What are waves?

Waves transfer energy from one point to another without transferring matter. They consist of
disturbances which transfer the energy in the direction the wave travels without transferring
matter.

There are two types of waves:

Transverse waves
Longitudinal waves

Transverse Waves

Transverse waves are wave in which the vibrations of the particles or medium in which the
wave travels are at right angles to the direction in which the wave travels.

Water waves are an example of transverse waves. These can be observed in a ripple tank. The
animation below shows transverse waves created in a ripple tank.

From the above animation it can be seen that the rubber duck only moves up and down whilst
the energy of the wave moves along the tank. Thus the water only move up and down or in
other words at right angles to the direction of travel of the wave. The energy however is passed
along the water from one wave to the other.
The diagram above gives a side view of transverse water wave. Transverse waves consist of high
parts or peaks called crests and low parts called troughs.

The distance between two successive crests or two successive troughs is the wavelength for a
transverse wave.

The height of the crest from the undisturbed water position or the depth of the trough from
the undisturbed water position is the amplitude of the wave.

Longitudinal Waves

Longitudinal waves are wave in which the vibrations of the particles or medium in which the
wave travels are in the same direction as to that in which the wave travels.

Sound waves are an example of longitudinal waves.

The animation above shows sound waves travelling through air. Energy is passed along the air
molecules by the lengthways vibration of the air molecules. Thus the air molecules only move
to and fro or forwards and backwards in the direction of travel of the wave. The sound energy is
transferred from one molecule to another and so travels along the wave.
Amplitude and Wavelength Longitudinal Waves

The diagram above shows the side view of a sound wave. A sound wave is a longitudinal wave.
It is made up of regions where the air molecules are close together and have a higher particle
density known as compressions and of regions where the air molecules are farther apart and
have a low particle density called rarefactions. In a sound wave the region of compression is at
a slightly higher pressure due to the air molecules being pushed together whereas the region of
rarefaction is at a slightly lower pressure as the air molecules are farther apart.

The wavelength of a longitudinal wave is the distance between successive compressions or

the distance between successive rarefactions.

The amplitude is the maximum distance the vibrating particle travels from its undisturbed
distance.

Frequency of Waves

The frequency of a wave is a measure of the number of waves made by a source each second,
or the number of waves that pass through a particular point in the medium each second.
Frequency is measured in units called Hertz (Hz) which is the number of number of wave cycles
per second.
The Wave Equation

This is the equation which relates wave speed, frequency and wavelength.

The animation above shows us that the speed of a wave does not depend on the frequency or
the wavelength. As the frequency increases the wavelength decrease so from the wave
equation it can be determined that the overall wave speed will remain the same.

When waves strike a material boundary i.e. go from one medium to another the following may
happen:

Reflection The wave can bounce back e.g. light striking a mirror

Refraction The wave can change speed and direction e.g. light
travelling from air into water

Absorption The wave can give up its energy e.g. microwaves are
absorbed by food in a microwave oven.
Reflection

This occurs when a wave travelling in one medium strikes the surface of a different medium
and changes direction so that it returns back into the medium in which it was originally
travelling in. Simply put the waves bounce back. Examples of reflection are light waves striking
a mirror or echoes in which sound waves are reflected of a solid surface.

When waves undergo reflection the angle the incoming waves make with the surface is equal to
the angle of the reflected waves. This is the Law of Reflection and can be written as;

The angle of incidence = the angle of reflection

Reflection in use the periscope

A periscope is an optical instrument used predominantly in submarines so that the submarine

crew can see what is happening above the surface of water without having to surface. The
animation below describes how a periscope works.
Refraction

The speed at which a wave travels is dependent upon the medium in which it travels along or
through. The speed of a wave changes when a wave moves from one medium to another. This
change in wave speed is accompanied by a change in wavelength and change in direction. It is
this change of direction or bending of the wave as it passes from one medium to another that is
called refraction.
Effects of Refraction

Refraction is why water appears shallower than it really is. In the diagram below the rays of
light from the fish are refracted away from the normal as the leave the water. This bending of
the light is not registered by the eye rather it seems as if the rays come from an imaginary fish
higher in the fish bowl. Therefore the apparent position of the fish is higher than the real
position.
Important points to remember

