Ripple Tanks

The Ripple Tanks is a useful piece of apparatus for demonstrating wave properties.
It consists of shallow rectangular water filled tray with a glass base and an
overhead light source. When an object is placed in the water the light passing
through the water from the overhead light is disturbed. This disturbance can be
viewed on a card placed on the floor. To see this effect more clearly, experiments
with a ripple tank should be conducted in a dark room.

Waves can be made in the tank by oscillating an object on the surface of the
water. The waves travel away from the object in all directions.
Straight objects make waves with plane waveforms. Round objects make waves with
curved wavefronts. The inner sides of the tray have absorbing barriers to minimise
reflections.

Waves can be generated in a more controllable way by using small beam of wood
suspended from rubber bands so as to just break the water surface. A small motor
with an eccentric cam is mounted on the beam which causes it to vibrate when the
motor is operating.
Waves travel away from the beam across the surface of the water in the tank. These
are known as plane waves as the front of each wave forms a straight line.
It is also possible to create circular waves using
the same method. The only difference is that
circular object, and not the beam of wood, is in
contact with the water`s surface. This is shown in
the photograph. Notice that the circular dipper is
only just in contact with the water. You will also
see that we have used a crocodile clip as our
eccentric cam.

By adjusting the speed of the motor, waves of differing wavelength may be

generated.
If the motor turns slowly, waves of longer wavelength are produced.
If the motor turns quickly, waves of shorter wavelength are produced.

If we add a stroboscopic light source to the apparatus, measurement of the wave

can be obtained.
If the light is flashing at the same frequency as the wave, the shadow will appear to
be stationary: This is because the wave travels exactly one complete wavelength
between the flashes.
Therefore, If the frequency of the strobe is known, so is the frequency, f, of the
wave. We can the measure the wavelength using a ruler. These values are used in
the Progressive Waves section to verify the relationship between. V, f,

The ripple tank can be used to demonstrate the main properties which all waves
possess. These are reflection, refraction and diffraction.
Reflection

A plane wave strikes an angled barrier. The reflected wave

can be seen moving to the left

Refraction
A plane wave travels over an angled obstacle. The wave
gets refracted twice, once away from the normal when
meeting the obstacle and then once towards the normal
when leaving the obstacle.

Diffraction
A plane wave strikes a barrier with a small gap in the middle.
A small part of the wave is allowed to pass through the hole
and diffracts into a circular wave. This wave is very weak as
it only has a small part of the original wave`s energy.

By using the riffle tank the wave property of a reflection can be demonstrated. A
straight barrier is placed in the path of some plane waves. The waves are reflected
at the barrier and move in a new direction. They remain plane waves after
reflection.

All types of waves may also be reflected. Sound waves can reflect from walls or
buildings. In this way sound can reach places indirectly.

Light waves also reflect off many surfaces. In all cases the waves move off in a new
direction after striking the reflecting surface.

The Terminology of Reflected Waves

Waves striking a reflective surface are called incident waves. Waves reflected from a
surface are called reflected waves. A line perpendicular to the surface at the point
of reflection is called a normal. Incident waves may meet the surface any angle. The
angle between the normal and the direction of motion of the wave at the boundary
is called the angle if incidence (i). The angle between the normal and the direction
of motion of the reflected wave is called the angle of reflection (r).

By making the reflecting surface curved, It`s possible to focus the incident wave.
The effect is demonstrated by using the curved reflective barrier shown here in the
photograph.

The barrier is causing the wave`s energy to be concentrated at a point (the

focus).The same principle is used to focus electromagnetic waves transmitted by
television satellite.
Refraction
Refraction is the change in the direction of a wave when its velocity changes at a
boundary, this gives rise to a corresponding change in the wavelength of the wave,
but the frequency remains unchanged.
In the ripple tank this may be shown by changing the depth if the water in one
region of the tank, and allowing waves to pass into this region at an angle.

