrent in the se cond ary For as the amount of cu r
rent in an y cir cuit v aries the number O f lines of for ce about
th at cir cuit also v aries
It h as b een found th at when the prim ary cir cuit is wrapped
ab out a c ore O f iron it furnishes an enormously gre ater number
of m agneti c lines of for ce th an would be furnished if the wire
were woun d on say wood or gl ass t u bing This is the ele ctro
m agnet whi ch w as invented an d so n amed by Sturgeon in 1 8 2 2
an d whi ch h as proved to be an al l -import ant f actor in modern
ele ctri cal m achinery
ar
e so

The Tran sformer

iron
ring
su
ch as th a t S hown in
p
Fig 2 7 7 ; Wr ap it with two coils O f wire ; p ass an altern ating
c urrent through one of them
It will then be observed
perh aps by me ans of an in
l amp th a t a
candes cent
c urrent
is p assing through
the other coil A p
a i r of
ele ctr i c ci r
cu i ts ea ch i ns u l a t ed
fr
om t h e oth er but h a v i n g t h e
F
A tr n former
27 7
re gi on betw een th em l l ed
i s cal l ed a t ran sf or
mer Whenever the c urrent in
Wi t h i r
on
the prim ary cir cuit P is m ade to v ary an indu ced c urrent
appe ars in the se cond ary cir cuit S
C onversely if a current b e
p assed through the cir cuit S an d m ade to v ary a current will
3 67

Ex

i
er

men t 5

Take

an

IG

E LE CTR I C C UR R E NTS

3 79

be indu ced in the circuit P A n instrument of this kin d is in

wide use for lighting houses by me ans of altern ating currents
Th e coil P consists in this case
of m any t u rns of ne wire while
the coil S consists of a few turns
of he avy wire Th e result is
th at a sm all altern ating c urrent
of high pressure p assed through
P indu c es a l arge c urrent of
l o w pressure in S
Ap
a rti cul arki n d of tra n sf or m
FIG 278 Tr n former core r m de
in d uct i on coil
er ca ll ed an
f
f I ron pl te h
mg t h
i i
i s on e i n w hi ch bot h coi l s ar
e
21 p e
w oun d on e on t op
of t h e ot h e r
i cal bun dl e of i r
on a cy l i n dr
on w i r
This instrument h as a
es
wide v ariety of uses in the l abor atory a nd in medi ca l practi ce
For des cription see 4 06
.

s a e

av

is

The

Ta ke

D yn a mo

ele ctrom agnet su ch as th a t rep

resented i n Fig 2 79 B etween the poles of this m agnet mount
a single turn of wire so th at
it can be rot ated ab out an
ax is whi c h is perpendi c ul ar
to the m agneti c lines of
for ce When the termin als
of this single turn of wire
ar
e joined to the termin als
of a g alv anometer it is oh
served th at duri n g e ach ro
t at i on of the wire loop a
c urrent p asses through the
g alv anometer rst in one
dire ction then in the other
A n instrument of this kind
is called an ele ctri c gener
F
2 79
ator
Wh en m portion of
t h e c urrent in the loop is shunted off as sho w n in Fig 2 7 9
s o as to supply the ele ctrom agnet
the m achine is called a

dyn amo
3 68

Ex

i men t 6

er

an

IG

GE N

3 80

E R AL P HYS I C S

Th e dyn amo is then a m achine consisting of a strong ele ctro

m agnet

whi ch we m ay call the prim a ry an d a mov able coil

whi ch we m ay call the se cond ary This mov able c oil is rotated
by some me ch a ni cal me a ns su ch as a ste am e n gine so th at the
number of lines of for ce p a ssing through the coil i s c ontinu ally
altered
Th e distinguishing fe a ture of this m achine the de
t ails of whi ch must be left for the engineering student is th at
it furnishes its o w n prim ary current
The coil A ( Fig 2 79 ) whi ch is rot ated in the m agneti c el d
is called the arm ature the ele ctrom agnet N S whi ch c onsti
t u t es almost the entire weight of the modern dyn amo an d whi ch
furnishes the m agneti c eld is calle d the eld m agnet
Th e
c urre n t produ ced by the a rm ature is in gener al an al t er
n a ti n g
ren t i e one whi ch ows rst in one dire ction then in the
cur
other ch anging per
h aps a hundred times a
se cond B u t sometimes
this arm ature is tted
with a devi ce 0 w hi ch
c h anges the c onne ctions
of the arm ature coils
with the using cir cuit
w henever the dire c tio n
of the current in these
Th e re
c oils ch anges
FIG 280 Collector ring of ltern ti ng c rrent sult is th at the current
gener tor
in the using cir c uit is
dire ct although the current i n an y arm ature c oil is altern ating
This devi ce is essenti ally a commut a tor su c h as we h ave alre ady
studied
only here the commutator is autom ati c A
m achine in whi ch the arm ature is not provided with a com mu
t ator but h as two colle ctor rings as shown in Fig 2 80 is
called an altern ating c urrent gener ator
E ngineers nd it frequently more convenient to rot ate the
eld m agnet an d allow the arm ature to rem ain st atio n ary B u t
this is a mere me ch ani cal v ari ation an d d oes not in an y w ay
For a brief gener al theory of
ch ange the ele c tri c problem
41 0
D yn a mo an d M otor see
,

E L E CTR I C

C URREN TS

E
R M O E L E C T R IC
H
T
( )

C U R R EN T S

3 69

3 81

Th e two methods just des cribed for produ ci n g ele ctri c

urrents are pr acti cally the only ones employed in the industries
B u t there is a third method whi ch deserves noti ce p artly on
account of its wide appli cation in s cien ce an d p artly b e cause of
its simpl i city a nd dire ctness n amely the method in whi ch the
energy of the ele ctri c current is obtained dire ctly from he at
This mode of gener ating ele ctri c c urren t s w as dis covered by
See b e ck an d reported to the B erlin A cademy of Scien ces in
1 8 22
W e h ave alre ady le arned th at the essenti al fe ature of a
V olt ai c cell i s th at it will m aint ain at a di fferent potenti al t h e
t w o condu ctors of the rst cl ass whi ch h ave t heir respe ctive
ends i mmersed in a condu c tor of the se cond cl ass It h as als o
been noted
3 5 2 ) th at when t w o condu ctors a re joined t o
gether s o as to form a cir cuit at uniform temperature wh ateve r
tenden cy there is at one jun ction to produ ce a current is e x actly
unterbal an ced by a n opposite tenden cy at the other jun ction
co
See Fig 2 6 3
B u t S eeb e ck d is cover ed t h a t w h en on e of t h ese j u n cti ons i s a t a
er a tu re from t h e oth er t h e e q uili briu m is d estroy ed
d i ffere n t t emp
ent ows i n t h e cir cuit so l on g a s t hi ?
an d a d ire ct conti n uous cu rr
d iff er en ce i s ma int a ine d
Fro m this it appe ars th at when a
met al is he ate d its ele ctri cal properties are ch anged j ust as
denitely as if i t s chemi cal composition were altered N ot only
s o but di fferent met als ar
the s am e
e d i er
en t l y aff e cted by
c h ange of temper ature
These thermoele ctri c currents as they
ar
e called
e in gener al very minute ; but the modern
ar
gal
v an omet er is so
e x tr aordin arily sensitive th at even thes e
sm all e ffe cts are e asil y observe d an d me asure d A s noted
ab ove
2 4 9 ) the thermo couple is alre ady a st and ard i n s t ru
ment for me asuring temper atures Th e re ason for this is th at
the strength of the thermoele ctri c c urrent depends other things
rem aining the s ame upon the di ff eren ce of temper ature between
the he ated a d the cooled jun cti on
Th e import ant fact appe ars to be th at at an y si n glg jun ction a
c h ange of temper ature produ c es a c h ange of potenti al d i er
en ce
A n d t h e import ant const ant conne cted with an y p arti cul ar
c o u ple is its t h er
moel ectri c p
at e a t
ow er w h i ch i s d e n ed as t h e r
w h i ch th i s p
er
a ture
oten ti al d i ffer
en ce ch an ges w ith t emp
c

3 82

E N E RAL

PH

YS I C S

Th e r adiomi crometer devised by

P rofessor 0 V B oys
.

an d

the thermog alv anometer of D uddell

4 00) are instruments
of su ch gre at interest th at they should be looked up in some of
the l arge r te x t -books
Le aving this brief super ci al an d merely qu alit ative d e
s cription of ele ctri c c urrents we p ass to their qu antit ative co n
sider ation The el ectri cal properties whi ch we h ave j ust bee n
t u d y i n g were m ainly dis covered in t h e rst h alf of the nine
t ee t h century ; bu t the ele ctri cal me asurements to whi ch we
n o w pro ceed were chiey perfe cted during the secon d h alf of the
l ast century
.

II

TH E M E A S U R E M E N T O F E L E C T R I C A L Q U A N T I T I E S :
E LE C T R O M A G N E TI S M

E le c tri cal

me asurement is almost a c omplete an d inde

pendent s cien ce by itself so well est ablished are its st and ards
a n d methods
Y et the entire stru cture is built essenti ally upon
two f und amental prin ciples one of whi ch conne cts the di ff eren ce
of potenti al in an y cir cuit with the r ate at whi ch the m agneti c
eld in this cir cuit is v arying while the other conne cts the cu r
rent strength w ith the strength of the m agneti c eld produ ced
by the current Th e adv an ced student will nd th at these t wo
prin ciples can be des cribed in a gener al an d qu a ntitative w ay
only by the two fu n d ament al equ ations of M ax well an d H ertz
H ere however we are not seeking after the utmost gener ality
but r ather after a cle ar gr asp of a few spe ci al an d con crete but
e x ceedingly import ant cases For these p arti cul ar cases le ad n at~
a cle ar underst anding of the two fu n d am en t al
l
to
ur
al l
r
i
n
i
e
c
p ps
y
3 70

The
3 71

I d ea

E l ectromotzve Force

Th e essenti al fe ature of the V olt ai c cell is th at it will

m aint ain a di fferen ce of potenti al either between its termin als

if the circuit be open or between an y two points on a cir cuit
whi ch is Closed
B u t F ar ad ay showed th at without tou ching the closed battery
it w as possible to e x actly counter act this potenti al
c ir c uit
di fferen ce an d m ake t h e c urrent dis appe ar by simply thrusting
lines of m agneti c for ce through the cir cuit in the proper sens e
The introdu ction of the lines of for ce
a n d at the proper r ate
is therefore equiv alent to the introdu ction of a potenti al di ff er
,

E L E C T R IC
en ce ; the

C URREN T S

3 83

is in e ach case to m ake the ele ctri c c urrent

o w
an d in e ach ca se the e ff e ct is s aid to be produ ced by an
ele ctromotive for ce j ust as the motion of a stre am of w ater
might be s aid to be due to a hy d rom oti ve for ce
A nd j u st
as in the case of a b asin of w ater on e can m ake the w a ter o w
around in the p
an by dr agg ng a towel in a cir cle over the b ottom
without an y di fferen ce of level so also in the case of an ele ctri c
m ake the current
c ir c uit one can
o w without a ny di fferen ce of p
o
t en t i al by merely introdu cing lines
of for ce In ot her words while a
di fferen ce of potenti al always acts
as an ele ctromotive for c e it does n ot
follo w conversely th at al l ele ctro
moti ve for ces are di fferen ces of p
o
F
S h owi ng potent i l
28 1
d i ff erence of b tt ry m y
t en t ial
E le c tromotive for c e whi ch
t r
l
d
we S h all here after write
gg
ig
fmgf

gj
g l iz
is the more general term
C on cerning the E M F whi ch is produ c ed by m agneti c
indu ction the three following e x periment al facts should be
veried by e ach student for himself in the l abor atory
(i ) O ther things b eing the s ame the amount of E M F v aries
dire ctly as the num ber of lines s ay JV introdu ced into the cir cuit
E
M
F
aries
ii
ther
things
rem
the
s
the
v
O
aining
ame
( )
inversely as the time o ccupied by their introdu ction
iii
T
o produ ce a current in an y given sense lines of for ce
( )
must be thrust through the cir cuit i n a sense whi ch is j ust op
Thus in
o s i t e to th at of the lines produ ced b
p
y this current
Fig 2 8 1 the lines of force due to the current 2 would be dire cted
downw ard ; an d hen ce a y lines of for c e whi ch are thrust
downw ard through the cir cuit will produ ce an indu ced curren t
whi ch is O pposite i n sense to i an d may be m ade to j ust annul
e ect

IG

'

'

In 1 8 4 5 F E N eum ann formul ated these facts in the

following simple m anner Let ZVI an d L72 denote the tot al
number of lines of for ce thre ading an y given cir c uit at the
instants t 1 an d t2 respe ctively an d k a const ant of pro ortion
Then for this cir cuit
a lity
3 72

E M F
.

Ne

nn s
eq u at i on
u ma

Eq

13 9

GENERA L

3 84

Th i s

br i ef

r ssi
p

i ch s ay s t h a t t h e E M F of an y i n
d u ced curre n t i s t o be me a su re d by t h e r a te a t w h i ch li n es of f or ce
l e s menti one d a t t h e
ri n ci p
ar
e cu t i s t h e rst of t h e t w o ge n er a l p
I n a modied form it is also the engineer s formul a for
outset
of a dyn amo whi ch he is designing
c omputing the E M F
Th e neg ative S ig n me ans th at the sense of the indu ced
an d the sense of the lines thrust through the cir cuit ar
e rel ated
as the rot ation of a left -h anded nut to its dire c tion of tr avel
on the s cre w
ex

YS I C S

PH

wh

Un i t

f E l ectromoti ve

Force

A bout one h alf a century ago it w a s agreed by the

B ritis h A sso ci ation for the A d van cement of Scien c e an d as
sented to by the rem ainder of the s cienti c world th at we should
t ake as unit E M F th at whi ch is produ ced in an y closed C i r
c uit when it c uts one line of for c e per se c ond
This denition
h as the e ffe ct of m aking It
1 in E q 1 89 so th a t the dening
equ ation for E M F is
3 73

Eq

140

where N is the n u mber of lines of for ce added during the inter

v al t
W e h ave alre ady le arned h o w to me asure the num b er of
lines p assing through unit are a i the intensity H of a m ag
neti c eld ; an d N is of course simply the prod u ct of H by an
are a
This unit of E M F is called the ele ctrom agneti c C G S
unit ; bu t it is entirely too sm all for pr acti cal purposes H en ce
the Intern ation al E le ctri cal C ongress h as agreed to adopt the
following practi cal unit whi ch is called the volt in honor
of the It alian physi cist V olt a
Th e i nte rn a ti on a l v olt i s dene d a s th a t ele ctr omotive for ce
w hi ch is in d u ce d in an y cl ose d cir cuit cu tti n g l ines of ma gn eti c
force a t t h e ra te of on e h un d red mi l li on p
erse con d
O r in terms of arithmeti c
8
1
0
1 volt
ele ctrom agneti c C G S units of
.

S tan d ard

E l ectromoti ve Force

I n order to me asure ele ctromotive for ces in practi ce it

rem ains only to est ablish a st and ard
with whi ch others
m ay be c omp ared
This w as mu ch f acilit ated by the dis covery
3 74

E L E C T R IC C U R R E N T S

3 85

of La timer C l ark th a t a V oltai c cell m a de up of zin c rod in zin c

sulph ate for the cathode an d mer cury adjoining mer curous
s ulph ate for the anode g a ve a rem ark ab ly c onst ant
when properly used A ccordingly the Intern ation al E l ectri cal
C ongress at C hi cago i n 1 89 3 adopted 493 29 of the E M F be
tween t h e poles of C l ark s cell as representing the volt su ffi
In other words the E M F
c i e tl y well for pr ac ti cal use
leg al volts For rough work one m ay
o f the C l ark c ell is
c onsider the gr a vity cell as h a ving an E M F of one volt ; an d
the Lecl an ch as giving a volt a nd a h alf
.

The

D en i ti on

f U n i t Cu rren t

Th e se cond gre at prin ciple in

urate study of ele c

tri c currents rests upon the fund ament al dis covery of O ersted
th at about every ele ctri c current there I s a m agneti c eld of
for ce
In the s ame ye ar in whi ch O ersted
found th at a current will dee ct a
m agnet B iot an d Sav art showed
th at in the case of a very long
s tr aight wire
i
T
h
m
agneti c
eld
t
e
a
a
()
y
point about the wire v aries inversely
as the dist an ce r of th at point from
the wire See Fig 2 8 2
( ii ) Th e intensity R of this m ag
ne t i c eld v aries dire ctly as the c u r
d
ing B i ot
F
I G 28 2
I
ll
tr
t
rent strength i
S v rt L w
T
h
e dire ction of the c urrent
iii
( )
a d the dire c tion of the lines of for ce ar
e rel ated a s the d ire ction
of tr ansl ation a d rot ation in a right -h anded s crew See Fig 2 8 2
Th e f acts m ay be summ arized by writing
3 75

t h e a cc

an

us

a a

B i ot an d
L aw

S v rt
a a

Eq

more c onvenient form of cir cuit is 0 1%

where the wire is bent into the form of a cir cle In this case
it can be shown by the app ar atus indi cated in Fig 2 8 3 th at
l
t
c
ir
c
v
a
ries
a
t
h
e
i
the
m
gneti
eld
c
a
t
n
e
r
B
h
e
e
t
f
()
dire ctly as the current strength in the wire
3 76

B ut

m u ch

GENERA L P H YS I C S

3 86

T
h
ii
e
m
a
gneti
eld
a t t he cen t er o
t
c
)
f he ci rcl e v a r i es I n
(
sel y as the r adius of the c ir cle
v er
( iii ) Th e dire ction of the eld a t the cen ter of the ci rcl e an d
the dire ction of the current in the wire are rel ated in the m anner
of the right h anded s cre w
These facts are illustr ated by P oynting a s follows Wind on
a frame three cir cles of insul ated wire su ch as those m arked 1
2 an d 3 in Fig 2 83
M ake the r adii of
2
an d
3
just twi ce th at of
If
the s am e current be p assed through e ach
of the three cir cles but so th at the sense
of the c urrent in the sm all cir cle is 0 p
posed to th at in the t w o l arger cir cles
then there will be no eect upon the
m agneti c needle suspended at the center
For the l arger r adius of the outer cir cle is
compens ated by the f ac t th at there is
j
ust
2 83
P y ti g
F
here just t w I Ce as l arge a current act l n g
pp r t
upon the n eedle Let us denote the cu r
rent by i the m agneti c eld at the center of the coil by R an d
the r adius of the c ir cle by r then a s u mm ary of the above facts
be comes
.

IG

a a us

E = h

Eq

1 42

it h a s been a greed by the s cienti c worl d to give the co n

st ant Is an arbitr ary v alue of 2 r an d then call this the dening
equ a tion for the ele ctri c c urrent n amely

N ow

D e n i ng e q u ation

for c u rrent

EQ

143

Th is i s equ iv al en t t o s a y i n g t h a t u n i t curren t i s on e w h i ch w h en
n t er
e
c
i
l
t
h
e
a
ssi
n
a
t
a
r
le
f
u
n
it
r
a
d
i
u
s
w
l
r
o
d
u
c
e
a
t
i
b
o
u
c
c
o
p
p g
This denition of
of the cir cle a m a gn eti c el d of i n tensit y 2
unit c urrent m akes the c onst ant K in B iot an d Sav a rt s Law

equ al to 2 ; so th at for a long s t raI ght W i re R

When the centimeter gram an d se cond are used as fund ament al

units this c urrent is called the ele ctrom agneti c C G S unit

of current
ere w hich i s t h e p
Th e i n tern a ti on al a mp
ra cti cal un i t of
ren t i s on e te n th of t h e C G S u n it
cur
E
( q

141 )

E L E C T R IC

3 87

th a t one t akes a positive unit m agnet pol e

an d carries it on c e around
along one of the cir c ul ar lines o f
)
force whi ch surround a long str aight wire an d whi ch are depi cte d
in Fig 2 8 2 Th e for ce acting upon the unit will b e numeri cally
equ al to the m agneti c intensity R Th e work done in t aking
the unit pole on ce around the cir cuit m ay be indi cated by W;
then
2
= 4 r
i
Eq 144
W= 2 rr
7
3 77

Suppose

C URREN T S

n ow

This is the gener al form ( although here demonstr ated only

for a S pe ci al case ) of the se cond gre at prin ciple mentioned above
,

n amely t h e ele ctrom a gn eti c me a s u re of an y current is t h e w ork

d on e by carry in g a u n i t m a gn et p
ole on ce a bout t h e enti r e cu r
rent ; an d t h e a mou n t of w or k d one i s 4 11 ti me s t h e stre n gt h of
t h e curr
e n t i n cl ose d by t h e p
a th of th e p
ole
,

'

S tan d ard Cu rren t

Th e i ntern ation al

mpere th at i s the ordin ary uni t

of current used in commer c e h as been spe cied by the Inter
n ation al Ele ctri cal C ongress at C hi cago in 1 8 9 3 to b e a c urren t
whi ch when p assed through a s ol u t i on of silver nitrate will de
er
posit silver on the cathode at the r ate of
of a gr am p
se cond This des cription of the st and ard current will be cle ar
to the student after he h as m astered F ara d ay s Laws of E le c
3 78

'

t rol ys i s

See

3 94

O HM

LA W

A ssuming th at the student is n o w more or less famili ar

with the m anner in whi c h c urrents an d ele ctromotive for ces are
me as u red let us consider a p
ar
t i c ul ar c ase where a denite an d
me asur able ele ctromotive for ce E
is produ cing a d enite an d me as
ur
abl e c urrent i in a cir cuit su ch
s ay
as th at represented in Fig
F
284
2 84
Th e following query now
arises
H ow does t h e s tre n gt h of t h e cur
ren t i i n an y circui t
d ep
e n d up
o n th e el e ct romotiv e for ce in t h a t cir cui t ?
The answer to this question is c ont ained in the dis covery
o f the G erm an physi cist O h m in 1 8 2 7 n amely for an y giv en
3 79

I G.

GENERA L P H Y SI C S

3 88

t t h e curren t vari es directl y as t h e tot al E M F i n th e

In other words the r atio of the E M F to the current
ci r cu i t
is a constant for a ny given circuit This gener al fact is known
Law
a s O hm s
Th e p
rop
ort i on al i t y con st an t of t h e cir
cui t
res en ts t h e r a ti o of th e E M F t o t h e cur
ren t st ren gt h
w h i ch r
ep
cui t
esistan ce
i s cal l ed t h e r
of t h e ci r
L et us denote this resist an ce by R then we m a y obt ain an
a lgebr ai c e x pression for O hm s l aw by writing
cir
cui

lfg
i ifflg;
s

Eq

re sistance

145

if inste ad of considering the entire cir cuit we consider

only a portion of it su ch as th at
between the points a an d b ( Fig
then it is found th at O hm s
Law holds in the s ame w ay for
this portion of the cir cuit as for
the
whole
cir cuit a l way s
rovi d d
p
Oh m L w ppl i ed to

B ut

FI G

porti on o f a c urrent

t her
e

the

is

between

e o
n a tu r

a an

d 6

n ot

hi ng

or dy n amo,

ba ttery

moti ve force

o
el ectr

ce o
n o sou r

The

Un i t

The

R esi s tan ce

Ohm

To obt ai n the unit of resist an ce one employs the s a me

3 80

method whi ch is used in the other dep artments of physi cs

n amely t akes the dening equ ation an d gives the other v ari
desired qu antity unity
ables su ch v alues as will m ake the
1
A circui t
Thus in E q 1 4 5 if we m ake E i 1 then R
e s a i d t o con t a i n on e u n i t of r
esist a n ce w h en on e un i t
i s th er
ef or
r oduce in i t on e un i t of curre n t
of E M F w il l p
Th e ele ctrom agneti c C G S unit of resistan ce thus dened
is entirely too sm all for l abor atory use an d hen ce a pr acti cal
unit called an ohm h as been dened as one whi ch is a
thous and million times the C G S u n it
9
1
0
1 Oh m
ele ctrom agneti c C G S u nits of resist a n ce
,

S tan d ard

R esi stan ce

intern ation al convention agreed u pon in C hi cago in

1 8 9 3 the ohm is represented su f ciently well by the resist a n ce
when
of a column of merc ury of uniform cross se ction at 0
3 81

By

E LE C T R IC C URR E N T S

3 89

its length is
centimeters an d its m ass is
grams
When a wire is s aid to h a ve a resist an c e of three ohms it is
applied to the ends of this wire
me ant th at a given
will produ ce e x actly one third as mu ch current as when the
s ame E M F is applied to the a bove des cribed mer c ury column
.

R esi sti vi ty

dis covered th a t the r a tio between

an d
we now pro ceed
c urrent is a c onst ant for a ny given c ir c uit
to inquire wh at
A
A
ET ER
fea
physi cal
tures of the ci r
determine
c uit
the v alue of this
proportion a l i t y
C
C
to
co n s tan t
whi ch the n ame
resistan ce h as
been given U p
FI G 2 86 Ill tr ting Oh m L w
h y s i cal
on w h a t p
rop
ti es of t h e ci rcui t doe s i t s re si stan ce d ep
e n d ? Th e m ost
er
p
dire ct e x periment al answe r is o btained perh aps by t aking a
c ir c uit s u ch as th at shown in Fig 2 86
P ass through this c ir c uit a sm all ste ady c urrent from an y
i R it is cle ar
N ow S in ce i i s const ant an d sin c e E
s our ce
th at we m ay study the v ari ations of R by ob serving the v ari a
tions of E To me asure the
between a ny two points
s u c h as 0 an d D on this c ir c uit one h as only to att ac h to these
points the termin als of a sensitive g alv anometer whose resist
a n ce is high c omp ared with th a t portion of the b attery cir cuit
whi ch lies between 0 an d D A br an ch cir cuit su ch as th at
'
from C to D vi a the g alv anometer is generally called a

S hunt
To each p air of points on the m a in c ir cuit will correspond
a cert ain d ee c tion of the g alv a nometer an d this dee c tion
will me asure ( in arbitr ary s cale divisions ) the
between
th at p air of points
Th e length of e ach se ction in Fig 2 86 is the s ame ; th at is
t h e line ar dist an ce b etween e ach point an d its ne x t door neigh
b o r is c onst ant
3 82

H aving

G LV NON

N0

U O NO I

us

GENERA L P HYS I C S

3 90

N ow

it is observed th at the E M F between B a nd 0 is

j ust twi ce th a t between A a nd B N o 2 4 wire h a ving j ust
twi ce as l arge a cross se ction as N o 2 7 This illustr ates the
oi n t s on a
gener al fact th a t t h e resi s ta n ce betw een an y t w o p
e a of t h e cross se ction of t h e
sel y as t h e a r
i es i n ve r
con duct orv a r
con du ct or
This rule m ay ag ain be veried by me asuring the
between the points 0 a nd D whi ch are conne cted by N o 3 0
ire
whi
w
c h h as
T
just h alf the
c ross se ction of
No 27
H ere
also it is found
W
th at the d eec
tion correspond
ing to the inter
v al
0D is j ust
twi ce th at due
FI G 2 86 Ill tr t ing Oh m L w
to B 0
N e x t me asure the potenti al d i eren ce between 0 an d E ; it
will be found j ust twi ce th at between 0 an d D whi ch illus
tr ates the gener al fact th at for an y un if orm con duct or th e t e
i e s di r
ect l y as t h e l en gth
si st an ce v a r
Th e l ast se ction of the wire t h at between F an d G is the
s ame in length an d cross se ction an d is carrying the s ame
B ut the m ateri al is different the
c urrent as the se ction
C omp aring
chemi cal c omposition of the wire is not the s ame
the d ee ction between E an d G with th at between 0 an d I )
the former is found to be m any times gre ater from whi ch one
m ay infer th a t other things being equ al the resist an ce of
G erm an silver wire is m any times gre ater th an th at of copper
an d in gener al
th at t h e res i st a n ce of an y con ductor d ep
en d s
on t h e ch e mi cal com p
up
os i ti on of t h e s u bst a n ce fr
om w h i ch i t i s
.

LVANO ME ER

E"

us

ma d e

This property of

ondu ctor whi ch determines h ow its

resist an ce depe n ds upon its chem i cal composition i s called its
m
ay
resi sti vi ty
a qu antity whi c h we m a
denote
b
a
n
d
y p
y
me asure as follo w s
Let the cross se ction of a wire be 3 an d its le n gth Z We
m ay then summ arize the pre ceding results by writing
a

E L E C T R IC C URREN T S
R

3 91

ot - ,

H en ce R

oc

an d

oc

oc

l,

p
.

where k is a proportion ality constant

it h as been agreed to call the resistivity of a substan ce

unity when its length cross se ction a d resist an ce a re e ach
unity from whi ch it follows th a t k is alw ays unity a nd hen ce

B ut

l
P

146

Th e re s is tiv i ty

n ing eq u at i on
for resistiv i ty

it is frequently called S pe ci c resist

an c e
of an y s u bs tan ce i s t h eref ore n u meri ca ll y equ a l t o t h e
os i t e f a ces of a centi meter
resist an ce i n oh ms bet w een t w o op
p
cube of t h a t s ub sta n ce
Th e cond ucti v i ty of an y su bs t a n ce i s d e n ed as t h e re ci p
r oca l
I n l i k e m a n n er t h e con d uct an ce of a bod y is
of its resistivi t y
rocal of i t s resist a n ce
d e n ed a s t h e r
eci p
or
, as

I ndeed i t h as been adopted as a gener al pri nc i ple i n electri c al n o

m en cl at ure th at spec i c propert i e s propert i e s of su b s t a nce s as d i st i ng u i shed
fro m bod i e s s h all be den oted by no u n s en d i n g i n -ity ; w h i le propert i es
w h i ch belon g only to p arti c u l ar bod i e s Sh all be de scr i bed by n o u n s end i n g

i n a ce T he adv antage of th is is th at te r ms su ch as i mped an ce an d

i nd uctance w h i ch m ay be u nf ami l iar to th e re ader c arry on the i r f ace a
p art of thei r m e an i n g
3 83

A s a m a tter of fact the resista n ce of a ny condu ctor de

pends slightly u pon its temperature This fact is indeed the
b asis of one of the best methods of me asuring moder ately high
temper atures n amely the ele ctri cal resistan ce thermometer
suggested by Siemens perfe c ted by C allend ar S ee 2 4 9 above
P r acti cally al l met als in cre ase in resistivity a s their temper a
ture rises B u t this is a question whi ch must be left for the
more adv an ced student So also the slight v ari ation of resist
an c e whi c h a c ondu ctor su ff ers when pl aced in a m agneti c eld
Th e student who pursues the subje ct farther will nd this l atter
e ffe ct the b asis of one of the most convenient modes of measu r
i n g the intensity of the m agneti c eld i n a dyn amo
3 84

'

GENE RA L P H YS I C S

3 92

TA B LE
SU B S TAN C

A l u mi n u m

R E S I S T I V IT I E S

OF

E S I S TA N C E A T 0

1 CM

nne aled
A nt i m ony pre ssed
B i s mu th pre ssed
G er m an Si lver
G old anne aled
C opper anne aled
C opper h ard dr aw n
I ron an ne aled
Pl at i n um an ne aled
Si lver

ON G

-6

10

-6

10

x
x

10

10

x
x

-6

10

FO O

oh m s
O h ms
O h ms
oh ms
oh ms
oh m s
oh ms
oh ms
oh ms
oh m s

x
x

on . I N

OF

D EF I N I T I O N

E
S I S T A N C E AT 0 C o r A W I E
01 A WI E
l
T
LON G A D n !
C
S EC TION
D I AM E T E R
R

ro m the

IN

II I N

h ms
oh m s
oh ms
oh m s
oh ms
O h ms
oh ms
oh m s
oh ms
oh ms
O

S mi t hs o n i an

T H E E LE C T R O M A G N E TI C U N IT
,

Ta bl es

2 54

Q U A N TIT Y
as we S hould

OF

of e le ctri city are m e asured j ust

me asure a qu antity of w ater delivered by a stre am of known
stre n gth in a given time H en ce
3 85

Q u a ntities

Eq

147

be comes the dening equ ation for ele ctri cal qu antity Q If a
L eyden j
ar is c h arged by a c urrent i owing for a time t
the
ch arge Q on the j
aris i t
Th e p
r acti cal un it of q u an ti ty i s cal led t h e coul omb an d i s d e
n e d a s t h e qu a n tity of ele ctri ci ty t r a n sfe r
re d by a cur
re n t of on e
a mp
ere i n on e s econ d
.

TH E E LE C T R O M A G N E TI C U N IT
3 86

ned
e n ce E

Th e

OF

C A P A C IT Y

p acity of a condenser h aving alre ady been de

3 4 0) as the r atio of its ch arge Q to the potenti al di ff er
between its pl ates one h as
ca

D efin i ng e q u at i on

4
1
8
E
Q 0E
q
for c p c ity

H e n ce t h e so ca l l e d
r a ctical u nit of cap
a cit y is t h a t of a
p
con d e n ser ch a r ged t o a p
ote n t i al of on e v ol t by on e coul omb of
el e ctri city
In hono r of F arad ay this unit of cap acity is called the

far ad ; but it i s entirely too l arge for l a bor atory purposes

.

a a

E L E C T R I C C URREN T S

3 93

hen ce st and ard condensers whi ch are m ade for the purposes
of me asuring cap acities are gener ally gr adu ated in terms of a
unit whi ch is one millionth of a f ar ad an d is cal led a mi cro
far ad
Sometimes a third of a mi crofar ad is used be cause
this represents appro x im ately the cap acity of a mile of A tl anti c
C able
SU M M A R Y
3 8 7 A bird s -eye view of the entire subje ct of ele ctri c me as
ur
eme t s m ay b e o b t ained by re calling th at wh at we h a ve done
in the pre ceding dis cussion is to demonstr ate ve import ant
l aws of n ature an d to des cribe them in terms of the following
ve equ ations

an d

Eq

E
t

Eq

140

14 5

I n these equ a tions appe a r ve an d only ve unknown qu an

tities n amely the ele ctromotive for ce E the c urrent i the
resist an ce R the qu antity Q an d the cap acity 0 These u n
known qu antities are e x pressed in terms of the three know n
qu antities n amely the time t the num b er of m agneti c line s
N an d the work W B y elimin ation then one is en abled to
e x press an y of the ve ele ctri cal qu antities in terms of known
or dire ctly me asur able qu antities
,

r ob l em s

c u rrent of l am pere an d an E M F of 5 0 volts are requ i red to feed

W h at is the re si sta nce of
an i nc ande s cent l am p
the l amp i n oh m s ?
2
A Lecl an ch cell i s u sed to r i n g a door bell
T he re si s tance of the w i re i n the bell i s 2 oh m s
the re si st ance of the li ne i s a n oh m an d the re
s i s t an ce of the cell i s 1 oh m
T he
of the
cell i s
volts W h at c u rrent wi ll be prod u ced
FI G 286 A
e
W hen the c i rc u i t i s clo s ed ?
An s
am pe r
3
T he
of a si n gle gr av i ty cell i s
volt s ; th e re s ist ance of e ach
cell i s 3 O h ms I f three of these cell s be jo i ned u p
i n ser i e s as i nd i c ate d in
1

GENERA L P HYS I CS

3 94

Fig

pole s of the b attery be connec ted by a res i st an ce of 1

An s
am pere
oh m w h at c u rrent wi ll o w i n the c i rc u i t ?
4
A telegr aph so u nder h as a re si s ta nce of 70
oh m s an d i t requ i re s a
c u rrent of
am pere
W i ll 2 0
to w ork i t
gr av i ty cell s su ch as
de s cri bed i n the pre
R
ced i ng ex am ple be suf
cien t ? W ill 4 0 cell s
Fm 2 86 0
FI G 286 B
B e able to
s uffi ce ?
de scr i be yo u r re ason s at the bl ackbo ard
5
Two w i re s R 1 an d R 2 a l ike i n all re s pect s an d h av i n g e ach a re s i st

i n p ar allel as sh o w n i n Fi g 2 8 6
nce
of
2
oh
m
s
a
r
e
j
o
i
ned
W h at
0
a
i s the su m of the i r re si s t ance i e w h at i s the re si s t ance of th at p art o f the
c i rc u i t w h i ch l i e s bet w een the po i nt s A an d B ? U se equ at i on for re s i s t a nce
3 82 viz
gi ven i n
P
l
R
.

2 8 6 , B , an d th e

im

g i n e the t wo w i re s f u sed i nto one of equ al len gth ; t h e

n u m er i c al v al ue of 3 w o u ld then be do u bled b ut as an electri c al cond u ctor
the l arge w i re w o u ld be equ i v alent to the t wo s m al ler one s
6
W h at is th e tot al re sist ance of the t wo w i re s R I an d R 2 w h e n jo i ned

i n ser i e s as i nd i c ated i n F i g 2 8 6 D ?
7
A gr av i ty cel l of
volt s i s j o i ne d
i n oppo s i t i on to a stor age cel l of
up
e con
v olt s i e the i r po si t i ve pole s ar
n ected
W h at i s the re su lt ant E M F of
FIG 2 8 6 I )
the t wo cell s ?
A n s 1 volt
T hree gr avi ty cel ls e ach h avi n g a re
8
of
s i stan ce of 3 oh m s an d an E M F
volt s are jo i ned i n p ar allel as i nd i c ated
i n Fi g 2 86 E an d th en con nected to a co i l
of w i re h av i n g a re si st ance of 8 oh m s F i nd
the cu rrent i n the co i l H ow mu ch c u rren t
p asse s throu gh e ach cell ?
am pere
am pere ;
An s
8
,
R
S i e m ens propo sed a u n i t of re si st ance
9
FI G 286 E
equ i v alent to th at of a col um n of merc u ry 1
2
al u e of th i s u n i t i n
i
n
len
h
F
i
nd
the
v
m
i
n cro ss s ect i on
1
m
a
n
d
t
m
g
t er m s of the oh m
1 0 W h at m agnet i c eld w i ll be prod u ced at the center of a c i rcle of w i re
conveyi ng a c u rrent of 2 am pere s w hen the r ad i u s of the c i rcle i s 9 c m ?
2
i s bro u ght i nto a
c
m
3
ll
c
i
rc
r
re
nclo
i
n
g
a
n
a
re
a
of
i
s
ul a w i
11
A sma
5 l ne s of force ar
e u n i for m ly a dded
10
i
a
m ag n et i c eld i n su ch a w ay th t
F i nd the aver age
gener ated I f t h e
to the c irc u i t i n 2 s ec

O n e m i ght

O HM

E LEC TR IC C URREN T S

3 95

oh m w h at c urrent w i ll be
re sis ta nce of the c i rc ui t i s
rod uced d ur i ng
p
the 2 sec
W h i ch w i ll aff ect a m agneti c n eedle at the center m ore strongly
12
a c u rrent 8 a m pere s i n a c i rcle of 8 c m or a c u rrent of 100 am pere s i n a
c i rcle of 1 m r ad i us ?
T he ar m at u re of a dy n amo c u t s l i ne s of force at the rate of
13
x 1 01 0
per second \Vh at i s i t s tot a l voltage ? S u ppo se the re sis tance of the ar m a
t u re bet ween the br u she s i s 3 16 oh m w h at w i ll be the voltage bet ween the
bru s he s w hen c arry i ng a c u rre nt of 4 0 am pere s ?
14
A roo m i s i ll u mi n ated by 4 0 i nc ande scent l am p s jo i ned u p
i n p ar alle l
E ac h l am p h as a re si st ance of 2 00 oh m s w hen hot an d requ i re s a volt age of
1 10
F i nd the c urrent nece s sary to l i ght the roo m
15
T ak i n g the re si st i v i ty of copper as
x 1 0 6 nd the r
e si st ance of a
p ai r of le ad wi re s w ho se di am eter i s 3 m m an d w ho se j o i nt length i s 4 0 m
16
A s tor age cell w ho s e re si st ance i s 115 oh m an d w ho se electro m ot ive
force i s 2 volt s send s a c u rren t thro u gh a w i re of 3 oh ms j o i ned i n seri es
w i th a w i re of ; an oh m
F i nd the potent i al d i fference betw een the ter
m i n al s of e ach of the tw o w i re s
17
T he
of a gr av i ty cell on ope n c i rc u i t i s
volt s B ut w he n
the c i rc u i t i s clo sed w i th an e xtern al resist an ce of 2 0 oh m s the volt age
bet w een th e ter min al s of the cell drop s to
F i n d the i ntern al re sist an ce
of the cell
18
T en cell s are arranged s o as to h ave ve i n s er i e s an d t w o of the se
ser i e s i n p ar allel
T he E M F of e ach cell i s
volt s ; the re si st ance 1
an d re s i s t a nce of the co m b i n at i on
oh m
Fi n d the
19
T he ter m i n al s of a cell are j o i ned by three p ar allel w i re s w hos e
re si st ance s are r1 r2 r3 re spect i vely Prove th at the c u rrent p assi n g thro u gh
the cell w i ll be d istr i b u ted am ong the se three cond u ctors i nver sely as the i r
re sis t ances
20
E xpl ai n by m e an s of di agr am s the d i fference bet w een an am m ete r
an d a volt m eter
,

II I
A

E FF E C T S O F A N E LE C T R I C C U RR E N T
CH E M I C A L E FF E C T S

E LE C T R O L Y S I S

one h as he ard of pl atin g spoons with silver a d

b i cy cles an d s kates with ni ckel even if he h as never seen the
pro cess A l l of these are inst an ces of the gener al fact l argely
est ablished by S ir H umphry D avy th at when a c urrent is
p assed through a solution th at solution is in gener al broken
up into two other su bst a n ces
I n the rst ye ar of the n ineteenth century the s ame ye ar in
whi ch V olta des cribed the V olt ai c cell it w as found by C arlisle
3 88

E very

GENERA L P HYS I C S

3 96

nd N i cholson

th at a current p assing through w ater bre a ks the

w ater up into hydrogen an d o x ygen H ydrogen is given off
a t the cathode a nd o x ygen a t the anode
a

I n order to p ass a c urrent th rough

w ater it is ne cess ary to dissolve some s al t or acid in it to m ake
the liquid a good condu ctor The most c onvenient thing is to
ad d 1 0 or 1 5 per ce n t of strong sulphuri c ac id
Take a W ol ff s bottle h alf full of t h e dilute acid ; through
two of the holes in the bottle insert two strips of sheet pl atinum
soldered to cop
per wires as i n
d i cat ed in Fig
2 87
c onne ct
these to a sour ce
of ele c tromotive
for ce whi ch will
send ve to ten
am peres through
the
a md u m
t d
F I G 2 87 Th deco mpo i ti on of w ter by
electri c
w ater Gas W ll
c rrent
be given off from
e ach ele ctrode an d the mi x ture m ay be colle cted for e x amin a
tion by a tt aching one end of a rubber tube to t h e rem aining
ne ck of the bottle an d immersing the other end of the tu be in
a so ap sol ution
Th e es caping gas will thus blow a series of
so ap -bubbles whi ch may be e x ploded by a lighted t aper ; for it
h as been shown th at the g ases are evolved in j ust the right
proportion to e x plode without le aving behind a ny o x ygen or
an y hydrogen
i e the proportions of hydrogen an d o x ygen
present a re chemi cally equiv alent It is s afer of course to
remove the gl a ss nozzle from the so ap solution before appl ying
the t aper
3 89

Ex

men t 1

er
i

an

ctro d es one
with
ele
p
se aled into e a ch br an ch the g ases can be colle cted before they
h ave a ch an ce to m i x If the arms of the tube are gr adu ated
one can m e asure dire ctly the volume of hydrogen set free an d
also the volume of o x ygen
A ccur ate me asurements of this
kind show th at when the g ases a re colle cted under equ al pres
sures the volume of hydrogen is e x actly double th at of o xygen

3 90

Ex

er
i

men t 2

By

u sI n g a

U-tube

E L E C T R IC C URREN T S

3 97

hemists tell u s th at
these are e x actly the vol
umes of hydrogen an d
o x ygen th at unite to form
w ater an d th at the density
of o x ygen is S i x teen times
as gre at as th at of hydro
gen W h at then will be
the mass of o x ygen set
free as comp ared with the
m ass of hydrogen ?
But

391

"

prim

Ex

en t

oPOLE orBA TT ERY

r
l-

ATT ER

TO

Inste ad of acidul ated

w ater we m ay u se a solu
tion of le ad acet ate as an FIG 2 88 E l t r l y of w ter wh ich t h
h ydroge
d oxygen
collected
r
i
ele ctrolyte Th e phenom
ep r te ve el
enon 1 s most conven ently
seen or proje cted when the solution is pl aced in a at vesse l
su ch as is represented in Fig 2 89
I f we use a p air of pl ati
num wires as ele ctrodes i t
will be seen th at the le ad
acet ate
whi ch is a cle ar
tr ansp arent solution i s
broken up s o as to yield
d ark met alli c le ad at t h e
neg ative pole of the bat
t ery i e at the s ame pol e
where the hydrogen ap
e
r
d
in
the
pre
edin
e
a
c
p
g
e x periment I n gener al
hydroge n an d an t h e
F
2 89
E lectroly i of le d cet te
met als beh ave as if the y
rode through the ele ctrolyte on the c urrent i e they colle ct at
the s ame pole at whi ch the c urrent le aves the ele ctrolyte
POL OF B

ec

sI s

an

111

a e

a a

ss

s.

