Chapter 14

There are two types of waves:

1. Transverse oscillates perpendicular to direction of motion. Examples are EM
waves, waves on a strin, water waves. The !humps" are called crests. The !dips"
are called trouhs.
#. $onitudinal oscillates in same direction as direction of motion. %ound waves
are an example.
&efine wavelenth the distance over which a wave repeats.
're(uency: count the crests that pass )y.
v * + f is true for ,$$ waves-
.aves on a strin:
&efine / is the mass per lenth of a strin * m0$ 120m3.
'
v

4eflections:
5f one end is fastened, the wave inverts.
5f the end is loose, it reflects the same way.
%tandin waves are the first case.
1)3 one crest is called the !fundamental mode" or !first harmonic".
The wave reflects )ac2 and forth )etween the two fixed points. 1c3 shows that it is
6 of a full wavelenth.
1
1 1
1
1 1
1
1
v
#$ $ is the lenth of the strin. 4ecall v f , so *
f
v v
f .hat happens when we chane v or $7
#$
.e can have an infinite num)er of harmonics 1how many crests73. They are
all inteer mult

iples of the 1st, and we add to o from one to the next.

#
8
1st: $ #nd : *$ $
# #

%o, in eneral:
n 1
1
n
v
f nf n
#$
#$
n 1, #,8,...
n n

, 1#.9: clothesline is stretched with a tension of ##.1 ; )etween two poles <.==
m apart. .hat is the fre(uency of 1a3 the fundamental and 1)3 the second
harmonic7 1c3 5f the tension in the clothesline is increased, do the fre(uencies in
parts 1a3 and 1)3 increase, decrease, or stay the same7 Explain.
Picture the Problem: The imae shows two clotheslines that
are
<.== m lon. >ne line is oscillatin at the fundamental
fre(uency and the other at the second harmonic.
Strategy: 'irst use the tension and mass to
calculate the speed of the waves, usin e(uation 14:
#. Then use e(uation 14:18 to calculate the
fre(uencies.
Solution: 1. (a) %olve e(uation 14:# for
the wave speed:
##.1 ;
11=.4 m0s
?.?1#9 2 <.== m
F
v

2. %et n * 1 in e(uation 14:18 to calculate
the fundamental fre(uency:
( )
( )
1
1 11=.4 m0s
<.=? @A
# # <.== m
nv
f
L

3. (b) %et n * # in e(uation 14:18 to
calculate the second harmonic fre(uency:
( )
( )
#
# 11=.4 m0s
19.# @A
# # <.== m
nv
f
L

4. (c) %ince the wave speed is proportional to the s(uare root of the tension, and the fre(uency is proportional to the
wave speed, increasin the tension will increase the fre(uencies.
Insight: 5f the tension were dou)led to 44.# ;, the fre(uencies would increase )y a factor of # to
1
1?.< @A f
and
#
#1.9 @A f . .e )ent the rules for sinificant fiures a little in step 1 in order to avoid roundin error.
Harmonic Wave unctions:
5f wave is enerated )y simple harmonic motion, it will have shape of sine or
cosine. %uch waves repeat in )oth space and time-

,
_

T
t # x #
cos , 3 t , x 1 y
B for wave travelin to the left, : for wave travelin to the
riht-
, wave on a strin is descri)ed )y the followin e(uation:

,
_

s 1#
t
cm ? . 9
x
cos 3 cm 19 1 y
1a3 .hat is the amplitude of this wave7 1)3 .hat is its wavelenth7 1c3 .hat is its
period7 1d3 .hat is its speed7 1e3 5n which direction does the wave travel7
a3 , * 19 cm
)3 + * 1? cm
c3 T * #4 s
d3 v * + C f * 11? cm31#4 s3
:1
* ?.4# cm0s
e3 Decause the e(uation has a minus sin in the arument of the cosine function,
the wave will travel to the riht.
Soun! Waves in air: %peed varies with pressure, temperature )ecause it is a
function of the molecular density.
v * 848 m0s 1E #?F C3 * <<? mi0hr * ?.# mi0s 1one Mississippi, two
MississippiG3
Ta)le 14:1 Tonto puts his ear to the railroad trac2 in the old $one 4aner TH
show. .hy7
5ntensity:
I E 1 E
5
, t , t,