The speed of a wave is affected by the medium in which the wave is travelling through
or along.
A change in wave speed causes a change in wavelength as the frequency cannot change.
The normal line is an imaginary construction line at right angles (perpendicular) to the
refracting or reflecting surface at the point of incidence.
When light waves travel into a denser medium the waves are refracted towards the
normal and on leaving the denser medium are refracted away from the medium. This is
because light travels slower in the denser medium.
When sound waves travel into a denser medium the waves are refracted away from the
normal and on leaving the denser medium are refracted towards the medium. This is
because sound waves travel faster in a denser medium.
Convex Lens

A convex lens is thicker at the centre than at the edges.

Convex lenses are thicker at the middle. Rays of light that pass through the lens are brought
closer together (they converge). A convex lens is a converging lens.

When parallel rays of light pass through a convex lens the refracted rays converge at one point
called the principal focus.

The distance between the principal focus and the centre of the lens is called the focal length.

Use of Convex Lenses The Camera

A camera consists of three main parts.

1. The body which is light tight and contains all the mechanical parts.
2. The lens which is a convex (converging) lens).
3. The film or a charged couple device in the case of a digital camera.
The rays of light from the person are converged by the convex lens forming an image on the
film or charged couple device in the case of a digital camera.

The angle at which the light enters the lens depends on the distance of the object from the
lens. If the object is close to the lens the light rays enter at a sharper angled. This results in the
rays converging away from the lens. As the lens can only bend the light to a certain agree the
image needs to be focused in order to form on the film. This is achieved by moving the lens
away from the film.

Similarly, if the object is away from the lens the rays enter at a wider angle. This results in the
rays being refracted at a sharper angle and the image forming closer to the lens. In this case the
lens needs to be positioned closer to the film to get a focused image.

Thus the real image of a closer object forms further away from the lens than the real image of a
distant object and the action of focusing is the moving of the lens to get the real image to fall
on the film.

The image formed is said to be real because the rays of lighted from the object pass through
the film and inverted (upside down).
The Magnifying Glass

A magnifying glass is a convex lens which produces a magnified (larger) image of an object.

A magnifying glass produces an upright, magnified virtual image. The virtual image produced is
on the same side of the lens as the object. For a magnified image to be observed the distance
between the object and the lens must be shorter than the focal length of the lens.

A magnifying glass is a convex lens which produces a magnified image of an object.

For a magnified image to be observed the distance between the object and the lens has to be
shorter than the focal length of the lens. The image formed is upright, magnified and virtual.
Magnification

The magnification of a lens can be calculated using the following formula;

As this is a ratio between heights it has no units. A magnification of 2 means the image is twice
the size of the object and a magnification of 1 indicates an image size being the same as the
object size.

Concave Lens

A concave lens is thinner at the centre than at the edges.

Convex lenses are thinner at the middle. Rays of light that pass through the lens are spread out
(they diverge). A convex lens is a diverging lens.

When parallel rays of light pass through a concave lens the refracted rays diverge so that they
appear to come from one point called the principal focus.

The distance between the principal focus and the centre of the lens is called the focal length.

The image formed is virtual and diminished (smaller).

The diagram below shows the cross section of a human eye.

Light from an object passes through the cornea which is a transparent dome like structure
covering the iris. The light rays are refracted by the cornea onto the lens. The light rays are
refracted a second time whilst passing through the lens and focused onto the retina the light
sensitive part of the eye. The image formed on the retina is inverted (upside down) and real
(the light rays travel through the image).

The image is interpreted the right way up by the brain which is connected to the eye via the
optic nerve.

The shape of the eye is very important in ensuring the objects we see are in focus. A person
with normal vision can focus clearly on objects both near and far, this is because light from the
object is precisely focused onto the retina at the focal point. However, for some people
focusing on objects far away or close can result in a blurred image forming. These defects in
vision are referred to as long and short sight.
Long sight

A person who is long sighted can focus clearly on distant objects but cannot focus on near
objects. This is because the eyeball is too short. Light from near objects is focused at a point
behind the retina resulting in a blurred image.
This defect can be corrected by wearing a convex (converging) spectacle lens. The rays of light
from a near object are converged before entering the eye so that the cornea and eye len s can
direct the focal point onto the retina.