IG

s s

strip of lter p aper with a

strong solution of phenol phth ale i n an d sodiu m chloride t abl e
3 92

Ex

er
i

men t 4

M oisten

Th is

t nce w h ich chem ists very comm only us e to detect the pres
ence of an alkal i T he phenol phth alei n is colorless ; bu t a drop of it in an
al kal i ne s ol u ti on w i ll y i eld a red color
is

a subs a
.

GENERA L P HYS I C S

3 98

s alt I f the positive pole of a b a ttery be conne cted with one

end of the strip the neg ative pole will whe n dr a wn over the
strip cause an ele ctri c c urrent to p ass along the strip for the
moistened p aper is a condu ctor This curr
ent will deposit
sodiu m at the neg ative ele ctrode the sodium w ill unite with
the w ater in the strip an d produ ce causti c sod a i e a strong
whi ch in the presen c e
alk ali
of the phenol phth alein turns
red The couse
a b rilli a nt
m
n ce is th at a brilli ant red
u
e
q
R ED
C L EA R
l i ne m ay be tr aced when the
neg ative ele ctrode is moved
over the strip of lter p aper
A more e asily visible m ethod
of demonstr ating this phenom
FIG 290 Ill tr ting th chemi c l enon i s t o t a ke a U-tube as
re ction w h i ch ometi me occ r
2
0
shown
In F
9
an d prov i de
g
electrode
t th
it w ith a p air of pl atinu m ele c
trodes If now the s alt solution ( N 1 01) be pl aced in this tube
an d a few drops of phenol phth alei n be added it will b e found
th at as soon as the current begins to p ass t h e solution in the
immedi ate neighborhood of the cathode turns red This indi
c ates the presen c e of an al kali in th at region an d in no other ;
in other words the metalli c sodium whi ch the c urrent deposits
upon the cathode unites at on ce with the w ater to form sodium
hydro x ide Th e chlorine whi ch is set free a t the anode d is
solves i n the w ater an d
forms a ble aching solu
tion Th e result of this
is th at when the current
is reversed there is s u f
ci en t
C hlorine
w ater
AN DE
AT D E
mm mm m
T
WW W
ab out wh at is
now the
cathode
to immedi at ely
b le ach out the red due to
the phenol phth ale i n
A ccordingly it is ne ces
FIG 2 9 1 Th copper volt meter
s ary for the current to
o w some little while after revers al before the red c olor
rem ai n s about the cathode
.

ooe

Auo og

us

E'
GH

HO

'

E L E C T R IC C URREN T S

3 99

If
we
immerse
two
c opper pl ates in a
p
solution of copper sulph ate an d p ass a c urrent from one pl ate
to the other the m ass of the pl ate by whi ch the c urrent enters
will diminish while the m ass of the pl ate by whi ch the current
le aves will grow l arger ; but the copper solution rem ains pr ae
ti cally u n ch anged B y accurately weighing the pl ates before
an d a fter the p ass age of the current an d noting the dur ation
of the c urrent one can dete rmine just how mu ch C opper a y
given c urre t w ill deposit in one se cond of time A ce l l tt ed
w i th ele ctr od e s an d e l ectrol yt e i n th i s man ner is call e d a v ol
Th e C opper thus deposited is very pure an d this
t amet er
pro cess is n o w l argely employed for rening C opper
3 93

Ex

er
i

men t 5

3 94

Ex

i men t 6

er

When sever al voltameters a re

co n

in series after the m anner S hown in Fig 2 9 2 the s ame

B u t on weighing the
c urrent will p ass through e ach of them
ele ctrodes it is found th at
the amount of element de
posited u pon an y p arti cul ar
ele ctrode by a given c urrent
owing for a give n time
v aries di re ctly as the atomi c
m
weight of the ele m ent an d
L AT E
N I T RAT E
I nversely as the v ale n cy of
2 92
Th
r i Pm d
F
9
the element Thus silver is
i
lent d ecompo t on
cell cont n ng
univ alent an d h as an atomi c
d i fferent ele trolyte j
oined p
i
ri
weight of 1 08 while c opper
is b iv alent an d h as an atomi c weight of 6 3 A ccordingly in
the arr angement des cri bed in Fig 2 9 2 the amount of S ilver
5
deposited will al ways be 1 08/
or
a little over three times as
f
gre at as th at of copper Th e r atio o f the atomi c weight of a
element to its v alen cy is gener ally known as its chemi cal
equiv alent
F ar ad ay m ade a very careful study of m any p h enomen a su ch
as we h ave just been c onsidering
an d he s umm arized his
results as follows :
n ect ed

"

SU PH

IG

e uf

uc es 6

en

9 17 4

si

In

ai

n se

es.

GENERA L P HYS IC S

4 00

FA R A D AY

LA WS

E LE C T R O L YS I S

OF

Fi rst Law

Th e a moun t

s
p

i s d e com
fl owi n g

an d

t
t

by we gh ( i
ic
ed by an el ec r

the

ma s s ) of

trol y t e whi ch

an el ec

rop
r re n t i s p
or
ti on al
i n g w hi ch i t ow s
t o t h e ti me d ur
cu

en t
t o t h e curr

In order to e x press this l aw in terms of algebra let us denote

by i the c urrent in amperes by t the time in se conds an d by w
the in cre ase i n m a ss of ca thode me asured in grams Then
,

i t,

Eq

149

where
is a proportion ality constant whi ch is called
ele c tro chemi cal equiv alent of the element deposited

the

S econ d L aw

el ectrol yt e or a series of ele ctrol yt es i s d e comp

osed
on ent s i nt o w h i ch it is se p
a r a ted
by an ele ctri c current t h e comp
e e i n j u st
e al w a y s ch e mi ca ll y equ iv al e n t i e t h e y ar
e set fr
ar
oun d
s u ch a moun ts a s may re comb i n e an d f or m a ch emi cal comp
with out an y left-over ma te ri al
For purposes of comput ation it is often convenient to p
ut
this l aw in terms of symbols as follows Let s ubs cripts 1
refer to t w o di ff erent ele ctrolyti c cells Then i f
2
an d
atomi c weights be denoted by m v alen cies by v an d ele c tro
we h ave
chemi cal equiv alents by
Wh en

an

e,

m l vz

e
2

m zv1

3 95

Eq 1 5 0
.

These two l aws of F ar ad ay would seem to indi cate th at

there is asso ci ated with e ach atom of m atter a cert ain denit e
c h arge of ele ctri city whi ch is the s ame for al l atoms of t h e
s ame v alen cy an d is quite independent of the atomi c weight
Th e ch arge asso ci ated with e ach unit of v alen cy would then
appe a r to be a n atur al unit of ele ctri city
Th e atom with its asso ci ated ch arge is called an ion
B ut
the ch arge alone this n atur al ele ctri cal unit i s called an ele c
tron a n ame whi ch we o w e to the Irish physi cist D r John
stone Stoney If we assume th at e ach unit v alen cy carries
with i t one ele ctron then the p ass age of the current through

E L E C T R IC C URREN T S

4 01

the ele ctrolyte would be accomplished by the positively ch arged

ions delivering up their positive ch arges to the cathode an d the
neg atively ch arged ions giving theirs to the anode at the s ame
time This view affords us not only a simple e x pl an ation of
both of F arad ay s l aw s bu t also gives us a helpful working
hypothesis for ele ctri c currents as c onsisting of this double
pro cession of ch arges dragging the a toms through the ele c
.

t rol y t e

Th e ele ct roch emi cal eq u iv al e n t 6 is n u mer

i ca l l y equ al t o t h e
m a ss of an y el emen t dep
os i ted by t h e p
a ss a ge of on e coul omb of
eci p
r ocal of e is t h e
el ectri cit y t h r ou gh t h e ele ctr ol y te w hi l e t h e r
a mou n t of el ectri ci t y a ss oci a t ed w i t h on e gr am of t h e el emen t
,

i n q uesti on

TA B LE O F E LE C T R OC H E M I C A L E Q U I V A LE N T S
SUB S

in

A l um

TA N C E

E A TI E ATO M I C
WE I H T
L

A LE NC

E
Y

M I C L E Q U I V A L E NT
GR AM M E S P E R CO U LO M B

L EC T R C H
O

IN

C hlor i ne
C opper
C opper
H ydrogen
O x yge

S i lver
Zi nc

F rom the S mith o i T bl T hi rd E d ition p 2 72

W hen the C G S unit of current 1 0 amperes is em
ployed it is evident th at e ach v alue in the l ast colum n of the
ab ove ta ble must be divided b
1
0
y
s

n an

es ,

H E A TI N G

E FF E C T S

OF

E LE C T R I C C U RRE N T S

In these d ays every one is famili ar with the fact th at

when an ele ctri c current is p assed through a carbon l ament
the temper ature of the l ament m ay be in cre ased to su ch a
point th at the carbon be comes white -hot Trolley cars are
h e ated by ele ctri c currents p assing through c oils of wire
Iron
c h ains ar
e n o w m ade b
welding
together
the
o h alves of
w
t
y
e ach link by me ans of an e l e ctri c c urrent
E ven the r ails in
r ailway tr acks are now welded together by the s ame pro cess
3 96

GENE RA L P H YS I C S

4 02

B etween

the ye ars 1 840 an d 1 84 3 the E nglish physi cist

D r Joule m a de a very careful study of the he a t produ ce d by
a n ele ctri c current H e found th at f oran y
i
i
r
on e
e o
w
e the amount of he at pro
f
p
d u ced by an y c urrent depends upon two
things only
1
U pon the a mount of current owing
i e upon the num b er of amperes an d
2
U pon the time during whi ch it ows
B y u s e of a calorimeter cont aining a coil
of wire it w as shown th at when the current
in
the
coil of wire w as d ou bl ed the he at w as
FIG 29 3 C l rm t r
ri ng the developed four times as r apidly as before ;
f r me
r te t Whi ch
an d when the c urrent w as tr
ebl ed the he at
i
prod ced b y
w
as I mp arted to the w a ter n i n e t i mes as
electri c rr t
f ast a s before
B u t if an y p arti cul ar c urrent w as a llowed to o w rst for
ve minutes then for ten minutes it w as found th at the
a mounts of he at ( calories ) developed in these two intervals
were in the r atio of 1 2 A nd Joule found th at in general
he could des cribe the results of his e x periments as follows
.

ec

a o 1

e e

as u

an

cu

en

f H eati n g

Jou l e s L a ws

ic
iv en con ductor t h e h e a t d ev el op
ed by an el e ct r
an y give n ti me v ar
i es d ire ctl y as t h e squ a r
e of t h e

In

an y

rr en t i n
cu rrent
2
In an y give n con d uctor t h e h e a t d evel op
e d by an y giv en
ent is d ir ectl y p
r op
or
ti on al t o t h e t i me d uri n g w h i ch t h e cur
cu r r
re n t ows

cu

A
we
h
a
ve
3 97
been considering the e ffe ct
of a c urrent upon a single
Suppose how
c ondu ctor
F
I
G
A
m o nt of he t prod ced b y
29 4
we t ake a series of
ever
electri c c rrent depend pon lengt h
.

H itherto

d l fferen t
,

con

d u ccors

an d

d iameter

an d

m ater ial

an

of

wi

re

join them end to end an d

p ass one current through the entire ch ain W ill th e he at ing
i
e ffe ct be the s ame on e ach link of the ch ain ? A n ex p
er
ment al answer to this question m ay be obt ained as follo ws :
,

E L E C T R IC C URR E N T S
Join

together four wires

4 03

represented

as

Fig

in

2 94 ,

where
of iron wire ;
mm di am
mm di am
B U i s 2 0 cm of iron wire ;
mm di am
(7D is 2 0 c m of copper wire ;
mm di am
D E is 2 0 cm of iron wire ;
Through this series p asses current su ffi cient to he at the p art
This will require about four amperes O bserve
A B red -hot
then
1
1 ch is e x actly simil ar to A B ex
T
h
a
t
the
p
rt
B
0
w
h
a
)
(
(
cept in length ) is j ust as hot as A B an d c onsequently is giving
o ff twi ce as mu ch he at as A B ;
( 2 ) Th at the copper wire 01) ( w hi ch is e x actly like
B 0 e x cept in chemi cal composition ) is very m u ch cooler th an
AB

is

1 0 cm

( 3 ) Th at D E

its are a

( w hi ch is e x actly like B 0 e x cept th at

of cross se ction is l arger ) is also mu ch cooler th an

From e x periments of this kind in whi ch however al l the

qu antities involved were accur ately me asured Joule con cluded
that the amount of he at whi ch a y given c urrent develops
in an y condu ctor in a given time depends upon the following
three factors
( 1 ) The l e gth f th on d u t r the amount of he at being
dire ctly propor t ion al to the length ;
t
2
T
e
h
e
m
i
a
o
m
o
i
l
s
h
( )
p i o i e the kind of m ateri al of
whi ch the condu ctor i s m ade ; thus we h ave seen th at the iron
wire be comes mu ch hotter th an copper wire of t h e s ame size ;
in like m anner a carbon l ament b e comes mu ch hotter th an an
In a
irOn wire of the s ame size other things being eq u al
c h ain m ade of altern ate links of silver an d pl atinu m w ire e ach
of the s ame size a c urrent will he at the pl atinum red-hot w h ile
the silver rem ains comp aratively cool
3
i
a
r
a
s
a
i
the
mount
of
he
t
being
T
h
e
e
c
r
o
s
s
e
t
n
a
f
( )
v er
s el y as this are a
For this re ason the insur an ce c omp anies
require c opper wire of not less th an a cert ain di ameter to be
u sed in le ading a c urrent to a given num b er of in candes cent
l amps I f the wire b e too sm all there i s d anger of its getting
hot an d setting re to the building
,

c o

G ENERA L

404

These results we

H YS I C S

summ arize as follows

Let H
he at developed by an y current ;
i
strength of curren t in C G S units ;
dur ation of current in se conds ;
t
length of the condu ctor in centimeters ;
l
s = a re a of cross se ction of c ondu ctor in squ are c enti
meters ;
= a const ant depending upon the m ateri al of w hi ch
p
the condu ctor I s m ade
Then the most careful e x periments by Joule an d his su ccessors
S how th at
H
E q 1 51
pat ergs
m ay

a
a
c
rovided
the
onst
nt
for
e
h di fferent substan ce h as the
c
p
p
v al u e whi ch we h ave alre ady found for the
s ame numeri cal
l
resistivity of th at su bst an ce This being SO the factor pi
.

imply the resistan ce of the condu ctor See E q 1 4 6 A c

d i n gl y J oule s results assume the form
c or
H
R i t ergs
Jo le L w
Eq 1 52
where the resistan ce R as well as the c urrent i an d the time
t is me asured in C G S units
W e m ay therefore write a s
the third an d l ast of J oule s l aws
3
I n an y con d uct or t h e h e a t d ev el op
e d by a give n curren t
ow i n g f ora gi ve n ti m e i s d ire ctl y p
r op
e s istan ce
t i on a l t o t h e r
or
of t h e con du ctor
If however the current be me asured in amperes the resist
a n c e in ohms
the time in se conds an d the he at in calories
then we h ave the following l abor atory equ ation
s

lories

Eq

ca

153

In the l abor atory it is pr acti cab le to m e asure an y three of

t h e four qu antities in this equ ation so th at we can employ the
equ ation to determine the rem aining qu antity B y me asuring
I I 0 a n d t we m ay thus determine R
The whole story of the he ating e ffe ct of an ele ctri c current
is cont ained in the ab ove equ ation
,

E L E C T R IC C URREN T S
TH E

4 05

I N C A ND E S C E N T L A M P

We may in cre ase the he at either by in cre asing the cu r

rent or by in cre asing the resist a n ce
H e at is developed w h er
It is for this re ason
e ver resist an c e o f an y kind is lo cated
th at lo n g slender carbon l aments of high resist an ce are used
3 98

H IGH PRESS UREMAI S

Low m assuae

T RA

AN

M I

NSFORM

ALT E R N AT I NG

D NAM
Y

FIG

295

Th e altern ati ng

c urrent sy stem

i n in candes cent l amps Th e he at is lo cated almost entirely in

the l ament s car cely at al l in the wires whi ch le ad the c urrent
t o the l ament
N ote a lso th at it is the he at not the ele ctri c current whi ch
m akes the l ament l uminous
If the carb on l ament were
raised to the s ame temper ature by an y other me a ns it would be
ust as bright
j
Figs 2 9 5 an d 2 96 i ndi cate the m anner in whi ch in candes cent
.

IRECT

'

CU RRENJ

DYN MO

FIG
l amps

a re

296
.

Th e

d i r ect current sy stem

su ally conne cted in the altern ating

rent systems respe ctively
u

an d

dire ct

cu r

The Theory of

E l ectri c H ea ti n g

le aving this brief outline of the he ating e ffe ct it

is well forthe student to see th at Jo u le s Law follows as an
immedi ate consequen c e of O hm s Law an d the denition of
potenti al d i eren ce
3 99

B efore

GENERA L P HYS I C S

4 06

C onsider

ele ctri c cir cuit say th a t represented in Fig

B etween a ny t w o points su c h as B a nd 0 whi ch in clude
2 94
between them no sour ce of
there is a di ffe r
en ce of
potenti al E whi ch is give n
by O hm s L aw n amely E
i R where R is the resist
an ce between B an d 0
If
the current i ows for a
FIG 294 Amo nt of he t prod ced b y
t a q n antit y of 8 1ec
time
el ctri c rrent depend po length
t rici t y i t W ill p ass from B
di m eter d m teri l of w i re
B y denition of p
to
o
t en t i al di ff eren ce E ( or i R ) is the amount of w ork done in
Th e amount of
carrying one unit of ele c tri city from B to 0
work done in carrying i t units will therefore be it
I f we
assume th at al l this work whi ch is done in tr a nsferring ele c
nt in he ating the condu ctor then it
t rici t y from B to 0 is sp e
follows th at
an y

an

an

whi ch is J oule s l aw N ow sin ce e x peri ment S hows th at thi s

equ ation is true we h a ve good re ason to think th at al l th e
work of the b attery between the points B an d 0 is tr ansformed
into he at
If an ele ctrolyti c c ell a stor age b a ttery or an ele ctri c motor
be inserted into the cir c uit between B an d 0 O hm s Law n o
long er holds for this p art oi the cir cuit where t he work o f t h e
of
current i s p artly spent in over c om i ng the counter
the cell the b attery or the motor
J oule s equ ation t hus shows us th a t with a ny given curren t
the he at will b e distributed throughout the cir cuit in e xactly
the s ame ratio as the resist an ce It is for this re ason th at in
in candes cent ele ct ri c l amps the resist an ce of the cir cuit is con
A n ordin ary
cen t r
at ed in the carbon l am en t of th e l amp
-v ol t l am
i
ndle
ower
a
1
as about 2 00 ohms resista n ce
h
c
1
0
ld
p
p
For this s ame re ason ne wires for prote cting ele ctri c cir cuits
ar
e m ade of a m ateri al whi ch h as high resistivity as well as a
l ow melting point

'

s equ ation also S hows u s th at sin ce the a mount of

he at develop ed in an y given condu ctor d epends upon t h e
Squ are of the cur r
ent he ating e ffe c t is independent of t h e
4 00

J oule

E L E C T R IC C URREN T S

4 07

dire ctio n of the c urrent ; the energy tr ansformed into he at is t h e

s ame for a c urrent + i as for i H en ce the he ating eff e ct
o ffers an e x cellent method for me asuring altern ating currents
A n e x quisite ill ustration of this is to be seen in
the thermog alv anometer re cently devised by
the E nglish physi cist D u ddell for the me asure
m ent of sm all altern ating c urrents
A minute
closed cir cuit composed of one pie c e of bismuth
a d one of antimony is suspended between the
poles of a perm anent m agnet in su ch a position
a s to in clude as few li n es of for ce as possible
Just below the lower jun ction of the bismuth
an d a ntimony is pl ac ed a short but e x ceedingly
ne wire one whi ch h as therefore a high resist
Th e altern ating current to be me asured
an c e
is p assed through this wire R Fig 2 9 7 A
cert ain fr a c tion of the he at gener ated in R is
c ommuni cated to the lower j un ction of the s u s
pended cir cuit a nd thus produ ces a thermo
ele ctri c current a nd causes the suspended
FIG 297 D d
cir cuit to rot ate through a cert ain a ngle in the
mo
d
ther
ay
m agneti c eld Th is dee ction is re ad o by
g lv nom et r
me ans of a m i rror m attached to the su sp
en s on
ber Th e s cale is ca libr a te d by p assing through the instru
ment a dire ct current of kn own i n tensity
.

Other Form s

Jou l e

L aw

In virtue of Ohm s Law i t is cle ar th at we m ay writ e

1 5 2 I n either of the three following forms

401
Eq

- -

ergs

Eq

1 52

where E is the E M F between the e x tremities of the resist

an c e R
Th e rst form shows us th at when i is a co n st ant
H
R ; the l ast form shows th a t when E is a const ant H
.

00

at

Th e import an ce of cle arly distinguishing the conditions under

whi ch an e x periment is pe rf ormed an d of t aki ng account of

them I our equ ations will be see n from the following e x per t
ment
n

GENERAL

4 08

HYS I C S

in se r
ies two pie ces of wire about N o 3 6 h a ving e a ch
appro x im ately the s ame length an d di ameter but one m ade of
c opper the other of iron
If n ow a current be p assed throug h
these t wo wires the v a lue of i will be the s ame for e ach
Join

Cu

CON S T
ANT : I RO N

Cu

'

FI G

298

Fe

Fe
CO NSTANT;

C PPER MELT

Interpretati on of Joule s Law under di ff erent experi mental condi tion s

H en ce H

the resist an ce of the iron is mu ch

g re ater th an th at of copper the he at is lo calized m ainly in the
i ron s o th at as the c urrent is in cre ased the iron is the rst to
b e c ome red -hot an d f u se
W hen however these two wires are pl aced in p ar allel the
c urrent is no longer the s ame i n e ach ; it is n o w the
th at is const ant as we p a ss from one wire to the other H en ce
oc

R,

S in ce

an d

cc

an d

we

may

now e x pe ct the he at to be c on centrated

m ainly in the good condu ctor th at is in the Copper A s the

c urrent is in cre ased this e x pe c t ation is justied
for we n o w
O bserve th at t h e c opper wire is the rst to turn red an d melt
In the l abor atory it is well to remember this prin ciple ; for
w hen a s et of resist an c e coils is j oined to a sour ce of const ant
su ch as a stor age b attery the low resist an ces are ap
t
B u t if the coils are
t o be b urned out if put in c ir c uit alone
j oined to a sour ce of const a nt current it is the high resist an ces
whi ch a re in d anger
,

O F A N E LE C T R I C C U R RE NT
4 02
Th e student who has employed a g alv anometer to dete ct
e le ctri c currents alre a dy knows th a t a wire c onveyi n g an ele c
B ut it is not
t ri c c urrent is surrounded by a m agneti c eld
s uffi cient to know merely th at the region about a c urrent is a
m agneti c eld we w a nt to kno w wh at kind of a eld it is wh at
its dire ction is a t a ny point a nd where the eld is most intense
0

M A G N E TI C E F F E C T S

E L E C T R IC C URREN T S
P erh aps

4 09

good a w ay as an y to obta in a view whi ch is at

on ce sound an d gener al is to follo w some h alf dozen ex p
i
er
mental illustr ations of this m agneti c c ect su ch as t h e
followi n g
as

403

Ex

i
er

To

men t

illu tr ate the eld ab out a

str aight portion of an ele ctri c
F 299
Iron l ing rr nge them e
lve
c ir c uit p ass a c urrent through
i ri ng
bo t
electri c c rren t
a bare c opper wire of sm all
di ame t er Th e C opper wire should be j ust l arge enough not t o
melt O n dipping this W ire into a b ox of ne iron lings w e
observe th at the lings whi ch by
indu ction be come tempor ary m ag
nets arran ge themselves in cir cle s
about the wire a d as the w ire i s
lifted out these rings of ling s
rem ain clinging abo u t it as indi
B u t when t h e
cat ed in Fig 2 9 9
c urrent is
interrupt
ed
they
f
all
S h ow ing righ b h d d
Fm 3 00
rew rel t ion b etw een c rrent O ff Sh ow D g th a t these 0 11 3 11 13
to th t lines of for ce dis appe ar with the
d l i ne of force d
c rrent
c urrent
Th e m agneti c eld about a str aight wire conveying a cu r
rent is then represented by a series of cir cles dr awn about t h e
wire as center a d in
pl anes perpendi cul ar to
the wire as illustrated in
er
i
Fig 3 00 A s an ex p
ment al fact it is observed
th at the dire ction of these
lines of for ce is rel ated to
the dire ction of the cu r FI G 301 L ne of force o t
m gl l op
b
rent as I n d cat ed I n Fi g
rr t
yi g
3 00 th at is in the righ t
h anded s crew rel ation B u t this is e x actly the st ate of affairs
des cri bed by B iot an d Sav art s Law E q 1 41 whi ch t akes the
following form when the C G S unit of c urrent is employed
s

s a

s a

an

an

an

sc

ue

con v e

a cu

en

a s

Eq

1 54

G ENE RAL

4 10

HY SI C S

If the wire be be n t i n to a loop as i n Fig 3 01 li n es of force

w ill pass through the loop i n a directio n perpe n dicular to the
la n e of the lo op These are the li n es of force which we have
p
a lre a dy
3 6 5 ) used for the i n ductio n of curre n ts
,

If
a
curre
n t be passed through a coil of
p
wire ( i e thr o ugh a pile of loops ) the li es of force distribute
themselves about the c oil
very much as i n dicated i n
Fig 3 02 Such a coil is
called a helix
A n d by
use of a compass n eedle
we easily satisfy o urselves
that such a helix beh a ves
as a m a g n et on e en d re
pelli n g the n orth p ole t he
other en d attracti n g it
that the
R e m ember n
arrow on a li n e of force
i
n dic a tes the directio n
i
n
F IG 3 02 Li n s f f rc ab t a h l ix
which a n orth p ole would
tr a vel if left free a t th a t poi n t i n the eld it follows th a t t h e
n orth p
e ars t o
ol e of a h el ix i s th at in w h i ch t h e curre n t ap
p
cir cu late i n a coun ter -cl ockwise d ir ecti on w h e n v i ew ed f r
om out
s i d e t h e h eli x
O bserve that here the mag n etic li n es
of force i n the helix are straight
while the path o f the curre n t is ci rcu
lar the two bei n g co n n ected by the
right -han ded screw rel a tio n
No ex
t i on i n d ee d has ever b ee n d isc overe d
cep
t o the ge n er al p
ri n ci p
le that about every
t
F
IG
30
3
111
t
r
i g th
n
lectri
c
c
u
r
r
e
t
wh
a
tever
its
ath
t
h
ere
e
p
3
d d
r w r la
gh t-h
ar
e li n k e d li n es of f or ce i n t h e ri gh t
li s f
ti
b tw
h an d e d s cre w rel at i on
f rc
d c rr t s
404

Ex

i men t
er

ou

an

on

The

an

us

sc e

een

ne

en

E l ect romagn et

n a r
helix
which
is
wou
d
po
o d of
u
p
ir on i s c alled an electr o m ag et
S uch a device e n o r m o usly
i n creases the n umber of li n es of force passi n g through the

405

Ex

er
i

men t 3

ELE

C TR I C C U RRENTS

411

helix The behavior of the electrom a g n et is well illustrated

i n the ordi n a ry telegraph sou n der
H ere the operator at a
dist a n t statio n closes
the circuit ; the elec
t ro magn et fur n ishes
a stro n g m a gn etic
eld attracti n g to its
poles a sm all piece FIG 304 R p
r s ti g th k y t th s d r s d
d th s
d r t th r c iv r s
d f th t l
of i ro n A called an
h li
g rap
ar m ature
Th i s
an d he n ce can rotate slightly about
ar m ature is pivoted at B
Whe n the circuit is closed the armature
an axis through B
hits a stop which gives t h e sh a rp metallic click familiar to
every on e who h a s ever bee n
i n a telegraph ofce
Whe n
the circuit is broke n the arma
ture is pulled b a ck agai n st
a n other stop by me a n s of a
spiral spri n g
The det a ils

o f the
sou n der are show n
n Fig
i
0
3
5
3 05
F
The electric door bell which
makes an d bre aks the circuit automatically is very much like
the telegr a ph sou n der o n ly here whe n the c i rcuit is rst closed
by pushi n g the butto n at K ( Fig
the curre n t ru n s
through the armature ;
but the iro n core of the
mag n et
i mmediately
becomes mag n etized ;
the a rmature is pulled
aw a y from the metallic
F
Th l c t r i c d r b ll
306
stop on which it rested
an d the curre n t is thus i n terrupted ; but as soo n a s the curre n t
is broke n the electrom a g n et ceases to attract the arm a ture falls
back by me a n s of a spri n g i n to its i n itial positio n an d the
circuit is a g a i n closed
I n this ma n er the armature is kept i n co n ti n u a l vibra
tion an d m a y therefore be empl oyed as a bell cl a pper the
bell co n ti n ui n g to ri n g so lo n g as the push butto n is held
dow n at K
.

an

e en

ou n

e e

en

en

en

e e

ne

IG

IG

e e e

oo

G ENE R AL

412

Th e

HY SI C S

l i s merel y an electro
magn et p
rovid e d with an automatic circuit br eak er an d woun d
w ith a secon d an d en tir el y i n d ep
e n den t coil of wir e The wire
which co n tai n s the auto
matic i n terrupter an d
which is usually thick an d
Short so as to c a rry l a rg e

n
curre ts is c alled t h e
prim a ry
The other cir
cuit which is usually very
lo n g a d m a de of com
ar
at i v el

n
e
wire
is
p
y
F
c il
307 D iagram f i d c t i

n
w
n
k o
as the seco n d
ary
This seco n d a ry is so lo n g that it is wr a pped m a n y time s
about the li n es of force which pass through the prim a ry The
result is th a t whe n the prim a ry is quickly broke n an e n ormou s
n umber
of li n es of f o rce N are sudde n ly removed fro m t h e
seco n dary An d si n ce the electromotive force i n duced i n t h e
seco n dary is give n by
4 06

Ex

rimen t 4

i n d ucti on

coi

IG

on

Eq

140

it is clear that the voltage betwee n the termi n als of the sec on d
ary m a y become e n o rmous so large I n deed as to discharg e
through a very co n sider a ble g a p of air or other i n sul a tor It
is for this purpose n amely to produce a high electromotiv e
forc e starti n g with a source of l ow electromotive force that i n
,

FI G 308
.

Lon gi t ud i n al s ec ti on

of

i n d u ti on

c oi l

EL

E C TR I C C U R REN TS

413

ductio n coils are mai n ly used As will be see n from N eu

it is quite as import a n t to m a ke t t h e
m a n n s equatio n
d ur a tio n o f bre a k sm a ll as it is to m a ke N large
A ccordi gly for the purpose of reduci g t it is custom a ry to
joi n on e termi n al of a c on de n ser to e a ch side of the bre a k i n
the pri m a ry a s i dicated i n Fig 3 07 The eect of this con
de n ser is to h a ste n the break very much by receivi n g the
charge which would otherwise pile up a t e a ch termi n al of t h e
prim a ry gap an d thus prolo n g the primary curre n t
.

B eha vi or of

M ovabl e Circu i t i n

M agn eti c Fi el d

to
this
poi
n t we have bee n studyi n g
p
p
pri n cipally the eld produced by a give n electric curre n t but
we a re n o w ready to determi n e by experime n t how an electri c
curre n t behaves whe n
pl a ced i n a n other m a g
n etic eld i e i n a eld
other tha n its o w n To
a n swer this questi on we
shall n eed a circuit
which is free to m ove
while a curre n t is o w
FIG 309 A as ily m vabl l ct ric ci rc i t
i g i n it
The classic a l
m e t hod o f acc omplishi n g this is to o a t a small V o l t a ic cell i n
a large dish of w a t er A s m a ll coil of Copper wire c on sisti n g
of half a doze n tur n s with zi n c an d copper pl a tes soldered t o
its respective termi n als can be tted through a c ork i n to a
sm a ll an d r a ther deep
glass beaker as shown
i n Fig 3 1 0
A S so on as the glass
is half lled wit h d ilut e
sulphuric acid an d
oated on water w e
F
3 10
t
M vab l c il r t t
have at our disposal a
i cl d
li p
assi g t h r gh i t h ri gh t h a d d curre n t in a circuit
d r cti
which is free to move
If the oati n g cell i s i n cli n ed to be u n st a ble a small piece of
Sheet le ad laid i n the botto m will remedy the di fculty
407

rimen t 5

Ex

n e

e e e

IG

ne

ou

o a es so as
n

on .