.0m
#
The old horror0sci:fi movie !,lien", had the ta line, !5n space, no one can hear
you scream." They were a)solutely correct- %ound waves re(uire a medium 1air,
water, steel, etc.3 in order to propaate 1travel3. %pace is a 1relative3 vacuum and
no sound could travel )ecause there are no molecules to transport the enery.
%ound is a lonitudinal wave which means that it vi)rates in the same direction
that it travels. >nly electromanetic waves, which donJt re(uire a medium, can
travel in the vacuum of space. The electromanetic enery )urst "oul! propaate
1as a spherical wave3 for this same reason, so when you see the crew of the
!Enterprise" flyin )ac2 and forth on the )ride, this is accurate 1if somewhat
overdone for entertainment purposes-3
%o, what does it mean for enery to propaate as a s#herical "ave7
5maine that you have a olf )all 1itJs maical-3 and K cup of softened )utter.
%mear the )utter evenly over the surface of the olf )all. Thin2 of the )utter as the
enery of the wave. 5f you were now to ta2e a capillary tu)e and carefully insert it
into the )utter layer, then remove it, the thic2ness of )utter in the tu)e would ive
you a (ualitative idea of how much enery is there. ;ow, the maical olf )all
expands to )ecome a )ase)all, then a soccer )all, then a )each )all and so on. 'or
each time it expands, you repeat your capillary tu)e measurement. .hat happens
to the oriinal thic2ness 1lenth3 of )utter in the tu)e7 5t 2eeps ettin shorter and
shorter as the )all expands, )ecause we still only have that oriinal K cup of )utter
which must now )e smeared over a larer and larer spherical surface. This is a
conse(uence of $onservation o% &nergy'
olf )all )each )all
olf )all olf )all )each )all )each )all
1 1
E E
E
Lse the e(uation for intensity: 5 E 5,t
, t
5 , t 5 , t
for the same time period, t, let the olf )all represent 5 and its radius )e r
let the )each

# #
1 1 # #
#
#
)all represent 5 and its radius )e r
5 , 5 ,
the surface area of a sphere is , 4 r
The intensity of a point distur)ance as a function of distance is:
I
5
4 r

%o, what happens if we et very, very far from the oriinal distur)ance7 .hat
happens to the curvature of a sphere as r oes to infinity7 5f we were loo2in at
this sphere comin toward us it would appear flat. This is called a (#lane "ave).
Human Perce#tion o% Soun!
The rane of human hearin is #? @A to #? 2@A.
@ow do we perceive sound7 $isten to a sound of intensity 5
1
. Mou now hear a
sound of intensity 5
#
which, to your ears, seems to )e twice as loud. , third sound
of intensity, 5
8
, seems to )e twice as loud as 5
#
. Irecise measurement of these
intensities, however, is different from our perceptions.
5t shows that 5
8
* 1? 5
#
* 1?? 5
1
.
$etJs define a new (uantity, Intensity *&+&* 1do not confuse with intensity3.
1# #
?
?
5
11? dD3lo , where 5 1 1? .0 m , which is the faintest sound
5
detecta)le to the human ear.

_


,
;otice that the deci)el 1dD3 is dimensionless. The human ear can detect a chane
of t 1 dD.
&iscuss &oppler in eneral terms.
o)
source
1 u 0 v
f N f u o)server or source %IEE&-
1 u 0 v
v speed of wave
EmphasiAe that this is ;>T a vector e(n.
_ t


,

m
, motorcycle and a police car are movin toward one another. The police car emits
sound with a fre(uency of 91# @A and has a speed of #<.? m0s. The motorcycle has
a speed of 18.? m0s. .hat fre(uency does the motorcyclist hear7
Picture the Problem: The imae shows a motorcyclist and
police car approachin each other.
Strategy: .e want to calculate the fre(uency at which the
motorcyclist hears the police carJs siren. 5n this pro)lem )oth
the source 1police car3 and the o)server 1motorcycle3 are
movin toward each other. Lse e(uation 14:11, with the plus
sin in the numerator and the minus sin in the denominator, to
calculate the o)served fre(uency.
Solution: 5nsert the speeds and emitted
fre(uency into e(uation 14:11:
( )
( )
( )
o
1
1
1 18.? m0s 848 m0s
91# @A 9<< @A
1 #<.? m0s 848 m0s
s
u v
f f
u v
_ +

,
1 +

1

1
]