The waves change direction when passing into the shallow region (different
medium). In this case the waves travel more slowly in the shallow region, and this
causes them to be refracted at the boundary between the two.

If the waves pass into a curve-shaped region of shallower water, then they can be
shown to converge.
This is achieved by putting a suitably shaped piece if glass into the tank.
The same effect occurs when light waves pass through a glass lens.

Light waves slow down when they enter glass, just as water waves slow down when
they enter a shallow region. Refraction occurs in light in a similar manner.
If a beam (ray) of light passes through a rectangular glass prism with its sides
perpendicular to the beam, the light appears to pass straight through, unaffected
by the glass.
If the glass block is rotated so that the light strikes the side of the block at an angle,
the beam is refracted as it enters the block and also as it leaves it.

The terminology of Refracted Waves

Waves moving from one medium to another and meeting a boundary are called
incident waves.
Waves moving from one medium to
another and leaving a boundary are
called refracted waves.

A line perpendicular to the boundary

between the two media is called a
normal. Incident waves may meet the
boundary at an angle. The angle
between the normal and the direction of
motion of the wave at the boundary is
called the angle of incidence. The angle
between the normal and the direction of the motion of the refracted wave is called
the angle if refraction.

The light is refracted at both surfaces. There are therefore two angles if incidence
and refraction as the light passes through the block, one at the first surface as it
enters the block and the other at the second surface as it leaves it. Both are
measured from their respective normal.

In this case the light is refracted

towards the normal on entering
the block, and away from the
normal on leaving it.
On entering the glass, the angle of
incidence is greater than the angle
of refraction.
On leaving the glass the angle of
incidence is less than the angle of
refraction.

Diffraction
Diffraction is the property exhibited by waves when they encounter an edge or
passing through an aperture, such as a hole or slit.
When diffraction occurs, the direction of propagation and the shape of the wave
may change.
If plane water waves meet an aperture in a barrier, diffraction effects are observed.
If the aperture is large compared to the wavelength of the waves, a small effect
may be seen at the edge if the wave after passing through the aperture. The edges
of the wave become very slightly curved. This is known as edge diffraction.
If the wavelength of the waves is about the same size as the aperture, much more
noticeable diffraction occurs. The waves emerge from the aperture with a curved
wavefront. They spread out in all direction with an apparent centre at the aperture.
This is often referred to as single slit diffraction.

Light may be diffracted in a similar way to water waves.

If a narrow parallel beam of light falls
on a wide aperture, the edge
diffraction effect in negligible. The
light continuous in its straight lines
after the aperture and can be made
to fall on a screen, with no apparent
edge diffraction being visible to the
naked eye.
If light passes through very narrow
slits, diffraction effects can be
demonstrated. As the wavelength of
light is very small, around 500
nanometres, the diffraction effects
are
not
noticed
in
everyday
observations of the behaviour of
light. They can, however, be demonstrated in the laboratory using laser and very
fine optical slits or diffraction gratings.

Interference
When two spherical are attached to the oscillating beam in a ripple tank, both will
produce circular progressive (travelling) waves on the water surface.
As they are created by the same vibrating source, these two sets of waves are
coherent similar in amplitude, wavelength and phase.
As they progress through the tank they overlap, When this occurs the two sets of
waves interfere with each other.

When two wavefronts meet, at some point in the tank they are exactly in phase with
each other. These are known as antinodes. At this point interference occurs and the
amplitude of the wave is doubled.
At the other point in the tank called nodes the two wavefronts meet exactly out of
phase with each other and they cancel each out by destructive interference.
The diagram shows two circular progressive waves which are coherent.

Where two waves of the same type meet they

combine to give twice the amplitude. This point is
called an antinode. The red dots on the diagram
indicated antinode.

At the point where a trough meets a crest,

cancellation occurs. This point is called a node.
The blue dots indicate nodes.

The arrows show that the channels of nodes and antinodes form. The faint channels
are where nodes are placed and cancellation has occurred.