G E NE R AL PHYS I C S

4 14

Two phe n ome n a are observed whe n a stro n g bar magn et is

brought n ear this oati n g coil vi z :
( 1 ) If the N pole o f the
mag n et be exte n ded toward
the coil the circuit will al
w a ys rotate so as to prese n t
th a t face i n which the cur
re n t is owi n g i n a clockwise
F IG 3 1 1 M vab l c i rc i t i tr l t d
se n se i e t h e south f a ce of
t
l d a s ma y l
s f f rc as
the
coil
is
attr
a
cted
the
b
y
i qgg
g
n orth pole of the mag n et
n
n ot the whole of the
this
motio
of
rotatio
is
2
B
u
t
n
)
(
phe n ome n o n For
if the magn et be hel d i n a xed position
on t o
en d o n i n f r
f the coi l it is observed that the coil is also
t ran sl a ted as a whole movi n g so a s to i n cl ude more li n es of
force
An d i n gen er al it h as been p
rov ed th at an el ectr
i c cu r
ren t al
w ays s et s i tself so as t o i n cl u de as man y li n es of f or
ce as p
os
i ght-h an ded scr ew d i recti on A slack wire of gold
s i bl e i n t h e r
ti n sel c a rryi n g a curre n t shows the s a me te n de n cy to wr a p
itself about a straight m a g n et that li n es of force have to wrap
themselves about a str a ight wire co n veyi n g a curre n t
The adva n ced stude n t will d iscover that this ge n eral electro
d y n amic a l pri n ciple is merely a S pecial c a se of the ge n eral d y
n am i cal pri n ciple that an
body
te
n ds to move from rest i n to
y
such a positio n as to make its pote n ti a l e n ergy a mi n im u m
.

c u

an s a e

ine

so

ss

The

D A rson val Ga l van omet er

still
impler
an d m o re eleg a n t ill u s
S
p
tr
at i on of t his behavior of a curre n t i n a mag n etic eld is the
followi n g
M ou n t a Westo n mag n et upo n a block of woo d as i n dicated
i n Fig 3 1 2
B etwee n the poles suspe n d a coil of half a d o ze n
tur n s of N o 2 0 copper wire usi n g for the suspe n sio n a spir a l
o f say
N o 3 0 wire
C o n n ect the c o il by me a n s of a n other
spir a l below to a Si n gle cell an d key If the plan e of the cop
per coil be s et parallel t o the magn etic li n es of force a s i n di
cat ed
the coil will rotate whe n ever t h e circuit is closed ;
because by rotati n g it can set itself so as to i n clude a much
larger n umber of li n es of f o rce This experi m e n t ( which can
4 08

Ex

i
er

men t 6

EL

E CTR I C C U RRENTS

415

prepared i n t en mi n utes ) Should be thoroughly exami n ed

repe a ted an d mastered by every stude n t
This is esse n tially the i strume n t which L ord Kelvi n devised
i n 1 8 6 7 for receivi n g m es
s a ges ove r the A tl a n tic
The suspe n ded coil
C a ble
is co n n ected with the cop
per wire i side the c a ble
an d whe n ever a curre n t is
se n t o ver the li n e the su s
pe n ded coil tur n s itself so
as to i n clude more li n es of
force
Whe n the c u rre n t
ce a ses the coil return s to
i t s p o sitio n of equilibrium
The an gul a r deectio n Of F IG 3 12 A galv sc pi wh ich prt
t i
c
rr
f th
w ir
i g th
y
t h e coil i s i n dic a ted by t h e
q
x d
m v b l wh l t h m g t
moti on of a spot of l ght ;
a n d the operat o r reads the message by the moti on of this spot
I n l a ter i n strume n ts the coil is a lso provided with a fou n t a i n
en s o that it records its o w n deectio n s on a movi n g strip of
p
paper
N early all the voltmeters an d ammeters which a re see n on
the switchb o a rds of electric light statio n s an d power h o uses
are co n structed on this s a me pri n ciple o n ly here the m o v a ble
coil is wou d on a rigid fra m e which is pivoted betwee n a p a ir
of j e w eled be a ri n gs The a m meter is merely a galv a n o m eter
whose resist a n ce is very small c o m p a red with the rest of the
circuit i n which it is pl a ced while a voltmeter is a gal van om
eter whose resist a n ce is very high c om p a red with the resista n ce
lyi n g betwee n the two poi n ts whose p o te n ti a l di ff ere n ce is
desired

be

an o

co n v e

i e

e,

a ne

en

IS

The

prim

E l ectri c M otor

The electric mot or is also a suspe n ded

coil of this ki n d H ere the coil is ge n er ally wr a pped ab o ut an
iro n core on a horizo n tal steel sh a ft which is suspe n ded i n be a r
i gs s o that the coil r ot a tes with very little frictio n This c oil
is c a lled the armatur e a d is pl a ced betwee n t h e poles of an
electro m a g n et so as to be i n a str on g m a g n etic eld
If a
4 09

Ex

en t

GENER AL PHY SIC S

416

curre n t is n ow passed through an y o n e coil of wire on t h e

ar m ature coil the coil will te n d to rotate so as to i n clude more
li n es of force ; but whe n it has o n ce set itself i n a positio n
where it i n cludes as m a n y li n es as possible the comm u t a tor
( simply a split ri n g fas
te n ed on the sh a ft an d
i n sulated from it )
cha n ges the directio n
of the curre n t i n t he
9
coil so th a t n ow the
wire te n ds to rot a te
1 8 0 farther s o as t o
i n clude more li n es o f
FIG 3 13 E l ct ric m t r h wi g c mm tat r force i n the right
ha n ded directio n E a ch turn of wire o n the armature beh a ves
i n the same way s o that there is a co n ti n u a l mome n t of forc e
acti n g upo n t h e armature By me a n s o f a belt an d pulley a
large part of the e ergy fur n ished to the motor m a y be tr an s
m i t t ed to other m a chi n es an d there employed t o do work
It Should be cle a rly gr a sped that the electric motor is n ot
i n itself a source of e n ergy but merely tra n sfor m s i n t o mech a n
ical e n ergy the electrical e n ergy which is give n to it A t the
s a me
time by a llowi n g us to utilize the e n ergy of dista n t
lakes an d mou n tai n streams where this source of power would
n ot otherwise be available the electric motor h a s had the
rac
p
tical e ect of addi n g largely to our available resources So
i n ue n tial have bee n the dy n a m o an d the motor i n moder n
civiliz a ti on an d so much have they do n e for the adva n ce m e n t
of electrical scie n ce th a t we here appe n d a brief outli n e of
,

o o

E T H E O R Y O F T H E D Y N A M O AN D M O T O R
4 10 The cardi n a l discovery of the dy n amo was m ade by
Far a d a y i n 1 83 1 H i s m a chi e c o n sisted merely o f a copper
disk m ou n ted o n an axle so as to r o t a te betwee n the t w o p ole s
o f a horseshoe m a g n et as S how n i n Fig
3 14
The brushe s
m a ke c o n t a ct on e at the periphery the other at the axle o f
the disk The radius OP is c on ti ually cutti n g li n es of forc e
i n such a directi on as to produce a curre n t i n the directio n
i n dicated by the arro w on the lead wire
A motor operati n g upo n the i n verse of this pri n ciple h a d
TH

ELE C T R IC

C U RRENTS

417

me years previously ( 1 8 2 3 ) bee n i n ve n ted by B arlow B u t

the ge n er a l pri n ciple th a t an e fcie n t dy n amo will make an
m otor
e fcie n t
whe n supplied 4
with curre n t
the pri ciple of
re v e r s ibility
was e n u n ci a ted
b y the Itali a n
P a ci n o t t i
as
l a te a s 1 8 6 4
F IG 3 14 Farad y s d i s k m ch i th arl i s t typ f
Betwee n this
l ct r mag t i c g rat r
d a te an d 1 8 7 6
G ram m e Wilde S ie m e n s Wheatsto n e an d others Showed h o w
a p a rt or all of the curre n t ge n er a ted by the m a chi n e might be
led arou n d the a r m s of the m a g n et
a d thus co n vert it i n t o a powerful
which i tur n w o ul d
o m ag et
el oct r
e n or m ously i n cre a se the output of
curre n t an d which g a ve to the m a
chi n e the a dv a n t a ge of bei n g able t o
st a rt itself from the residual m a g
n et i sm retai n ed by the ir on
I n Fig 3 1 5 is see n a dy n a mo
wh o se mag n etic eld is produced by
passi
n g the e n tire curre n t about the
F
3 15
iro n S uch m a chi n es are s a id to be
series wou n d
The m a chi n e show n i n Fig 3 1 6 is the type
used for lighti n g i n ca n desce n t lamps H ere o n ly a part of the
c urre n t
fro m the armature is
d i verted to excite the eld
These dy n amos are said t o be
shu n t wou n d
Whe n both
meth o ds are combi n ed on on e
m achi e the wi n di n g is said to
be comp o u n d
4 11
Whe n it comes to a
co n sider a tio n of
q u a n tit a tive
F
3 16
the dy n am o the e n gi eeri g
e quatio n s up on which the m a chi n e is desig n ed an d O per a ted
so

e e

ne

n e,

en e

e e

IG

I G.

e o

GENERAL PHYS IC S

418

are n othi n g else tha n the two fu n dame n tal equatio n s ( 1 3 9 an d

1 44) upo n which are based n early the whole of elec t rical
scie n ce the rst of these describes Far a day s great d i scov
ery ; the seco n d O ersted s ; the rst is N euman n s equatio n ;
the seco n d L e n z s L aw
C o n sider an y si n gle straight copper wire on the a rmature of
a dy n a m o Suppose it to lie p a rallel to the axis of rot a ti o n so
th a t its motio n as well as its directio n is n early everywher e
perpe n dicul a r to the li n es of force m a gn etic ux as it i s
c a lled which ru n from on e pole piece to the other through
the a rmature L et us call this si n gle straight wire a n i n du c
tor ; the n if
L le n gth of the i n ductor i n ce n timeters
V li n e a r velocity O f i n ductor i n ce n timeters per s eco n d an d
i n te n sity of m ag n etic eld li n es per square ce n timeter
H

i n the air g a p betwee n pole piece a n d armature

the rate at which the i n ductor cuts li n es of force will be B L V
an d the electromotive force E ge n erated i n this i n ductor will be

volts

HL V X

Eq

1 55

The various i n ductors a re l a id on the armatu re i n such a w a y

that all their electromotive forces are added t ogether ; an d it i s
the sum of these
which m ake
up the voltage of an y particular
m a chi n e
The above equatio n gives us the
E M F of the dy n amo i n terms of its
speed
We n ext proceed t o derive the seco n d
e q uatio which will give us i n term s
of
the
curre
nt
the
force
required
to
F
2221:
wh ic h d t rm i E M F driv ethe i n ductor through the eld
d y am
From J oule s Law an d fro m the defi
n i t i on of E M F we have alre a dy le a r n ed that the r a te a t which
a curre n t d oes work betwee n an y two poi n ts is the curre n t
stre n gth i m ultiplied by the
betwee n those t w o poi n ts

r
N eglecti n g frictio n the r a te of wo k
the power which
must be exerted u po n the i duct or is i E B u t we also k n ow
from mech a n ics that the p
o wer used i n movi n g an y body is the
.

D
L

IG

e e

ne

ELE C T R IC C U RRE NTS

419

product of the force F exerted upo n the body

V with which the body is moved
H e ce

an d

the velocity

EV

or substituti n g for

iE ,

its value from E q 1 55 we hav e

E
H Li dy n es
a s the mechan ic a l force required to drive the i n ductor through
the eld If i be measured i n amperes i n stead of C C S u n its
the n
F H Li x
dy n es
Eq 1 5 6
which is the seco n d fu n dame n tal equatio n of the dy n amo
The stude n t of electric e n gi n eeri n g will n d th a t i n practic e
these equ a tio n s c a ll for certai n correctio n s an d modication s
depe n di n g upo n whether the i n ductors are w o u n d upo n a ri n g
or upo n a drum b u t he will a lso n d th a t they together with
O hm s Law cover esse n tially the e n tire electrical theory of t h e
dy n amo an d the motor for the motor is merely a reverse d
dy n a m o The mag n etic behavi o r of ir on is also a vital f a cto r
i n dy n amo desig n
,

exceedi
n gly valuable illustrati on o f
p
electrom a g n etic i ductio n is fou n d i n the teleph o e which w as
i n ve n ted by Gr a ham Bell an d E lisha G r a y i n 1 8 76
The i n strume t co n sists merely o f a thi n
iro n di a phr a g m u n der n eath which is su p
ported a perman e t m a gn et carryi n g on the
en d
n ear the diaphrag m
a helix of n e
wire S ee Fig 3 1 8 The li n es of force
which spread out from the upper en d of the
m a g n et te n d to p a ss alo n g the iro disk an d
keep withi n it a s much as possible C on
n ect the two e ds of the helix t o a moder
ately se n sitive D A rson val galv an ometer
It is observed th a t whe n on e pushes the disk
with his n ger a little n e a rer to the en d o f
the mag n et a curre n t Shows itself on the
g a lva n o m eter ; an d whe n the di a phr a gm is
Th B l l
3 18
F
rele a sed an d Spri n gs back i n to its p ositio n
h
t l p
of equilibri um a curre n t i n the opposite
4 12

Ex

i
er

men t 8

An

IG

e e

on e

'

GENER AL PHYS IC S

4 20

d irectio n

is see n E vide n tly the distributio n of the li n es of

force which p a ss through the helix is i n each case cha n ged i n
s uch a way that the total ux through the helix is altered thus
pro duci n g an E M F i n the helix Whe n for the push of a
n ge r on e substitutes the vibratio n s O f the air c a used by the

huma n voice h e has the Bell tra n smitter

Whe n the two
e n ds of the helix are co n n ected to a pair of li n e wires havi n g a
s imilar teleph o n e a t the dist a n t en d
the curre n ts i n duced i n
t h e tr a n s m itter will pass thro u gh the helix a t the dis t a n t en d
a n d will alter n a tely mag n etize an d dem a g n etize
to some ex
t e n t the m a g n et at the receivi n g en d
The e ffect of these
v ariatio n s i n the m a g n etism of the receivi n g telepho n e is to s et
i n to vibratio n the diaphragm of the receiver an d reproduce the
voice which is talki n g i n to the tra n smitter Such was the early
t elepho n e the tra n smitter bei n g pr a ctically an alter n ati n g cur
re n t dy n a mo the receiver bei n g a motor
I n 1 8 77 it was disc o vered by B erli n er that the e fcie n cy of
the tr a n smitter could be vastly improved by allowi n g the vibra
tio n s of the diaphr a gm merely to vary the resista n ce of a bat
t er
The b a ttery thus fur n ishes the e n ergy for the
y circuit
i n duced curre n t an d the voic e merely co n trols
its distributio n A form of this i n strume n t
which is due to B lake an d which h a s bee n
widely used i n th e U n ited S tates is Show n i n
F ig 3 1 9
The diaphragm 1) presses a sm a ll
plati n um poi n t ag a i n st a carbo n disk 0 ; this
dimi n ishes the resista n ce an d he n ce i n creases
the curre n t i n a loc a l battery circuit ; the v a
riat i on s o f the l o c a l curre n t acti n g through a
FIG
small
tr
a
n sfor m er coil se n d out over the li n e
B l ak t r a s m
r
the i n duced curre n ts wh i ch reproduce at the
receiver each vibratio n of the tra n smitter disk
The esse n tial pri n ciple which the world owes t o G raham B ell
an d to E lisha G r a y is that the successf u l reproductio n of huma n
speech requires a co n ti n uously varyi n g i n stead of an i n termit
te n t curre n t
.

'

i t te

With this brief outli n e we must le a ve the vast domai n

of electrical scie n ce o n ly remi n di n g t h e stude n t that before
hi m lie ma n y be a utiful elds of i n qu i ry i n to which we have
413

LE C T R IC

C U RREN T S

421

yet take n eve n a h a sty glan ce A mo n g these is the prob

l em of alter n a ti n g curre n ts of which direct curre n ts are as
it were a m ere Special c a se Telepho e e n gi n eer i n g perhaps
is based upo n a
t h e most difcult o f all the a pplied scie n ces
We have passed over the e n tire
s tudy of a lter n a ti g curre n ts
an exquisite scie n ce
uesti
created
by
on of electrical w a ves
q
M a x w ell an d H ertz utilized by M a rc on i an d others for the pur
pose of wireless telegraphy To on e side also we h a ve left the
d isch a rge of electricity i n gases a most attractive study which
bids fair to give us a u n it a ry V iew of the e n tire subject i n terms
o f the electro n theory
n ot

P r o b l em s
1

l o n g w il l

H ow

pre si lver ?

it t

a ke a c rr e
u

amp
e re t

of on e

nt

epsi t a gr am
o

Am

sec

14 m 5 5

of

ampre i s
CGS
i t s ; a v l t is 1 0 C G S i t s F i d t h
heat i ergs d ev e l pd by a c rre t f
a mp
ere w i g f r
s c d
tw p
i t s w h se pte t ia l d iff ere c e i s
v lt
bet w e
3
w e r i w at t s (see 1 07) w i ll b re q i re d t k e pp
a
H w m ch p
rre t f 4 0 a mp
re s c h argi g a s t r age bat t ry t 55 v l t s ?
4
Th re si s ta c e f a 50 v l t l am pis 5 0 h m s H w m ch h e at i
j le s w i ll b d ev el p
ed i t h l a me t i 1 0 sec d s ? W h at pwer i
w atts i s r eq i r d t feed s c h a l am p I f t h l ampi s 1 6 c a d le pw er
rc a d l e p
w e r a r e r e q i re d ?
h w m a y w att p
5
H W m a y am p
ere s wi ll b re q i r d t d eps it
er
gr am f c p
p
2

An

cu

o n

e on

on

on e

un

on e

- o

ou

on e

un

en

i n 2 hr
.

p
ps

re c e d i g p
r bl
p

f u r n i sh ed by a b at
i n t h e b at tery w h i l e
t ery o f gr av i ty c e lls
H ow m u c h z i n c w i l l b e u s ed u p
5 gr am o f c op
o si t e d ?
t he
er i s b ei n g d ep
p
6

Su

o e

t h e c u rr en t i n t h e

em

t o be

c h a i n i s m ad e
l i n ks are i den t i c al i n all
i n t w o a d j a c en t l i n ks
7

al ter ate l i ks f p
l at i
c t s d t h r at i
t h e r r e sp

Of
o

nu

o of

i lver I f t h
he at d ev e l p
ed

an d S

t he

W h at w eigh t of w ater w i ll

ow i n g f or 1

b e d ec om

psed by a c rre
o

a pre s

10 m

of

hr
.

p
ps

ar th i s sed a s t h re t r w i re a d ir c t c rre t l igh t

i g c i rc i t
I f t h gr d c e c t i i s m a de by
l at s
f t w ir
p
d i f 1 00 l i gh t s e a c h si g 1 a m p
e r e ar e e m p
l yed f r 4 h rs a ch d y
d t h l ss f w ei gh t t t h i r
a de i th c rs e f
ye a r
1 0 A d y am s p
l ie s a c i rc it f 600 i c a d sce t l a m p
s E a c h l amp
p
req i re s 1 00 v l t s d am pre W h at m s t b th re s i st a c e f t h l e ad s
d t h ar m a t re i
r der t h at th e er gy l ss i t he m sh all am t t 5
f t h t ta l e le ct r i c a l
t pt f t h m a c h i e
9

Su

o e

t he

an

an

ou n

on n

on

on

no

n o

ou

ou

on e

ou

u se o

on

an

u n

on

ou n

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

422
11

h ou r

xp
l ai

a is me a

wh t

nt

by

w tt,

a kil

at t

ow

an

a k i l watt
o

a e rf all i s sit ated 1 0 m i f r m a c e rt ai t w w hich i s l ighte d

Th p
w e r re q i red t l ight
by e le c tr i c a l e e r gy d e ri v ed f r m t h i s f all
i s 1 5 0 ki l w att s W i ll i t b m re e c m i c al t t ra s mit t hi s
th t w
e re s d 1 00 v l ts r by e m p
l y i g a v l t ag f
pwer si g 1 5 00 a mp
t t r a s m i t 1 5 a mp
e re s ? S p
pse t h re si s ta ce f t h 1 0 mi les f
l i e w i re t b 4 0 h m s ; c m pte t h l ss
t h l i e i t he se t w c as s
13
Tak i g t h at m i c w eigh t f si lve r s 1 08
d t h e l e t r c h e mi c a l
e q i v ale t f hyd r ge as
d t h e l e c t r c h e m i c a l e q v a le t f
lv e r
14
m
er W re f giv e l e gt h i s rep
l a ce d by
f a l mi
A c p
p
Wh at cr ss s c ti m st t h a l mi m wi r e h ave i Or de r that a gi v
c rre t w ill p
r d ce
m r heat i i t t h a i th c p
er
p
15
r d ce a
Tw c ells re j i ed i se rie s w i t h a gi ve res i s ta ce
d p
c rre t f
a mp
er e s O f t h cells i s w re v rsed i t pl s bei g
Th c rre t i
i t rc ha ge d wi th t hei r p
r ev i s psi ti
re s
w 2 a mp
f th t w c e ll
f th
Fi d t h r at i
12

A w t

an

on

Si

on o

ui

an

n e

no

on

o e

o o

nu

o n

ne o

en

on

an

no

nu

ou

on e o

s no

o e

C H APTE R

XI

LI G H T

very large proportio n of all that we k n o wco n cer n i n g

the exter n al world is obtai n ed from an exami n atio n an d com
paris on of our se n satio n s of sight
A s u n der the he a d of S o u d w e co n sidered th ose phe n ome n a
which produce the se n sa t io n of he a ri n g so n ow u n der the
head of L ight we proceed to co n sider those phe n ome n a which
are recog n ized by our visual se n se A n d j ust as i n the case of
sou n d w e did n ot co n sider either the physiological or psycho
l ogical side of the questio n so here t h e d is cu ssi on i s l i mited t o
l i gh t as an ex ter n al p
h y s i cal p
roces s givi n g u s t h e s en sati on of
Si gh t
There m a y be i n a room objects to be see n also an eye
to see them but u n til light from some source is supplied ther e
is n o seei n g
4 14

F oll o wi n g the method used i n previous chapters of this

volume we sh a ll begi n -an d en d with a study of s ome of the
fu n dame n tal phe n ome n a of light accompa n yi n g the discussio n
w it h certai n de n itio n s an d applicatio n s hopi n g thus t o le a r n
somethi n g of modern views co n cern i n g the n ature of light
he ome n a the followi n g Seve n are
O f these f uhd am en t al p
selected as bei n g perh a ps the more i m porta n t for our purpose
I R ectili n ear P ropagatio n
I I Fi n ite S peed
II I D iffr a cti on a d I n terfere n ce
n )
L
ight
a
wave
motio
(
I V P ol a riz a tio n
R eecti o n
V
V I R efr a ctio n an d D ispersio n
V I I I n terfere n ce an d D iff r a ctio n
N either i n th o ught n or i n practice a re these phe n ome n a
separ a ted by water -tight bulkheads O n the co n tr a ry they
a re i deed i n ti m ately co n n ected fro m which it foll o ws th a t
4 15

42 3

'

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

4 24

groupi n g of facts such as that i n dicated above is purely a

For the sake of orie n ti n g ourselves
m atter of co n ve n ie n ce
a n d starti n g t o gether w e Shall n o w take a hasty an d r a ther
n d a me n t a l facts
uali
ative
gla
ce
at
the
rst
four
of
these
fu
t
q
an d shall the n proceed to take up the other three i n a mor e
qua n titative way

any

S ome P rel i mi n ary D en i ti on s

Whe n we are lo oki n g a t the various obj ects i n a room

it is n ot dif cult i n g e n eral to select those which we might
still be a ble to see i n case n o light were admitted to the roo m
from the outside If the room were completely shut off from
a n y outs ide light
t h e chairs an d tables i n it would be come
quite i n visible while a burn i n g match a red-hot coal i n t h e
replace a lighted gas jet or an i n ca n desce n t lamp would each
illumi n ate the roo m an d a t the s a me time be see n by its own
light B od i es of this l att er cl ass whi ch s h i n e by t h eir own l i ght
ar
e s ai d t o be self l u mi n ou s ; w hi le bod i es of t h e f or mer cl ass
ar
e d es cri bed as
b ei n g s ee n on l y by r
e ecte d or d iff u se d li ght
Lumi n ous bodies are ge n erally but n o t a lways
n on lu mi n ous
h ot
A phosphoresce n t cloc k face is easily see n at n ight but
The stude n t who recalls his
c an hardly be called a hot body
d a ily duties will n d that m ost of his work is performed by the
a id of borrowed o rdi ffused light For i n stan ce you are n ow
readi n g this page by light which is reected from the white
paper to the eye Some substa n ces such as water air thi n
l a yers of gelati n e ma n y ki n ds of glass an d some crystals
permit us to see with disti n ct n ess other obj ects through them
B u t there are other substa n ces such a s iro n wood i n k through
which bodies c a n n ot ordi n arily be see n
B od i es thr ou gh w h ich on e can see oth e r object s di sti n ctl y ar
e
s ai d t o be
tran s p
are n t bod ie s th r ough w h i ch visi on is i mp
os
s i ble are s ai d t o be
aq ue
B u t every o n e will recall cert a i n
op
o ther substa n ces such a s milk i n thi n layers thi n tissue paper
l ightly grou n d glass eve n i n k i n thi n layers thi n shavi n gs of
wood through each of which o bjects are fai n tly or i n disti n ctly
see n These bodies form a class i n termediate betwee n tra n s
pare n t an d opaque bodies Substan ce s wh i ch tr an sm i t s ome
l i ght
but n ot e n ough for d i sti n ct vis i on
ar
e s aid t o be
tran slucen t
4 16

L I GHT

425

If bodies are take n in l ayers of proper thick n ess it may be

e asily show n
that there is n o sharp li n e betwee n the mos t
For met als suc h
O p a que an d the most tra n spare n t substa n ces
as g old an d S ilver whic h are very de n se an d ordi n arily ver y
op a que become tr a n sluce n t an d eve n tr a n sp a re n t whe n t ake n
i n suf cie n tly thi n l ayers a s may be easily sh o w n by depositi n g
a thi n lm o f Silver on gl a ss ; while on the co n tr a ry what w e
c a ll perfectly clear water whe n t a ke n i n su f cie n tly thic k
layers permits almost n o light to pass through it Thus geogra
r
h
e
s
who
have
studied
the
b
o ttom of the sea have fou n d tha t
p
those parts of the ocea n which lie at a depth of several kil o
meters are i n almost complete dark n ess
N o substa n ce i s
either perfectly tra n spare n t or perfectly opaque
,

M O V ES I N S T R A IG H T L I N ES

L IG H T

object behi n d an opaque scree n is i n visible to a per

A s every o n e k n o ws from ex p
i
er
son i n fro n t of the scree n
en ce the reaso n of this is th a t the light proceedi n g from an y
part of say a m an behi n d the tree c a n n ot pas s thr ough t h e
opaque tree ca n n ot take a curved path arou n d the tree an d
therefore c a n n ot re a ch the eye of the observer E vide n ce of
this ki n d such as we have all bee n collecti n g si n ce early child
hood shows u s tha t if light does n ot travel i n straight li n es i t
travels i n li n es which are very n early straight
O n e of the S implest illustra t io n s of the rectili n ear propaga
tio n of light is obtai n ed by pl a ci n g a n aked are light i n fro t
of a white scree n I n tercept the light which falls on the scree n
by m e a n s of a sheet of lead fo il placed rather cl ose i n fro n t o f
the are I f n ow this sheet of foil be pu n ctured with a p
i n an
i n verted im a ge of the arc will appear upo n the scree n E ach
n ew pu n cture will create a n ew image
The image thus pro
d u ced is as regards both Size an d positio n what we should
expect if it had bee n tr a ced by a straight li e alw a ys p a ssi n g
i n hole on e en d traci n g out the arc while t h e
through the p
other en d tr a ces out the im a ge on the scree n
I n order to test the matter i n a n other w a y i n t h e laboratory
o n e may proceed as f oll o ws
A s a s o urce of light use a lamp either gas or oil provide d
with a t i n chim ey i n which h a s bee n drilled at a poi n t on a
level with the a m e a h ole from on e to t w o millimeters i n
417

An

G ENERAL

426
d iameter

PHYS IC S

This rou n d hole n ear the ame may be co n si dered

as a lumi n ous p o i n t an d n o t o ly fo r this but fo r ma n y other
purposes i n the study O f O ptics is a most excelle n t s o urce f
light A t some dista n ce s a y o n e meter i n fr on t of this poi n t
i n h o le i n i t
s o urce clamp a sheet of cardboard with a p
The
i
hole
P
Fig
n
p
(
3 2 0) an d the source
of light S a re t wo
poi n ts which serve
to de n e a str a ight
li n e
We might
thi n k of this li n e
a s represe n ted by
a thre a d stretched
FIG 3 20 Ligh t t rav ls i s t raigh t l i s
t i g h t l y b e t w ee n
i n hole a n d
these two poi n ts N o w place your eye behi n d the p
Y u will
l ook to ward the hole i n the O p a que lamp chim n ey
n d that an y op a que O bject placed o n this straight li n e P S
will re n der the lum i n ous poi n t i n visible This mea n s th a t the
light fr om the lumi ous poi n t can re a ch the pi n h ole i n the card
on l
y al o g t h stra ight l i n e joi n i n g these t w o poi n ts
'

ne

fro m the followi n g it will be see n that this state

m e n t is n o t quite t rue a s i t st a n ds
S uppo se that we place i n
this s t r a ight li n e an ordi n a ry spectacle le n s as represe n ted i n
Fi g 3 2 1 S O that an
i mage of the lumi n ous
LN
o i n t is pr o duced upo n
p
i n hole on the
the p
c a rdb o a rd To d o this
we have placed t h e
spect a cle le n s so th at
the straight li n e SP
p a s s e s approxi m a tely
through the C e n ter O f FIG 3 2 1 I f a m di m i t h m g
s l igh t
d
s
h
i
t i s rai gh t li
s
t t rav l t h r
g
n
L
the le s
et us now
i n terpose a c oi n somewhat s m a ller th a n the le n s i m mediately
i n fro n t of the le n s s o that the straight li n e passes through the
ce n ter of the coi n We observe that this c oi n does n ot preve n t
Th e
i n hole
al l the light from the lumi n o us poi n t reachi n g the p
418

B ut

E S

oe

no

s no

ou

en eo u

ne

L I G HT

42 7

i mag e still re mai n s a t the i n h ol e the onl y d i eren ce bei n g

t h a t it is n o w n ot quite s o bright as before
The p a th of the
i n hole is n o lo n ger a str a ight
li ght fro m t h e source to t h e p
li e
A l l the light
which f o rms the im a ge
n o w p a sses a r o u n d the
edge of the coi n B u t
the reaso n of this is
very evide n t for we
h a ve n ow i n terp osed
a piece of glass i n the
p at h o f the light an d
i deed it h a s bee n
FIG 3 2 2
f o u d t h a t i n ge n er al
wh en li gh t has to pass thro ugh m ateri als of di ff eren t ki n ds it do es
n o t tr av el i n t h e s am e str
ai ght li n e th ro ugh the m al l
If n o w we remove the spect a cle le n s an d a llow the pe n n y to
rem a i n i n Fig 3 2 2 we sh a ll n d t h a t the coi n preve ts an y
light fr o m the source reach in g the h ole i n the c a rdb oa rd The
e tire p a th of the light is here through air alo n e
s t h e a ir i n a r oo m
or a piece of
D n i ti on
A bo dy such a
pure gl a ss every p art of wh ic h is lik e ev ery oth er part is said to
be homo gen eo us
A ccordi n gly we may s ay th at whe n the medium is n o t homo
n eo u s light does n o t travel through it i n straight li n es
e
g
'

there are certai n circumstan ces i n wh ich light does

n o t move i n straight li n es eve n whe n the medium i s perfectly
ho m oge n eous If a lumi n ous obj ect be vie w ed through a very
n a rro w a perture it will i n ge n er a l be fou n d that the image is
dist o rted This experime n t is m ost easily realized perh a ps by
m a ki g a n arrow slit i n the t i n l a mp chi m n ey represe ted i n
Fig 3 2 0 V iewed by the n aked eye the Slit appears to have a
c ert a i n w id t h
B ut n o w ex a mi e it thr o ugh a n a rr o w slit
a si gle cut made with a pocket k n ife i a visiti n g c a rd
The c a rd Sh o uld be held i n the ha n d very close in fro n t of
t h e eye
Th e slit S appears n ow very much dim i n is h e d i n
b ri ghtn ess bu t v ery muc h wi der t h an to the n ak ed eye
This
phe n ome n o n is still better see n if we substitute for the visiti n g
card a si n gle str a ight ou t m a de on the op a que lm of an ordi
4 19

But

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

42 8

ary photograp h ic plate A sm all piece of a la n ter n -slide i s

best for it is difcult to cut a Slit i n the lm of a f a st plat e
without maki n g the edges ragged The e ff ect O f a small hol e
on a bu n dle o f rays
RE
p a ssi n g through it i s
the n to Spre a d t h e
rays out s o th a t t h e
slit S appe a rs to h a v e
a width
For t h e
source S w o uld n ot
appear to h a ve t h e
width CD u n less t h e
rays were spread out
The ray P H pro
1
0
n
g
e
d
b
a
W
a
1
C
k
d
F
3 23
s l i ap
rs
w
s
A l mi
w
i
d
d
h
p
m l l ap
rt r
th r g h
gives u s on e edge of
the appare n t slit ; the r a y Q K prolo n ged backward gives u s
the other For it is a ge n eral f a ct that we appear to see an y
obj ect n ot i n the d i rec
PA U
tio n i n which the r a ys P
l eave the object but i n
the directio n i n which
the rays e n ter the eye
The light from the gas F IG 3 24 H ri z t al s ct i t h r gh p
r c di g

r
g
a me does n ot there
en i n g E l f
fore pass i n straight li n es thr o ugh the small q p
From the precedi n g experime n ts it is evide n t that li gh t
travels i n str aight li n es
n
W
h
d
i
he
n
e
m
e
us
a
t
m
d
i
m
i
h
n
s
e
u
o
e
o
o
;
g
()
W
h
h
h
r
h
r
ii
e
n
e
r
ay
r
m
lle
o
as
s
t
o
u
a
n
e
s
n
t
a
e
c
e
t
v
o
t
o
d
p
g
p
y
y
( )
s mal l op
en i n gs
The most accurate evide n ce for this ge n eral co n clusio n is
however derived from the c o mput a ti on of le n ses mirrors an d
other optical i n strume n ts P redictio n s which rest upo n t h e
assumptio n that light tr a vels i n straight li n es through ho m o
en eou s media an d l a rge ope n i n gs have al ways bee n veried b
y
g
the experime n tal result
n

SC E N

IG

n ou

ea

ne

a s

ou

'

en e

een

en

u e.

on

ou

on

e e

u e

LI GH T
II

L IG H T

P as si n g

429

T R AV E LS W I T H

FI N I T E S P EE D

to the seco d fu n dame n t a l f a ct of optics

it is n ot surprisi n g th a t the a n cie n ts should have co n sidere d
the velocity of light as i n n ite For every p a rt Of a l a n dscap e
illu mi n a ted by a ash of light is see n a pp a re n tly a t the sam e
i n sta n t as the as h It is evide n t th a t if light did n ot trave l
at an e n or m ous Speed this w o uld n ot be the c a se If for i n
sta n ce light tr a veled with the s a m e speed as s o u d it woul d
be a full sec on d a fter the a sh o f light n i n g before we could see
poi n ts as far away as 1 2 00 feet ; an d fo ur sec on ds later w e
could see poi n ts a mile a way It w a s such evide n ce as this
perh a ps that led the a n cie n ts to thi n k that light traveled wit h
an i n n ite speed
42 1 B u t G a lileo suspected that the velocity o f light w a s n ot
i n n ite an d pr o posed to measu re it a s follows : Tw o observ
ers e a ch provided with d a rk l a n ter n s were t o be statio n ed on
two di sta n t hillt ops at n ight Whe n the rst O bserver at A
2
Fig
3
5
e
n t a ash O f light fr o m his la n ter n
the
seco
S
nd
(
)
observer at B w a s to m a ke a similar sig n al as soo n as the rs t
ash w a s perceived The i n terv a l betwee n se n di n g the rs t
sign al an d receivi n g the an swer might be supposed t o be t h e
time take n by the light i n m a ki n g o n e rou n d trip betwee n t h e
This experime n t w a s trie d by the Flore n ti n e A cademy
h ill s
42 0

n ow

sp
l an

as ri g t h pd f l igh t
The co n clusio n was that the ti m e required w a s n ot appreciable
We n ow k n ow however th a t the time lost by the s eco n d ob
server i n perceivi n g the rst ash an d decidi n g t o se n d a
return sig n a l would occupy more ti me th a n is required for
light to m a ke a trip arou n d the world
But the followi n g m ost i n ge n ious method w a s dis
42 2
covered an d tried by the D a n ish astro n omer O l e R oe m er dur
i n g the years 1 6 7 5 1 6 7 6 a t the P aris O bserv a tory
J upiter h a s seve n m oon s on e of which is l a rger an d brighter

th a n an y of the others an d is called the rst s a tellite

FI G 3 25
.

Gal i l

eo

fo rm e

e S

ee

GENERAL PHYS IC S

30
E very

time this moo n M revolves a bout J u piter J it is

eclipsed to an observer on the earth i e it passes i t o the
R oemer measured
s hadow of J upiter as i n dicated i n F ig 3 2 6
the peri o d of this rst moo n very carefully i e determi n ed very
exactly the average i n terval Of time bet wee n two of i ts succes
sive eclipses Kn owi n g this he could o f course predict the
ti m e o f future eclipses This he did ; but on comp a ri n g the
predicted ti m es with the observed times he fo u n d that whe n
e ver the earth was i n that half of its orbit n ext to J upiter
these eclipses occurred each a little earlier
A B C ( Fig
th a n the predicted ti m e B ut whe n the earth was i n th a t hal f
of its orbit away from Jupiter i e i n the h a lf m a rked AD C
the eclipses were each a little tardy i n their appeara n c e A n d
i n p a rticul a r whe n the e a rth w a s at the poi n t B n earest to
J upiter the eclipse occurred about eight mi n utes earlier than
.

R m r s m th d f rm as ri g t h spd f l igh t
the predicted time ; while at D a poi n t most remote from
Jupiter the eclipse took place about eight mi n utes l a te Fro m
this R oemer co n cluded that eight mi n utes is t h e ti m e required
for light to travel from the poi n t B o r the poi n t D to the
ce n ter of t h e earth s orbit i e fro m the s u n to the earth This
distan ce is 1 5 4 millio n kil o mete rs H e n ce for the speed of
light S he obtai n ed approxi m ately
1 5 4 X 1 09 m eters
3 09 millio n meters per seco n d
4 9 8 s ec on ds
This of course is the r a te a t which light travels i n a v a cuu m ;
for the regio n betwee n the earth an d sun is pr obably a very
perfect vacuum B u t experie n ce shows th a t the speed i n air
is o n ly about on e part i n four thous a n d less tha n that i n a
vacuum Such a speed a s this which would c a rry a poi n t
sev en times arou n d the earth s equator i n on e seco n d i s p
ract i
o f t h e i m a gi n atio n
Cally beyo n d the grasp
F IG

3 26

oe

ee

L IG H T

s measureme n ts rem a i n ed u n co n rmed fo rh alf

a ce n tury u n til i n 1 7 2 9 Br a dley the n P rofessor of A str on o m y
at O xford discovered t hat each Of t h e xed st a rs duri ng the
course of a ye a r appe a rs to describe a s m a ll ellipse i n the Sky
This he expl a i n ed by a ssumi n g that the app a re n t p ositi on of a
star d epe n ds n ot o n ly upo n its actu a l directi on from the earth
but also upo n the velocity of light an d up on the vel o city of the
The m atter will be clear to on e w h o c on siders h ow
o bserver
h e w o uld have to hold a str a ight tube i n o rder that r a i n drops
m ight f a ll a xi a lly through it without touchi n g the S ides
L et us assume th a t the rai n is falli n g vertic a lly ; the n if the
B ut if the
O bserver is at rest the tube must be held vertic a l
the bot
o bserver is tr a veli g wit h a speed v i n an y directio n
t o m o f the tube m ust be held b a ck tow a rd the observer by an
am ou n t just equal to the dista ce which the observer would
travel while the rai n drop is p a ssi g thro ugh the tube
If V be the Speed of the rai n drop an d v th a t o f the observer
i t will be clear from Fig 3 2 7 that the a n gle 6 a t which the
tube must be i n cli n ed is give n by
mn 6
E q 1 57
42 3

R oemer

43 1

r
xi
The velocity of the earth i n its o rbit a bout the s u n is ap
o
p
m a tely n i etee n miles a seco n d This stupe n dous spee d which
w ul d c a rry o n e a cross
the A m eric a n co n ti n e n t
i n less th a three mi n utes
is the Speed of every on e
who observes a st a r from
the earth A cc o rdi n gly
if we i m a gi n e the p a th of
the rai drop to be re
pl a ced by a ray of light
fr o m a xed st a r an d the
tube t o be replaced by a
telesc ope provided w ith
cr oss h a irs i n the eye
FIG
f a r ai d r p
3 27
piece we sh all have all
the c o ditio n s for observi n g the aberratio n of light Br a dley
f ou d th a t i n l o oki n g a t a s ta r whose rays f a ll perpe dicul a rly
upo n the pla n e of the earth s Orbit a s i n dicated i n Fig 3 2 7
n

GENE RA L PHYS IC S

43 2

he h ad

to i n cl in e t h e telescope at a n an gle of 2 0" with the me a n

directio n of the star
Knowi n g 6 an d v it became a Si mple matter to substitut e
these v a lues i n Eq 1 5 7 an d thus determi n e the value of V tha t
is the speed with which light trave l s dow n the tube of t h e
telesc ope The n umber s which he obt a i n ed were
m eters per seco n d
The velocity of light thus me a sured by
B r a dley coi n cided SO n e a rly with the val u e obtai n ed by R oeme r
as t o leave little doubt that each of these m en had correctly ex
pl a i n ed the phe n ome n a which they O bserved
o

tha n a ce n tury el a psed before an y on e succeede d

i n measuri n g the S peed of light a lo n g a path co n n ed to t h e
This was rst do n e by the Fre n ch physi
s urface of the earth
cist Fizeau i n 1 84 8 H e employed esse n tially the method s ug
gested by Galileo o n ly i n stead of placi n g a secon d observer on a
dist a n t hill he placed there a mirror S O arra n ged as to se n d back
to the rst o bserver an y ashes of light which he directed upo n it
These ashes of light were obt a i n ed by rapidly ro tati n g a
toothed wheel at a k n own rate an d i n such a way that eac h
successive toot h i n tercepted a beam of light directed ste a dil y
to wards the mirror Si n ce the wheel was rotated at a me a sure d
rate the time required for an y on e tooth to pass from i t s
prese n t positi on to the positio n occupied by its predecessor was
a k n o w n qua n tity C all this T Whe n the wheel was rotate d
at a cert a i n critical Speed it was O bserved that while the bea m
was traveli n g fr o m the source to the mirror an d b a ck agai n an
ope n space betwee n two teeth through which the beam h ad
passed out to t h e mirror had bee n repl a ced by its successor S O
th a t an obser ver looki n g alo n g the path of the be a m w ould see
the reected beam A t other critic a l speeds the reected bea m
w a s eclipsed by an O paque tooth so that the observer looki n g
i n the directio n of the reected beam s aw n othi n g
I f we call the dista n ce from the w heel to the m irror L an d
de n ote by T the i n terval betwee n t wo successive a shes S O
ti med that the light whic h passes out ju st before an y p a rticula r
tooth is reected back ju st afterth a t tooth has p as sed the n w e
may write for the speed of light
42 4

M ore

L I GHT

43 8

this man n er Fizeau obtai n ed a value of

meters
r
nd
u
o d has bee n greatly improved
seco
his
meth
e
B
t
es
p
i
n d by M ichelso n
m
ec
l
l
by
C
or
u
a
These
i
pr o veme n ts
a
p y
t ogether with the adva n tages an d disadva t a ges of vari o us
m eth o ds a re cle a rly set f o rth i n Ed sers L ight f or S tu d en ts
The best o f these moder n m e a sureme n ts m a ke it pr a c t ic a lly
c ertai n th a t the vel o city o f light d o es n o t di ffer fr o m t h e rou n d
n umber 3 00 m illio n m eters per seco n d by as much as on e par t
i n three thousa n d
In

I II

L IG H T

IS

A W A VE

M OT IO N

1 9 5 ) th a t e n ergy i s i n gen
We have already see n
either by curre n ts or
e ral tra n smitted i n o n e O f two w a ys viz
Fro m the ti m e o f A ristotle u n til the ti m e of
b y waves
H uyge n s an d eve n later m en believed th a t light co n sisted i n
t h e m oti on of sm a ll particles c o r
puscles emitted either from
t h e eye or from the lu m n ous body with gre a t S peed
I n other
w ords they believed light to be prop a gated by curre n ts rather
tha w a ves
This hypothesis i s i n deed recomme n ded by the ease with
which it expl a i n s the rectili n e a r propagatio n of light through
a vacuum ; but it i n volves o ther dif culties which as we sh a ll
rese n tly s ee are i n super a ble
N ewto n made a masterly
p
a ttempt to a void these di f culties ; but the hyp o theses which
h e w as co m pelled to i n troduce led to co n seque n ces which con
t rad i ct ed the experime n tal facts
42 5

'

The rst decisive evide n ce which led m en to co n sider

l ight a wave motio n w a s give n by D r Thomas Y ou n g ( 1 773
a L o n d on physicia n H e argued th a t if li ght is a wav e
m otio n w e o u ght to be abl e to add two trai n s of li ght waves t o
1 9 3 ) we add t o gether
get h er an d pro d uc e d ark n ess j ust as
t w o tr a i n s o f waves i n stri n gs an d thereby prod u ce rest
If
h o wever light co n sists of curre n ts of m a tter e m itted by the
lumi n o us b ody as N ewto n had suggested on e c a n n o t Ob t ai n
d ark ess by addi n g t w o curre n ts t o gether
O n the c on t r a ry
t he t w o curre n ts would produce more disturb a n ce tha n either
o n e alo n e i e m o re light th a n either on e a l on e
The m an n er i n which D r Y ou n g a dded t w o rays of light is
v ery simple an d clear t o an
o n e w h o h a s ex a m i n ed the m a n n er
y
426

GENERAL PHYS IC S

434

which
a
beam
of
ligh
t
is
ared
out
di ff racted ou passi n g
in
thr ough a n arrow aperture This phe n ome n o n h a s already
bee n described i n 4 1 9 We there fou n d that a beam of
light on p a ssi n g through
PA U
a sm al l slit w a s spread
out i n to a wedge of ligh t
Thi s spr eadi ng apart
P IN T
wh i ch a bun dl e of r ays
on p
ass i n g
exp
eri ences
thro ugh a n arrow apert ur e
is cal l ed di ff r actio n
FIG 3 2 8 Diffracti f l igh t th r gh a i gl
A n eye placed a n ywhere
pi g
betwee n t h e p
oi n t s A an d
A ( Fig 3 2 8) will receive upo n its reti n a as upo n a scree n
o n e si n gle series of disturba n ces through the Ope n i n g at 0
The small co n e of rays
which leaves the lu m i n ous
p oi n t S an d passes through
the ope n i n g 0 behaves
very much as a series
of water waves striki n g
ope n i n g i n a
agai n st an
breakwater
'
L et B A C ( Fig 3 2 9 ) be
a w a ll separ a ti n g the quiet
water from the O pe n sea
The crests of the waves
before they e n ter t h e O pe n
Th
ff ct p
r d cd p
i n g a t A are straight ; F IG 3 29
b y a s mall p i g i
w
v
s
a
b r ak wa t r
whe n t h e y Strike the w a ll
'
B 0 o n ly a sm a ll portio n of the wave e n ters at A
An d it is
observed that this small portio n of the wave fro n t does n ot
proceed i n on e straight li n e but spreads out so that the succes
sive crests are n early circul a r li n es a s show n i n Fig 3 2 9 The
li n e which is n orm al to the crest or fro n t of a wave at an y p
oi n t
i n dicates the directio n i n which that wave is traveli n g a t that

This
ray
of
light
which
is
a
oi n t
n ormal is a n alogous to a
p
li n e i n dicati n g the directi on i n which the light travels at an y
poi n t This Spreadi n g a part of the wave n ormals i n water is
also called di ffr a ctio n
.

ou

on o

en n

S n

'

o en n

u e
n

on

LI G

HT

43 5

If i n the case of the b r eakwater the ope n i n g at A be

large the wave crests pr o ceed thro ugh it an d rem a i n str a ight
as Show n i n Fig 3 3 0 ; so also it is fou n d if we use a large
ope n i n g i n the vi s i ti n g card
the light rays pro
of directio n i v the
c eed straight through without ch a n ge
appare n t Size of the Ope n i n g i n the lamp chi m n ey is n ot ap
r
i
ec
p abl y ch an ged by view
i n g it through a large hole
i n t h e visiti n g c a rd
S ome few years ago a
powd er hulk exploded o n
the river M ersey
J ust
opposite the spot there is
an ope n i n g of so m e S ize i n
the high gr ou n d which
forms the watershed be
twee n the M ersey an d the F IG 3 3 0 A i a l rg p i g i a b r ak
The n oise of the wat r W v s d t ps m l l p i g
D ee
th i m
r
m
explosion was heard
through this ope n i n g for ma n y miles an d great da m age was
do n e P l a ces q uite close to the hulk but behi n d the low hills
through which the ope n i n g passes were completely protected
the n oise w a s hardl y he a rd an d n o d am age to gl a ss an d such
t
like happe n ed
l ar
e
c
o
m
a
r
e
d
w
i
h the
The op
en i n g was
g
p
ti cs
wave l en gth of the sou n d G L A Z E B R O O K P hy si cal Op
p 149
42 7

e o

o no

an n e

en n

a s as

en n

'

Wh a t is re a lly see n u n der the C rcumsta n ces of Fig

3 2 8 is the im a ge of S produced by the s m a ll ope n i n g a t 0 an d
by the le n s i n th e eye R e m e m ber the whole of the regi on i h
cluded i n the a n gle A OA is lled with light
B u t if two p
i n h oles i n stead of a S n gle Slit be made side by
i
n
the
O paqu e
S ide
PA U

scree n each will fur

n ish a co n e of light
wm
as represe n ted i n
Fig 3 3 1
These

two co n es A OA an d
FIG 3 1 Sh wi g h w d iffr ct i all ws t w rays B O B will overl a p
t I t rf m
i n the reg o n betwee n
42 8

REE

ou,

n e

on

'

GENER A L PHYS IC S

436

eye placed a n ywhere i n this regio n will receive

u po n its reti n a two di ffere n t series of disturb a n ces o n e from
0 an d a n other from
w

UR S
U n der these circumsta n ces o n e sees
i n the regio n betwee n B an d A an
image of the O pe n i n g at S ; an d the
image is lled with an alter n atio n O f
bright an d d a rk ba n ds These ba n ds
are symmetrically pl a ced on each side
of a bright ce n tral b a n d
It will be observed also that a s the
op a que scree n of cardboard is rotated
i n its o w n pla n e these bright an d dark
332
Sh w i g t h at t h
F
d ar k b a d s d p d p t h
ba n ds also rotate remai n i n g always at
i h l s
tw p
right a n gles to the li n e j oi n i n g the t w o
n holes as i n dicated i n Fig 3 3 2
i
p
'

an d

An

as OF

cones.

