Waves
Posted: April 13th, 2012, 7:06 pmWaves
All waves are travelling disturbances that carry energy from place to place.
Mechanical Waves
Transverse - a wave in which the direction of vibration of the particles is perpendicular to direction in which the wave travels
Longitudinal - a wave in which the direction of vibration of the particles is parallel to direction in which the wave travels
Characteristics
Wave length (λ) - the shortest distance between repeating points on a wave. Unit: meters (base, can be centimeters, nanometers etc)
Frequency (f) - the number of cycles in a given amount of time. Unit: Hertz (Hz)
Amplitude (A) - the maximum displacement of a wave particle from equilibrium. Unit: meters (base, can be centimeters, nanometers etc)
Period (T) - the time it takes one wave to go through one vibration
Wave speed/velocity:
V = λ/T = λf
All waves are travelling disturbances that carry energy from place to place.
Mechanical Waves
Transverse - a wave in which the direction of vibration of the particles is perpendicular to direction in which the wave travels
Longitudinal - a wave in which the direction of vibration of the particles is parallel to direction in which the wave travels
Characteristics
Wave length (λ) - the shortest distance between repeating points on a wave. Unit: meters (base, can be centimeters, nanometers etc)
Frequency (f) - the number of cycles in a given amount of time. Unit: Hertz (Hz)
Amplitude (A) - the maximum displacement of a wave particle from equilibrium. Unit: meters (base, can be centimeters, nanometers etc)
Period (T) - the time it takes one wave to go through one vibration
Wave speed/velocity:
V = λ/T = λf