understanding waves and optical fibres

oscillation

repeating back and forth movement or up and down movement of a wave about a central equibrilium position

equibrillium

where forces cancel each other out

periodic time

amount of time it takes for one complete wave (T)

frequency

number of complete waves per second (f)

wavelength

distance between a waves peak to another waves peak (λ)

wave speed

how fast a wave moves per unit of time (v)

amplitude

the height of a wave (A)

displacement distance graphs

shows how far a wave has travelled from its resting position, it includes the wavelength and the amplitude

displacement time graphs

shows motion of a wave over time, it includes the periodic time and the amplitude

transverse wave

wave that moves perpendicular to the direction of the wave

longitudinal wave

wave that moves parallel to the direction of the wave

displacement

shows how far a wave has travelled from its resting position

coherence wave

two waves that have the same frequency and wavelength as well as have a constant phase difference

path difference

difference between the total distance two waves that have come from different sources to one point

phase difference

the difference angle between two points in a wave cycle

what is the phase difference measured in

radians or degrees

superposition

when two waves meet at a point, and they combine

constructive interference

when the peaks of waves line up with another waves peak and they make a bigger peak

destructive interference

when a waves peak meet with another waves trough and they cancel each other out

diffraction grating

glass that contains thousands of tiny cuts when light pass through it the light goes to the diffraction grating the light splits separates individual wavelengths

what is element identification

where each element can be identified since elements have a unique configuration of energy levels. The emitted photons create the emissions spectrum serving as an atomic fingerprint to identify gases

wave speed equation

wave speed = frequency x wavelength

stationary wave

when two waves that have the same frequency and amplitude travel in opposite directions and meet each other.

what does a superposition wave have

nodes

antinodes

nodes

where there is 0 amplitude

antinodes

where there is maximum amplitude

resonance

when driving frequency matches a natural frequency forming harmonic patterns.

how to find speed of a transverse wave on a string.

• v = Speed of transverse wave on string (m/s)

• T = Tension in the string (N)

• μ = Mass per unit length / linear density (kg/m)

transverse waves examples

• electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves, gamma waves etc)

• seismic p waves

• ripples of water

longitudinal waves examples

• sound waves

• slinky springs