CE

SO

IG

u on

e en

o e

argued ) if light co n sists i n a

w a ve moti o n we may expect to n d that at an y poi n t P ( Fig
3 3 3 ) wh er e th e r esp ectiv e d ist an ces of t h e two op en i n gs P 0 an d
P O d i ffer by on e h alf a w av e l en gt h t h es e t wo tr ai n s of w aves
nt
a n n u l on e an oth er an d pro d uc e d ark n ess
but
at
n
other
poi
a
;
y
Q where the two paths Q 0 an d Q 0 di ffer by on e whole wav e
le n gth o ran y whole n u m ber of wave le n gths there the bright
n ess will be greater tha n that due to either tr a i n alo n e
An d
Li gh t fro m a
t his is exactly wh a t he fou n d to be the f a ct
b ri ght poi n t s h i n i n g thro u gh t wo sm al l op en i n gs i n a car d be
h av es lik e w at er wav es from t h e sea r ushi n g t h ro ugh two s m all
Two
o p en i n gs i n a br eakwat er
R TIN A
P
A
U
t ra i n s of waves wh i ch comb i n e
r
with e a ch other to produce
a lter n ately
bright an d d a rk Q
ba n ds i n this m a n n er a re s a id p
to i n terf er e ; an d the p
h en om e
n on
which is called i n t erfer
e n ce
of light a ppe a rs t o be
s trictly a n alogous to the i n ter
fere n ce of waves i n stri n gs an d FIG 3 33 Sh wm th c d t s wh ch
g
0 f waves I n 3 1 1 t
h W e h a ve
d t rmi
wh th r
i t rf r
b
d
i b righ t rd r
k
a lre a dy observed an d studied
42 9

A ccordi n gly

( Dr
.

Y ou n g

ave

'

e e

ne

an

on

i on

e en ce

an

L IG H T

43 7

These and other simil a r e x periments see m to furnish

bl e

e vi d en ce for thinking light to

IV

LI G H T

WA V E S

We h a ve alre ady le arned

be

wave motion

i rrefu ta

TR A N S V E R S E

AR E

th at t h e re are in gen
eral t w o fund ament al types of w ave motion n amely tra n sv rse
If we accept t h e eviden ce whi ch h as j ust been
an d l o gi tu d i n al
a dduced for thinking light a w ave motion the ne x t pertinent
inquiry is are these light w aves transverse or longitudin al ?
A re they simil ar to the w aves whi ch run along a stret ched
when stru ck with a sti ck or do they resemble
clothesline
sound w aves
To answer this question it is ne cess ary to rst est ablish a
criterion whi ch will distinguish between these t w o w ave types
S u ch a test is found in the symmetry whi ch accomp anies longi
t u d i al w aves an d the asymmetry whi ch is ch ar acteristi c of
tr ansverse w aves W hen a S pheri cal r aindrop is viewed a l on g
t he d i rect i o
at h
o
its appe ar an ce is pre cisely the s ame
f i ts p
however the ey e or the r aindrop may be turned about its p ath
as an ax is ; so also in he aring a sound the s ame sens ation is
produ ced howe ve r the ear or the sounding body be rotated
about the dire ction of the sound as a n ax is
I n gener al a lon
i
t
u d i n al w ave i s symmetri cal about its dire ction of prop ag ation
g
With tr ansverse w aves su ch as those in a stret ched string
the m atter i s quite otherwise Let t wo boys st and holding a
rope stretched between them e ach b oy holding one end If
n e boy sh akes his end of the rope t r ansversely in a single
dire ction it is an e asy m atter for the other boy to tell wh at this
dire ction is merely from the w ave pulses whi ch strike his h and
In other w ords the w aves in the string are not symmetri cal
with respe ct to the dire ction of their propag ation i e with
respe ct to the dire ction of the string If a third boy were to
st and between the other two a d hold a slot t ed bo ard so as to
allo w the string to p ass through the slot the vi b r ations m ay
or m ay not be stopped I f the dire ction of the slot is p arallel
to the motion of the p arti cles of the rope the vi br ations will
p ass through the slot undist u rbed ; bu t if the slot is held per
h
b
a
i
t
e
e
d
c
u
l
r
a
to
the
motion
of
the
p
rti
les
of
the
rope
Vi
r
c
a
p
tions will be at on ce stopped in th at p art of the rope behind the
slot ; no w aves can p ass through the slot
43 0

1 91)

43 8

E N E R AL

HYS I C S

In 1 6 6 9 it w as dis covered by B arth ol in u s a D an is h

philosopher th at a single ray of light on p assing through a
into two sep a
c ryst al of cal ci u m carbon ate ( cal cite ) is split u p
r ate r ays tr aveling in diff e rent dire ctions So th at if one l ays
a pie ce of tr ansp arent cal cite over an ink spot on a pie ce of
white p aper he will in gener al see two im ages of the spot
This phenomenon whi ch is called double re fr action now co
c erns us only be cau se a fe w ye ars l ater H uygens ( 1 6 2 9 1 69 5 )
dis covered th at e ach of these t w o r ays refr acted by the cal cite
e xhibits pre ci sely the phenomenon whi ch we h ave seen in the
stret ched string I n other words he found th at on looking
through one pie ce of cal cite at a be am of light whi ch h ad j ust
p assed through another pie ce of cal cite t he i n t en si t y of the
light whi ch re aches the eye depends very m u ch upon the
ay of light as an ax is
a ngul ar position of the c ryst al about the r
Th e ray of light is not therefore symmetri cal about its d irec
tion of prop ag ation
43 1

due
to
the
Fren
h
physi
c
cist B iot illus
p
tr ates this fact in an even S i mpler w ay B iot dis covered th at
t o u r m al i n e u n l i k e
most other cryst als
gi ves only a single
r e f r a ct e d ra y t h e
se cond ray being ah
sorbed by the sub
F 33 4
Bi ot ex priment wi th t h cro ed st an ce of the cryst al
t rm l ine
W hen light 1 8 p assed
through one tourm aline a d then e x amined through a se cond
t o u rm al i e i t is fo u d t h a
t the light m ay be completely
e x tinguished by rot ating either tourm aline with referen ce to
H ere
the other about the ray as an ax is ( see Fig
a g a in light w aves e x hi b it asymmetry with referen c e to their
dire ction of prop ag ation
43 2

An

l m en
er

ex

'

'

b
K

IG

ou

ss

'

'

'

illustr ation of this asymmetry w as d is covered

i n 1 8 08 by M alus a Fren ch army offi cer who found th at light
whi ch h as been ree cted from a surf ace of w ater or from gl as s
or from an y polished surfac e when viewed through a tourm a
line h as its in t ensity ch ang ed in a m arked m anner as t h e
tourm aline is rot ated in front of t h e eye H e showed also th at
43 3

A nother

LI G H T

43 9

for e ach subst an ce there is a cert ain angle at whi ch if the light
be ree cted it m ay be completely e x tinguished by the tourm a
line In other words he dis covered th at reect d light presents
this s ame l ack of symmetry whi ch h ad alre ady been observed by
H uygens an d B iot in the case of tr ansmitted light

M alus i n 1 8 1 1 i n tro d u ce d the wor d

pol a ri z ed to descri be
erti es in d i ffer ent dir
l i ght whi ch e xh i bits di ff er ent pro p
ectio n s a t
rop agation Th is pe culi ar asym
ri ght an gl es to th e li n e of p
ol a riz a tio n C ommon light su ch for inst an ce
m etry h e call ed p
does not possess
e re ading this p age
as th at by whi ch you ar
this pe culi arity Th e e xpl an ation of this must be t aken up
l ater
As might h ave been predi cted from M alus s dis covery pol ar
i z ati o n can be dete c ted a s well as produ ced by ree cti on
This is best shown perh aps by a p air of gl ass mirrors su ch as
those dr awn in Fig 3 3 5 Th e in cident ray is so dire cted as to
m ake an angle of 5 7
with the n orm al to the
mirror
In the l ft
han d gure the mirrors
ar
e p ar allel the verti cal
be am is pol arized by
re e ction at the lower
mi rror ; the upper mir
ror ree cts it along the
dire ction
In the F 3 3 5 Pol ri t on prod ced d detected b y
r m
right h and gure t h e
mirror s are crossed i e at right an gles t o e ach other t h e
verti cal ray is pol arized pre cisely as before b u t the upper mirror
in this position is un a ble to ree ct an y ray
43 4 From eviden c e su ch as the foregoing a b rilli ant young
Fren ch engineer Fresnel w as led to the con cl u sion th at light
w aves are tr ansverse For more th an a century following the
pu bli cation of N ewton s Op
ti cs i n 1 7 04 his corpus c ul a r theory
h ad held undisputed sw ay
B u t b etween the ye ars 1 8 1 2 an d
1 8 2 6 Fresnel produ ced an d c o ordin ated su ch a m ass of cogent
eviden ce for thin king th at light c onsists of tr ansverse w aves
th at there h as sin ce been almost as little dou bt con cerning
this prin ciple as con cerning an y of the prin ciples of ordin ary
me ch ani cs
,

IG

za i

on

an

440

Summ a rizing ,

E N E R AL

PH

YS I C S

then we m ay consider it a fact well established

by su ch eviden ce as the four fund amenta l phenomen a ust
studied th at light is a tr ansverse w ave motion prop ag a ted
thro u gh wh at we sometimes call a v acuum sometimes the

free ether with a velo city closely appro x im a ting 3 00

million meters per se cond
U pon this assumption if you prefer an d with this gener al
view of the entire subje ct we pro ceed to e x a mine some of the
other f u nd ament al facts of Opti cs A s will be seen l ater m any
of these facts might h a ve been dedu ced a s mere inferen ces from
the four whi ch pre cede
,

V
43 5

TH E

R EF L E C T I O N

L IG H T

OF

We h a ve j ust been considering the beh a vior of l[ight

whe n it h as a free p ath in whi ch to travel Suppose however

a be am of light strikes upon some body lying in its p ath
If the b ody h as a very smooth surf ace it will gener ally h ap
pen th at a l arge p art of the light whi ch falls upon it from an y
dire ction is sent off in some one other dire ction This is called
If the body is a rough one su ch as ground gl ass or
ree cti on
a pie ce of newsp aper the light whi ch f alls upon it is s cattered
i n al l dire ctions Su ch light is s aid to be d iffused ; an d the
pro cess is called d iffu se ree cti on
B u t some of the light whi ch is in cident u pon a body will
penetr a te the body ; this we know be cause obje cts can b e seen
through al l subst an ces if only the body is m ade thin enough
Th e r ays whi ch p ass through a body are s aid to be tra n s mi tt e d
If however the body is so thi ck as to be O p aque then those
r ays whi ch enter t h e body never le ave it Su ch r ays a re s a id
to b e ab sor bed ; an d the pro cess is called absorp
tion
.

R eecti on

Th e simplest

most elegant m anner of studying the

re e ction of light is perh aps the following A cross is m a de
of t w o pie ces of pine wood mortised together a s indi cated in
Fig 3 3 6 O n e pie ce is slotted so as to re ceive a strip of pl ate
gl ass G
If a pin or an in candes cent l amp be pl aced at P this strip of
gl ass will act as a mirror To an eye pl aced somewhere in
front of the gl ass say at E the im age of t h e pin or l amp will
43 6

an

L IG HT

4 41

ppe ar at P
We can now e asily pl ace a secon d pin or l amp at
the point P s o th at it coin cides with the i mage of th rst pin
Th e se cond pin at P should be viewed over the top of the gl ass
strip Th e gl ass strip m ay
well be ground or gre ased
on the re ar surface s o th at
the ree ction from the rst
surface only i s seen
Th e rst pin now lo cates
the position of an obje ct ;
w hile the se cond pin lo cates
the position of its im age
produ ced by a pl ane mirror F 33 6 A conven ient devi ce for t dy ing
t
h
l

M
t
i
on
w
C on cerning this im age it is
important to note the four following facts
1
O n o bserving this im age from v arious points of view it
is seen th at the im age does not ch ange position as the eye
Th e im age h as a x ed position in sp ace quite
ch anges position
independent of the o bserver
2
If however either the obj e ct or the ree cting surf ace be
moved the im age also moves
3
If now we draw a str aight line from P to P we nd by
u se of a squ a re th at the ree c ting surf ace is at right angles to
this line
4 N ot only s o b u t on
me asuring the p
er
en
p

d i cu l ardist an ce I 0 from
the im age to the reect
R E EC TI
R A CE I n g surface an d also the
perpendi cul ar d i s t a n c e
P 0 from the o bje ct to
the ree cting surface it
is found th at these dis
t
e equ al
an ces ar
F m 337
P 0=P0
These f acts whi ch are
famili ar to ne arly every one may be summ arized by s aying th at

1G

s u

s 0

NG

FL

SU

the

i mage of

fal l f rom the

as

the

oi n

p
i
ptt

oi n

o n

t l i es i n

in

the

l an e mi rror l i es

mi rror

t
r
on
f

an d

t he

l i es

on

as

m i rror
.

the

pp

er en di cu l a rl et

a r behi n

d the mi rror

GENERAL P HYS I C S

4 42

TH E
43 7

LA W

Th e gener al fact

follows :
Th e point
Let 0 ( Fig

P LANE

OF

m ay

R E F L EC T I O N

be more simply des cribed

as

is sending out r ays of light n al l dire ctions

3 3 8 ) be a point a t whi ch one of these r ays strikes
the mirror Then the two
r i g h t -a n gl e d t r i a n g l e s
P 0 0 an d P O 0 are equ al
for they h ave one common

S ide
a n d the sides OP
e equ al
an d 0P a r
H en c e
the angles O P O an d O P 0
ar
e equ al
P
D r aw the line N O per
en d i cu l ar to m i rror at
p
Then the angles N 0 E an d
N O P are equ al sin ce they
tr t ing t h l w of reecti on are respe ctively e ual to
q
P

'

FIG

33 8

Ill u s
at

plane s urfaces

an

'

d OP

D en i ti on s

Th e an gle between the norm al to

ree cting surface an d

the in cident ray N0 P is called the a ngle of in ci den ce Th e
norm al an d the ree cted ray N0 E is
angle between the
called the a n gl e of r eectio n
B u t these are the angles whi ch we h ave proved to be equ al
in the case of the ray P O ; the s ame evidently is true of an y
other ray N ot only so but this e x periment S hows th at the
ree cted ray lies in the pl ane of the norm al N 0 an d the in ci
dent ray P O
A ccordingly if we denote the angle of i n ciden ce by i an d t h e
angle of ree ction by r we m ay st ate the l aws of ree ction as
follows
(i ) At ea ch poi n t of th e r ee cti n g s u rf a ce th e a ngl e of reec
tion is eq u a l to the a n gl e of inc i d e n ce
lan e de n ed by th e n o r
m al
(ii ) Th e r eecte d r a y l i es i n th e p
an d t h e i n ci d en t r a y
O r in terms of algebr a
th e

i =7

Eq

L I GH T

443

this is pre cisely the m anner in whi ch we h ave foun d

When a w ave coming fro m
1 83 ) w ater w aves beh av ing
a n y dire c tion strikes a solid pier at a denite angle of in ciden ce
the ree cted w ave le aves the pier at t h e s ame angle on the
other side of the norm al If we employ P rofessor H astings
B ut

FIG 33 9 R t i of w ter w ve
e x cellent denition of a m irror a s a barrier to the further
progress of the w aves whi ch does not destroy their m otion it
is cle ar th at the rigid pier is a mirror for w ater w aves quite as
truly as pl ate gl ass for light w aves
.

on

ec

H u ggen s E x l an ati on

Th e rst

f the L aws of R eecti on

who w as able to redu ce th e ree ction of

light to anything S impler an d more general w as H uygens who
in his Treati se on Li ght published in 1 6 9 0 enun ci a ted a gener al
pri n c pl e whi ch h as proved to b e of the utmost fertility in
ry bran ch of
almost eve
opti cs
Th e prin ciple I S de
rived from a consider a
tion of wh at must h appen
according to the prin c i
ples of ordin ary dyn am
i cs if a w ave motion
st arted by an y luminous
p arti cle is prop ag ated
through an y m ateri al
med i u m in cluding the
Pr
i nc iple
FIG
H
ygen
l
t
r
t
i
l
340
l
g
free ether Let A denote
43 8

m an

us

G ENE R AL

444

PH

YS I C S

luminous p arti cle an d D CE F the position of t h e front of a

spheri cal wave at an y inst ant t Let b b b 6 denote p arti cles
of the medium through whi ch this wave h as p assed on its
Then at some i n stan t
w ay from A to its present positi on
ear
l i er t han t e ach of these p arti cles 6 must be c onsidered as a
sour ce of disturb an ce sending out spheri cal w avelets of its own
This being true we must consider the disturb a n ce at an y point
on the w ave front 0E as the result ant of a l arge number of
disturban ces arising from al l the p a rti cles of the mediu m over
whi ch the w ave h as p assed
H u ygens Prin cipl e consists th en i n th e st a t em ent th a t th e
w a v e fro n t i n a tr a i n of li ght w a ves i s a surfa ce of d isturba n ce
wh i ch r es ul ts fro m an d envelop s (i e is tan gen t to ) th e s econ da ry
wa ves s ent out by ea ch p a r ti cl e lyin g i n th e w a ve fro n t a t an ear
li er insta nt
Let us now apply this prin ciple to determine the im age
43 9
of a luminous point in a pl ane mirror the case whi ch we h ave
43 6
I f P be the lumino us point an d A OB
alre ady solved in
a pl a ne mirror a series of spheri cal w a ves will be emitted by
a

341

e ect on of a spher c

ve i n terms of H uygen s

wa

Princ iple

the point P an d will p

ro ceed toward the mirror with the speed
of light Th e rst p
oi n t on the mirror whi ch will be stru ck by
this adv an cing w ave is the point whi ch is ne arest P C all this
point 0 Then 0 be comes according to H uygens P rin ciple a
source of light at the inst a nt when the w ave rst to u ches t h e
.

L IG H T

445

mirror At immedi ately su cceeding insta nts the su ccessive

points between 0 a d A on the mirror will be re ached by the
in cident w ave fron t an d they will in turn be come sour ces of
se cond ary w aves If there h ad been no mirror at A B the in ci
dent w ave would h ave gone on an d o ccupied the position A I B
A s it is the spheri cal w a velets emitted by e ach su ccessive point
on the mirror h ave for their envelope the spheri cal surface
whose tr ace is AR B This envelope is therefore the re e cted
w ave surface B y symmetry the center of c u rv ature P of
A R R i s at the s ame dist an ce behind the mirror th at the sour ce
To an observer in front of the
P is in front of the mirror

gl ass the ree cted light appe ars to come from the point P ;
this point is therefore the im age of P
I n this m anner H uygens derives from his prin ciple the l aws
of ree ctions at pl ane surfaces Th e student will nd it p
ro t
able to dr aw a di agr a m c orresponding to Fig 3 4 1 but showing
the p arti cul ar case in whi ch the luminous point P is at an
innite dist an ce thus giving rise to a pl a ne w ave whi ch is re
ect ed at a pl ane surf ace
,

'

aves a t S her
ca l S u r
f
i
a ces
W
p
p
44 0 This is the most gener al case of ree ction met with in
ordin ary opti cs in asmu ch as spheres are the only surfaces whi ch
Th e posi
c an b e acc ur ately ground with ordin ary m achinery
tion of the im age can here be e as ily d etermined by me ans of
H uygens P rin ciple ; bu t the method whi ch depends upon the
for whi ch
u se of r ays is more gener ally useful an d pr acti cal
re ason we here adopt it
In Fig 8 4 2 let S P indi cate a spheri cal mirror whose center
Let L denote a sour ce of light a lumi
of curv ature is at

The

R eecti on

S heri ca l

FI G 3 42 R e ect i on
.

pheri cal mi rror

at a s

nous point an d L its im age in the mirror In gener al we

s hall denote points by capit al letters a d dist an ces by sm all let
ters Th e line joining t h e ape x of the surface S an d the center

'

G ENE RAL

446

PH

YS I C S

of c urv ature 0 is call the axi s of the mirror We sh all consider

only th at case in whi ch the luminous point is S itu a ted some
where on the ax is of the mirror
The center ( or ape x ) of the mirror S is chosen as the origin ;
distan c es me asured to the right
a n d as in ordi n ary geometry
will be called positive a nd those me asured to the left
neg ative
Let us now consider a ny ray of light LP le aving the sour ce
Th e mirror surf ace at
L an d in cident upon the mirror at P
Th e ree cted ray will therefore
P i s norm al to the r a dius UP
su ch th at the
c ross the ax is of the mirror at some point L

a ngle of ree c t i on L P C is equ al to the a ngle of in ciden c e

'

Let

then

if

LP =

d
)

be

L P =

8,

sm all

CL

By

geometry

sin

i = sin r, E q

s
.

UP

r an d CL = r

an
Si n 2

1 5 7,

the

si n

an d

r,

Si n

Si n

ngle P 0S = 3
appro x im ately

Sin ce ,

however

it follows th at
3

'

Eq

1 59

t he dist an ce of the im age from

equ ation whi ch g i ves u s
the mirror as soon as we know the r adius of the mirror an d the
position of the sour c e C le ar: of frac tions an d th en divide e ach
term in the equ ation by

an

Eq
44 1

1 60

Thus if one be

point pl aced 5 0 cm
r adius of E va t ure
v alues in E q 1 60

e im age of a luminous
in front of a conve x m irror h aving a 2 0 cm
he h as merely to substitute the following
.

FI G 3 4 3
.

eecti on at a convex mi rror

5 0 cm

r=

2 0 cm

L IG HT

44 7

From whi ch it follo w s th at s 8 %

th at i s the im age
to the left of the mirror in other words the re
l ies
cm
cm behind the
ect ed r ays appe ar to come from an im age
m irror

this k ind fro m whi ch r a ys merely ap

e art o p
ro
p
oe cd b ut d o n ot a ctu a ll y p
rocee d is cal l ed a vi rt ual i ma ge B ut
w h en a mirror so ch a n ges t h e d ire cti on of a gr oup
a y s comi n g
of r
f r om on e p
oint s o a s t o m ak e th e m interse ct a t a n ot h er p
oint an d
a ctu a ll y p
r ocee d fr om th a t p
oi n t t h is se con d p
oint is s a i d t o be a
re a l i ma ge of t h e rst
An

i ma g

of

44 2

Th e case of ree ction

in E q 1 6 0 ;
W he n ce
.

pl an e mirror is also in cluded

for a pl ane mirror is desc ribed by writing r
at a

00

Eq

1 61

In other words the im age is j ust as far behind the mirror as

t he o bje ct is in front of it a con clusion whi ch w e h ave alre ady
4 8 6 ) derived from e x periment
Th e t w o positions L an d L
d ened by s an d s ! in the gener al equ a tion a re somet i mes
spoken of as conj ug ate points
,

Focal L en gth

f M irror

If the sour ce L b e at an innite dist an ce i e if the

in cident r ays be al l p arallel to the ax is of the mirror this st ate
of aff airs m ay be des cribed by writing
44 3

00

from whi ch it follows th at

Eq

Th e l en gth f

1 62

d e n ed by th is equ a tion , th e dist an ce fro m t h e

im age when th e in ci d ent r ays are p ar all el , is cal l ed

mirror to t h e
the fo cal l engt h of the mi rror Th e adv an ced student will nd
th a t this denition of fo cal length is a very S pe ci al case of a
mu ch more gener al an d better denition See D rude Th ory
ti cs p 2 1
Introdu cing this denition into the gener al
o
f Op
equ ation
we m ay write
.

1 + 1= L

Eq

1 63

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

44 8

from whi ch we m ay always obt ain the position of the im age in

terms of the fo cal le n gth of the m irror From the symmetry
with whi ch the t w o v ari ables 8 an d 3 enter this gener al equ a
tion it is e vi dent th at when the obje ct is shifted s o as to
o ccupy the position of its former im age the im age will shift to
the former position of the obje ct V alues of s an d 8 being i n
t erc han geabl e the positions of obj e ct an d im age are in t er
ch ange able
.

Siz e

I mage

rod u ced by [Mi rror

we h ave considered only the position of the

im age of a luminous point situ ated on the a x is We n ow p ass
to a b ody of nite size situ ated on or ne ar the ax is Th e posi
tion of the im age of e ach point of this obje ct will be found
e x actly as before B u t in order to determine the si z e of the
im age as comp ared with th at of the obje ct it will be ne cess a ry
to rst observe two very convenient facts n amely
(i) An in ci d ent ray whi ch p a sses th ro ugh th e cen ter of cu r
e of t h e m i rror h as its d ir ection u n cha n ged by re ectio n
vat ur
a r all el to th e a xis of t h e mi rror
(ii) A n in ci d ent ray w h i ch is p
p a s s es on r ee ction th ro u gh th e prin cip a l fo cus of th e mirror ;
an d vi ce ver
sa an in ci d ent r a y whi ch p a ss es throu gh t h e prin ci
al fo cu s will be r eect ed i n a d ir ectio n p a r a ll el to th e a xi s of
p
th e mirror
With these two rules in mind we can see at on ce from Fig
3 4 4 th at the obj e ct a nd the im age e ach su b tend the s ame angle
at the c enter of c urv ature of the mirror from whi ch it follows
th at their sizes are
proportion al to their
respe ctive dista n ces
from t h e c e n t e r
For let L P 1 be an
in cident ray fro m
the point of the
Show ng h w to det r m ne e f m ge
F
3 44
a rro w p ar allel to t h e
ass through the prin cip al fo c us
m
ust
p
a
axi s ; the ree cted r
y
F a d hen ce the im age of the arrow point must lie somewhere
on the line P I F
Let L P 2 represent an in cident ray p assing through the cen
ter then the im age of the point L must lie also on this line
444

So far

IG

Si z

L IG HT

44 9

A nd sin ce it lies on both P I F an d P 2 0 it must lie at

their interse ction L
If the angle S 0P 2 is not very l arge we
m ay equ ate L 0 to s
r an d L C to r s whi ch en ables us to
des cribe the size of the im age as follows
I
S ize of Im ag e r s
Eq 1 64
0
S ize of O bje ct s r
O r in virtue of E q 1 5 9

P20

'

Th e student will nd it a n interesting problem to S how th at

this constru ction holds as well for c onve x mirrors as for

only in the case of a c onve x mirror it is the p
con cave
rol on
gati an ba kwa rd of the two in cident r ays whi ch p ass through
the center an d fo cus respe ctively
s

P ro b l em s

on

e e c t i o n

l am p i s pl aced 4 0 ft i n fro nt Of a conc ave m i rror

w ho se r ad i u s of c u rv at u re i s 8 ft
F i nd the po si t i on of the i mage
2
A c andle pl aced 7 cm i n front of a conc ave m i rror g i ve s an im age at
2 1 c m beh i nd the m i rror
Prove th at the r ad i u s O f c u rv at u re of the m i rror
1

An i nc ande s cent

m
3
F i nd the foc l length of conc ve m i rror req i red t prod ce at di
tance of 2 0 m fro m the m i rror
bj ect w h i ch i loc ted
i m ge of a
4 0 m i n front of the mi rror
4
W here m t
bj ect be pl ced i front of con c ve mi rror i order
i m ge w h i ch h ll be erect
me i e
the bject ?
t o g ive
d of the
is 2 1 g

an

us

an

an O

sa

an

s z

as

W here m u st an Object be pl aced i n front of a conc ave m i rror i n order

th at the i m age may be i nverted an d of the sam e siz e as the object ?
6
A n obj ect 6 i n h i gh i s pl aced 1 2 ft i n front of a con c ave mi rror
F i n d the siz e of the i mage
w ho se foc al length i s 2 ft
7 P rove th at w hen an O bject l i e s bet w een a conc ave m i rror an d i t s
pr i nc i p al foc u s the i m age i s al w ay s erect an d v i rt u al
8
A n O bj ect ly i ng 1 6 c m i n front of a convex m i rror g i ve s an i m age
beh i nd the mi rror F i nd the r ad i u s of the m i rror
at a d i s t ance O f 3 c m
an d then the siz e O f th e i m a ge
9
W hy do convex su rf ace s su ch as pol i shed door k nob s an d the ro u nded

ooden
knob
on
f
rn
t
re
g
ve
ch
h i g h l i ght s w hen ph otogr aph i n g
s
u
i u
i
u
w
s
i nter i ors
1 0 I f you w ere requ i red to project an are l i ght u pon a screen an d to
m agn i fy i t three t i m e s w h at k i nd of a m i rror w o u ld you u se an d w here
w o u ld yo u hold i t ?
5

'

'

GENERAL PHYS IC S

4 50

S h o w th t i n t h c e f pl n e m i rror the i mage w il l m ove w y

fro m the bj ect t w i ce
f t
the mi rror m ove w y fro m th e obj ect
S how l o th t w he n the mi rror i rot ted the re ected be m w ill rot t
11

as

f as t

as

s a

m i rror

th e

as

a s

t wi ce

as

as

as

a e

Two pl an e m i rror s

h i nged together an d pl aced so th at the i r

pol is hed s u rf aces i ncl ude an an gle O f
P rove th at a c andle pl aced a n y
w here w i th i n th i s r i ght a ngle w i ll g i ve three i m age s i n the t w o m i rr or s
12

e
ar

I nterpret Eq 1 5 9 to prove th at w h i le the S iz e of the i mage be ar s to

the si z e of the object the sa me r at i o as the i r d i s t ance s fro m the cen ter the
r at i o of t he i r si z e s i s al so th e sam e as the r at i o of the i r d i s t ance s fro m t he
13

mi rror
.

th at w hen an object i s pl aced m i d w ay bet ween

i t s pr i nc i p al foc u s the i m age i s t wi ce as l arge as the O bj ect
14

P rove

m i rror

an

the s un to be 1 m i ll ion m i i n d i am eter an d 1 00 m i ll i on m i

d i st ant F i nd t he siz e of the s u n s i m age prod uced by a conc ave mi rro r
h av i ng a foc al len g th of
ft
16
E xpl ai n h ow i t i s th at a m an st and i ng i n front of a pl an e m i rro r
can s ee h i s co m plete i m age by u se of a port i on O f the m i rror w h i ch i s only
h alf as h i gh as he i s
15

A ssu m e

pl aced w i th the i r pol i shed s u rf ace s p ar alle l

A n i nc an de scent l a m p pl aced bet w ee n the m i s 6
an d f ac i ng e ach other
i nche s fro m on e m i rror an d 8 i nche s fro m the othe r L oc ate the po si t i o n s
of the r st t wo i m age s i n e ach O f th e m i rror s
17

Two pl a ne m i rror s

ar
e

l am p i s m oved fro m a po si ti on w h i ch i s 1 2 0 cm t o
on e w h i ch i s 8 0 cm i n fron t of a convex m i rror of r adi u s 1 0 cm F i n d
t hro u gh w h at d i s t ance the i m age i s sh i fted by th i s m ot i o n of the obj ect
18

An i nc ande s cent

S how th t w hen
i n front of the m i rror m
19

h i n i ng obl i q u ely o n a mi rror

ay cas t two Sh ado ws i n s te ad of on e
an

ar
c

is

an O

bjec t

r ad i u s s tand f aci n g o n e
T he d i st ance fro m th e apex of one m i rror to the apex of the
a nother
other i s 3 6 cm A l u mi no us obj ect i s pl aced 1 2 cm i n front of the r s t
m i rror
P rove th at i t s i m age i n the second m i rror after one re ect i on
occ u p i e s the sam e po si t i on as th e i m age i n the second m i rror after t wo re
eet i o n s t e af ter be i ng re ected once i n the r st m i rror an d ag ai n i n t h e
s econ d
20

Two conc ave m i rror s e ach of

12

cm

E R E F R A C T I O N O F L IG H T
4 4 5 Th e rst m an who su cceeded in me asuring th e speed of

light in an y m edium other th an air or v acuum was the

h ys i ci s t Fo u cault w h o in 1 8 5 0 proved b eyond al l
Fr
en ch p
doubt th at light tr avels at a mu ch slo w er r ate in w ater th an i n
Sin ce then M i chelson h as me asured the r atio
a i r or v acuum
of the velo city in air to th at in w ater a d nds it
Th e
VI

TH

'

L IG H T

4 51

r atio Of the velo city in carbon bisulphide to th at in air is

E ach of these results are for white light
All e xperim ents s h ow th at li gh t tr a vels mor e slowly in an y
ki n d of or d i n ary m att er t h an it d o es i n a v a cu um
Ku d t
D rude an d others h ave proved th at there are e x ceptions to this
s t atement under cert ain highly S pe ci al conditions S ee 4 69
W e are now prep ared to tr ace some Of the consequen ces of this
gener al result
Indi ans in spe aring sh S how themselves very famili ar with
the fact th at the sh is not e x ac tly where he appe ars to be in
the w ater b u t is alw ays a little lower down B oys in w ading
a c reek gener ally le arn th at they h ave to roll their trousers
higher th an at rst they thought ne cess ary ; for the creek i s
al ways deeper th an it appe ars to be
A le ad pen cil pl aced in
a tumbler of w ater an d looked down upon from one side a
p
pe ars to be sh arply bent a t the point where the pen cil enters
the surface of the w ater
44 6
O e e x pl an ation O f
these th ree a d of al l simi
l ar phenomen a is
e asily
o bt ained by an e x periment
whi ch is des cribed by Lord
B acon but whi c h prob ably
b elongs to a century still
e arlier th an his H e pl aces
a sm all pie c e of met al s ay
3 45
F
a c oin in the botto m of an
b owl ; an d then
O p aque
gives his eye su ch a posi
tion E th at he just can n ot
see an y p art of the c oin P
If n ow w ater
( Fig
b c aref u lly poured into the
bowl while neither t h e p
o si
tion of the eye nor t h at of
the coin i s ch anged i t wil l
3 46
FIG
C o i i l i fte d i nto v i e w by the w ter
b e seen th at the coin is
lifted i n tO vi ew as indi cated in Fig 3 46 Th e ch a ge in
dire ction of the ray P S when it le aves th e w ater an d p asses
into ai r is called refr a ction
.