Short sight

A person who is short sighted can focus clearly on near objects but cannot focus on distant
objects. This is because the eyeball is too long. Light from distant objects is focused at a point in
front of the retina resulting in a blurred image.
This defect can be corrected by wearing a concave (diverging) spectacle lens. The rays of light
from a near object are diverged before entering the eye so that the cornea and eye lens can
direct the focal point onto the retina.

Refractive Index

We know the speed at which a wave travels is dependent upon the medium it travels through.
A number called the refractive index of a substance is a measure of how much the speed of a
wave changes compared to the speed in a reference medium i.e. air or a vacuum.

For light waves the refractive index is given as

The refractive index for glass is approximately 1.5; this means the speed of light in glass is
approximately 1.5 times slower than the speed of light in air. Similarly, the refractive index of
water is 1.33. This implies that light rays will not be bent as much in water as they are in glass
as they are not slowed down as much in water.
Total Internal Reflection

When light travels from one medium to another it changes speed and is refracted. If the light
rays are travelling for a less dense material to a dense medium they are refracted towards the
normal and if they are travelling from a dense to less dense medium they are refracted away
from the normal.

For total internal reflection to occur the light must travel from a dense medium to a less dense
medium (e.g. glass to air or water to air).

As the angle of incidence increases so does the angle of refraction. When the angle of incidence
reaches a value known as the critical angle the refracted rays travel along the surface of the
medium or in other words are refracted to an angle of 90. The critical angle for the angle of
incidence in glass is 42.

1. Angle of incidence less than the critical angle

When the angle of incidence of the light ray leaving the glass is less than the critical
angle, the light ray speeds up on leaving the glass and is refracted away from the
normal.

2. Angle of incidence equal to the critical angle

When the angle of incidence of the light ray reaches the critical angle (42) the angle of
refraction is 90. The refracted ray travels along the surface of the denser medium in
this case the glass.
 3. Angle of incidence greater than the critical angle

When the angle of incidence of the light ray is greater than the critical angle then no
refraction takes place. Instead, all the light is reflected back into the denser material in
this case the glass. This is called total internal reflection.

In order for total internal reflection to take place;

1. The rays of light must travel from a dense medium to a less dense medium.
 2. The angle of incidence must be greater than the critical angle.

Optical Fibres
Optical fibres are used extensively in the field of telecommunications and medicine. In the
telecommunication field they are used as an alternative signal carrier to copper wires in the
telephone system. They are used to carrier digital signals in the form of light pulses over long
distances.

An optical fibre consists of a very thin core of high purity glass. The core is covered by a second
layer (cladding) also made from high purity glass. The cladding is less dense than the core and
has a lower refractive index. Remember, for total internal reflection to occur the light rays
must travel from a dense medium to a less dense medium. Thus light rays passing along the
core at an angle greater than the critical angle are totally internally reflected. The surface of the
high purity glass core acts like a perfect mirror and the light ray is continuously reflected along
the length of the optical fibre core. The cladding is covered with a protective plastic buffer
coating.

Advantages of Optical Fibres

Cost

Optical fibres are less expensive than copper wires.

Smaller Diameters

Optical fibres are thinner than copper wires allowing more fibres to be bundled together in a
given cable diameter. This allows for more information be it telephone conversations or
television channels to be passed through the cable.
Interference

Electrical signals in copper wires interfere with other copper wires bundled in the same cable.
As optical fibres carry light signals there is no interference between fibres bundled in the same
cable resulting in a clearer signal.

Power Transmitters

Due to little degradation of the optical fibre signal the signal only needs to be boosted after
long distances approximately 100km whereas for cooper cables this needs to be done a lot
more often after approximately 8km. Thus optical fibres require less power for transmission.

Diffraction

Diffraction is a characteristic displayed by all types of waves. When a wave encounters an

obstacle it does not go straight pass it rather it bends round it. Similarly, when waves encounter
a gap the waves spread out the other side of the gap. This characteristic of waves to bend
around obstacles and spread out past gaps is referred to as diffraction.

A ripple tank can be used to demonstrate diffraction in waves.