IG

'

G ENERAL

452

PHYS IC S

In gener al it is found th a t th e r ay em er gin g fro m w ater to air

is ben t a way fro m th e norm al N S wh il e a r ay wh i ch en ters th e
w ater fro m th e airis always be n t towar d th e norm al Th e s ame
phenomenon h appens when a ray enters the ai r from gl ass as
m ay be e asily seen by
m ak i n g a s t r ai g h t
s cr at ch B C on a sm all
pie ce of p l ate gl ass
If this gl ass be l aid on
a sheet of white p aper
in su ch a w ay th at the
s cr at ch lies in the pro
FIG 3 4 7 R efr cted r y i b ent w y from the l on gat ion o f a S tr aight
i nto i r
norm l on em ergi ng from gl
pen cil m ar k AB t h e
O bserver who views the s cr at ch through the gl ass will see it
appe ar to shi t position to the right or left of the pen cil m ark
f
acc ording as the s cr at ch is viewed from the left or from the
right i e the emergent ray is bent aw ay from the norm al
in the case of w ater an d gl ass h appens in
ay p asses from an
one
medium
o
a
n
other
t
y
y
/
,

ass

who rst des cribed al l these p

h en om en
w as Willebrord Snell ( 1 5 9 1
H i s des cription is as follows
8 4 8 ) be
surface
di ff erent
d i a s ay w ater an d
Take an y point S
on this surface an d de A
s cri be a cir cle about it
as a c enter
Let Q S be
an y r
a
y in cident at S ;
the problem is to n d
the dire ction of the re
FIG
3 48 S l l d
ri p
ti
f t h r fr t d r y
fracted ray
Snell
j
dis covered th at this could always be done as follows ; vi from
Q let f all a perpendi cul ar Q L on the l ine N S whi ch is dr awn
norm al to the surface at S Then if we dene P M as the per
,

ne

esc

on O

ac e

L I GH T

453

dist
an ce of P fr
om this s ame norm al the r atio of Q L
p
to P M is const ant for a ny two medi a This constant is usu ally
indi cated by n an d is called the in dex of r efr a ction
inde x of refr action
Q L P M const ant n
For w ater an d ai r this constant is about
for ordin ary
E x periment S hows also
gl ass an d ai r its v alue i s about
th at the refr acted ray S P lies in the sa me pl ane with the
norm al N S a d the in cident ray Q S
Th e angle Q SL between the in cident ray an d
D en i t ion s
the norm al we h ave called the an gl e of i n ci den ce; it is gener
Th e angle P S ZlI b etween the refr acted ray
ally denoted by i
an d the norm al is called the an gl e of r efr a ction ; it is generally
denoted by r
en d i cu l ar

The Two

Accordingly

we

may

L aws

f R ef racti on

summ arize thes e t w o results a s fol

lo ws
( i ) Th e an gl e of r efr a ctio n
i t h e r el a tio n
L
s n
:

PM

si n

1.

to

r bear
s
n

an gl e of

th e

onstant

i n ci den ce
Eq

i
ii
h
r
fr
a
t
e
d
r
a
y
li
e
s
n th e s am e p
l an e with
T
e
e
c
)
(
r ay an d th e n orm al to th e retracti n g surf a ce

th e

1 65

in ci den t

E x l an a ti on

R efra cti on

A ssuming a fair famili arity with the phenomen a Of re

fr action we pro ceed to inquire whether it is like a ny other phe
n o m en o n whi ch we h ave alre ady studied ; whether there is an y
simpler cl ass of facts to whi ch we can refer it as a spe ci al case ;
whether in short we can e x pl ain the phenomenon of the
b ending of the r ays
44 8

An I l l u strati on of R efracti on

us suppose th at a regiment of soldiers is m ar ching over

plowed elds ; an d suppose also
a c ountry inte rspersed with
th at the regiment moves with a speed of 3 miles an hour over
the smooth ground an d 2 miles an hour over the plowed ground
Let A B (F i g 3 4 9 ) represent the line whi ch sep ar ates the smooth
ground from the plowed Th e arrows indi cate the line of
m ar ch i e the arrows are at every point perpendi cul ar to the
front of the r anks
Let

GENERAL PHYS IC S

4 54
C onsider

r a nk
the rough gro un d

w hi ch is j ust entering upo n

E vidently the righ t -h and end will be
slowed up for the left
end i s n ow traveling
1 mile an hour f aster
th an the right the
front will n ow form a
slightly bent line u n
the whole r ank
t il
h a s crossed into the
plowed reg io n ; an d
then the r ank will
ag ain be str aight bu t
it wi ll be h eaded In a
d ir ectio n sli ghtly dif
p
feren t fro m th a t wh i ch
FIG 3 49 R efr ction d to ch nge of peed
it p
r evio usly h ad It

will in fact; be refr a ct ed

N ot only so but the line of
m ar ch will be refr acte d tow a rd the norm al to the lin eB A
We h ave alre a dy sei f @44 5 ) th at light tr avels more slowly
i n w ater th an i n a ir
Th e refr action of r ays of light is there
fore stri ctly an alogous to the refraction O f the line in m a r ch,
e ach depending upon a ch a nge of speed i n p
assm g from one
medium to another
an

s ay

NO 8
.

Ml

ue

an HR:

An other I n stan ce of R efra cti on

44 9

W e h a ve already found

speed of w ater w aves depends

upon t h e depth of the w ater in
whi ch they tr avel the d eeper
the w ater the f a ster t h e w ave
tr avels If now we consider a
series O f -w aves whose crests
ar
e represented by the str aight
lines in Fig 3 5 0 it is evident
th at when these w aves cross
the bound ary li ne A B into
m ore sh allow w ater they will
be de ected j ust as the s ol
FIG
diers are an d j ust as the r ays

by e x periment th at the

1 82 )

AT ER

DEEP W
.

3 50

SHALLow mu

efracti on of w ater w aves d ue

to change of sp
eed

L I GH T

455

of light are This an alogy between w aves a nd light is essen

t i al l y due t o H uygens
From wh at pre cedes it w ill be evident th at the amount of
b ending ( refr action ) w hi ch a
ray undergoes in p assing from
one medium to another depends
upon the r atio of the s p
eeds of
light in these two medi a If
the speed is the s ame in e ach
there is no ch ange in the d i rcc
tion of the ray
From Fig 3 51 it is evide nt
th at if 0A represents the dis
Th
an ce whi c h light tr avels i n ai r
FIG
p
y
c
l
e
n
ng
1
h
i
m
f
35
i
t
i ndex
a
ve

W
du ring the time required for it
to travel from B to D in gl ass we h ave
si n i
0A
Speed i n ai r
n
Eq
BD
Speed in gl ass
si n r
44 7
For al l tr ansp arent liquids a nd sol ids n is
as dened in
gre ater th an unity
4 50 Sin ce n for an y p arti c ul ar medium v aries inversely as
the speed of light in th at medium we m ay gener alize the above
equ ation by writing t h e refrac tive inde x for a ray p as sing from
s ay wa ter t o gl ass th u s
.

Speed

in w ater
S peed in gl a ss

sin i n
sin c T

the ref ractive inde x for ai r an d water an d n f the

inde x for ai r an d
a ngle of in ciden ce an d i the
angle of refr acti on
A more signi cant w ay of writing this equ ation I s the fol
lowing

E
1
6
6
t
an t
sin i
n si n i
n
i
cal i n var
i
q
p

where

is

'

Total

R eecti on

to
this
point
we
h
ave b een c onsidering the p assa ge
p
of a ray of light from a medium where it tr avels with a certa in
speed to one where it tr avels less r apidly Let us now reverse
4 51

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

4 56

the sense in whi ch the light moves SO th a t th e in cident ray

tr avels along the p ath of wh a t w as formerly t h e refracted ray
Th e angle Of refr action will i n this case by H uygens constru o
tion Fig 3 5 2 a lw ays be gre ater th an the a ngle of in ciden ce
.

the m ax imum v a lue

of i is given by
B ut

Of

H en ce

r is

the m ax im u m v alue

S in i = 1,

Sl n z

w
Sl n

Eg

And

where n is the refr active inde x of the rst me d ium wit h

respe ct to a ir or v acuum
We now pro ceed to consider wh at h appens when the a ngle
O f in ciden ce i s gre a ter th a n the m ax imum v a lue indi cated
ab o v e
Th e p h e n o m e n a
whi ch o ccur under these cir
cu m st an ces
ar
e
famili ar to
every one who h as e x amined
minutely a freshly fallen
snow a ke a nd found it to be
m ade up of sm all but tr ans
p arent cryst als of i ce H ow
F
35 2 R efr ct i on w y from the
ansp arent i ce acquire
does
tr
norm l
the brilli ant whiteness Of
snow ? Th e s ame phenomenon h a s been observed by every one
who h a s ever broken up a pie ce Of cle ar i ce with a h ammer
Th e moment the i ce is broken into sm all pie ces it appe ars white
Th e s ame is true of nely broken gl ass To e x pl ai n this phe
n o men o n let us consider a ny point in the interior of a solid pie ce
of gl ass Suppose a ray of light to le ave the point P I an d p ass
on through the surface AS Th e an gle of in ciden ce is P I SM I
Th e in cident ray h as the dire ction P I S bu t is refracted in the
dire ction S Q I Im agine a nother ray to sta rt fro m the point
P 2 ; the angle of in ciden ce now be comes P aSI l the angle of
refr action in cre ases to say Q ZSL I As the angle of in ciden ce
in cre ases still farther the refr acted ray n ally t akes the d i rec
tion S 9 3 th at is the refra cted ray j ust gra zes the refr a cting
surface Th e perpendi c ul a r from Q , let f all upon the verti cal
line N M1 h a s n ow i ts l argest possible v alue W h a t will h ap
.

IG

'

L IG H T

457

pen then if we in cre ase the a ngle of in ciden ce to P 4SM 1 ? If

L
Q
refr action now o ccurs the r atio
can no longer rem ain con
,

stant

PM

It is observed th a t un derth ese ci rcums tan ces refra ct i on

does n ot occur B u t if the angle of i n ciden ce ever e x ceeds the
,

FIG

353

Th e pheno menon

Of

to t al reection

li mit P 3 SM t h e ray

is ree cted b a ck at S into the gl ass

This phenomenon is called total reecti on Th ere i s t h en a
ce
r
t a i n l i mit in g an gl e of i n cid en ce ca ll ed t h e cr i t i cal an gle
f or an y r
ay i n gl a ss
d e n ed by t h e f act th a t if t h i s an gl e of
i n ci d en ce be ex ceed ed t h e r
ay w il l n ot esca p
om t h e gl a ss bu t
e fr
This is the a ngle de ned by E q 1 6 7
wil l be s en t b ack i n t o it
Th e following t able gives the criti cal a ngles for a few of the
more im portant subst an ces :
.

AB L E

OF

C R I T IC AL A N G LES

D i a mond

24

R ub y

36

Ro ck Salt

41

C rown Gl ass

42

43

48

Turpentine
W a ter

A test t ube Con ta i n i n g only ai r an d hel d in a tumbler

O f w at ershows tot al ree ction very ni cely
M u ch of the light
attempting to p ass from the w ater through the test tube f ails
be cause the angle of in ciden ce in the gl ass is gre ater th an
452

'

GENE RAL PHYS IC S

458

A tumbler of w a ter held a little ab ove the level of one s ey es

a s i n Fig 3 5 4 re adily shows tot al ree ction from the lowe r
surface of w ater
We now s ee how snow
appe ars S O white
A n y str a y
ray of light whi ch enters a
body of snow will in gener al
penetrate only a few of the
tr ansp arent c rystals before it
will strike some refr acting su r
f ace at an angle gre ater th an
18
It W ill the n
FIG 3 54 Tot l reecti on i t mb ler the criti cal
of W ter
be tot ally ree cted an d will
n ally n d its w ay out into the air ag ain A l arge propor
tion ( not al l ) of the r ays of light whi ch fall on snow will
therefore be sent b ack
B u t this is all th at we me a n by a
white body vi z one whi ch ree cts a l arge portion of al l the
light whi ch falls upon it From the pre ceding t able it is
cle ar also why rubies an d di amonds ar
e more brilli ant th an
gl ass bodies of the s ame size sh ape an d polish

n a

'

C AS E

R efra ction

at a

S i ngl e S herical Su r
face

Axi al R ags

to
the
present
we
h
a
ve
been
onsidering
the
gen
c
p
e ral l aw of refraction whi c h we n o w pro ceed t o apply to some
p ar t i cul ar cases whi ch are highly import ant in the arts
In Fig 3 5 5 let P S denote a spheri cal surface sep ar ating two

medi a whose refr a ctive indi ces a re n an d n respectively We

.

4 53

FIG 355 C e of refr ction t ingle p

heri c l rf c
pro ceed to deter mine the position of the im a ge produ ced by
refr action a t this surface for whi ch purpose we adopt the
follo wing nomen cl ature :
.

as

a s

su

a e

L IG H T

4 59

urv ature of refr acting surface positive

when conve x side of surface is tow ard in cident ray
center O f c urv ature
luminous p oint sour ce on ax is
ax is of refr acting surf ace an unlimited str aight line
point at whi ch refr acted ray crosses the ax is im age
of L
ape x of refr acting surf ace
dist an ce from ap ex of surf ace to luminous poi n t ;
negative to left positive to right
dist an ce from ape x to im age L ; neg ative to left
positive to right

Let r= radi u s

Of c

LC

o= s
c

r,

ngle subtended at C by the arc SP

i
angle of in ciden c e
angle of refr ac tion
i
St arting now with the opti cal inv ari ant E q 1 66
(,b

n s in

divide e ach side by sin

si n

when ce
Sin

Si n

si n ( )

si n ( )

for ax i al r ay s th at is for
those whi ch m a ke
with the ax is we h a ve by geo metry

B ut

s in

d)

a nd

D ividing

H en ce

sin i s r s
S in d)
p
where the me an i n gs Of p
an d

r,

ar
e

through by

sm all angle

evi dent from

mra
i

Lab ora tory

Fig 3 55

pti cal i nv a ri ant

we h ave
n

Eq

t ion for spher

i c al su rf ace

1 68

soon as s the position of the sour ce is given th is equ a tion

the position of the im age
en ables one to dete r
mine
As

GENERAL PHYS IC S

46 0

S PE C I AL C ASE I I

Fi rst M ed i um Ai r; S econ d M edi um, Gl ass

,

Water etc

4 54

H ere

a nd

Eq

1 68

be comes

I
s

when ce

u,

E (1

'

1 69

it be required to nd the im age of a lumi

nous point pl aced 1 0 cm to the left of a blo ck of gl ass
b ounded by a conve x surface of 1 2 cm r adius as
shown in the gure
I ll u strati on

Let

H er e

12

cm

1 0 cm

Find

H en ce

Or

12

10

cm ;

the im age is virtu al a nd l ies

the surf ace of the gl ass
A ccordingly

cm

to the left

Of

C ASE

SP E C I A L

I II

r R efracted R ags P ara l l el

Focal L en gt hs

I n ci d en t

then the in cident r ays are p ar al lel to e ach

other a nd our gener al equ ation ( 1 6 9) b e co mes
45 5

Let

00

O rif,

SF

pl

inste ad of m aking
s

is

00 ,

SF
I

O bserve

=f

se cond fo cal length

we m ake

=f =

00 ,

rst fo cal length

th a t the se cond fo cal length i e the one in the gl a ss

times gre ater th an the rst fo cal length N ote also th a t
,

I G HT

461

these fo cal le n gths have opposite sig n s an d that the sign of

e a ch depe n ds upo n the sig n of r
r a c t i c a l d g e r a l d e i ti
Th ad v a e d s t d t w i ll l ea r a m re p
i tr d ced by G a u ss I a q al i t at iv e w y G a ss i d a f a f c s
f f c
is t h at f a pi t s ch t h at w h e t h bj e c t p
a sse s t h r gh i t a d isc ti
f t h i m ag e i
t h i m ag e s h i f ts f r m a p
s it i
si t i
i ty cc rs i t h p
i it ly d i st a t th r igh t y t a the r ps i ti i itely d i s ta t
t h le ft w i t h
t p
as si g t hr gh t h i te r medi at e ps it i s
,

o us ,

o n

en

on o

E mployi n g

ou

on

on

SP E C I AL C A S E I V

at

on

on

Eq

1 69 ,

Eq

nu

on

R ef racti on

on

o u

the rst focal le n gth f we may write

ti

no

en

ou

sa

e o

on

ou

an

nc

1 70

face
P l an e S u r

To describe a pla n e refracti n g surface i n algebraic terms

we h a ve merely to write
O n i n troduci n g this co n ditio n
i n to our ge n eral equatio n ( 1 6 9 ) we obtai n
45 6

00 .

'

as

Eq

1 71

From this it follows that the image i n the gl a ss or in the water

is n times as f a r from the surface as the object is A sh s wim
mi n g i n the water an d looki n g at a shi n g rod abo ve t h e s u r
f a ce sees it
times as far away as it really is
.

C o n versely ,

Si n

ce

I n d i a n speari n g a
0

an

sh

sees

o n ly

{1

1 or

I"

as

far below the surface

as

it really is

I n H ar ers

Weekly for N ovember 1 6 1 9 07 will be fou n d an e n tert ai i n g

acc o u n t by P rofessor R W Wood of how that portio n o f the
world above the surf a ce of t h e water appears to a sh The
ph otographs were obtai n ed by mea n s of a ca m era an d plate
totally immersed i n water
.

SP E C I A L C A S E V

R eection

placi n g i
1 an d agai n me a suri n g 7 from the
origi n accordi n g to the rules o f ordi n ary geometry w e m a y
o btai
the e n tire theory of reecti on at pla n e an d spherical
mirrors ; for the n our ge n eral equatio n ( 1 6 9) becomes
457

By

1
8

E quat i

on of

m i rror

h er ic al
sp

Eq

1 72

G E N ER AL

4 62

If i n ad ditio n we put
mirror

HY SI C S

we have

00 ,

descriptio n of a pla n e

Eq

Case II i n Terms of

eci a l

th e

the

1 78

Wave Theory

the precedi n g demo n stratio n we have ass umed o n ly

that light travels i n str a ight li n es i n a homoge n eous mediu m
an d that n s i n i is an optical i n varia n t from on e medium to
a n other We shall n o w assume that light co n sists i n waves
which travel i n each medium wi t h a speed which is i n versely
as the refr a ctive i n dex i for th a t medium an d we shall show
that thi s assu mp
t i on l ea d s t resu l ts the s ame a s those obta i n ed
a bove
As before let L ( Fig 3 57) be t h e lumi n ous p oi n t wh ose
im a ge is sought L et AI P be the positio n which an y spherical
wave fro n t sta rti n g from L would have assum ed at an i n stan t
t if the glass h ad n ot been there
O wi n g to t h e prese n ce of
4 58

In

FI G

t io n i n
35 7 Refr
ac

rm s o f the wave th eo ry

te

the gl as s however t h e speed o f the wave has bee n very mu ch

slowed up Th a t portio n which h as bee n most retarded is the
part which has bee n lo n gest traveli n g i n the glass i e the
ce n ter of the wave which w as i n cide n t at
N ow on the wave theory the focus which is co n j uga te to L
th a t is the i m a ge of L is si m ply th a t poi n t where the disturb
a n oes due t o each eleme n t of the wave fro n t meet i n the s a m e
phase I n other words the im a ge L o f L is a poi n t such that
the light occupies the s a me time i n tr a veli n g from L to L
whatever be the path E vide n tly this p o i n t is ide n tical with
the ce n ter of curv atur e of the wave surf a ce i n the seco n d
medium
Let A R P de n ote this wave sur
f a ce i n the glass D raw the
chord A OP perpe n dicul a r to the axis L S The n if a de n ote
,

L I G HT

463

half th is chor
d we may by simple geometry write for

which i s called the s a gitta of the refractin g surface

,

S O,

SO

An d i n

lik e man n er

R 0

for refra ct in g surfac e

for the refracted wave fro n t ;

for the i n cide n t wave fro n t

I0
3

With these prelimi n ar i es let us n ow equ ate the time occupied

by the outer edge of the wave in traveli n g o ver the p ath L AL
to t h e time co n sumed by the ce n tral portio n of the w a ve i n
goi n g over the r o ute L S OL If we call the sp eed of light i n
air u n ity this gives us
,

uA L

LA

or

LA

B ut

uAL

'

( S0

LI

sin c e

LS

LA

AL

we have o n substituti n g

an

01 )

LI

0=

,u

c a n celi n g

the sagitta
by

( SR

in

the abov e equatio n

01 +

,u

S
O
(

R 0)

+
2 r 2

2r

2
a

2r

tran sp osi n g

an d;

u
,

Th i s

1 74

0
D ividi n g

S O OI + ;LS R

SO
U si n g

Eq

RL

uSL

on e

which is

ob tai n s
Eq

169

tio n wh i ch w e h ave j ust o btai n ed by two di ffere n t

m eth o d s is p
f ectly gen er al an d h ol ds equal ly w el l forco n cave
er
co n v ex an d pl an e r efr a ctin g sur
fac es
eq ua

F in d the r ef r ac t i ve i n de x w h e n t h e an gl es
resp
e c t i v e ly
ap
l an e su r f ac e are 4 5 an d
1

at

r o b l em s

of

i c i de c e
n

an d

r e fr a c t i o n

it s

refra c t i ve

The cr it i c al

a gl e
n

f or a

ce r ta i n

m di u m

is

F in d

GENERAL P HY SI C S

4 64
3

e e ie
p

A
bb l l s at t h e bo tto m of
H ow f r b l o w t h e s u r f c w l l t h

a pl f w at r wh i ch is f r feet
is p
ebble ap
e ar t a m l k i g
p
oo

ou

ep
a e
ae i
A
ve r ti c a ll y d w th r gh th w ate r ?
3 ft
4
A a i r b bb l e i mp
r is e d i a p
ie ce f gl a s ap
pars t l ie m
a c ve x s rf ace f 2 0 m rad i s
b l w t h s r f a c e f t h gl ass w h i c h h
I f t h re f ra c t i ve i d ex f t h gl a ss i s
w h at i s t h rea l d i s ta c f t h
a ir b bbl e bel w t h rf ac e ?
A
m
5
h e r i c al gl ass s rf ac e
i ci de t r ay s t ri ke a sp
I wh a t d i re c t i
m st
rd e r th at t h i s d i rec ti m y t b c h a ge d by r e f r ac ti ?
i
6
s pi t i p
l ace d 6 % m t t h le f t f a s r f ac e f gl a ss f
A l mi
Th im ag e whi c h i s v i r t a l l ie s 1 6 m
wh i c h t h r e f r a c t i v e i d e x i s
l ef t f t h s r f ac e F i d t h r ad i s f c rv at re f t h gl ass
th
t
A
12 m
s r f a ce
7 Show f rm t h ge er a l e q at i
( 1 69 ) th at there a r e t w ps i t i s
ax i s t w hi c h a l m i s pi t m y b p
l ced s c h t h at a f ter
th
h er i c a l s rf ac e t h
re f r a c ti
t a s i gl e sp
i mage w i ll c i c ide wit h
th
bj e c t
8 Wh at r e f r ac t i v e i de x w i ll b r e q i re d i a gl a ss gr
c ve
d w i th a c
s r f ac e f 4 0 m r a d i s i
rd er t h at a pi t s it a te d i ai r 2 5 m t t h
le ft f t h c c a ve s r f ac e m y b b r ght to f c
t a d ist
ce f 9 0 m
t t h r i gh t f t h s r f a e ?
A
p
9 A m i cr sc p
e i s f c s ed p a scr at ch t h p
e r s r f ac e f a t
p
b t t med gl ass b ake r
Li q id i s
w p r d i t t h be ak e r t t h d p
th
f
d t h at t h m i cr o
sc p
e m st b l if t d t h ro gh
cm , w he i t i f
a d is ta c e h i rde r t re m ai f c se d pn t h s ame scrat h Pr ve t h at
t h re f ra c t i ve i d e x f t h l i q i d
i s gi ve by t h f ll wi g e q ati
d

ou

e o

n ou

on

e o

n ou

on

o n

on

ns .

on

on

e o

no

an

o n

on

n s.

n o

on

on

as

e su

n s.

on

oo

an

o n

"

'

o us

ou

on

an

ou e

ou n

n o

o u
,

e u

on

no

o n

on

n s.

o u

n o

o un

on

on

Fr o m t h e
retract i n g s u r f ac e
10

e e al e q ati ( 1 69 )
h as t h at i dic at d i

g n r
S, s u c

nd

on

t he t wo

Fig 3 5 8
.

11

r i c ip
al f c i f ra
p
n

e ferri

3 5 8 , t h e b l o ck

g to Fi g
o f gl ss ,

s te ad of bei n g l eft n u
n i s hed at t h e r i gh t h an d
i s grou n d to a p
l an e p
er
en d i cul ar t o t h e ax i s an d
p
i s s i lve red A s mall i n
c an d escen t l a mpis p
l a c ed
4 8 c m t o t h e l e ft of t h e
s u r fa c e S F i n d t h e p
os i
t i on
of
i ts i ma ge a f te r
s i lvered s u r face
A n s 1 0 cm t o r igh t of S
n

FI G 3 58
.

re f r ac ti on

at

an d

reec t io n

at

the

L I GH T
CA SE V I

R efra cti on

fa ces i n
R efra cti n g S u r
45 9

D EF I N I TI O N

i s l i mit ed by t w o

prti
o

Wave

S heri cal

4 65

on

S u ccessi on

S ur
face

Two

at

L en ses

refr acti n g med i um w hi ch

of a

v d surf aces i s cal le d a le n s

The o n ly surf a ces which can be grou n d i n lathes with
surfaces he n ce all le n ses
acy an d ease are S pherical
accu r
practically are m a de with
spherical surf a ces i e the
sh a pe of a le n s may be con
ed
a s the shape of a
s i d er
gure bou n ded by two spheres
D E F I N I TI O N
Th e l i n e j oi n
i n g th e cen t ers of cu rvat ure of
th e tw o retr
acti n g s u rf aces is
F
A c v rg i g l s
3 59
call ed t h e axis of t h e l en s
I f on e face of the le n s is a pla n e we may co n sider this pla n e
as a portio n of a sphere of i n n ite ra di us The axis of such
a le n s is the lin e through B ( F ig 3 6 0) n ormal to the pla n e surf a ce
cur e

IG

on

en

F IG

c on vergi g l en s
w i t h on e p
l an e s u rface

360

FI G 3 61 A d i

vergi n g len s

It will be observed that the axi s of a le n s 1 8 n ormal to each

surfa ce of the le n s at the poi n t where it passes through the
surf a ce
We proceed n ow to tr a ce the history
of a wave surf a ce through a le n s de n ed as
above A n d for the purpose of obta n i n g
a ge n eral solutio n we shall choose a le n s
li mited by two spheres of radii r1 an d r2
which are e a ch positive as i n dicated i n
F m 36
A d
r
gm g Fi
con
For
as
before
we
sh
a
ll
3
3
6
g
l s W th
l
a
p
sider the radii positive whe n the co n vex
s rf
.

0
"

'

ve

en
u

on e

ace

ne

G E N E R AL

4 66

HY SI C S

surface is tur n ed toward the i n cide n t light H ere also we s hall

use the same n ome n clature a s before followi n g the co n ve n tio n s
of or d i n ary ge o metry an d allowi n g the subscript 1 to refer
to the rst surf a ce an d the subscript 2 to the seco n d surf a ce
'
l
ro b em i s to obtai n the positio n of the i m a ge L
The rst p
'
due to a lumi n ous source L i n other words to n d 8 i n terms
.

0 {I

C1

C3

I
I
I

I
I

I
I
I

F IG

3 63

I llu st ratin g refrac t i on

a m di

t h o ugh

s urfaces

um

boun d ed by two

h er i ca l
sp

n
i
This
is
most
simply
accomplished
as
p
4
by
equ
a
ti
n g the times occupied by two di ffere n t parts
5
8

of the wave surface i n p a ssi n g from L to L

For this purpose
the most co n ve n ie n t portio n s of t h e wave surface are the ce n ter
A gai n calli n g t h e speed of light i n air
an d the extreme edge
un ity we have

of

an d

r1 , r2 ,

3,

LA

AL

11 1

si n ce

"

LA = LI
'
=
AL
EL

we have 0
I n troduci n g
0

D ividi n g

by

S1 0
n ow

OI +

S2 L

E q 1 75
.

R O+ R L

an d

8
0
01
+
( 1

+ sz o

B ut

p8 8

SI I +

LI

'

a pproximately for small pe n cils

'

p( S
.

0
1

2
7

r1

an d

3
,

2 r1

R 0

S Z O) + S 2 0

the value of the s a gitt a 45 8

9

r2

2 r2

tra n sposi n g we obtai n

,

1
8

I
I

1)

E q 1 76
.

I G HT

4 67

which is a perfectly ge n eral equ a tio n

tu re

fromp
oi n ts

mi n g

co

n ear

t he

f or

ax i s

i n ci d en t

an d

pr

sma l l a

en ci l s o

t hi n

on

If rl is p o sitive an d r eg a tive we have a d ou ble co n vex

le n s ; but if r1 is n egative while r2 is positive we h a ve a doubl e
co n cave le ns E q 1 76 describes completely all the followi n g
speci a l c a ses which need therefore be merely i n dicated
S P E C I A L C A S E V I I I n cid en t ray s p
ar
al l el
Focal l en gth
460 L et
l en ses

H e n ce

'

L et

The n

(I )

r2

seco n d focal le n gth

say

rst focal le n gth

terms of f the ge n eral equatio n ( 1 76) becomes

In

1
!

Th e po i nt

Eq

1 77

wh ic h th e r efracte d ray cuts th e axis wh en th e i n

ci d en t ray is p ar all el to th e ax is is call ed the pri n cip al focus
The power of a le n s which we m ay de n ote by P is th e n de n ed
as th e r eciprocal of th e foc al l ength Fo r the shorter t h e foc a l
le n gth of a le n s the gr ea ter the cha n ge it pr
oduc es on the di
rectio n of rays passi n g through it ; he n c e it s po we r i s said to
vary i n versel y as its focal le n gth:
D i g q at i
1
P =
E q 1 78
w r f
f rp
at

e u

e n n

l en s

on

le n s whose focal l en gth is 1 m eter is said to have a power

of 1 dioptric The di optric i s the un it of pow er for le n ses A
le n s wh o se focal le n gth is } meter has a p o wer of 2 di optrics ;
an d so o n
The power of a le s is s i mply its ability to chan ge
the diverge n ce o rco n verge n ce of rays i n cide n t upo n it
A

'

S P E C I A L C A S E V III

L et r1
an d
co n vex le n s for which
461

Go ,

r2

1
s

'

face P l an e
On e R efract i n g S u r

be n eg a tive the n
,

1
8

Whe n however r1 is positive

l an e le n s for which
p
1
1
,

/
L

r2

a pl an o
Eq

r2
an d

w e have

00 ,

1 79

we have a co nvexo

1
(1

G E N E R AL PHYS IC S

4 68

Gra hi cal Con stru cti on

I mage

far we have co n cer n ed ourselves o n ly with the p

osi
B efore we attempt to
ti on of the image produced by a le n s
determi n e its size it will be co n ve n ie n t to add on e more term
to our optical vocabulary
A r a y of light falli n g upo n an y poi n t of a le n s
D en i ti on
may have such an a n gle of i n cide n ce that after refractio n i n the
le n s it will emerge i n a d i rec
tio n par a llel to the directio n of
i n cide n ce If we dra w a t an
ge n t pla n e to the fro n t surface
of the le n s at the poi n t of i n ci
de n ce an d the n draw a n other
pl a n e t a n ge n t to the back su r
face an d parallel to the rst
ta n ge n t pla n e we may at o n ce
i
co
n
struct
the
r
a
n
the
glass
h
364 I ll s t rat i g t h
t
i
c
a
l
;
p
y
t r N w
for its path will be the li n e
j o i n i n g these t wo poi n ts of tan ge n cy I n deed the le n s will
behave as a pl a te of pla n e parallel gl a ss for a ray which is
i n cide n t at A an d emerge n t at B i n Fig 3 6 4
Th at poi n t w h er e an un devi at ed ray in passi n g th ro ugh th e
s u bsta n c e of a l en s cross es t h e axis is call ed t h e optic al cen t er
of th e l en s
I n an y a ctual le n s that is i n an y le n s of n ite thick n ess the
e m erge n t portio n of a n u n deviated ray is more or less shifted
at right a n gles to the directio n of the i n cide n t ray while it
rem a i n s parallel to the i n cide n t ray B ut i n thi n le n ses such
as we are n ow discussi n g this shift is n egligible The adva n ced
stude n t will n d this part of the subject beau tifully simplied

by the co n sideratio n of pri n cipal poi n ts an d n odal poi n ts

wh ose i n teresti n g properties would here lead us too far aeld
To co n struct the optical image of a poi n t ( orof an y aggre
i
n ts
a
t
on
of
poi
we
have
therefore
o
n ly to employ an y t w o of
g
)
the three followi n g ge n eral pri n ciples :
n ce
on
i
A
n
i
n
cide
n
t
r
a
y
parallel
to
the
axis
passes
emerge
()
through t h e pri n cipal focus
( ii ) O r co n versely an i n cide n t ray which passes through the
pri n cipal focus will emerge i n a directi on parallel t o the axis
4 62

So

e o

cen

LIGHT

4 69

A
n
n
iii
i
cide
t ray which p a sses through the optical ce n ter
( )
e m erges with o ut ch an ge of directio n
Just h o w these pri ciples a re a pplied will be cle a r fro m a
careful co sider a tio n o f Figs 3 6 5 an d 3 6 6 Fr o m Fig 3 6 5
n

AXI

FIG

3 65

Ill us t rat i n g th e co s t ru ct i
n

on of an

i mage i n

ad

l c on vex l en s

oub e

will be see n h o w the three typic a l i cide n t r a ys are dr a wn

whe n the le n s is double co n vex an d whe n the object is pl a ced
a t a dist a n ce fr om the le n s which is gre a ter th a n the focal
le gth Fr o m Fig 3 66 will be see n the beh a vi or of a double
c o n c a ve le s
I n e a ch case the top r a y bei g p a r a llel to the ax is emerges
i n a directio n which p as ses through the focus
The middle
r a y bei g directed
tow a rd the optic a l
ce ter e m erges with
out ch a n ge of d irec
i
tio n The lowest of
the i n c i d e n t r ay s
as
es
thr
ugh
the
I
l
s
r
c
s
r
c
s
F
l
t
i
h
t
t
i
f
i
m
t
3
66
t
g
g
P
i
d
c
v
l
s
bl c
f o c u s an d h e n c e
e m erges p a r a llel t o the axis I n the p a rticul a r cases here cited
it will be observed th a t the double c on vex le n s gives an i m a ge
which is real but i n verted ; while the double co n cave gives an
image which is virtual but erect
n

x s

IG

ou

on

on

en

on o

an

M agn icati on

The ratio betwee the li n e a r m a g n it u de of

i mage a d the corresp o d i n g li n e a r m a g itude of the object
a
b o th me a sured a t right a n gles to the a xis of t h e le n s is c a lled
the li n e a r m a g n icatio n of the le s AS will be see n fr o m the
typic a l Fi g 3 6 7 this r a tio A L /
AL is ide tic a l with the r a tio
a s will be see n by c omp a ri g the t w o simil a r t ri a n gles
s /
s
46 3

D en i ti on

ANL

an

d A NL

'
.

G E N E R AL PHYS IC S

4 70

FI G 367
.

Ill ustrat i n g m agn ify in g p

ow er of l en s

S heri cal

an

d Chromati c A berrati on

It would be i n teresti n g if time perm itted to co n sider a

more ge n er a l c a se i n whic h the i n cide n t ray makes a l a rger
a n gle with the axis of the le n s an d i n which the lum in o us
poi n t i s a t so m e dist a n ce from the axis The le n s would the n
begin t o show an imperfectio n k n ow n as spherical aberratio n
The i m age of a poi t would n o l on ger be a poi n t
to this poi n t we have assumed that pis a co n st a n t but if
Up
we u se light of more th a n on e color we n d th a t u varies from
c olor to color an d that the i m a ge of a lu m i n ous p o i n t on the
a xis is drawn out i n to a stri g of images each of a di ff ere n t
c ol o r The t a b l e illustr a tes this v a riatio n o f refr a ctive i n dex
46 4

I deed it is at o n ce evide n t from 4 6 0 that the fo c al le n gth

o f a le n s is Shorter i n proportio n a s
p 1 is greater This
f a ilure of a lens to bri n g all colors to the same focus is c a lled
chro m a tic a berr a tio n
The ma n n er i n which these errors are
c o rrected by co m bi n i n g sever a l le n ses of di ffere n t refractive
i n dices an d di ffere n t r a dii o f curv a ture forms a ch a pter o f great
i n t erest to the adv a ced stude n t w h o should co sult Ed sers
L ig ht a d C z ap
ski
a lre a dy cl a ssical Theory of Op
ti al I n str
u
m n ts
The ge n eral pl a n is in a word t o c om bi n e le n ses
i t o a system i n such a w ay th a t the error of on e eleme t is
equal to the error of a n other e l e m e n t but is of opposite sig n
n

465

t wo

IX The P rism
A n i teresti n g an d importa n t speci a l case of refractio n
surfaces is that of the prism
CASE

at

LIG HT

4 71

( i ) Th e an gl e

of th e pri s m 1 8 the dihedr a l a n gle

bet wee the inclined pl a n es which b o u n d the refr a cti g
medium This a gle is represe t ed bv B A?) in Fig
The line i which these i n cli n ed pla n es meet is c a lled the
retractin g edge of the prism
D en i ti on s

FIG

368

R fr c t i
e

on

th

rou gh

ap
ri s m

n sider an i cide n t r a y D E f a lli n g upo n on e surf a ce

ii
o
C
( )
of the prism a d a fter two refr a cti on s as i n dic a ted in Fig 3 68
emergi n g fr o m the seco d surface as t h e r a y P G
The a n gle
betwee n the i n cide n t an d emerge n t r ays which w e here de n o te
by 8 i s call ed the an gl e of deviatio n
If we de te a n gles o f i n cide n ce by i an d a n gles of refrac
ti o n by r an d disti n guish betwee n the rst an d seco d surf a ces
by subscripts as be fore it is evide n t fr o m the gure th a t the
n

no

an gle of the prism

an

that the
a n gle of devi atio n

(i 1

r2 ,

r1

(i 2

r, )

Eq

r2 )

Eq

1 81

1 82

To derive these two equatio n s w e have merely to recall that t h e

ex t eri o r a gle of an y t ri a gle is equ a l to the sum of the op
o s i te i teri o r a gles
These t w o equ a ti on s e n able us to deter
p
mine the devi a ti on of a r ay as soo n as we k ow i 1 u an d
n

A n gl e

f M

a.

i mu m D evi ation

h a s a lre a dy bee n po i n ted out it is a co n s eque n ce of

the l aw of refr a cti on that whe n an y emerge n t r a y s repl a ced by
an i cide n t r a y which h a s the same di recti o n an d the same
positi o n but a opp o site se se the p a th f the reversed r a y
466

As

G E N E R AL PHYS IC S

4 72

through the prism is ide n tical with that o f the direct ray I n
other words if w e co n sider i n Fig 3 6 8 GF as the i n cide n t ray
the n ED will be the emerge n t ray
B y applyi n g this pri n ciple of reversibility to a prism it may
be shown that th e a n gl e of deviatio n i s a m i n i mum wh en th e
path of th e ray i n si de th e prism is symm etri cal with resp ect t o th e
two r efracti n g s urfaces
For si n ce the ray is reversible it follows that correspo n di n g
to an y on e a n gle of deviatio n there are two possible a n gles of
i n cide n ce n amely i 1
an d
i2
see
Fig
(
B u t it is an
ex p e r i m e n t a l
fact
that there is o n ly on e
a n gle of i n cide n ce at
whi ch the deviatio n
is a mi n imu m ; an d
the on ly way in
wh i c h th i s sin gle
value for the a n gle
of i n cide n ce can be
F IG 36 9 R fr t i th r gh p
ri m f s mall
gl
O btai n ed i s b
m
ak
y
i n g i1
i 2 ; from which it follows that r1
r2 an d he n ce that
the ray i n side the prism is symmetrical with respect to the
t w o refracti n g surfaces
The positio n of mi n imum deviatio n is on e of great useful n ess
i n work with the Spectroscope as well as i n the accurate
measureme n t of refractive i n dices
.

'

ac

on

ou

an

S P E C I A L C AS E X
46 7

P rism

We have already see n

f Small

4 6 5)

that

R ef racting An gl e
in

ge n eral

3
an d

By

de n i t i o n

si n i

si n

si n

r1

Sin

r2

whe n i 1 a n d i 2 are small as indicated in F ig

approximately write

B ut

3 6 9,

we may

Eq

1 83

L I G HT
Elimi n ati n g i 1

an d

4 73

from these equatio n s we have

i2

1 > < r1 + r.)

(e

Eq

nu

1 84

a very co n ve n ie n t expressio n for c om puti n g the eff ect of thi n

prisms such as are used in spectacles an d stereoscopes
.

D etermi n ati on

R ef ractive I n di ces

Whe n a y tra n sp a re n t material ca n be obta in ed i n the

for m of a prism the pri n ciple of
mi n imum deviatio n e n ables on e
to me a sure the refractive i n dex of
the materi a l with co n sider a ble
ease For si n ce the path of the
r a y i n side the prism is sym
metric al we need co n sider o n ly
o n e half of it as show n in Fig
r
m
t
T
h
m
F
3
0
The co n ditio n s described
3 70
r fr c t i v I d c s
46 8

IG'

FaS P

en

ar
e as

fouo ws

i1

H e n ce E q s 1 8 1
.

= T2

1 82

an d

an d

H en ce
an d

S i l l l:

Eq

Accord i n gly ,

si n

Si n

E
2

which is the laboratory equatio n for the measureme n t of a

The problem the n reduces itself to the measureme n t of the t w o
a gles a d 8 These measures can be made by u se of a pro
tr a ctor an d a few pi n s ; but they can be carried out with a very
high degree of accuracy by mean s of a divided circle and a pair
of telescopes
.

D is

si on
er

Col or

tr a ci n g wave surf a ces through various prisms an d

le n ses we have hitherto t a citly assu m ed that the ratio o f the
speed of light i n a ir to the speed in s ay glass w a s co n st a n t ;
469

In

PHYS IC S

G E N E R AL

(4 74

but experime n t shows that this assumptio n is n ot all ow a ble ex

cept for a si n gle color M ichels o n h a s proved this directly ;
for in measuri n g the speed of red light he fou n d it
pe r ce n t
greater in water an d
per ce n t greater in carbo n bisulphide
than th a t of the bl u e I a vacuum such a s that which pr ob
ably exists betwee n u s an d the moo n it appears to be rigidly
true th a t rays of all c olors travel with the s a me speed ; for
whe n a white star is oc culted by the mo on a ll the various col ors
i n the star s light disappear a t n e; a d whe n the st a r emerges
from behi n d the m oon it a shes o u t i n st a n tly an d perfectly
white If i n the medium betwee n us a d the moo n there wer e
as m uch differe n ce betwee n the speed of red an d blue light as
there is in i n t glass ( s ee
the red rays from the
1
emergi n g star w ould re a ch us 7 6 sec on d e arlier tha n the blue
rays This i n terval of ti m e might be too s mall to detect Ao
co r
d i n gl y the eclipse of the bright compo n e n t o f the sta r Algol
has bee n adduced as much stro n ger evidence for the vie w th a t
lights of all colors travel with the sa m e vel ocity in free sp a ce
The star A lgol is a rapid variable st a r supposed to be double
but with o e co m p n e n t dark E very three d ays t h ebright
compo n e n t is eclipsed B u t on reappe a ra n ce it does n ot show
the various col o rs i n succe ssi on as it certai n ly w o uld at that
e n ormous dista n ce if the spee d of light varied from on e color
to a n other
The adva n ced stude n t will di scover i n deed that the velocity
is on e of
of l igh t in vacuo 8 00 millio n m eters per sec on d
the fu n dame n tal co n stan ts of Optics an d of electromag n etism
as well
I n all other media t h e v ariou sl y colored r a ys travel a t r a tes
which di ffer n ot o n ly from tha t i n vacuo but a ls o from e a ch
other I n deed the wave theory of light is so well est a blished
that the Speed of an y c olored r ay i n an y medium may be con
ed as determi n ed whe n the refractive i n dex of that m edi u m
si d er
h as bee n me a sured
Thus i n the followin g t able are given re
fract i ve i n dices for cert a i n metals which a re or d i n a rily o p a q ue
B u t K u n d t prep a red pris m s o f these s u bst a n ces which were s o
thi n as to be tra n sp a re n t an d thus d iscovered th a t there a re
cert a i n substa n ces for which the refractive i n dex is less th a n
u n ity which i s i n terpreted to me a n th a t the S peed o f light i n
each of these bodies is greater tha n i n vacuo
.

'

'

'

LI G HT

TAB L E

R EF R A CT I V E

OF

U T
BS

AN C

475

I ND I C E S

D I F F E R EN T

FO R

CO LO R S

E
R ed ( C )

Y ll
e

(D )

ow

Fl in t gl a ss
C row n gl ass
G ol d
P l at i n u m
F l u or

C arb

p
a

h i de
is lp

on

D i am o

S mi thson i a n

O bserve

Ta bl es Th i rd
,

E diti

on

th a t the color which i s pr d u ced by a pris m i s due

but to the d iff er
e n ce of the refr a cti on for
n ot t o the refractio n
v a ri ous r a ys This tra n s forma tio n of a beam of p
ar
al l el J
i gh t
in to a diver ge n t pe n c il is calle d dis p
ersio n \ The m easure o f d i s
subst
a
ce
is
ge
n er a lly d e f
i
ed as the ratio of
r
i
e
s
o
n for an
p
y
th e di ff ere ce of devi a ti on for re d an d blu erays t o t h e mean
devi a ti on for these t w o r a ys
This leads through E q 1 8 4 to the foll owi g de n itio n
o

isp ersive pow er

are the refr a ctive i n dices for the red blue

where r u
mean r a ys respectively
a

b,

an d

Com

osi ti on

f Whi te L ight

The fact th a t di ff ere n t r ays travel at d i eren t rates

e n a bled N ewto n t o sep a r a te white light by mea n s o f a prism
i n to its v a rious co n sti tue n ts For on tran s m itti g a s m all be a m
o f su light through a pris m he observed th a t the deected ligh t
did n ot for m a w h i t e sp ot on the w a ll bey on d but Was dr a wn
out i n t o a brilli an t strip red at on e en d an d vi olet at th e o ther
Be twee the red an d the violet are distribut ed an i n n ite
v a riety of col ors which areus ua lly g rouped u der the f ollowi g
f u r a m e s o r a ge yell o w gree n bl ue But N ew t o s c api
t a l disc o very in this d om a i n is th a t a y o e of these c ol or s a f t er
4 70

G E N E R AL PHYS IC S

4 76

dis p
ersio n in o n e prism u n dergoes n o further cha n ge of this
ki n d on pass age through a seco n d prism
N ewto n succeeded also in compou n di n g or adding together
these various colors which he had fou n d i n su n light thus ob
t a i n i n g ag a i n white light ; in this m a n n er he demo n strated in
a sy n thetic w a y the compositio n of o r d i n ary d aylight a fact
which he had a lready proved by a n alysis
The majestic phe n ome n o n of the r a i n bo w he showed to be
merely a case of refra ctio n i n rai n dro ps
.

An other I l l u strati on

R efra cti on

The laws of refractio n may be illustra t ed by mea n s of

the O ptical disk on e form of which is shown in Fig 3 71
H a l f of a ci rcu
lar disk of gl a ss
A is mou n ted
on
a wooden
base B A hor
i on tal be a m of
light fr o m the
or from a
su n
pr ojecti n g l an
ter n falls on the
mirror M an d is
reected the n ce
to a seco n d mir
F IG 3 71 T t l l f rm f p
t i c a l d i sk
ror IV A fter
leavi n g N the beam is incident on the upper pla n e face of the
gl a ss disk A
The s urface of the mirror IV with
the exceptio n of a n arrow strip is
covered with black paper as show n
in Fig 3 72 B y mea n s of this d i a
h ragm the light i n cide n t on the
p
refracti n g surface is restricted to a
n a rrow beam
This beam falls upo n
the white n ed f a ce of the pl a te B a t
a s m a ll an gl e so th a t the c o urse of
the i n cide n t ray i n a ir an d the re
FIG 3 72
fr a cted r a y i n glass m ay be pl a i n ly
4 71

a na

L I GHT

4 77

see n The frame which carries the two mirrors may be revolved
ar ou n d the pivot by which it is attached to the base B an d i n
this w a y the a n gle of i n cide n ce m a y be varied at will
If the mirr or N be placed in the positio n sho wn in Fig 3 7 3
the refr a c t io n will take pl a ce on passi n g from glass i n to air
The i n cide n t be a m C D the re
fr a cted be a m D E an d the reected
be a m D E a re n ow all see n at the
same time The refracte d be a m is
be t away fro m the n ormal while
the i n cide t an d reected bea m s
m a ke equal a n gles with the n or m al
By movi n g the mirror N t o w ard
the right i n Fig 3 73 the an gle
of i n cide n ce is i n creased ; but the
a n gle of refr a cti on i n creases more
r a pidly than the an gle of i n cide n ce
Whe n the critical a n gle of i n ci
FIG 3 73
de n ce is re a ched the a n gle of re
fr a ction has beco me a right a n gle an d the bea m D E j ust
gr a zes the refracti n g sur face O n i n cre a si n g the a n gle of
i n cide n ce beyo n d this critical v a lue it will be fo u n d that
there is n o refracted beam the light bei n g n ow t o tally
reected
.

c o n vex l en s m ade of gl ass

w ho se me an
t h e r a d i u s o f c u rv a tu r e of t h e rs t s ur
f ace bein g 2 5 cm an d th at o f t he s ec o n d bei n g 3 0 cm
2
A n o bj ec t i s p
l aced o n t h e ax i s o f a d ou bl e c o n v ex len s w h ose
foc a l len gt h i s 2 0 i n The obj ec t i s p
l a c e d 5 0 i n t o t h e l e f t of t h e l e n s
F in d t he p
o s i t i o n a n d s i z e of t h e i m age
3
The p
roj ec tio n l en s of a l a n tern ( Fi g 3 9 2 )
h as a f oc a l l en gt h of 1 f t an d i s u sed t o t h row
i c tu r e u p
a p
w h i c h i s 2 4 ft aw ay
o n a scree n
H o w f a r back o f the le n s m u s t o n e p
l ace t h e gl a ss
sl id e ?
4
r i s m i s u sed as a t otally
A 4 5 d egree p
re ec t i n g m i rr o r i n the man n e r i n d i c at ed i n Fi g
3 74
W h at i s t he le a st v al u e o f ref ra c tive
i n d ex w h ic h t h e gl ass can h ave ?
5
A gas a me p
l ac ed in f r on t o f a th ick gl a ss mi rro r s ilv ered on the back
l ai n t h e re l at iv e i n te n s i ty an d p
Ex p
os i t i o n of t h es e
gi v e s a se rie s of i m ages
1

F in d

f oc al l en gth of
re f rac t iv e i n de x i s

r o b l em s

th e

th

d o u bl

in

P H YS I C S

G E N E R AL

4 78

f ar in fron t of a d o u b l e c on vex le n s m u s t an obj ec t be p

l ac ed
i
v
e
a
n
i
n v e r te d i m a ge o f t h e s a me s iz e as t h e ob j e c t ?
g

How

rde r

to

sim p
le p
le n gt h o f 2 i n
o ck et magn i fyi n g gl a ss h as a f o c a l
F i n d the si ze an d p
l ac ed betw een
o si t i on of t h e i m age w he n t h e o bj e c t i s p
th e l e n s an d the fo cu s a t a d is t an ce of l i n f r o m t he f o c u s
r od uced by two t h i n l en se s s i t uate d
8
Loc ate an d d e scr ib e t h e i m age p
as Sh ow n i n Fig 3 7 5
7

80 c m

f0
f la

cm

1 000 cm

so

w he re t h e s u b scri p
t s i n d i c a te
FI G
t h e l e n s e s r e fe rre d t o
ro d u ced by t h e co mbi n at ion of t h i n
an d d escr i be t he i ma ge p
.

Lo c te

len s es s h o wn

i n Fi g 3 7 6
.

+ 6 111

jg

2 in

F IG

3 76

a gl e f a p
r i s m f r di a ry gl a ss
i
r d er t h at i t mi im m d i at i s h l d b
(p
11
Pr v e t h a
t if
f rw a t e r
f r gl a ss t h f c al le gth
d
f a gl a ss i i cr a sed f r t i me s by i mmers i g i t in w ate r
12
P r ve th a t i t h c as e f t he r d i ary p
bk t l e s d b l e c v e x
th
m ag i c at i
is D /
m ag i fyi g gl a ss
f w here D i s t h d i sta ce f
d i s ti c t v i s i
13
Tw p
ar allel w alls are 2 0 ft ap
a r t I t i s d s i re d t p
r j ec t p
f 6
w a ll wi th a m g i c ati
b j e c t s i t a t ed
t h e r w a ll
th
W here m s t the le b p
l ac d d w h at m s t b i t f c al le gt h
10

W h at

mu s t b e t h e

n o

on e

on

on

ou

an

on

ou

ev

on

ou

u.

re f r a c ti n g

ns

on

an

an

e o

on

on

I N T E R F E R EN C E A N D D I F F R A C T I O N
4 72
Up
to the prese n t we have bee n co n sideri n g the con se
u e ces o f on ly t w o fu n d a me n tal f a cts n amely
i
the
recti
q
)
(
li n ear propagatio n an d ( ii) th e n ite but variable speed of
light
VII

LI GHT

4 79

there is a l a rge g roup of importa t phe n o m e n a wh ich

d their expl a a ti on i n the f a ct th a t the light w a ves pr o duci n g
them a re co mpelled t o p a ss throug h a pertures which are s m a ll
whe n measured i n ter ms o f a w ave le gth of light These
be a utiful phe n ome n a were rst cle a red up by the brilli a n t
y o u g Fre n ch hysicist Fresn el ( 1 78 8
whose particul a r
a chieveme n ts in optics are
n troducti on
i
The
i
of
the
idea
that
light
co
n sists i n
)
(
tr a n sverse vibratio n s an d
o mbi a tio n of the pri n ciple of H uyge n s with that
ii
The
c
( )
of i n terfere n ce ; i o ther wor d s the u n io n o f the pri ciples of
Just how this seco n d ide a is empl oyed
H uyge s an d Y ou g
t o explai n what h a ppe n s whe n light p a sses through s m all
apertures will be clear from the foll o wi ng illustratio n s
B ut

C ASE

P assage

P l an e

Waves t hrough a

on a

N arrow S l i t :

Di sta n t S creen

ect

Whe n the glower o f a N er st l a mp or an y other n e a rly

li n e a r source of light is viewed th r o ugh a n arr o w slit held p a r
a llel t o the s o urce an d cl ose to the eye a ser es of c ol o red b a n ds
sep a r a ted by dark ba n ds so m ethi g like those sh o w n in Fig
3 77 a re see n
If m on ochrom a tic light i s used the sp a ces i n
the gure represe n t ed as white are col ored The ce n tr a l sp a ce
4 73

FIG

3 77

Image of

a li

r so urce p
rod uced

n ea

by

a rr
na

sli t

ow

a lways b r o ader an d brighter than an y of those on either side

For this expe ri m e n t a S i n gle ruli n g h a vi n g a breadth o f from
1 t o 1 m illimeter m ade upo n the b a ck of a piece of silvered
3 5
3 6
m irror is well ad a pted
I t is ofte n c o n ve n ie n t also t o observe this phe n ome n o n by
viewi n g a small brillia n t source through the n a rrow ope n i n g
betwee n t w o n gers of o n e s han d The se b a n ds were called by
Fr a u n h ofer who w a s on e of the e a rliest to study t hem spec
tr a of the rst cl ass
Fres n el s expla n a ti on is as foll o ws L et A B ( Fig 3 7 8 ) be a
horiz on tal secti on a cr oss a vertic a l slit L et w i n dic a te the

is

PHYS IC S

G E N E RA L

4 80

successive i n cide n t wave fro n ts an d MM the scree n i ll u

m in at ed by the ligh t p a ssi n g through the slit
'

Po

FI G 3 78
.

Di ff r ct i
a

on

th

ro ugh a sl i t

Two queries n o w de m a n d a n swer : ( i ) what happe n s at

v a rious poi n ts a l on g the scree n the width of the aperture 8
rem a n i g c on st a n t ? a d ( ii ) what h a ppe n s a t a y on e p oi n t on
the scree say P while the width of the aperture varies ?
n
n
i
Taki
g
these
questio
s
order
let
us
co
sider
474
n
i
n
a
n
( )
y
wave fr on t p a ssi n g through the slit a s divided up i n to n arr o w
vertical strips such that whe n viewed from a y given directio n
the edges
s ay A D ( Fig
of e a ch strip will di ffer by
h alf a wave le n gth i n their
dista n ce from the li n e A C
n d i cu
whic h is drawn p
er
e
p
lar to this given directio n
These strips di ff eri n g by half
a w a ve length in t hei rd is
t a n ce fro m A C are called
after their i n ve n tor Fres n el
,

'

z o n es

If the scree n M M ( Fig

F
3 79
Fr s l z s
3 7 8 ) be a t a su ffi cie n t dist a n ce
fro m the sli t the a rc o f a circle dr a wn thr o ugh A an d C with P
a s a ce n ter will di ff er i n a ppreciably fro m the str a ight li e A C
U n der these circumsta ces the di ffere n t Fres n el zo es i n the
a perture will e a ch on H uyge n s P ri n ciple se n d out light t o
every p oi n t of the scree n and will each pr o duce a lu m i n ous dis
t u rban ce ( displaceme n t of the ether ) a t P wi th a ph a se which

IG

'

e ne

on e

L IG HT

481

is exactly 1 8 0 di ff ere n t from th at produced by its n ext d oo r

n eighbor
The r a ys of light which re a ch the p o i n t P fr o m the
v a rious zo n es wi l l diff er in phase a t P exactly a s they di ff er i n
phase at the li n e A C
Whe n the i n cide n t w a ve ( w in Fig 3 78 ) is plan e the ph a se
of e a ch z on e on re a chi g P i n cre a ses i n arith m etic progressi on
from A to B I t is then an easy m a tter to compute the e ect
o f a ll the Fres n el zo n es at an
y poi n t P provided we assume
wh a t is here pr a ctically true n a m ely that the c ect of every
t in p
z on e at P i s the sa m e ex ep
hase in other
words we sh a ll
a ssume that so far a s regards dista n ce direc t io n etc the zo es
are S i m il a rly Situated
Let P represe n t th a t poi n t on the scree n which is n earest the
ce n tr a l p o i n t of the i n cide n t wave a d let b denote t h edista nc e o f
this p oi t P from the ce n ter of the slit 0 C on sider n ow the
total illumi n a tio n at an y p oi n t of the scree n P dis t a n t x cm
fro m P
L et n denote the n u m ber of Fres n el zo n es i n the slit
with respect to the poi n t P Note that n umber of F res n el
zo n es has n o me an i n g except with refere n ce to some on e
point S i n ce the tria n gles A B C an d OP P a re similar it fol
l o ws that
x
13 0
B0
a ppr oxi m a tely

'

AC

where s is the width of the slit an d Si ce there are n zo n es in

the slit it is evi dent from the de iti o of the zo n es that
n

7t

RC

where

is the wave length of the i n cide n t light

a:

n
s

l
2

H ence

Eq

1 87

This equatio n tells us just h ow n v a ries as the poi n t P m o ves

al on g the scree n while b s an d 7t re m a i n co n st a n t
Fo ran y give n positio n of P either o n e of two thi n gs may
h a ppe n accordi n g as n is an odd or eve n n umber
n es of the slit
a)
h
n n i s even
it
is
clear
that
a
ll
the
zo
W
(
ul each o ther in p a irs
n Fig
3 80) will j ust a
(1 2 3 4
S uppose n 2 ; the n B C = A ; a d the aperture m a y a cc o rd
i gl y be divided i n to t w o parts a y p o i n t o f on e o f which will
,

nn

G ENER AL

4 82

PHYS IC S

be i n exactly opposite ph a se to the c orrespo n di n g poi n t i n the

other The e ffect at P will therefore be n i l I f P move
further a w a y fro m the ce n t e r of the scree n so th a t n = 4
N o w e a ch h a lf of the aperture m ay a g a i n be
the n B C
broke n up into t w o parts e a ch of which will i n terfere with the
.

ther Si n ce they di ffer

,

phase by

in

H e n ce

they produce

no

displaceme n t of the ether n o light at P

Th e co n ditio n
for d arkn ess (black b an d) at an y poi n t P the n is th at the slit
shall comprise an eve n n umber of Fr es n el zo n es with r espect to
P ; or i n terms of alge bra n shall be ev en i n E q I 8 7
b
en n i s od d the zo n es o f the Slit will i n terfere i n pairs
h
W
( )
as befo re ; but there will alw ays be on e left over which will
produce a disturb a n ce i n the ether at P An d h e n c e the con
d itio n that P shall li e on a bri ght ba n d is tha t t h e s l it wi dth be
an o dd n um ber of Fr es n el zo n es i e n i n E q 1 8 7 s h all be od d
Thus
a
t
th
e
ce
n ter of
A
B
the scree n P the a per
ture will c o n t a i n at
most on e Fres n el zo n e ;
1 ; the light from
n
every p a rt of the slit
reaches P i n n early
the s ame phase H e n ce
the ce n ter of the scree n is n early alw ays bright If n = 3
RC
7

The
a
perture
may
therefore
be
divided
i
n to three
g
zo n es t w o o f which will ex a ctly an n ul o e a o ther while the
third will re m a i n t o illu m i n a te the s cree a t P This co n di
tio n gives rise to the rst bright b a n d on eithe r side of the
ce ter For the seco n d bright b a d n = g> ; fo r the third
1 7t etc
n
2
U n der the above co n ditio s which we h a ve a ssumed in this
c a se the pl a n e w a ve a rro w slit a d dista n t scree it is cle a r
th a t with respect to P which is the m iddle of the ge ometric al
im a ge the slit will c on t a i n i n ge n er al less th a n on e Fres el
z o e There is t h e e fore n o ch a n ce for i terfere n ce betwee n
differe n t zo n es an d the ce n ter of the scree n is a lways bright
B ut as on e recedes fr om the ce n ter t o either side the z o es
i n cre a se in n u m ber an d a s n p a sses fro m o d d to eve n a d b a ck
a g a i n the illumi n a ti o p a s ses fr m bright t o dark a n d b a ck
.

o,

0,

L IGHT

agai
1 87

the ma n n er shown

in

in

Fig

483

3 77

an

described

in Eq

n o w t a ke up the sec o n d query a sked a bove

ii
L
et
u
s
( )
Wh a t h a ppe n s at a y on e poi t o t h e scree when the Slit width
A S on e j
i s v a ried other c o diti o s re m a i n i g c o st a t ?
a w of
the Slit is m a de t o a ppr o a ch the other it must cut o o e
Fres n el z on e a fter a other A s the z o n es di m i ish in umber
1
m
i
n in E
8
w
ll
beco
e
a
lter
n a tely odd a d eve n ; which i n
7
q
tur n me a s that the xed poi n t on the scree n beco m es alter
n a tely bright and d a rk
This predicti on is easily veried by
viewi n g the lame n t of an i n c a desce t l a m p through a cut i n
a visiti n g card which can be be n t s o a s to m a ke the slit wider
or n a rr o wer I n this c a se the eye acts a s a telesc ope recei v
i n g the p a rallel r a ys which c o me thr o ugh the slit an d bri n gi g
t hem to f o cus on the reti n a
We p a ss n ow t o a n other c a se of diffractio n through a n a rrow
slit n amely

4 75

C ASE

II

I n ci d en t

ave

P l a n e : S creen

n ear

er
tu

re

L et the a perture be a g a i n divided i n t o F res n el z on es

such t h a t the ce n ter of an y on e is h a lf a wave le n gth furthe r
a w a y fr o m P th a n its n ext d oo r n eighb or The zo n e s will n ow
di ffer i n size directi on
m aki n g the
an d dist a n ce
pr oblem too di fcult fo r
m
nt
m
tre
a
t
e
ore
ele
an
y
m e n t a ry th a n that of the
i n tegr a l calculus B ut if
we c on n e our atte n ti on to
the ce n ter of the scree n
i e t o the poi n t P o the
F
IG
38 1
s oluti on bec om es si m ple
a g a i n For we h a ve n ow o n ly to co n sider each h alf of the slit :
divide these up i n to Fres n el z o n es wi t h respect t o P O If
either h alf co n t a i n s an even n u mber o f z on es t hey will very
n cer n ed
n e a rly a n n u l e a ch other so f a r as the e ec t a t P
is
co
0
and d arkn ess will result But if e a ch half c on t a i n s an od d
n umber o f z o n es
they m a y i n terfere in p a irs but there will
a lways be o n e zo n e u n co m pen s a ted an d thi s will illu m i n a te P 0
4 76

G E N E R AL

4 84

PHYS IC S

maki n g it bright A s P 0 a ppro a ches or recedes from the

ce n ter of the slit the n umber o f zo n es in the h a lf slit will pass
alter n ately fro m eve n to odd an d the illumi n atio n will ch a n ge
alter n ately from d a rk n ess t o
This e ffect is
63322 bright n ess
easily observed by placi n g a
l
1
n arr o w a perture s a
milli
y
m
h
FIG 3 8 2 F r s l s d ff ract i p
20
meter at a d ista n ce o f s ay
1 meter fr o m a li n ear source
If then a compou n d microscope
be focused upo n a regio n lyi n g withi n the rst millimeter
from the Slit the alter n atio n s of bright an d dark ce n ters
w ill be easily see n
.

e ne

n on

on

en o

'

I n ten si ty

D ira cted Light

we h a ve bee n co n cer n ed mai n ly with the

p ositio n s of the maxima and mi n ima of i n te n sity upon the
illumi n ated scree n B u t the late P r o fessor C or n u ( 1 8 4 1
a disti n guished Fre n ch physicist h a s given us a method of
great Simplicity a n d elega n ce for gr a phically meas uri n g the
i te n sity at an y poi n t on the scree n so so on a s we k n ow the
phase an d displace m e n t due to e a ch of the v a rious eleme n ts of
the wave surface illumi n a ti g the slit
To obt a i n the result a n t e ffect of an y n umber of disturba n ces
at the p o i n t P we have merely to lay off on a y di a gr a m
n
Fig
begi
as
origi
the various displace
n n i n g with
O
(
m e ts e a ch wi t h a lengt h which
sh a ll measure the amou t of the
d isplaceme n t an d each at an a n gle
to the axis of X which sh a ll me a sure
its ph a se We k n ow that the re
of an y n umber of vector
s ul t an t
qu a tities l a id off i n this m a n n er is
represe n ted by the side which closes
the polygo n i n this case by the
F
3
83
dotted li n e OP A n y ele m e n t i n
;
rl
su m m f C
p
this spir a l represe n ts the amplitude
of the vibratio n tr a n smitted by the correspo n di n g eleme n t of
the wave surface p a ssi n g thr o ugh the slit
If we on si d er the i ll u mi n ati on at the en ter f t he s reen we
m ay divide the wave fr on t into t wo sy m m etric al h a lves ea ch
477

H eretofore

IG

C OD

on 0

Ot n u S S

'

L IG HT

4 85

of which will give rise to a spiral like that i n F ig 3 83 The

resulta t a m plitude the i n a c a se of this ki n d will be given
by j oi n i n g the t w o extremities o f the spiral a s i dic a ted by the
dotted li n e i n Fig 3 8 4 If we c o n sider a poi n t on the scree n
which is a t on e side of the ce n ter then the n umber of ele m e n ts
i n on e bra n ch of the spir a l will of course be larger than i n the
.

F IG

3 84 C o
.

rn u s s p
i r al

other a d the result a n t a m plitude will v a ry a ccordi n gly To

obt a i the e ect of the rst Fres n el zo n e it will be n ecess a ry to
l a y off ele m e ts o f the w a ve surfa ce starti g from an y give n
point u n til o e re a ches a p oi t where the t otal ph a se di ffer
,

e ce from the st a rti g poi

n

is

1 80

or

This poi n t

is

i n dic a ted i n Fig 3 84 by M a t which poi n t the t a ge n t is

p a rallel to OX but is dr a w in the opp o site se n se At M
n

the phase di ffere ce is

n

3 60

H e n ce

or

the vector

II 2
OZ

represe n ts the a m plitude result a n t from the rst two Fres el

z o es ; a d s on
S i n ce the i n te sity of light at an y poi n t is me a sured by the
lumi n o us e n ergy which falls upo n unit area i n u n it ti m e at
th a t poi t we m ust n ext d h ow to derive the i te sity from
t h e a mplitude
The e ergy f a p a rticle m m o vi g with a
z
m
si ple h a r m o ic m oti o is g mv
A n d si ce the velocity a t
n

G E N E RAL

4 86

PHYS IC S

the ce n ter varies as the amplitude the e n ergy of an y Si m ple

h armo n ic disturba n ce will vary as the square of the amplitude
To ob t ai n the i n te n sity at an y poi n t of the scree n we have
therefore o n ly to square the amplitude as give n by C orn u s
Spiral
,

CASE

I II

D ij
r
a cti on
f
S l i ts

ect

ra

P l an e
the

Wave

at

P ai r of Narrow

S econ d Cl ass

Imagi n e t w o n arro w sl it s such as the on e which We

have j ust bee n studyi n g ruled side by side about millimete r
apart O n viewi n g through this p a ir o f apertures an y li ear
source such as a Ner n st lame n t or eve n an ordi n a ry gas j et
turned l ow a series of
alter n ately bright an d
d a rk ba n ds a re see n to
occ u py the ce n ter o f
the eld i e the re
n
o vered
io
c
by
the
g
broad ce n tr a l bright
ba n d d u e to ei th r s l i t
We a ssume
a l on e
th a t the source is s u f
ci en t l y dist a n t fro m
the apertures to m ake
the i n cide n t w a ves
P
pr
a
ctically
pl
a
ne
a d
FIG 3 85 D i r t i th r gh a p
air f sl i t s
th a t the scree n whic h
m ay be the reti n a of t h e eye is su fcie n tly dista n t to
permit us to co n sider the a rc A C described ab o u t P as a
ce ter as a str a igh t li n e To e a ch eleme n t of the i n cide n t
w a ve surf a ce in the a perture A will correspo n d an eleme n t i n
the a perture B The effect at an y p oi n t P o the scree n will
be obt a i ed whe n we a dd up the effects of all the ele m e n ts i n
these two slits U se red glass so a s to m a ke the i n cide n t light
m on ochro m atic It i s at o n ce see n by the method of Case I
that if P is so chose n as t o m a ke B C
we sh all h a ve d a rk
4 78

ac

on

ou

ess a t P ; for ea ch elem e n t i n the a perture A will reach P

with a ph a se which is j ust 1 80 ahead of the correspo n di n g
eleme n t i n B ; the result a n t a m plitude at P will therefore be
n

LI G H T

4 87

zero The s a m e thi n g will h appe if P be moved a lo n g the

scree n to an y positio n say where B C is a n y odd n u m ber of
h a lf wave le n gths i e when B C ( 2 n
n bei n g the series
n

of n atur a l n u m bers begi n n i n g with zero The tri a n gles AB C

a
re
si
m
ilar
therefore
if
we
denote
the
dist
a
n ce
a n d OP P
;
0
betwee n the slits by a + d an d the dista n ce of the scree n by b
we have
.

B0

where 6 is the a n gle of di ff ractio n P 0 OP

P shall lie on a d ark ba n d is theref o re
(

a)

e,

sin

si n

Th e co n ditio n that

33333;

00

2
( n

Eq

1 88

The co n ditio n for a bright ba n d is obt a i n ed in the sam e way

o n ly n o w the differe n ce of path betwee n t w o correspo n di n g
eleme n ts on e fr o m e a ch slit m u st be an ven n umber of
h a lf w a ve le n gths Fo rtwo rays of light which a re an y whole
n umber o f wave le gths a p a rt will re en force ea ch other and if
their a mplitudes a re equal will produce an i n te sity four times
The positi on x of a bright
as gre a t as that of either on e a lo n e
b a d o n t h e illumi n ated scree n is accordi n gly expressed as fol
lows i n terms of algebr a
,

+ d ) Si n 6

ggg g
ge
g
g

Co

2n

Eq

1 89

us n o w rem o ve the red gl a ss an d vie w these b a n ds i n

white light It i s the n see that th e bright b a n ds a re colored
bluish gree n o the s ide t o w a rd the ce n ter of the eld an d red
o
the S ide away fr o m the ce n ter of the eld E a ch of these
ba n ds i s i f a ct a spectrum of the s ource Fr a u n h o fer c alled
these spectr a of the seco n d cl a ss t o dist in guish them from
th ose which a re see n through a si n gl slit
The a dv a n ced s t ude n t will n d the distributio n of i n te sity
a m on g these v arious Spectra an e n tici n g problem I n a c a se
such as the prese n t where both the i n cide n t an d di ff r a cted
w a ves a re pl a n e it may be e a sily show n th a t C o r n u s spiral
becomes a circle
Let

PHYS IC S

G E N E R AL

4 88

CASE I V

D iracti on throug h a L ar
b
o
N
e
m
e
i
u
r
E
u
f
g
q d i stan t
P ara l l el S l i ts
The P l an e D ira cti on Grati n g
.

agai n w e shall co n sider the i n cide n t an d di ffracted

wave fro n ts as pla n e si n ce this is the case pri n cipally used i n
spectrosc o py
L et AE ( Fig 3 86 ) represe n t an opaque scree n i n which have
bee n cut a large number of equidista n t p a rallel apertures L et
a be the width of each
wm
aperture an d d the widt h
w
of the opaque portio n
betwee n an y two con
s ec u t i v e
ape rtures
The n a d will be what
is calle d the grati n g
space that is the dis
ta n ce betwee n an y t w o
correspo n di n g eleme n ts
of the w a ve surface i n
T
two co n secutive aper
tures
If the source of light
is placed in the pri n cipal
focus of the collimator
n t wave
le
the
emerge
ns

FIG 3 86 Th d iffrac ti grat i g

P
fr on ts w1 w2 etc will be
pla n e I n like m a n n er the di ff racted wave A D will re a ch the
pri n cipal focus of the V iew telescope without an y cha n ge of
ph a se i n its vari o us parts ; for the optical dist a n ce to the
pri n cipal focus P is the same for a ll parts of A D i t bei g
supp osed that the a xis of the telescope is perpe n dicular to A D
H e n ce the phase differe n ce with which rays from the various
a pertures re a ch the pl a n e A D is precisely the phase di ffere n ce
with which they will re a ch the focus P We n eed therefore
to co n sider o n ly the phase in which the light reaches the pla n e
4 79

H ere

ne

ELESCOPE

on

AD

Two pri n cipal questio n s n ow arise ( i ) what a n gle

m ust the axis of the vie w telescope make with the n or m al t o
the grati n g i n order that for an y on e wave le n gth )t the p oi n t
P m a y be a maximum of i n te n sity ? an d ( ii ) what is the i n t en
48 0

LI GH T

4 89

light at an y poi n t P i n terms of the i n te n sity of the

light i n cide n t upo n an y on e of the n a pertures ? The rst
o n ly of these queries will be here co n sidered ; the a n swer to
the seco n d will be fou n d in Eq 1 9 6
It is evide n t fro m previous c a ses that whe n the telesc ope is
directed n or m a lly upo n the gr a ti n g the light from each a per
ture will reach P in the same ph a se an d we sh a ll have the
greatest possible i n te sity This bright ba n d is c a lled the
A s P m o ves to the left s ay the eld will
ce n tral image
remai n more or less bright u n til the dist a n ce D E ( which is the
ret a rd a tio n of the ray at on e en d of the grati n g over that at
t h e o ther en d ) becomes equal to o n e wave le n gth
Whe n this
occurs the light from the a perture A will be just 1 8 0 out of
ph as e with the light from the middle of the grati n g ; in like
m a n n er the light from B will be j ust 1 8 0 out of phase with
that from the ruli n g next to the middle an d s o on
the e ff ect
bei n g that the light from on e half the gr a ti n g is a n n ulled by
the light from the o ther h a lf Whe n D E 2 A the p oi n t P
will a g a i n be d a rk for the n the grating will i n terfere by qu a r
ters the light from each qu a rter bei n g 1 80 o u t of ph a se with
the light fro m the a dj o i n i n g qu a rter giving absolute d a rk n ess
a t P At poi n ts betwee n these there will be slight illumi a
tio n ; for i n sta n ce at the poi n t where D E = 3 ; for n ow the
s i ty o f

rst third o f the grating will i n terfere destructively with the

sec on d third le a vi n g the l a st third to illu m i n ate the p oi t P
A slight m a ximum due t o light from o n e fth of the grati n g
n

will als o occur when

an d s o on

DE
.

The student who is i n terested will do well to read P rofessor

W ood s si m ple cle a r an d clever discussio n of these m axi m a
r spectr a of third class
by
( c a lled seco n d ary m axima
Fr a u n hofer ) i n the P hi l sop
hi cal M agaz i n e fo r O ctober 1 9 07
But the first i n te n se illumi n a tio n on either side of the cen
tr a l im a ge will o ccur whe n D E is equal to a s ma n y wave
le n gths a s there a re sp a ces on the grati n g ; fo r then CB will
be equ al t o o n e w a ve length an d the light from each a per t ure
will re a ch the surf a ce A D i n precisely the s a m e ph ase The
light which is thus co n ce n t rated a t P is c a lled the spectrum
o f the rst order
If the di ff ere ce of ph ase betwee n corre

G E N E R AL

490

PHYS IC S

eleme n ts in two successive apertures is

the light
which the n reaches P i n maximum i n te n sity is said to be the
spectrum of the n t h order
So l o n g theref o re a s the i n ci
de n t wave fro t is p a ral lel t o the gr a ti n g the c on ditio n th a t P
Sh a ll be bright is that CB S h a ll be equ a l to a whole n umber of
wave le n gths or in terms of algebr a
S

on

din g

+ d)

Si n

6 = 2

Eq

190

where 6 is the a n gle o f di ffracti o D AE

I f however the a gle of i ci d en ce i is n ot zero ( a s in Fig
3 8 6 ) but is an a n gle H AE such a s i n dicated i n Fig 3 87 the n
the retard a tio n of t h e e xtre m e r a y betwee n the two w a ve fr o n ts
H e n ce the ge n eral co n ditio n that
ED
AH an d A D is H E
P sh a ll be bright bec o m es
n

d ) ( si n a

s i n 75

Eq

1 91

gr a ti n g of the ki n d j ust
described i n which the dif
fracted light p a sses through
parallel a pertures i s c a lled a
trans missio n gr at i n g
A

R eecti on

Grati ng s

The op a que regio n s

of a tr a n smissi on grati n g are
ge n er ally produced by ruli g
glass surf a ces with a diam on d
poi n t B ut the diamo n d poi n t
deteriorates very r a pidly dur
i n g this work and he n ce it is
F G3 8 7
cust om ary to e mploy highly
polished speculum metal for the ruled surfa ce The speculum
m et a l is softer th a n the gl a ss an d will permit the diamo n d p o i t
t o cut m a n y m o re li n es upo n i t th a n u p on gl a ss
A gr a ti n g ruled
u po
a p olished op a que surf a ce beh a ves exactly a s a tr a n s m is
sio n grati n g i n which the incident w a ve i s t he i mage f t he actu al
Thus in Fig 3 88 where
wave f a lli g upo n the opaque grati n g
the grating is s upp o sed to be o e of speculum metal the e ff ect
is precisely the s a me a s if the i n cide n t wave A H were replaced
by i t s i m a ge AH an d the gr a ti n g were at the same time mad e
481

L IG HT

tr a n sp a re n t
is H E D E
is given by

4 91

either c a se t h e retardatio n of the extreme r a y

o f the spec t ru m of the n t h o rder
an d the positi o
In

d ) (si n i

Si n

6)

Eq

1 91

where as a b ove i a n gle E AH an d 6 a n gle E AD R uled

surf a ces a t which the reec t ed wave fro n t is di ff racted are
c a lled r e ectio n grati n gs
The best gratings of the w o rld a re ruled on R owlan d s en
gi e a t B a lti more an d o n M ichelso n s a t C hicag o I most
they c on t a i n some
c ases
H
where betwee n ve an d
twe ty t h o us a d li n es t o

the i ch ; so th a t i n m a y
c a ses the p olished surf a ce
betwee n two a dj a ce n t rul
i gs bec o mes v a ishi gly
sm a ll N o t w i t h s t a d i n g
t his
en ess W allace
Th o rpe a d Ives h a ve
shown th a t it is possible by
mea n s of tr a sp a re n t cel l u
T
h r c i
r
a
F
38 8
ti g
g
l oid t o make a c a st of a
reecti on gr a ti n g an d to mou n t this cast upo a piece o f pl a e
glass in such a w a y as to give a v ery perfect spectrum A
tr a n smissio n gr a ti n g prod u ced in this way by u si n g an op a que
grati n g as a mould is called a repli ca
,

IG.

e t on

The

An gstrom Un i t

l igh t i s u s u a lly e xp
re ss ed
n ot i n t er m s o f cen t i m et e s b u t i n t er m s o f a m u c h sn all eru n i t i n t r o d u c ed
g
g
h y si c i s t A n gs t r o m an d c all e d t h e
A n gs t r o m u n i t
I ts
b y t he Swe d i sh p
B u t by ac t i on o f t h e I n ter
v al ue i s t h e h u n d re d m i ll i o n t h o f a c e n t i m e t er
4 82

Th e n ume r i c a l v al ue

of

a w ave l

en gth o f

I al S l U m at Pmm 1 9 07 t h s m t
w d e
d as
643 84 6 9 6
the w av e l e gth f t h r d c ad mi m r ay in air t r ma l p
re ss re d
C
d i s c a lle d t h
an g t r m

n at on

15

o aI

an

In

as

to

'

ne

13 n o

no

an

R esol vin g P ower of

483

'

'

on

"

'

'

of

Grati n g

4 80)
ge n er a l an s w er to the questi o r a ised a bove
i n te n sity which a grati n g will yield i an y on e di rectio n
.

PHYS IC S

G E N E R AL

4 92

must be postpo n ed fo r adva n ced study B u t it is n ot di fcult

t o show that t h e sharp n ess of the image of an y li n e a rs urce f
light such as the illumi n a ted slit of a spectr oscope
vie wed through a grati n g varies directly as the n um ber o f li n es
The s a me source prese n ts very diff ere n t ap
o n the grating
n ces accordi n g to the n umber of apert u res through which
ear
a
p
it is viewed If ordi n a tes represe n t i n te n sities an d a bscissas
wave le n gths (a) in Fig 3 8 9 will illustr a te the br o a d di ffuse
appeara n ce of li n e whe n s ee n
thr o ugh a very short grati n g
nd
m
ho
the
s
a
e li n e
b
a
S
w
( )
( )
throug h gr a ti n gs which co n tai n
more li n es The re a so n fo r this
is a s follows suppose the spec
( b)
( )
( )
FIG 3 89 Ill s t rat i g t h ff c t f tru m of the n t h o rder t o be
m n
d l r
wi g P W r
g
see n in an y directi on 6 ; the n if
the i n cide n t r a y be n o r ma l t o the gr a ti n g we have
.

an

So

d)

(a

sin

Eq

nx

190

be the tot a l n umber of li n es i n the grati n g we have

N ( a + d ) s in 6 = N n > = ret a rdati o n o f l a st ray over the rst
r a y This ret a rd a tio n would a m o u n t t o E D i n Fig 3 8 6 Sup
pose n o w th a t the directio n of view he cha n ged fro m 6 t o
a
very sm a ll amou n t s that
If N

N (a + d)

sin

other w ords s o th a t t h e ret a rd a tio n of the last ray becomes

on e wave le n g t h gre a ter tha n bef o re
We shall t he n have de
structive i n terfere n ce betwee n the light from t h e t wo halves
of the gr a ti n g I f it co n t a i n o e thousa n d li n es the light
from the rst a perture will be j ust h a lf a wa ve le n gth a head o f
th a t from the 5 01 8 t aperture in like m a n n er the seco n d ape r
ture i n terferes with the 5 02 d ; an d So on
Fro m the t wo precedi n g equati on s it foll ows th a t

in

d ) ( si n a

sin

a)

( 7\

Eq

x)

1 92

which mea n s that for an y give n w a ve le n g th the a n gular dis

ta n ce fro m a poi n t of m a ximum i n te n sity 6 to the n ext mini
m u m 6 is i n versely p
o
r
i
o
n al to the tot a l n umber o f l i n es
t
G
N o n the grati n g an d to the spaci n g of the li n es

L I GHT

493

The a bility of a grating to sep a rate the images of a si n gle

source emitti n g two n early equ a l wave le n gths 7t an d 7U is
called its res l vin g p
ower
The n umeric a l v alue of the resol v
i n g p o wer is measured by the followi g expressio n
,

R esolvi n g

power

n N,

Eq

1 93

where 7t 7V is the d i eren ce of wave length betwee n the

closest images which the grati n g will Sh o w a s double A s will
be see n from Eq 1 9 2 this res ol vi n g p
e n d s ( if t h grat
ow er d e p
t
er
i
f
n other r
r od
i n g be
ec
es
cts whi h i t s el d om i s ) u p
on t h e p
p
p
u ct of t h e t otal n um ber of ruli n gs on t h e gr at i n g N by t h e
or d er of t h e s p
ectr
um n
Th e phe n ome n a which are see n whe n a source of light emit
ting more t ha n o e wave length is viewed through a gr a ti g
will be take n up u n der the head of the spectroscope
.