Remember:

The amount of diffraction depends on the size of the barrier or gap and the wavelength. Light
displays diffraction only when it passes through a very narrow gap or slit due to its very small
wavelength and this shows that light displays wave properties.
TV and Very High Frequency (VHF) Radio Waves

Radio and TV waves are also diffracted. TV and high frequency radio waves are electromagnetic
waves of short wavelengths (about a few meters). When a large barrier such as a tall building or
hill obstructs the line of sight from the transmitter the waves cannot bend enough resulting in
poor reception for receivers on the other side of the obstruction. In such instances a repeater
station is often erected on top of the obstacle so receivers on the other side of the obstacle
receive a strong signal.

Interference

The net effect of two (or more waves) meeting whilst travelling in the same medium is called
wave interference.

When two waves arrive in step they reinforce and when two waves arrive out of step they
cancel out. This can be shown by considering two waves travelling in opposite directions in a
rope.
In Step

When two identical waves meet such that the crest and the trough of one wave completely
overlaps with the crest and the trough of the second wave they are said to be in step.

Out of Step

When two identical waves meet such that the crest of one wave overlaps with the trough of the
second wave and the trough overlaps the crest they are said to be out of step.

Interference of Light

In order to explain the interference of light let us assume light from two sources with the same
wavelength and amplitude is projected onto a screen. The light from the two sources are also
vibrating in phase with each other i.e. the crest of one wave is produced at exactly the same
time as the crest from the second wave.

The light from two such sources will produce a pattern of the screen of alternating bright and
dark bands. This is a result of the interference of light between the two sources and the pattern
produced is called an interference pattern.

Where the crest from one wave source meets the crest from the second wave source they
reinforce to produce a wave of double the amplitude and a higher brightness, visible by the
bright bands in the interference pattern. This also happens at the points where two troughs
meet. This type of interference where the crests and troughs from two wave sources arrive at
the same time and reinforce is called constructive interference.
Where the crest from one wave source meets the trough from the second wave source the
resultant amplitude is zero so they cancel each other out and these points are shown by the
dark bands in the interference pattern. This type of interference where the crest from one
wave source arrives at the same time as the trough from a second wave source and they cancel
each other out is called destructive interference.

Sound is caused by mechanical vibrations transmitted through a solid, liquid and gas and
travel as a wave.

Sound refers to those vibrations with frequencies detectable by the human ear. This is in the
range 20 20,000 Hertz (Hz).

The animation of a vibrating diaphragm of a radio speaker below shows the generation and
propagation of a sound wave.
As the diaphragm of the speaker vibrates back and forth it disturbs the surrounding air
molecules. The air molecules then pass on the disturbance to adjacent air molecules. In this
way the originating disturbance from the speaker travels through air (the medium) via the air
molecule as a sound wave. The air molecules do not themselves travel from the speaker to the
ear rather they just vibrate to and fro.

As the air molecules move in the same direction as the wave, sound waves are therefore
longitudinal waves.

The wavelength of a sound wave is the distance between successive compressions or

rarefactions as shown in the diagram below.
Wavelength:

Distance between successive compressions or rarefactions.

Compressions:

Areas in the wave where the air molecules are pushed close together and so at a slightly higher
pressure.

Rarefaction:

Areas in the wave where the air molecules are further apart are at a slightly lower pressure.

No Medium, No Sound

In order for sound waves to propagate there needs to be a medium to carry the disturbances
produced by the vibrating object. In the case of sound waves in air the air molecules pass the
disturbances on to adjacent air molecules. In water the water molecules act as the propagating
medium and this is the case for any material i.e. glass, metals.

In regions such as space or in a vacuum sound waves cannot travel as there are no particles to
convey the disturbance from the vibrating object. This can be demonstrated by a simple
experiment by placing an alarm clock in a bell jar and removing the air.
Place an alarm clock in a bell jar connected to a vacuum pump with the alarm bell ringing. Start
the pump to remove the air from the bell jar. As the air is being removed from the jar the sound
of the alarm clock will slowly diminish. When all the air has been removed there will be will no
sound produced from the alarm clock although the bell will still be vibrating. This demonstrates
that sound waves cannot travel in a vacuum or in the absence of a medium.

Reflection and Refraction of Sound Waves

The animations below describe reflection and refraction of sound waves.
A musical note has three characteristics.