CASE V

R ecti lin ear P ro

aga ti on

f Light

Whe n on a cle a r night on e observes a st a r with the

n aked eye why is it that the pla n e wave fr o t which strikes
him in the f a ce s o to speak gives the impressio n of light co m
i n g fro m a si n gle directi o n ? H o w is it possible to scree n o ff a ll
o f this wave fr on t except a s mall p o rti o n immedi a tely bounding
the directio n o f the st a r without a ppreciably aff ecti n g the light
which re a ches the eye from the star ? This is the great prob
l em of the rectili n ear prop a gati o n o f light which eve n one
hu n dred years ago was still dem a n di n g expl a n a tio n
The si m ple an d direct a n swer which Fres el g a ve an d which
was perfec t ed by S tokes n e a r the middle o f the n i n etee th ce
tury is b a sed upo n the pri n ciples o f diffr a cti o n a d i terfere n ce
which we have just bee n st u dyi n g The t ime a t our dispos a l
will not per m it of the repr oductio n o f their argu m e n t here ;
but the interested stude n t will n d himself e a sily able to fol
l o w the discussio n of this subject i n some of the larger co m
pe n dia of physics The s a me rem a rk m ight be m a de c on cern i n g
di ff r a ctio n in the case of light p a ssi n g a straight edge a ci rcu
l a r a perture or a n arrow wire
4 84

r o b l em s
1
A l i n e ar ap
l a c ed p
ara ll el t o a nd
ert ure w h o se w i d th is 3 255 cm i s p
60 cm i n f r on t of a scree n
er t u re be i ll um in ated w i th a be am
I f t h i s ap
of p
arall el r ays w h ose a n gl e o f i n c id en ce i s z ero a nd w h o se wav e le n gt h i s
P

G EN E R AL

4 94

PHYS I C S

h
t
h
e c en t r a l
d
w
h
a
t
w
i
ll
be
t
e
i
s
t
a
n
c
e
be
t
w
een
m y
d ark b a n d o f t h e d i ffr ac ti on i m age o n t h e scr een ?
cm

i m age

an d

An s

the rs t
cm

ass grat i g i r le d w i th 42 50 l i e s t t h ce ti me te r \Vhe a

l a e w ave f ye ll w l igh t s tri kes t h i s gr a ti g t prp
e d i c l ar i ci d e ce i t
p
i s bse rve d th a t th e p
ec tr m f t h se c d r der i s dev i ate d (d iff rac ted )
t
h
t hr
f
h
t
h
f
t
h
a
l
e
W
a
t
i
s
w
a
v
e
l
e
h
e
ll
l
i
h
w
g
y
g
g
g t?
2

A gl

an

on

ou

Ans

s ou rce of l igh t em it s t wo c o l ors W hen exam i n e d th r o ugh a gr a t

ec t r u m o f the 4 th o r de r for o n e c ol or i s s ee n i n
i n g it i s f o u n d t h at t h e s p
the sa m e d i rec t io n a s th a t of t he 5 th o rd er for t he ot her c ol o r W h a t i s
t h e r a ti o of t h e w av e len g ths fort h e se t wo c o l ors ?
3

c er tai n s p
e c tru m o f th e 2 d o rd er i s p
rod uc ed by a gr at i n g w h i c h i s
r u le d w ith 4 00 l i n es t o t h e m i ll i m et er An oth er sp
ec tr u m o f the s a m e
s o u rc e b u t of the 4 th o r de r i s p
rod u c ed by a gr at in g w h i c h c on t ai n s 3 00
l i n es t o the i n c h C omp
are the l en gt h s of th ese t wo s p
ec t ra
4

sou rce s o f l igh t e a ch i n t h e s am e p

h a s e ar e s i tu ated at a
d i s t a n c e of 2 6 m m a p
ar t I f t h e w av e l en gth of the li g h t w h i c h t h ey em it
i s 6 5 00 A h ow f ar ap
ar t w i ll be t h e sp
ec t ra of t h e se c on d cl a ss on a screen
on e me te r a w ay f r om t h e s o u rce s an d
a
r
a
ll
e
l
t
he
l
i
n e j oi n i n
the
s
o
u rc e s ?
t
o
p
g
5

Two

pi

o n

h w i ll t h p
h a se f a r ay f l i gh t be r e tar de d by i s er ti g i
it p
at h a c ve r gl ass
mi ll i meter t h i ck h a vin g a r ef r a c ti v i d x f
A ss me the l i gh t t b t h at f t h yell w s d i m a m e f rw h ich A 5 8 9 3 A
7
P r v e th a t i f t h
aq e sp
ac es are exac t ly eq al t t r a s p
ar e t s p
ac e s
p
i a t r a s mi ssi
e c tra f t h f r th rder wi ll be m i ssi g
gr at i g sp
6

H ow m u c

on e

on

eo
n

ou

C H APTE R

XI I

O P TI C A L I N S TR U M EN

TS

hi Ca mera
I Th P hotograp
48 5 A photogr a phic c a mer a w h ich is perhaps the si m plest
an d best k n ow n o f all optic a l i strume n ts is m erely a box tted
at o n e en d with a c o n vergi g le n s an d a t the other en d with a
device fo r holdi g a pl a te which is se sitive t o light E ty
m ol ogy o f cam ra ? The sides of this b ox a re us u ally m a de of
f olded le a t her o th a t the dis t a n ce of the plate P ( Fig 3 9 0)
fr om the le s L m ay be v a ried a t will
The rear en d o f the c a m er a is fur p
n i sh ed a ls o with a grou d gl a ss which
m ay be pl a ced i n the sa m e positio
th a t the se n sitive plate is to o ccupy
l a ter
The rst step i n t a ki n g a photogr a ph m 390 s c t i f p
h t
h i c c am r a
r
p
g
i
n
co n sists i n placi g t his grou d gl a ss
such a p o siti on th a t the le n s will pr o duce upo it a sh a rp i m a ge
of the object W hose photogr a ph is desired
This is c a lled

f ocusi n g
The se n d step is to cover the le n s so that n o light can
e n ter the c a mer a ; the n put the se sitive pl a te i n the p ositio n
formerly occupied by the grou n d gl a ss an d exp o se the pl a te
by a g a i u c o veri n g the le n s for the pr oper l e n gth o f time
The third step is to devel op a d x t he plate The
lights an d sh a d o ws are o w j u st reversed fro m what t hey a re i n
the subj ect The plate i n its prese n t c on ditio n is therefore
c a lled a n egative
The f u rth step c a lled pri ti g a g a i n reverses the lights
a d sh a d o ws an d gives the ished picture which is called the
p ositive
A g ood phot ogr a phic le s is on e
Which
s
a
e
f
c
a
l
l
n gth fo ryell o w as for vi olet
a
h
a
h
m
e
s
t
e
( )
light ; yello w rays bei n g th o se w hich a re pri n cipally used i n
c

on

o o

co

49 5

G ENER A L

4 96

HY SI C S

focusi n g on the gro un d glass vi olet rays bei n g those which

most a ffect the se n sitive plate I n other wor d s the le n s must
be corrected for chromatic aberratio n 4 64
h
Which
as the s a me f o cal le n gth for the edges as for the
6
( )
ce n t er of the le n s Whe n this is so the whole o f the le n s can
be used an d the photogr a ph t a ke n with a short exposure

S uch le n ses are s a id to be quick ; they are corrected for

spheric al aberrati on
0
Which
p
r
o duces an i m age disti n ct n ot o n ly at the ce n ter
( )
but cle a r o u t t o the e dges of the se n sitive plate for which it is
i n te d ed S uch a le n s is s a id to have a at eld
( d ) Which gives the s a me mag n ifyi n g power a t the ce n ter
an d a t the edge of the p h otographic plate
If the le n s is n ot
c a refully c o rrected so a s to give this result buildi n gs an d geo
m etric a l gu res will be distorted
A le n s so corrected is said
rectili n e a r
t o be
Fo r speci a l purposes suc h as portrait or la n dscape photog
h y it is obviously u n n ecessary that the le n s should possess
rap
all of these four qualities
,

II

The H u man

Ey e

The eye from an optical poi n t of vie w is a camera i n

which the se n sitive phot ogr aphic plate is replaced by a se n sitive
m e m bra n e called the r eti n a
This reti n a is c on n ected with a
n erve c a lled the optic n erv e which co n veys the impressio n to
the brai n
I n the fr on t part of the eye is placed a co n vergi n g le n s 0
this is c a lled the crysta ll i n e len s This le s projects upo n the
reti n a an image of exter a l obj ects The dista n ce betwee n this
le n s an d the reti n a remai n s pr a ctic ally co sta n t H o w the n
can the eye s ee objects which lie at di ffere n t dista n ces fr o m the
eye ? For it is evide n t from
Fig 8 6 5 th a t the dist a n ce of
the i m age fr o m the le s
ordi n a rily varies with the
dista n ce o f the object fr o m
the le n s
The a n swer to
f th
L gi t d i l s c i
Fm 3 9 1
this ques t i o n lies i n the f a ct
h m
y
th a t the muscles of the eye
a re able to cha n ge the fo cal le n gth o f the crystalli n e le n s at
486

on

e t on

na

an e

I C A L IN STR U M EN TS

OP T

497

will The power of this le n s is thus varied automatically t o

suit the dista n ce of the object This process of ch a n gi n g the
fo c a l le n gth of the eye to suit the dist a n ce of the o bject is
called accomm o datio n
I n fro n t of the eye ha n gs a dark -colored di a phr a gm i n the
ce ter o f which is an ope n i g called the p
This
aperture
u il
p
v a ries with the amou n t of light f a lli n g up on the eye A s the
light gr o ws brighter the pupil co n tracts ; as the light grows
weaker the pupil e n larges E xami n e the pupil of your ow n
eye i n a mirror after rem a i n i n g for a few mi n utes i n a dark
ro om ; i n a mome n t a fter comi n g i n to the light the pupil con
tracts agai n to its n atural size
E very stude n t should ex a mi n e carefully o n e of these little

p a stebo a rd models called ski asco p

i c eyes ; n othi n g will
make the structure of the eye so pl a i n The model is provi d ed
with a le n s which e n ables on e to easily exami n e its reti n a with
the o phthalmoscope of H elmholtz an d to try the e ect of various
spectacle l e n ses
.

II I The P roje ti on L an tern

This i n strume n t co n sists esse n ti a lly of three parts
c

48 7

am ely
( i ) A brillia n t source of light A Fig 3 9 2
( ii ) A pair of large short f o cus le ses 0 of l a rge aperture
which sh a ll distribute this stro n g light u n iformly over the
object 8 which is to be proj ected an d

'

'

FIG
( iii )

3 92
.

Th e p
roj
ec t i o n

lan t ern

f a irly well corrected le s P which thr o ws upo n the

scree n o r wall W an e n l a rged i m a ge o f the picture on the
gl a ss slide This sec on d le n s is ge er a lly of the rectili n e a r type
an d is c a lled the
pr ojectio n o r f o cusi g le s
A

'

2 K

G E NE R A L

498

HY SI C S

th a t here n eeds special me n tio n i s the fu n ctio n of t h e

co n d e n si n g le n s 0 which h a s n othi n g to do with pr o duci n g the
picture o n the scree n except to deect towards the a xis those
r ays which would o therwise p a ss through the edge of the slide
If the c o n de n ser is re
a d n ever e n ter the proj ectio n le n s
moved the e ffect is to di m i ish the area o f the slide which is
visible on the scree n E vide n tly the slide an d the scree n must
be i n c on j ugate foci of the pr ojectio n le n s If the obj ect to be
projected is op a que the light A an d the le n s P must of course
both be on the same side of the object
Al l

IV

The

S i m le M

er
osco

This i n strume n t co n sists usually of a si n gle co n vergi n g

le n s of short focal le n gth The disti n guishi n g feature of the
simple m icroscope is that the le n s is always placed a t a distan ce
from t h e object which is less th a n its focal le gth N ow if the
object 0 ( Fig 3 93 ) were placed exactly at the focus the power
48 8

FIG 3 9 3 Th si mp
l mi cr sc p
of the le n s would be j ust s uf cie n t to atte n ou t the curved
wave fro n t mf l so that it would emerge as a pla n e wave fr o n t
B u t if the object be placed betwee n the focus an d the le n s as
i n this case wf l will be too c o n vex fo r the le n s to overcome its
curv a ture e n tirely ; the emerge n t w a ve fro n t wf 2 will therefore
still be co n vex on its adva n ci n g side The im a ge I will there
fore lie on the sa m e side of the le n s as the obj ect 0 The
image will theref ore
be virtual an d erect S i n ce the

i m a ge an d the object subte n d the s a me a n gle 6 at the ce n ter

of the le n s it is evide n t th a t the i m a ge will be larger tha n the
object i n the followi n g r a ti o
S ize o f i m a g e D ist a n ce o f im a g e from le n s
S ize o f o bj ect D ista n ce of o bject fr o m le n s
B u t si n ce the le n s is always h el d very n e a r the eye the dis
tan ce of the image is practic ally the distan ce of disti n ct visi on
s ay 1 0 i n ches ; an d si n ce the obj ect i s always held very n e a r

I N STR U MEN TS

O PTI A L

499

the pri n cipal focus of the le n s its dist a n ce from the le s is

pr a ctic a lly the f o c a l le n gth D e n ote this foc a l le n g t h by f
a n d the dista n ce of disti ct visi on by v ; the n the m a g ifyi g
power o f the si mple microsc ope m ay be described i n ter m s o f
a lgebra as f oll ows
v
I
Fq
t
f
l
mp
E
1
9
4
q
m cr sc p
0 f
n

u a l on o
i

where

Si

o e

a li n ear dime n sio n of the object an d I the corre

o di
li
ear
dime
n si on of the im a ge
sp
g
We m ight of c ourse bri g an o bject up close to the eye s o
th a t it would subte n d an a gle as l a rge as th a t of the i m a ge
see through the m icr osc ope but u n fo rtu n ately the hu m a n eye
c a n ot a cc om mod a te for these short dista n ces The n ecessity
f o r the m icr o sc o pe arises the n from our li m ited power of ao
c omm od a ti on

D isti guish c a refully betwee n the

power of a le n s
which is the reciproc a l of its
fo c a l le n gth me a suri n g its a bility to
cha ge t h e curv a ture o f a w a ve sur

n
d
f a ce a
its m a g n ifyi n g p ower
which is the r a ti o of image t o o bject
0

is

T
he

Com

ou n

d M

EYE

er
os co

The compou n d micr o scope i s

an i n stru m e n t which is re n dered n ec
essary by the f a ct th a t the m a g n ify
i n g power of the si m ple microsc o pe
ca n n ot be pushed very far A s i di
Fig 3 94 the esse n ti a l fea
cat ed i n
t ures o f this i strume n t are
( i ) A very perfect but highly com
plex le n s pl a ced cl ose to the object
an d givi n g a m a g n ied real a n d i n
vert ed im a ge of the o bject From its
pr o ximity to the object this le n s is
c alled the obj ectiv e
h
om
ii
The
ther
esse
i
a
l
o
t
e
c
f
o
n
t
)
(
pou d m
icr oscope is a simple micro
sc ope with which t o ex a mi n e the re a l
i m a ge produced by the objective
4 89

mm
M

OE

5 05

W W

FI G

3 94

_
,

Th e

comp
o un d

m i cro sco

G ENE R AL

5 00

HY SI C S

From its proximity to the eye this le n s is called the

eyepie ce
If w e de n ote by F the focal le n gth of t he objective an d by T
the le n gth of the tube of the microscope the m a g n ic a tio n
which the objective produces is practically T F for T an d F
a re the respective dist a n ces of i m age an d obj ect from the oh
ect i ve
A s we have see n above
the mag n icatio n
j
which the si m ple microscope here the eyepiece pr o duces is
the dist a n ce of disti n ct visio n divided by its fo cal le n gth 2)
C o n seque n tly the mag n ifyi n g power of the compou n d micro
sc ope may be described as follows
I
T?)
E q at i f m
1
E
5
9
q
d mi cr sc p
p
0
,

on o

co

ou n

o e

The perfectio n of the moder n compou n d microscope is due

very l a rgely to t h e l a te P rofessor A bbe of the U n iversity of
J e n a worki n g i n co n j u n ctio n with the Opticia n C arl Zeiss
Its complete theory forms several of the most beautiful chapters
i n geometric a l an d physical optics
,

VI

The

As tron omica l

Tel escop
e

The astro n omi cal telescope is an i n strume n t used for

viewi g very dist a n t objects The rays of light which f a ll
up on the telescope a re therefore ge n erally par a llel
The purpose of the telescope is t wofold
n d co n de n se it i n to
1
To
gather
a
large
amou
n
t
of
light
a
( )
a small bu dle of r ays so that these can a ll e ter the pupil
oi t a ppe a r much
of the eye an d thus m ake an y lumi n ous p
brighter th a n it would be to the n a ked eye
m
n ous poi n ts
u
2
T
o
m
a
g
i
f
y
the
a
n
gle
s
bte
n
ded
by
two
lu
i
( )
an d thus m a ke them appear farther apart tha n whe n see n by
the n aked eye
These purp o ses are accomplished most si m ply by t w o con
vergi n g le n ses L an d E The le n s L is called the object le n s
or simply the o bj ective ; t h e le n s E is called the eye le n s o r
m ore freque n tly the eyepiec e
Th e wave fro n t wf 1 se n t out by a star is pra ctically pla n e wh en
it strikes th e o bj ective as is i n dicated i n Fig 3 9 5 Th e e ff ect
o f the o bjective is t o tur n this pl a n e wave fr o t i n to a Spheric a l
o n e mf
L et F de n ote the ce n ter of curvature of the w a ve
49 0

'

O P T IC AL I NS T R U MEN T S

5 01

fro n t wf z Thi s is c a lled the pri n cipal focus of the tel escope
The eye le n s is so adj usted th a t its pri n cipal focus al so lies at
F
Th er efor e th e rays w h i ch em erge from th e eye l ens are agai n
arallel
p
The e ff ect therefore of a large telesc ope such as th a t at the
L ick O bserv a tory or a t the Y erkes O bservatory i s to take
a bu n dl e of parallel r a ys formi n g a cyli n der a yard or s o i n
d i a meter an d co n de n se it i n to a s m all cyli n der of parallel rays
.

a t r mic l t l sc p
j ust large e n ough to e n ter the pupil of t h e eye S o that a star
n ous
oi n t
n sely
which
is
practically
a
lumi
p
appears
imme
)
(
brighter whe n viewed through a telescope tha n it does to the
n a ked eye
49 1
If two stars close together say a double star be viewed
thr o ugh a te l escope each will se n d a be a m o f parallel r a ys
through the i n stru m e n t as i n dicated i n Fig 3 9 6 B u t th e two
arallel beams wh ic h em erge from th e eye l en s make with ea ch
p
oth er a much larger an gl e t ha n do th e tw o parall el bea ms wh i ch
Th e t eles cop e th u s m agn i es th e an gul ar
en t er t h e o bj ectiv e
d ista n c e betwee n two
s tars It thus en
a bles u s t o recog
n ize certai n st a rs a s
double whe n to the
FIG
3 96
Th t l sc pas s d t m g i fy
a
l
g
n aked eye they ap
pear si n gle For we can o n ly disti n guish two lumi n ous poi n ts
a s separate whe n they subte n d a t the eye an a n gle which is
gre at er tha n about two mi n utes of arc
F IG

395

Th e

on o

e e

ee

u e

a n

an

VII

The

er
a

Gl ass

The earliest telescopes did n ot employ a co n vergi n g

eyepiece such a s those represe n ted i n Figs 3 9 5 an d 3 9 6 ; but
i n stead they used a double co n cave eye le n s the power of which
was equ a l to an d oppos i te i n sig n to th a t of the hum a n eye
4 92

GENERAL PHYS IC S

5 02

The telescope with which Galileo discovered four satellites of

Jupiter is Shown i n Fig 3 9 7 O n accou n t of its c o mpact n ess
an d because it gives an upright image this same pri n ciple is
employed i n the moder n opera glass
.

E
Y
E
F

8
0

0
L
I

5
1

B
N

F IG

3 97
.

Th e op
era gl ass

If we assume what is n early true n amely that the eyepiece

produces a curvature of the i n cide n t wave fro n t which is ex
act l y equal an d opposite th a t produced by the huma n eye the n
by placi n g the objective of the opera glass at such a distan ce
that its pri n cipal focus lies on the reti n a we shall s ee the ob
t
disti
n ctly ; an d si n ce the image is m uch larger tha n that
e
c
j
produced by the n aked eye we shall see the object mag n i ed
I n short the eyepiece an d the eye act together as if they con
stituted a piece of pla n e glass The ordi n ary opera gl a ss here
described has bee n imme n sely improved i n rece n t years by the
i n troductio n of a pair of prisms betwee n the eyepiece an d the
objective
J ust how this serves to improve the de n itio n
magn icatio n an d u n iformity of eld forms a problem well
worthy t h e at t en t i on of the adva n ced stude n t
,

'

V II I

The

I n ter
f erometer

The i n terferometer is an i n strume n t devised by M ichel

so n ( 1 88 1 ) for the study of aberratio n ; it is n ow employed
for a great variety of purposes but i t s fu n dame n t a l use is
perh a ps the accurate measureme n t of small dist an ces A s the
n ame would imply the pri n ciple i n v olved is that of the i n ter
fere n ce of light waves B u t as we shall see prese n tly the
i n terfere n ce is n ot betwee n two si n gle poi n t sources or two
si n gle li n ear sources as i n 4 2 8 but betwee n pairs of corre
on d i n g poi n ts which take n together co n stitute two exte n ded
sp
wave surf a ces
4 94 Just what is mea n t by this will be clearer after the
T a ke two
s tude n t has repeated the followi n g exper i me n t :
49 3

'

O PT IC AL I NS T R U MEN TS

5 03

small strips of -i n ch plate gl a ss an d clamp them together at

o e en d as S how n i n secti o n i n Fig
A t the o ther en d
3 98
DB place a S i n gle thick n ess
of tissue paper betwee n the
pl a tes N o w exami n e these
plates i n the light reected
from so m e mo n ochromatic
l i t rf r c xpri m t
s o urce such as a sodiu m FIG 3 98 A si mp
a m e or mercury arc
The regio n betwee n the two plates
will be see n lled with a large n umber of a ltern ately bright
an d
d a rk li n es
The expla n ati on of these i n terfere n ce

ba n ds as they are called is perhaps most simply give n i n

term s of F ig 3 9 9 which is take n from an article by D r
H e n ry G Gale i n the Ameri can M achi n i st July 1 1 1 9 01
Imagi n e A B an d CD
to be the two gl a ss sur
face s in cl osin g th e
we d ge -sh a ped air lm
The n e
i n Fig 3 9 8
par allel li n es i n Fig
w a ve
3 99 are draw n
le n gth apart so th a t
estim a te t h e
on e
can
thick n ess of the lm at
oi n t to withi n
a
an y
p
s mall frac ti on of a
w a ve le n g t h by merely
looki n g at the di a gra m
Next im a gi n e a r a y of
light comi n g from the
right an d i n cide n t upo n
the surface AB ( the
i n n er surface of the
FIG 399 Ill s t r t i g i t rf r c b tw t w glass ) at the poi n t ;
l arg W v f r t s
part of the light will be
reected fr om AB an d part of it will be refracted i n to the air
These t wo
l m an d there reected from t h e surface
rays are n ow i n a co n ditio n to i n terfere ; for they e a ch have
their origi n i n the s a me lu m i n o us particle
L et us choose the poi t e such th a t the thick n ess of the lm
n

e n

e en

e e

en

a e

e en

on

een

'

GENER A L PHYS IC S

5 04

at that poi n t is j ust on e half wave le n gth an d the n ask what

the retardatio n of the seco n d trai n of waves is whe n compared
with the rst It foll o ws that the t o tal retardatio n due to the
a i r l m is 7t where 7t is the w a ve le n gth of the lig h t empl oyed
The same thi n g happe n s of course at poi n ts suc h as g i k
where the thick n ess of the air lm is 2 3 4 etc an y
e tc
S o far therefore as the
w hole n u mber of half wave le n gths
d i ffere n ce i n path betwee n the two rays is co n cer n ed they
w ould be i n the s a me phase an d he n ce re en force e a ch other
W he n ever the air was an y whole n umber o f half wave le gths
B u t co n sider wh a t happe n s at f where the air
i n thick n ess
l m has a thick n ess of gr H ere the retard a tio n due to o n e
rou n d trip across the lm is 3 X ; i n the same m a n n er it will
be see n that at h an d jthe d i eren ce i n phase is 52 A an d gr
respectively ; i n other words the t w o trai n s here di ffer by an
O dd n umber of wave le n gths an d ought therefore to i n terfere
d estructively givi n g rise to a dark ba n d
We are thus led to
e xpect exactly such a series O f a lter n ate bright an d dark ba n ds
a s those observed with the two pieces of plate glass i n F ig 3 9 8
,

oddly e n ough experime n t shows that the bl a ck

ba n d occurs at exactly the positio n where the above view would
le a d us to expect a bright b a n d The o n e co n sider a tio n which
i s here n eeded to complete the theory is very clearly set forth
by P rofess o r M ichelso n i n terms of Kel vi n s w a ve m odel as
follows
This discrepa n cy i s due t o the assumptio n th a t both
reectio n s took place u n der like co n ditio n s an d th a t the phase
o f the two trai n s of waves would be eq u ally a ffected by the act
This assumptio n is wro n g for the rst reectio n
O f reectio n
t a kes place from the i n n er surface of the rst gl a ss while the
The
s eco n d occurs at the ou t er surface of the seco n d gl ass
rst reectio n is from a rarer medium the air ; while the
the glass
A si m ple ex p
s eco n d is from a de n ser medium
er
i men t with the Kelvi n wave apparatus
1 77 ) will illustr a te
t h e di ffere n ce betwee n the two ki n ds of reectio n
The upper
e n d of this apparatus is xed while the lower en d is free
the
xed en d therefore represe n ts the surface of a de n ser medium
the free en d that of a rarer medium If n ow a wave be st a rted
a t the lower en d by twisti n g the lowest eleme n t to th e r
ight
the twist travels upward till it reaches the ceili n g whe n ce i t
4 95

But

O PT IC AL INS T R U M EN T S

5 05

retur n s with a twist to the l ef t i e i n the op

osi t e phase
p
Whe n however this l eft twist re a ches the lowest eleme t it i s
reected an d retur n s a s a twist to the l eft so that the reec
tio n is i n t he sa me ph a se
There is thus a di ff ere n ce of phase of on e half a period be
twee n the t w o reecti o n s an d whe n this is t a ke n i n to a ccou n t
experi m e n t an d theory fully agree
L ight Wa ves a n d T
hei r
Us s p 1 6
.

Accor di n gly we

r c e occurs wh en
t h e t hick n ess of th e l m is a n y ev en n um ber of quart er wav e
l engths ; r een f orc em en t occurs wh en th e thickn ess of th e l m i s
an y odd n u m ber of q uart er wav e l engt hs
s ee

th at

d estr u ctive i n terf

e en

i n ste a d of thi n ki n g of t h ese t w o s urf a ces AB

an d CD ( Fig 3 9 9 ) a s m ade of gl a ss let us im a gi n e them pro
d u ced a s f ollows A Bu n se n a m e c o n tai n i g sodium is pl a ced
A certai n lumi
i n the pri n cipal focus of a co n vergi n g le n s L
Th e
n ous particle S i n this a m e emits a spherical wave
le n s L tra n sforms this spherical wave i n to a pla n e wave as
i n dicated i n Fig 4 00
This plan e wave strikes a xed pla n e par a llel pl a te of glas s
The rear surface of this plate is thi n l y
I t a t an a n gle of
silvered P art of th e
light in dicate d by
solid li n es is there
fore tra n smitted ; part
of it i n d i c a t e d b y
is re
d otted li n es
The tran s
ect ed
m i t t ed w a v e f r o t
proceeds n e xt thr o ugh
a pla n e p a rallel plate

0 an d is reected
from a plan e silvered
mirror E
It n ow
m m
retr a ces its path to
FIG
D
i gram f M i c h ls
s
i t rf r m t r
t h e silvered surf a ce o f
the mirr o r R where it i s reected to t h e eye as sh o wn i Fig
4 00 The reected w a ve fro n t pr o ceeds to a mov a ble mirr o r M
which is c a rried on the n u t of a screw whose a xis lies i n t h e
4 96

No w,

EYE OF

0 88

on

e o

e e

GENERAL PHYS IC S

5 06
d irectio n

joi n i n g the mirrors R an d M From the mirror M

the wave fro n t is reected n ormally an d is tra n smitted by B s o as
to e n ter the eye from the s a me directio n as the other wave fro n t
I n brief the i n cide n t wave fro n t from the source S is split up
by the mirror B i n to two wave fro n ts which e n ter the eye i n a
co n ditio n for i n terfere n ce The wave fro n t from the xed
mirror F behaves ex a ctly as if it came from its im a ge i n t he
mirror R i e fro m a positio n i n dicated by the dotted li n e
A n y wave fro n t leavi n g M an d the corresp on di n g w a ve fro n t
from E m a y therefore be regarded as a p a ir of wave fro n ts re
pl a ci n g the two which were reected from A B an d CD i n Fig
3 9 9 ; o n ly these two surfaces are n ot xed as were A B an d
H ere the mirror M can be moved with the scre w so as to m a ke
these two surfaces coi n cide or so a s to put either on e i n ad
v a ce o f the other N o t o n ly so but on e observes th a t as the
m irror M adva n ces the fri n ges ( i n terfere n ce ba n ds ) move a cross
the eld at the rate of on e fri n ge for each half w a ve l e n gth of
adva n ce i n the positio n of the mirror
.

FIG

Mich ls s i t rf r
e

on

e omete

this m a n n er M ichels on h a s succeeded i n usi n g the wave

le n gth of light as a n ew u n it of le n gt h for the a ccurate
measureme n t of very mi n ute distan ces I n 1 892 he i n con
j u cti on with B en o it me a sured the stan dard meter at P aris i n
term s of the wave le n gth of the red cadmium ray an d fo u n d
with an error probably n ot gre a ter th a n on e part i n t en millio n
th at the meter is equ al t o 1 55 3 1 6 3 5 such wave le gths The
In

,
,

O PT IC AL I NS T R U MEN T S

5 07

e ffect of th i s determi n ati on was to re n der the red cad

mium wave le n gth our sta n dard of le n gth
m oral

Wave le n gth of red cadmium ray

1 553 1 63 5

meter
meter

IX The
.

ect r
osco

If on e observes a B u n se n ame through an ordi n ary

gl a ss prism held close to the eye he sees a successio n of colored
im a ges o f the a m e This series of colored images i s called
the Sp ectrum o f the ame
A n i n strume n t such as the prism which will separate the
various r a diatio n s emitted by an y s o urce of light is c alled
a sp ectroscop e A ccordi n gly we may de n e spectroscopy a s
th a t bra n ch o f physics which h a s for i ts o bject th e d etermi n a
tio n an d des criptio n of th e various ra diatio ns whic h bo di es emit
re ect an d absor b
49 7

S ou rces

R ad i ation

two articial sources upo n

whic h we can exprim t am es an d electric curre n ts I n
a dditio n to these there a re a n umber of n a tural s ources whose
o ccurre n ce is so f a r bey on d our c on trol that w e can o ly obser
ve
them The followi n g classicatio n may be used to summarize
these facts
L ight n i g
S t ars i n cludi n g the Su n
C m ets
N atural
A ur o r a s
M ete ors
Glowworms
S O UR C E S
C a n dle
A lc ohol
Fl a mes
Bu n se n
O xyhydroge n
A rticial
49 8

In

practice we a re limited
e

en

to

E lectric

C urre n ts

Spark

rc

Brush disch a rge

GENERAL PHYS IC S

5 08

The B u n s en am e devised by the Germa n chemist of th a t

n a me i n 1 8 5 6 has three m a rked a dva n tages a s a spectroscopi c
source n am ely
( i ) It is simple i n co n structio n an d operatio n
n
ii
Its
outer
m
a
tle is almos t totally devoid of an y charac
( )
i st i c spectrum of its o wn
t er
( iii ) It possesses a high temperature n ot less probably tha n
,

1 78 8

The electric

with a temperature lyi n g probably betwee n

3 5 00 an d 3 9 00 C is exceedi n gly e fcie n t as a source becaus e
it easily vol a tilizes an y subst a n ce pl a ced i n it
The el ectric spark obtai n ed by the u se of the i n ductio n coi l
is the source of radi a tio n which i s most ge n erally co n ve n ie n t
I n ge n er a l the electric spark
an d is most widely employed
produces two spectr a n a mely the spectrum of the electrode s
an d the spectrum o f the a ir or other
as betwee n the two elec
g
trodes B ut it was discovered by the Germa n mathematici a n
P l ii cker i n 1 8 5 8 th a t the spectrum of the electrodes may be
av o ided by i n closi n g them i n a partial vacuum A ccordi n gly
the u n ivers a l method o f studyi n g the spectra of gases is n ow t o
se a l plati n um electrodes i n to a glass tube an d the n ll t he
tube u n der low pressure with the g a s to be studied The con
verse problem of getti n g the S pectru m of the electrodes withou t
that of the a ir betwee n the m h a s rece n tly bee n solved by Sch us
ter an d H emsal ech who have proved that t h e air ce a ses t o
beco m e lumi n ous whe n a su f cie n t amou n t of i n ducta n ce has
bee n placed i n the circuit through which the spark passes

ar
c,

Se

ar
a ti on

f R ad i ati on s

L et us suppose n ow th a t we have before us on e or mor e

which we wish to ex a m i n e
o f the a bove me n tio n ed sources
The n ext step will be to sepa r
ate the rays of various wa ve
le n gths so that we m a y ex a mi n e them i n dividu a lly Fo r t h e
stude n t may here a ssume wh a t is the experime n t a l f a ct th a t
each di ffere n t chemical eleme n t i n troduced i n to the ame or
an d on e which is peculi a r to
ar
e gives a di ff ere n t spectrum
itself
4 99

The

P ri sm S

ectr
osco

If the source of light be small or li n ear an d if it is

the most
n ecessary to make o n ly a hasty visual exami n atio n
5 00

O P TIC AL I NS T R U ME N T S

5 09

co n ve n ie n t pla n is to view the source through a prism placed

i m me d i a tely i n fro n t of the eye a s i n dic a ted i n Fig 4 02 The
chief d ii cul t y i n the n a ked prism is th a t the source howeve r
small is still so large th a t the successive c olored i m a ges for m ed
by t h e prism will o verl ap e a ch other le a vi n g the separati on
i n c omplete To a v oid this di f culty a sm all astro n o m ical tele
scope called a collima tor is pl a ced betwee n the prism an d
.

FIG

402 A
.

s i mp
l e f o rm

of

sp
ec t r osc op
e
.

the source as show n i n F ig 4 03 I n the pri n cipal focus of i t s

objective is pl a ced a n arrow str a ight slit with mov a ble met a l
jaws The source is n ow pl a ced immedi a tely back of t his slit
or a real i m a ge of the source is f cuse d up on the sli t by mea n s
of a le n s called the ima ge l en s Whe n the slit is properly pl a ced
an d illumi n ated e a ch p o i n t of it will emit through the le n s o f
the collimator a beam of n early par a llel light whose cros s
,

ri s m spc t r sc pad js t d t vi w
ar t i c l a r c l r
p
p
secti on is the eff ective ap ert ur e of the objective If n ow thi s
emerge n t be a m be exami n ed through a prism by the n a ked ey e
as befo re a series of col o red im a ges of the Slit will be see n
e a ch a ppe a ri n g t o be a t an i n n ite dist a n ce fr o m the observer ;
an d if the Slit is n a rr o w these im a ges will be sh a rp an d n e an d
easily separated B ut they will n ot i n ge n er a l a ppe a r very
bright because the huma n eye is t oo small to admit more th a n

FIG

403

o e

on e

o o

GENERAL PHYS IC S

510

a fractio n of the emerge n t beam A ccordi n gly these colored

images e a ch at an i n n ite dista n ce are viewed through an
oth er sm all telescope called the vi ew tel escop e This serves to
c on de n se the e n tire bea m which e m erges fro m the prism
an d reduce it to a n o ther p a r a llel be a m j ust large e n ough to
ll the aperture of the aver a ge huma n eye
,

The

ogr
a
ectr

Whe n it is desired to photogr a ph a spectrum the view

telescope is removed an d is replaced by a c a mera pr o vided wi t h
S uch an i n stru m e n t is k n ow n as a
a photogr a phi c objective
sp ectro gr aph a co n ve n ie n t form of which is show n i n Fig 4 04
5 01

F IG

404

H il g r s f r m

The

of

h
sp
ec t r ogr ap
.

r meter

ect o

Whe n the typic a l spectroscope represe n ted i n F ig 4 03

is provided with a gradu a ted circle an d so a rra n ged that the
view telescope an d the prism can rot a te a bout the axis of the
the i n strume n t is k n ow n a s a sp ectrom eter an d can be
c ircle
4 6 8 ) an d
employed fo r the measureme n t o f prism a n gles
w a ve le n gths 4 81 ) as well a s fo rthe ex a m i n ati o n o f Spectr a
I n the prism spect r
osc ope it is n e a rly a lw ays n ecessary fo r
the sake of good de n itio n to pl a ce the pris m i n such a positio n
that it will pr o duce a m i n i m um devi a ti o n fo rthe pe n cil O f r ays
u n der observ a ti on Forit m ay be sh o w n by geo m etrical O ptics
that if the prism be pl a ced i n an y other p ositio n the image of
a poi n t source will n ot be a p oi n t but a li n e
5 02

The

Gra ti n g S

ectr
osco

far as a uxiliary parts a re c on cer n ed this p

iece of
a pp a r a tus is very like the prism spectrosc ope ; but a s reg a rds
503

So

O P T IC AL I NS T R UMEN T S

511

its esse n tial feature the dispersi n g piece the two i n strume ts
are r a dically d i ere t For the dispersio n which is pr o d u ced
by a pris m rests ulti m a tely upo the f a ct that w a ves of lo ger
le gth tr a vel through gl a ss with a higher Speed th a n th ose o f
s horter le gth ; while the dispersi g c ect o f a gr a t i g i s due
t o the f a ct that whe n w a ves o f di ff ere n t le gth a re f o rced t o
pass thr o ugh a n a rr o w ope n i n g they are all Spre a d ou t like
di ffr a cted
the l o ger w a ves bei g more Spre a d out
a fan
h o wever th a n the sh orter o es
If a g a s a m e tur ed low or the l a m e n t o f an i n ca d es
c e t l a m p be viewed thr o ugh a si n gle n a rr o w S lit i n a visiti g
c a rd a n umber of spectr a are see o n e a ch side of the bright
ce tr a l i m a ge These h a ve bee n c a lled by Fr a u h o fer spec
tr a of the rst cl a ss
They a re ot used i n spectroscopy
I f h o wever the s a m e s o urce be viewed thr o ugh t w o o r m ore
e p a r allel equidist a t slits pl a ced cl o se t o gether s ay less
than 611 i ch a p a rt a o ther series o f spectra will be observed
These a re the c om bi n ed e ffect of light p a ssi n g thro ugh sever a l
O pe i gs ; they a re k n ow n a s
Spectr a of the sec on d cl a ss
an d
are pr a ctic ally the o ly o es used i n the gr a ti n g spectr oscope
These n arro w equidist a n t p a r a llel sli t s w ere rst pre p
a red by
the G erma Optici a Fr a u n h o fer at M u ich i n 1 8 2 1 H e m a de
them by wr a ppi g e wireo vert h e threads of two par allel screws
the n s olderi n g the wire to the screws a d a fterwards cutti n g
a w a y o e e n tire side of the little c a ge th u s f o rmed
S uch a
device he called a grati n g The m o dern grati g s m ade by
r u li n g str a ight li n es wit h a di a m on d p oi n t o a a t plate of
highly p olished speculu m met al H ere the light i s reected
fro m the u ruled surf a ce betwee n t w o furr o ws m a de by t h e
di a m o d ; an d diffracti on occurs ex a ctly as if the light h a d
p a ssed thr ough a n arro w a perture of the s a me width S uch a
device is c a lled a re ectio n grati n g a d whe n pl a ced where the
pris m st a ds i n an ordi n a ry pris m spectroscope we h a ve w h a t
is k n o w n a s a grati n g spec troscope The stude n t Sh o u ld n e w
4 7 2 to 4 8 1 deali n g with the p a ss a ge of light thr o ugh
review
n a rr o w a pertures
Whe n a be a m of p a r a llel light e merges fr o m the c olli m a tor
a d f a lls up on a gr a ti g pl a ced with its ruli gs p a r a llel t o the
slit of the c olli m a t o r p a rt of the l i ght is re ected a cc o rdi g t o
the l a ws of ordi n ary reectio n a d form s i n the foc a l pl a n e of
n

GENE RAL PHY S IC S

512

the view telescope what is k n ow n a s the cen tral i mage Th e

rem a in der of the light however is spread out on either Side of
this ce n tral im a ge the blue light bei n g deviated le a st an d the
red li ght ( lo ger waves ) bei n g d evi a ted most U n like the
prism the grati n g yields several spectra distributed o n each
side of the ce n tral image
If mo n o chro m atic light be viewed with such an i n strume n t a
series of bright li n es sharp maxima e a ch a n im a ge of the
sli t will be see n o n each si d e of the ce n tral i m age The i m a g e

n earest the ce n tr a l on either side is s a id to be the

spectru m

of the rst order th e n ext is called the sec on d order spec

trum etc
The properties of these images an d of d iract i on spectra i n
ge n er a l a re most briey described by the followi n g three equ a
tio s
.

d ) ( Si n i +

s in

6)

Eq

190

This equ a tio n which h a s bee n already derived i n 4 80 tells us

i n wh a t directio n 6 to lo o k for the spectrum of the n th o rder
whe n the i n cide n t light m akes an a n gle o f i n cide n ce i an d h as
a w a ve -le n gth x the dista n ce betwee n two co n secutive ruli n g s
of the grati gs bei n g a d
,

Eq

X1

1 93

This equatio n which h a s bee n derived i n 4 8 3 tells us t h e

s m a llest di ffere n ce of wave le gth A M which two li n es can
h a ve an d yet be recog ized as d o uble whe n N is the t ot a l
n umber of li n es o n the grati n g employed an d n is the order o f
the spectrum
The third equatio n which tells on e how bright an y p a rticula r
spectrum will be is here give but its derivatio n m ust be left
fo r the adva n ced stude n t
If I is the i n te n sity i n a y give n directio n of the spectrum
o f a m o n ochromatic source o f w a ve le n gth K pr o duced by a
grati n g which h as N li es ruled upo n it at the u n iform d i s
tan ce of a + d c m a part the n
,

Eq

1 96

O PT IC AL I NS T R U MEN T S

513

here I is the i n te n sity which a si n gle aperture would give i n

t h e s a me directio n
The give n directi on is here de ed by
pWhose val ue is
2

i+

Sin
(
7

Si n

Eq

here the algebraic symb ols have the same mea n i n g

as

1 97

i n Eq

1 90

the best gr a ti n gs of the w o rld up t o the prese n t ti m e

1
9
o
0
7
have
bee
n
ruled
n R o wl a n d s d ividi g e gi n e a t J h n s
(
)
H opki n s U n iversity
M ost of these gr a ti n gs c a rry fr o m ve
t o twe n ty th o us a n d li n es per i ch
Withi n the curre n t ye a r
h owever M ichelso n at the U n iversity o f C hic a g o has produced
gr a ti n gs which a ppe a r to be superi o r i n resolvi n g power t o the
best O f the R o wla n d gr a ti gs
ectroscop
I 1 88 3 R o wl a d i ve n t ed a c on cave grati n g s p
5 04
e
t h e disti n guishi n g fe a ture O f which is th a t it requires n ei t her
c o lli m a t o r n o r view telesc o pe co sisti n g a s it does of a gr a ti n g
If
ruled up on a co c a ve Spheric a l mirr r of speculum m et a l
o n e h a s regard b o th t o c on ve n ie n ce an d resolvi n g p wer this
i n stru m e n t for ge n er a l spectr o sc o pic purposes is pr obably
u n excelled
Al l

The

E chel on S

ectr
os co

M easured by res olvi n g

d evised by M ichelso n i n 1 8 9 8

p o wer the echel on spectroscope

is a still m ore e ect i v e i n st ru
me t This i s esse tially a gr a ti g with o n ly a few ruli n gs i n
w hich h o wever the f o rm of the ruli n g or groove is give n a
o bt a i n e d b
erfectly
de
The
result
is
usi
n it e for m
n g a pile
y
p
o f fr om t en to thirty pl a e p a r a llel gl a ss pl a tes of equal thick
ess the edge of e a ch pl a te bei g slightly displ a ced o ver th a t
The high res olvi n g p o wer is here obt a i ed
O f its n eighb o r
by the u se of spectr a of high orders eve a s high as twe n ty or
t hirty thousa n d
5 05

P R I N C I P LE S

OF

S PE C T R O S C O PY

The scie n ce of spectrosc opy is a l a rge an d i n depe n de n t

B u t it m ay be here
s ubject which must be left for l a ter study
s tated th a t the e n tire structure is built upo n a f o u n d a tio n con
s isti g of s o m ethi g like the f ollowi n g pri n ciples

o
i
t
f
S
a
The
emissi
spectrum
a g a s is
e
r
o
a
s
s
on
G
() p
f
m
m
ractically
always
a
pectru
o f bright li es
while
the
e
is
S
p
506

514

GENERAL PHYS IC S

si o n spectra of solids

an d

t i n u ou s

liquids are practically always

co n

K
chh
1
i
r
s
L
a
w
s
ii
( ) The r a tio of the emissio n to the
( )
f
absorpti on of a body depe n ds up on the temperature o n ly ; an d
n umerically equal to the emissio n of an abs o
2
this
ratio
is
( )
l u t el y black b o dy at the sa m e temper a t u re

i
i
iii
D
e
r
s
r
n
l
e
The
effect
of
motio
n i n the li n e
P
l
( )
p
p
p
o f sight i s to a pp a re n tly Sh o rte n the wave le n gth whe n so u rce
a n d observer approach e a ch o ther ; an d to le n gthe n wave le n gth
whe n source an d observer recede from eath o ther S ee 1 9 4
It is by use of this pri n ciple th a t the rate of approach of t h e
xed st a rs is me a sured
l e f H u mp
hrey s an d M ahl er
Eff ect of
( iv ) P rin cip
i n cre a sed pressure about the so u rce is i n ge n er a l to slightly
i n crease the wave le n gth
Whe n a source of light is placed
e
Z
ee
m
a
E
n
t
v
T
h
ec
( )

i n a stro g m a g n etic eld e a ch i n dividu a l li n e i n its spectru m

will i n ge n eral bec o me a triplet or a still more complex li n e
i
a tu r E
em er
The
m
a
ximum
r
a
di
a
ti
v
T
ects
on o f
( )
p

a solid body varies as the fth power O f its abs olute te m per a
ture ( 2 ) The wave le n gth of the maximu m radi a ti on fro m a
s olid body varies i n versely as the absolute temperature of that
body S ee 2 6 1
K
ii
aw o
S
ectr
a l S er
i
It
h
a
s
bee
n
how
n
by
a
yser
v
L
s
S
f
( )
p
an d R u n ge an d o thers that i n the case of ma n y che m ical ele
me n ts n e a rly a ll their spectral li n es are arra n ged i n series an d
th a t their respective wave le n gths 7t may be computed from
the f ollowi n g for mula

1
x

=A

Bm

Cm

Eq

1 98

which A B an d 0 are co n sta n ts for each series an d m

d e n o tes the n a tural n umbers begi n n i n g with 3
Each ch e mi cal
ele me n t h as i t s own d iffere n t ch ar act er i sti c v al ues forth ese th re e
This f a ct is the f o u n d a tio n o f spectru m a n a lysis
con st an ts

in

co n clusio n the stude n t is war n ed n ot to thi n k of t h e

precedi n g o utli n e of optics as a n ythi n g bu t a very i n co m plete
For i n s tan ce t h e e n tire subject of color visio n an d
Sketch
col o r mixture h a s bee n omitted ; likewise the subject of
ph o t o metry importa n t i n electrical e n gi n eeri n g The pressure
5 07

In

O PT IC AL INS T R U MEN T S

51 5

which a ray of light exerts measured with admirable precisi on

by E F N ichols an d G F H u l l has n ot eve n bee n m e n tio n ed
The phe n om e n a of polarized light an d astrophysics h a ve scarcely
bee n touched upo n These an d ma n y other i n teresti n g topics
are disc ussed i n the followi n g books
,

ef e en c es

Li gh t

on

a i a
P r i c e 55
A c rs e f six
e a e e
e i e
l a g age
le
mp
d cl ear ; t h i mp
r t a t f ac ts ar e emp
has i z d Th b k i
f
d t t a c h e rs
gre at v a l e t s t d e t s
Th N t r f L ight ( I t S i Serie s) Pr i ce
W r itte
LO M M
by
emi e t G r m a sc h l ar E le me tary cl ea r re l iable
r
N WT O
Op
ti /
L d
17 04
r
P r i c e ap
p
TA I T
E y l pd i B rit
ic
Ar
t
Li gh t
t i cs
Ar
R A Y L IG H
E y l pd i B rit
ic
t
Op
M i cr sc p
CA
T
ic
A rt
e
E y l pd i B rit
Li ht
r
t
M
m
E
d
t
a
c
ill a
S
f
g
(
M I C H E LSO N
Light W
d Th i r U
( U i v C h i c ag P r e s
S P
.

TH O M P SO N

ou

nc

ER

R PE N

D SER

nc

pic

c o

oe

oo

s on e o

ox

a,

an n

a,

an n

1 3 Si

a,

M
(

ac mi ll a

s es

C on s id era tion

a ves an

Light,

en s

P hys ica l O tic s

on

te

( Scribn ers

an n

c o

on

H A S TI N G S

an

nc

WO 0 D

c o oe

c s

a u e o

an

EL

an

Light, Visi ble a n d I n vis ibl e (M c m ll n

lec t u r s d d r ss d to b g n n rs The

the

s,

M or e Fa mil ia r P hen omen a of

pi ( Ar l d ; L d
Tra sl at d b y Fr
A r mi l Sp r c p
S H I
y
h i c Op
s
i
Tra sl at d by Th mp
P h gr p
L
hy f r S d
d C h mi
D r m P h gr p
f P hy i
SC H U S T E R
C

The Theory of

E N ER .

U M M ER

oto

ea

KA Y S E R

oto

s t on o

ch

cs

tu

no

en ts

on

an

zi g
p

Three v ol u m es

Th e s t an d ar d w ork

s t (G in n )
o n (M a c m i ll an )
e
s tr
y ( M ac m i ll an
o

( Lei

s cs

ect osco

on

i
pr p

d er S

al ready ( 1 907 ) pb l i hed

u

t cs

ec t os o

ca

-H an d bu

on

sp
ect ro sc op
y
.

TABLE S

LI ST OF

U M B ERS

Ac c el era t i o n o f gra vi t y at v a ri o u s

o n t h e eart h s s u r ac e, 8 7

pi t s

B o i li n g

Bu

o n

lk m o d u l

256

13 4

i,

o n

l
l

K i n em a t i cs ,

r exp sio 2 7 4
l ec t ri ci t y 3 9 2 fo r

l s

an

ne

o n

r s re
d iff r
es u

co

Wa t er

Gr

on

e en

a vi t y , a

oe

ca

en

cc elerat i o

pc ic h t s 2 6 0
pd f s u d 2 2 4
ea

ee

c v

xp s i

d u t i it i e
an

on

87

516

ou n g s

m o d uli , 1 3 3

2 64

w i th

o f,

S
S

a en

s o

e a

es ,

n a

es

a e

42

3 10

R fr ct i v i d i c s 4 7 5
R i s t i v it i 3 9 2
Rigi d t y m d li 1 3 5

Th erm al

u e

256

t te

D i t y f w t r t d iff r t t m pr
t r s 2 80
Dy m i cs s m m ry f 1 3 7
E l ct r ch m i l q i v l t s 401
Fric t i c f ci t f 1 2 3
o

n at i o n

o f,

sat u r at ed wat er
mp
er at res 2 90

of

e en

en s

sum m ary

GES

M g t i c d cli
M l t i g pi t s

C o e f c i en t o f i n ea
C o n d u t i vi t y fo r e
h ea t , 2 6 4
C i t i c a an g e , 4 5 7
C rit i c a d at a , 2 9 4

pi t s

PA

To

R E FE R

t em

pr t r

e a u e,

I ND E X

U M B E RS

pr

P ro

na

mes

PA G E S

To

R E FE R

ar
e

i n i tal i cs

B
D
T
p
B
B
p
B
B
Bl k 2 5 9
f 33
it
B dy d en ition of 6
49 7
f h m
Acc m m d t i
y
f
d
b tr t i
Ad d i t i
g l r B o i li ng 2 8 8
f f r
f B olo m e t er 2 7 0
cc l r t i
40 ;
71 ;
B y l R b rt 1 7 7
v t r 1 4 ; f v l cit i 2 9
B oyle L w 1 7 7
295
Am
J S
Am p
47
B y C V 1 00 2 6 9 3 5 7
lt d f
Br dl y 4 3 1
A
im
l
258
A d r w Th m
29 2
A gl
ri t l 4 5 7 ; f i cid c 4 4 2 ; B l k m od l 1 3 4
471 ;
B
m e 5 08
f m i im m d v ti
f r
4 53
t
R br
442 ;
f r fr t i
B
t 29 5
A gs t r m
t 49 1
B oy y enter of 1 4 4
c l r t i 3 4 ; it f 4 1
B rg G K 2 5 7
A g l r
l m t 17
A g l g di p
B y B llot r le 1 6 9
A g l r m m t m 64
A g l r pd 2 6
C lori c 2 5 8 2 9 7

er
n ou il l i
a n iel , 1 4 8
A bbe, P rofes sor C l evel a n d , 1 7 0

Ab erra t io n , o f li gh t , 4 3 1 ; s h eri c al an d B erno u illi s heo rem , 1 4 9

i cy cle p um p , 1 7 3
c h ro m at i c , 4 7 0
i cycle w heel , 77
Abs o l u t e t em erat u res , 3 00
lin ear, 3 2 ; i o t, 4 3 8
A cc elerat i o n , an g u l ar, 3 4

i
d
a
a
4
9
ot
a
n
S
v
rt
s La w , 3 8 5
of
gr a v i t y , 8 2 9 1 ; o f
.

'

un

on

e e a

on

ac

on

e o

n ax

e,

s,

e,

u a

u a

u a

u a

i a

ac

ace

en

en

l rv l
c l s

on

ac

on

e o f,

s-

es s ,

im t
257
Ca
,
i , 495
Ca m a ,
a
2
Ca i a i
, 15
C a ven di s h , 100
C s i us s c a , 2 5 5
C
bu
a
y ,
144 ;
,
m ass , 6 2
93 ;
im t , d
11
C
,
i u a
C
c , 76
i
C
a
76
,
4
C m is
, de
,
4 70
C h m a i ab r a i
,
C h ry sta l , George, 3 1 8
c , 47
f
Ci
38
Ci u a m i
,
'
a t
Ci u a i
s a m s
C a k
3 85
,
ri i
12 3
C
i
,
C l im a
, 5 09
C
4 73
,
C ol u m bu s , 3 1 0
3 7 2 , 3 80
Co m m u a
,

m
i
a
s , 3 08
C m as s ,
t s, 1 5 , 2 9
C m
n
C m
ss ibi i
13 4
,
,
.

1 44

el
le
enter of
oy nc
of
ent e er ened
entr f g l for e
entr pet l force
he try ned
ro t c e r t on

of gravi ty

an c

r p
l
p

lor e ry
er photogr ph c
p ll r ty

pr

w
v

u us ,

u n s en

un

An g u a
e oc i t y , 2 7
An t i y c o n e , 1 7 0
A n t i n o d e, 2 01
A e t u e, effec t i e , 5 09
A re , e ec t i c , 5 08
A hi m ed es , 3 , 1 1 6
in ci
A ea , u n i t o f, 1 1
As t o n o m y , d e n ed , 4
At m os h e e o f eart h , 1 6 6
At o mi z e , t h eo y o f, 1 5 1

At o o d s m ach i n e, 8 8

A o ga d o s h y o t h es is , 2 8 4
Ax i s , m agn et i , 3 09

pr r

u n se n

on

e,

e e a

ee

en

un i

s,

as ,

i ca

ec i o n

en es ,

u a

an

es ,

e o

rc
r
r

c es ,

e,

es ,

an

ec o s ,

su

an

on

ac

rcle of re eren e
rc l r ot on
rc l t on of e r h t o phere
l r cell
oefc ent of f ct on
o l tor
olor
.

B ac h , 2 4 1
B a con F ra n ci s , 4 5 1
B a an e, ri n ci e o f, 1 01
B a a n ed o c es , 8 0
B a , cu
ed , 1 5 1
B ar
o m et e , m e
u ia , 1 6 5
B a rt h o l i n u s , 4 3 8
B ar
u s , C ar
l , 18 0
B at t e y , 3 6 9
B ea t , 2 3 6
B el l , Gra ha m , 4 1 9
.

l c p p
l
l c fr
ll rv
r
rc r l

t tor

o p
r ner
o ponen
o pre
l ty de ed

5 17

167

I NDE X

518

Electric cond ct ion 3 3 2

3 9 1 ; of he t
E lectr c pot ent i l 3 4 6 3 5 1
2 60
E lectro hem ic l e q v lent 400
E lectrod e 3 6 9
C on erv t i on of energy 1 09 2 9 9
E l t ro
3 95
C onvect i o of he t 2 6 4
pol r 7 1 0 ; rect ng l r E lectrom ot i ve force 3 8 2
C oord i n te
E lectron 4 00
7 8 9
E lectrophor 3 4 1
C p
rm
99
A 4 84
E le tro cope 3 3 1
C r
pir l 4 8 5
E lectro t ti c i nd cti on 3 3 9
C orn
C l mb 3 1 3
E nergy 1 04 con erv t ion of 1 09
ondens er electri c 3 5 4
Cond ct i on electr c 3 3 2
C

nu

u s s

ou o

us ,

o ple the
r ter on of
r t c l ngle
r t c l te per t re
ry t ll ne len
rved ll
yclone theory of

75
C u
,
,
i
S H M , 51
C i
457
C i i a a
,
m
2 93
a u
C i i a
,
s, 4 9 6
C s a i
ba , 1 5 1
Cu
169
s,
C
,

k
C z a s i s Th eory of O ti ca l I n stru men t s
.

4 70

lton

D vy fety l p
Decl n t on
net
Deect on to r ght
Degree of freedo
De L v l te t r ne
Den ty den t on of
Der ved n t

De t on ngle of
D ele tr c con t nt
D ferent l p lley
D r t on gr t ng
.

of l ght ve
o nd ve
D en on of n t
p gnet c
D pe on opt c l
D pl ce ent ng l r
'

s,

of

D pl ce ent
Doppler pr nc ple
D
D
Dy
c
ry of
Dyn o
D yne dened
E rth gr vi t tion l eld 9 1
E rth m gnetic eld 3 1 9
E d r I gh t f r S t d t 4 3 3
E ffecti ve pert re 5 09
E l
peed of 1 4 7
E l tici ty 1 2 7 coefci ent of
E lectri l c p ci ty 3 5 3
.

ux, s

4 70

ca

2 5 2 , 2 54

F arad a y , 3 3 5 , 3 3 8 , 3 7 4 , 4 00, 4 1 7
F edd e s en , 3 5 7
i , 337
a i a i
i
c
a , 91
,
ma
i , 3 15
m m
i s
i
251
,
F i zea u , 4 3 2
a i
b
145
i s , s abi i
,
u1 ,
it i
12 8
,
a
n i i
44 7 ;
s
,
,
i a mi
4 47
,
d
11
,
,
- u
1 06
,
an d
q u , 67
n r
i u a an d
i
a , 76 ;
,
i i
u
69
i
by G a i
,
l eo , 2 ; m m
or
s ee T
,
q u e; u i
2
, 7
ib a i
s, 194
um , 1 72
i i
1 ; ba a
s, a
, 7
, 80
F ou r
i er, 2 6 3
F ra u n hofer, 4 7 9 , 4 8 7 , 4 8 9 , 5 1 1
su
ac , 1 4 3
F resn el , 4 7 9 , 4 9 3
z
s
s, 4 8 0
i
i
i
12 3 ; w k
,
,
,
12 2
F rost, E B , 5 1 5
.

den t on of
ntrod ced
o ent of
of
Forced v r t on
Force p p
Force dd t on of
l nced

12 9

l
nt

Free rf e
Fre nel one
Fr ct on coefc ent of

or of

5 03
Gal zl eo, 2 , 5 6 , 6 9 , 8 1 , 8 2 , 1 1 0, 14 8 , 1 6 4 ,
2 5 3 , 4 2 9 , 5 02
Ga a m
3 64
,
Ga a s
, 3 63
G as , d
i i
12 9
,
i
G as
3 04
,
,

en s ,

Ga l e H en ry G

as

se

s,

F eld ele tr c
gr v t t on l
gnet c
F xed po nt of ther o eter
Flo t ng od e t l ty of
Fl d den on of
Foc l length de t on of
of pher
c l rror
Foot ened
Foot po nd
Force
tor e
of Force ce t f g l
centr pet l

a a

299
108
3 55

F hrenhei t c le
F r d the 3 9 2

ss i

B a l a n ce, 2 5 4

a
3 Law , 2 8 3
D a rwi n , S i rGeorge, 5 6
D a vy , 2 9 7 , 3 9 5

a
am
2 62
s sa
,
i
m ag
i c , 3 09
a i
,
i
i
1 6 7 , 1 70
,
m, 18
s
u bi
a a s
am
, 3 03
D em ocri tu s , 1
si
i i
, 61
u i s, 6 0
i
D er
r, Lo u i s , 5 1 5
D es ca rtes , 3 , 7
vi a i
a
472
,
,
i
i
3 6, 355
c
s a
, 3
if
u
9
ia
, 1 1
i ff ac i
a i
488
,
D i ra ct i o n ,
i
wa
s , 4 3 4 , 4 78 ;
s u
wa
s, 2 2 8
im
u i s, 6 0
si
s
Di , ma
i , 3 12
is
r
i a , 4 73
si
,
is a m
a
u a ,
17 ;
SH M
,
48
is a m
l aw , 2 7 1

s
i
i
2 05 , 5 14
,
ru d e, 4 4 7 , 4 5 1
D u dd ell , W , 4 07
uf a y , 3 3 3
n am i s , s u m m a
13 7
,
am , 3 7 9 , 4 1 6
2
,
, 7

de i t i on of 1 07 di p ti on of
ki net i c 1 08 ; of el ectr c ch arge
of rot ti on 1 1 1 ; potenti al 1 08 1 12
48
E poch of
E q i l i b ri m 7 4 1 1 3
E q i potential surface 3 4 9
E rg the 106
E wi g J A 3 2 5
E xp n ion of gas es 2 8 1 ; of li q ui ds
2 7 7 ; of ol i d
2 73
E ye h um n 4 9 6
E yepiece 5 00
a

s a

u a

cus ,

ui

Si s ,

ec

s,

s,

lv no eter
lv no cope
en t on of
eng ne
.

51 9

IN D X

G as es
5 13

G as

propert i es of

tem pr tu res

1 63 ;

pectra of

e a

2 83

Ga us s C F 1 5 8 3 1 3
G ei s sler-Toep
l er pum p
G e n erator el ec tri c 3 79
G eology den ed 4
Gers tn er F ra n z 1 8 6
.

1 75

p 1 75
G ey er theory of

G ery k

um

in

r
en t on of
r t ng
r t on
r v t t on
n ver l
old theory of
r
y cceler t o of
of 9 3
G ra vi ty cell 3 6 9
.

Jet li q ui d 1 5 8
J l J P 1 1 0 2 9 7 402
Joul e the 1 06
yn Jo le L w of H eat ing 402
s,

Gra y E l i s ha 4 1 9 42 0
Gra y E W 8 5
Gra y S tep
hen 3 3 2 3 3 9
G u i t ar 2 4 4
G yrosc ope 7 7
.

K y er d R ge eri 5 1 4
K y r H 5 15
K l i L rd 1 10 1 3 0 1 84 2 8 3
3 57
Kepler L w 9 9
m m ry of 4 2
Ki ne m t i
Ki neti c en rgy 1 08
Ki rl y D r 3 5 6
K ig R d l p
h 225
Kr k to explo ion 2 2 4
a

se

an

on

295,

u be ,

K u n d t s

cs , s u

s,

H al l , E H , 2 6 4
A , 257
H a ker,
u
Ha m
i
51
,
H a m n i s, 2 3 4
H a rtm an n , G , 3 1 2
H as ti n gs , C
2 9 5 , 5 15
H a , um a
1 72
H a
i s , 3 01
H a ,
u si
a o i za i
, 2 96
H el m ho lt z , 5 , 1 1 0
H ems a l ech , G A , 508
H en ry , P rofes s or ose h , 3 5 6
H era cl i t u s , 1
H e schel , C l em en s , 1 5 1
H ertz , H 3 8 2
H
z m ac i
42
, 3
H m
us b
e
i i
,
H ooke, R obert , 1 3 2 , 2 54
H oo ke s Law , 1 3 2
H s
w
t h e, 1 1 6
,
H u l l , G F 2 70 5 1 5
H um an
a
1 72
H u m hrey s , W J , 5 1 4

r
J
r on c c rve
r o c

es ,

s s

un

n ne s e

'

La w , 1 6 0

e v n

Ju r
in

enter

ou e,

3 17
es , 43 3 , 4 78
,
s , 1 99

, 502
,

us

29 5
Gil bert, D r Will i a m , 3 1 7
Gl a z ebroo k, R T , 4 3 5
G am , d
9
i i
, 5
G a i , d iff ac i , 4 88 , 5 1 1
G a i a i , 82 ; u i
sa , 9 9 ; R e

1 01
s
,
90
2
G a vi t , a
a i n
8
,
; c
,

eld
of l igh t w v
i ng
5 03 ; of w v es
str
I nterfero m eter M i chels on s
I nterv l m i c al 2 3 8
I nvar 2 7 4
I n v a ri n ts 1 79
I nver i on 2 00
I s otherm al c u rves 29 2

L R , 25 7
of m agnet i c

I nten s ity
In t erference

so ll
n ger

2 14

L m b rt 2 5 5
Lam i theo rem 7 4
L gl y P r f r S P 2 7 0
L tern proje t i on 4 9 7
L p
22 1
l
L tent he t 2 9 6
L v i si r 1 6 6
L w
of Avog dro 2 84 ; of Boyle
1 7 7 2 8 2 ; of Ch a rle
of J rin
28 1
a

e rt h
n
e t eng ne
e t of f on

an

t on

L aw
,

H u ygen s , 9 1 , 1 1 0, 43 8

Hu
rin c 1 l e , 4 4 3
s

Hu
z
s
s
See
H
a u l i cs , 1 4 6
H
s a i s, 1 3 9

ygen p p
ygen one
ydr
ydro t t c

sn e

es

i n erti a ;

rot at i onal

64

s,

Lo dge, S i r Ol i ver, 3 58

M ach , 2 1 3
M ac ken zi e

Ill

L ever 1 1 6
L eyde jr 3 5 4
L i ft p u m p 1 7 3
L ine of elect ric force 3 50 ; of
net c force 3 1 4
Li q i d denit i on of 1 2 9
u

Im age con s tru cti on of 448 46 8

Im age lens 509
I nc a ndes cent la m p 4 05
I nc li ned pl ane 1 2 0
I nd u ct an c e 3 5 7
I nd u c t ion of elec tri c c u rrent s 3 7 3
I nert i a m om ent of
see
R ota tion a l
,

n s,

s,

Fre l on

of fal l ing b od i es 8 7 ; of K epler

of m oti on N ew to
6 6 79

496

s,

s,

ell 3 7 0
L engt h ni t of 1 1
L en cry t al l ne 4 9 6 ; de n i t i on a d
theory of 4 6 5 ; rect ili near dened

he rt

99 ;
L ebedew , 2 7 0
L ec l an c h c

1 60

or e po er

a ce,

olt
h ne
o ogeneo
ody d n t on of

o es so

an

of v p r

agi e,

J
F

oh n
.

efac e

See Pr

15 7

M agnet i c pe rm ea b i li ty 3 28
M a gnet i c q u ali ty , 3 2 3
M agnet i c v ariat i on s 3 2 8
M agneto m eter , theory of, 3 2 0
.

m ag

IN DE X

520
M agn i c at i on

opt i c al

44 8 , 4 6 9 , 4 9 8 , 5 00

or chord , 2 3 8
M aj
or s c ale, 2 3 9
M aj
M al u s, 4 3 8
M ano m etri c a m e, 2 2 5
M a rcon i 4 2 1
M ari otte, 1 79
M ass , den i t i on an d com p aris on

l Theore
en l
phy c l
rever
ple
tor on
e fect
den t on of
er od of

of

n i t of 5 9
M atter general propert e of 5 4
M xw l l J C 5 8 1 1 2 9 3 8 2
M ech an i c al e q i valent of he at 2 9 9
a

57

'

M ell on i 2 6 8 , 2 6 9
M elt i ng , 2 8 7
M elt i ng po i nt s 2 5 6
M en d en ha l l , C E , 2 5 7
M ers en n e, 9 1
M et acenter 1 4 6
M et eorology , dened , 4
in
M eter , dened , 1 1

wa

ve

s,

5 06
.

term s of light

M i ch el son A A

4 74 ,

4 5 0,

43 3 ,

erver on
h e of
hy c pend l
hy c l c ence dened
hy c den t on of
no
tch of o nd ve
l te
xt re
l c er t e
ol r coord n te
ol r t on of l ght ve
ole of
ery
olygon of force
of vecto
o t on ch nge of
of
ody
of p rt le
o t on vector
otent l elect c
otent l energy
o nd den t on of
J
o er ech n c l
t of
of len
re re den t o of
r ry c rrent
r nc ple of Arch ede
of
gen
r
pectro cope
r
theory of
ro e t o l ntern
r p rt e of tter
lley
p
re rot t on
re tr n l t on
yro etry
.

le

P a s ca l ,
l a i s e, 2 5 3
P asc a s
m , 1 40
P d u um ,
si a , 9 7 ;
si b
97 ;
,
91 ;
sim
si
13 5
,
,
P r
i i
1 80, 2 83
gas ,
,
P i
47
P erki n s , C A , 3 3 2
P
2 00
si
,
P as
S H M , 49
P
u um , 9 7
s i al
P
s i
si a
,
, 3
P
i i
4
si s ,
,
Pi a
2 45
,
Pi
s u
w a s, 2 3 1

P a au s m i u , 1 5 4
P u k
u b , 5 08
P a
i
a
s, 7 , 1 0
P a iza i
i
wa
s, 4 3 7
P
s
a b at t
67
, 3
P
s, 7 3 ;
r
s , 15
,
P si i
a
14 ;
a b
10
,
,
,
a
ic , 6 , 8
a
P si i
s, 8
P
ia
ri , 3 4 6 , 3 5 1
P
ia
1 08 , 1 1 2
,
P u
i i
0, 7 3
,
, 6
H
P oy n t i n g,
1 00, 3 8 6
a i a , 1 15
un i
1 16 ;
P w , m
,
a
s, 4 6 7
i i n
14 0
P ssu ,
,
u
P im a
3 78
,
H uy
i
im
s , 1 44 ;
P i
,
s, 4 43
08
P ism s
s
, 5
P is m ,
4 70
,
497
P jc i n a
,
ma
P o e i s
54
,
1 17
Pu
,
Pum , 1 7 1
a i
16
Pu
,
Pu
a s a i
16
,
m
255
P
,

49 1

M i cros cope

co m pou nd 4 9 9 ; i m ple 4 9 8
pherc al 44 5
M rror pl ne 4 4 2
M od u li of el as t i c i ty 1 3 1
M h l er J F 5 1 4
See T rq u
M o m ent of force
M o m ent
of i nert a See R tat i n a l
i

i n erti a

ngu l r
a

de i ti on of

65 ;

u a

berg,
u n ster

N e ton L
N o e ene
.

of ot on

Q u al i ty

of s ou nd

wa

ves

233

ec ve of cro cope 4 9 9
t ve
er ted exper ent 3 6 3 3 8 5
h

O bj t i
mi
s
Oc a , 2 3 8

O s
im
s

O m s La w , 3 8 7
O h m , t h e, 3 8 8
O
a
as s ,
O t ic a
i s k, 4 7 6
O
s
a, d
O a
i s, 2 4 2
O s cl at o ry i s a
Ott c
3 04
,
O
s, 2 3 4

5 07

per gl
theory of 5 01
p ld
rder of pectr e ed 4 8 9
rg n p pe
d ch rge 3 5 6
o ycle
vertone
.

5 12

493

r on t u rb ine 3 03
rt i cle den it ion of

eect io of l ight w a ve 44 0 ; of s ou nd
of w ater w aves 18 9
w ves 2 1 8
of l ight w aves 4 5 0 ; of
R efract i on
188
w a ter w a ve
4 73
R efract i ve i ndex 4 5 3
R

s,

s,

42 5,

d n ened
d t on of he t
o r e of
d o eter
d o cro eter
n
L
e l
ge dened
r c le
e t ng l r coord n te
ect l ne r len dened
ect l ne r prop g t on of l ght

12
R a ia , d
,
Ra ia i
a , 2 67
s u c s
,
2 69
Ra i m
,
m
2 69
R a i mi
,
R ai , 2 9 4
R a y l ei gh , ord , 5 15
447
R a ima ,
,
R eau m u s a , 2 5 2
i a s, 7 , 8 , 9
R c a u a
496
i i
a
s,
R
,
i
a a i
a
i i
R
.

N eu m a n n , F E , 3 8 3
N ewton , 3 , 6 1 , 6 4 , 9 9 , 104 , 1 1 0, 2 2 0, 2 5 4
2 6 8 , 4 3 9 , 4 75

w
M i , 66
s
aw s
N i ch ol s , E F , 2 6 9 , 5 1 5
d , d
d , 2 01
N o ma n , R o bert, 3 1 2

N t r l cience dened

Pa
Pa

M u s i c al i nterval , 2 3 8
M u s i c a l s c a le , 2 3 7
a u a

ot on ci rc l r 3 8
M otor electr c 4 1 6

Al

M o m ent u m ,
63
M i

IN D E X
egel t on

2 88
R
a i
,
R egn a u l t, H V , 2 5 5 , 2 7 7 , 2 9 1
a i ss a
2
R
,
u i
R es i s a
, 3 88
,
R s is i vi , 3 8 9
49 1, 5 12
w
a
a i
R s
i
,
i , 1 9 4 , 2 02
a
sy m a
R es
,
R su a , 1 5 , 2 9 , 7 1
u um , 9 7
R
s ib
R ey , ea n , 2 5 3
o
R eyn old s , O s born e, t
1 01
i
,

u
2 58
m
a
n
n
R i ch
s
,
n i i
12 7
Ri i
b
,
,
m
u us , 1 3 4
Ri i i
Ri
s , 1 90
R o em er, O l e , 4 2 9
12 4
i
r
i ti
R
,
al in
t ia, 6 4
a i
R
u
16
R
a i
,
,
R ow la n d , H A , 4 9 1 , 5 1 3
R u ben s , H , 2 6 9
R u mford , C ou n t , 2 9 7
R u n ge, C , 5 14
.

en

nce
t nce n t of
e t ty
e olv ng po er of gr t ng
on nce
p thet c
e lt nt
ever le pend l
J
he ry of
t on
r le
g d ody de t on of
g d ty od l
pple
.

521

Stef n L w 2 5 6
Stew rt -K irchhoff

2 70
La w , 2 7 1
.

S tokes , S i r G eorge, 1 3 3 , 2 2 9 , 4 9 3
S ton ey , D r oh n s ton e, 400
a
s, 3 7 1
ai , d
i i n
1 2 7 , 13 0
,
it i n
13 0
ss , d
,
S tu rgeon , W il l i a m , 3 78
am i s ,
umma
13 7
,
m a i es , 4 2
u
a
si
15 2 , 190
,
m a
i
s
a
194
,

Stor ge cell
Str n en t o of
Stre
en o of
.

ry of dyn

t
S rf ce ten on
S y p thet c re on nce

of

ki

ne

oll ng f c on
ot t on
er
ot t on p re

opt i l d i k 4 7 6
T elephone 4 1 9
T ele ope astronom ica l 500
T em per t re 2 4 7
T em pered c le 2 4 1

Ta t n al l

ca

a u

Th al es

tte

q u an i i s , 9
S ch u s ter, A , 5 08 , 5 15

T h rem of B rno illi 1 4 9 ; of T orri

celli 1 4 7
T herm odyn m i c r t l w of 2 9 8
econd l w of 3 00
The rm oel tri c rrent 3 8 1
T herm oelectri po w er 3 8 1
m t r 4 07
Th rm g l
Therm om etry 2 4 9
Ti d e 1 9 2
T i m e n i t of 2 1
Tep
l r 2 13
T orq e 6 7 7 0
T rri l l 1 6 5
T orri ell theorem 1 4 7
T or i o pend l m 1 3 5
Tot l reect ion 4 5 5
T r n form er 3 78
Tr n l tion p re 1 6
Tr n l cent dened 4 2 4
Tr m itter telephon i c 4 2 0
Tr n ver li ty of l ght w ve 4 3 7
T r bi ne te m 3 03
,

eo

s,

Seco d ry ir u i t 3 7 8
Self-i nd t n e 3 5 7
Sh rr J S 9 0 18 1
She ri ng m od l
S
R i gid ity mod u l u s
S i m ple h arm on i c m oti on 4 5
S m ple pend l m 9 1
S e c rve 5 2
S iphon 1 7 6
S l id ng fri cti on 1 2 2
Sl g de t i on of 6 0
a

uc a

ea e

u us

cu

s,

ee

u u

in

ni

Wi l l ebrord

S n el l ,

452

So l d den i t io of 1 2 8
Sou nd er t elegraph 4 1 1
So d w a ve 2 1 1
Sp rk elec tr c 5 08
Speci c he t 2 5 9
S pctra of r t cl ass 4 79 5 1 1 ; of sec
ond l s 4 8 6 5 1 1 of thi rd class 4 8 9
Sp
ectrogr ph 5 1 0
Spectro m eter 5 1 0
Spectros ope 5 07
Spe tro opy pri nc i ple of 5 1 3
Spectr m n ly i pr c iple of 5 1 4
Speed denit o of 2 2 ; of light 4 2 9 ;
of o nd 2 2 0 ; u n t of 2 3
Spher c al berr t ion 4 7 0
Spheric
u rface
reect i o at 4 4 5 ;
refrac t i on at 4 5 8
Sprengel p m p 1 7 4
St b ili ty of o ti ng b odi e 1 44
St ti c s 7 2 7 3
St t i on ary w a ves i s tring 2 00 ; i
w ter 1 90
Ste m engi ne 3 02
Ste m t rbi ne 3 03
i

un

s,

c as

s,

a
a

ce

u u

s a

s u

an s
a

sa

s,

U ni pl n r m ot ion 1 9
Uni t h rge of electric ati on 3 3 6
Uni t m gnet p le 3 1 6
U ni t of a celer t on 3 3 ; of angle 1 2 ;
of ng l r celer t ion 4 1 ; of ng
l r p ed 2 6 ; of re
1 1 ; of
rren t
3 8 6 ; of ele tr
l c p ty 3 9 2 ; of
electric l re t n e 3 8 8 ; of l t r
nt ty 3 9 2 ; of
3 84 ;
al
q
of force 7 2 ; of lengt h 1 1 ; of m
peed 2 3 ; of ti m e 2 1 ; of
5 9 ; of
veloc ty 2 3 ; of vol m e 1 2 ; of w ork
a

ac

si s a

ua

cu

a,

i ca

a ci

e ec

ass ,

1 06

a i

u a

U n it dim e i on of
U ni vera l gr vi t ati on
ns

s,

60
99
,

s,

in

s s,

sc

e e

s,

a van o

ec

Sc alar

sc

s,

Va n d er M
Va
29 1
,
a
V c
s,

por
e tor
14 ;

en s br
u gge,

154

ddit ion
po s it on 8
i

an

sub

tract ion of

IN D E X

52 2
V

eloci ty
tw ee

2 0;

25 ;
V en tu r
i , 15 1
V i ua i m a
n

peed di s tinction
den i ti on of 2 3
an

4 47

olt c cell
olt eter

J
W tt the 1 1 6
Wa ve m o d el K elvi n

ou n

331

of

as,

u us ,

s,

1 84

ee m an eff ect

5 14

1 5 7 , 2 2 0,

1 3 1 , 2 75

1 05

5 15

Y rd dened 1 1
Y
g D r Th m
Y o ng m od l
a

C W , 2 57
l Va l l a ce, R J , 4 9 1

Wat son s Text-book of P h ysi cs , 2 9 5

Watt , am es , 1 1 6
.

Wi l son C T R
Wood R W
Work deni ti on

V o l ta , 3 4 1
V
3 65
ai
,
V
am
3 99
,
von G u er
i cke, Otto, 1 65

Wa id n er

tr ngs 1 9 6 ; t idal 1 9 2 ;
ol it ry
t t on ary 19 0
W a ve theory of l ght 4 3 3 4 4 3 4 6 2
W eight d en it o of 9 4 1 02
\Vh i t e l ght co m po s i t i on of 4 75
1 8 3 ; in s i
197 ; s a i
,

rt l
ge
V olt the 3 8 4

W a ves