1. Pitch
2. Loudness
3. Quality (or tone)

Pitch

Pitch is a term used to describe how high or low a note a being played by a musical
instrument or sung seems to be.
The pitch of a note depends on the frequency of the source of the sound.
Frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz), with one vibration per second being equal to
one hertz (1 Hz).
A high frequency produces a high pitched note and a low frequency produces a low
pitched note.
Loudness

Loudness depends on the amplitude of the sound wave.

The larger the amplitude the more energy the sound wave contains therefore the
louder the sound.
Quality

This is used to describe the quality of the waveform as it appears to the listener.
Therefore the quality of a note depends upon the waveform.
Two notes of the same pitch and loudness, played from different instruments do not
sound the same because the waveforms are different and therefore differ in quality or
tone.

The same note from different instruments has different qualities because the sounds from
instruments are never pure notes, i.e. of one frequency, the only exception being a tuning fork.
Rather they consist of one main note which is predominant and other smaller notes called
overtones. The main note or fundamental note is also referred to as the first harmonic and if it
has a frequency f, the overtone with frequency 2f is called the second harmonic and the
overtone with frequency 3f is called the third harmonic and so on. The sum of all the harmonics
is the waveform and determines the quality of the sound.

Ultrasound or ultrasonic waves are sound waves with frequencies above 20,000 Hz. These
waves are undetectable by humans as they lie above the audible range.

Ultrasonic waves have high frequencies and short wavelengths.

We know that the velocity of sound waves in air is 330 m/s. Therefore for an audible sound
with frequency 1000 Hz we can calculate the wavelength using the wave equation.

velocity = wavelength x frequency

Rearranging equation,

wavelength = velocity/frequency
 wavelength = 330/1000

wavelength = 0.33m

However, if the sound is in the ultrasonic range for example 100,000 Hz then the wavelength
can be calculated as:

wavelength = 330/100000

wavelength = 0.0033 m = 0.33 cm

Hence the ultrasonic wave with is shorter wavelength can be transmitted as a beam and
undergoes little diffraction; these properties of ultrasound are put to use in various
applications.

Uses of Ultrasound

Echo Sounding

This technique is used to detect defects or flaws inside pieces of metal. It works on the principle
of a pulse of ultrasound being transmitted into a metal component to be assessed. A receiver
then picks up the echoes of the ultrasonic waves from different parts of the metal and shows
the results on a cathode ray oscilloscope. The animation below shows how ultrasonic echo
sounding works.
Pre Natal Scanning

Ultrasound waves are partially reflected at the boundaries between two different materials.
Ultrasound reflects well at the boundaries between soft tissue and air or bone and air. The
speed of ultrasound depends on the material in which it is travelling. Ultrasound waves travel
faster in dense materials as the molecules a packed tightly together and slower in less dense
materials. Thus in body tissue which is less dense ultrasound travels slowly with a
corresponding decrease in wavelength and in dense material like bones it travels faster with a
corresponding increase in wavelength. These properties of ultrasound are applied in pre natal
scanners. The animation below explains how a pre natal scanner works.

Ultrasound is used for pre-natal scanning to monitors the babys development in the uterus.
Ultrasound is emitted from a transducer which also detects the echoes which are analyzed by a
computer to give a moving picture of the baby on a screen. Ultrasound is reflected at the
boundaries between solid structures such as bones and muscles or tissues and body fluid
present in the womb and displayed on the screen as grey and white areas. Hollow area like the
eye sockets or heart chambers do not reflect the ultrasound as these appear as dark or black
areas. This technique can also be used to analyze soft organs like the liver or gall bladder.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Ultrasound Scanning

Advantages of Ultrasound Scanning

Ultrasound is a non-invasive technique i.e. it does not need to
go beneath the skin or enter any orifice making it painless.
Ultrasound does not produce any harmful radiations thus
 making it safe for monitoring unborn babies.
It is a low cost and easy procedure therefore reducing the
demand of hospital resources.
It can display real time images of the movement and function
of body organs and blood vessels.

Disadvantage of Ultrasound Scanning

Ultrasound does not reflect clearly from bone or air thus
giving it limitations. For images of the lungs and bones other
techniques are clearer and therefore preferred.