Ripple Tank Project
Sarah Peterson, Matt Olson, Katie Kunkel, Trevor Currington
Introduction
Waves - A uniformly advancing disturbance in which the parts moved undergo a double oscillation; any wavelike pattern.
Wave theory - A theory in physics: light is transmitted from luminous bodies to the eye and other objects by an undulatory movement.
How waves are used in everyday life: Most of the information that we receive comes to us in the form of waves. You rely on waves to bring you music and TV. You can cook with waves, talk to others and see things all because of waves. Waves transfer energy in different forms, some are very useful, while others can be deadly.
Types of waves: 1.Longitudinal waves
In a longitudinal wave the particle displacement is parallel to the direction of wave propagation.
2.Transverse Waves - In a transverse wave the particle displacement is perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation.
Part 2: Simple Waves
Part 2: Simple Waves (Continued)
B. Plane Waves - Waves of constant frequency made up of planes that travel in parallel to one another (picture to the right is a plane wave)
C. Measurements : Wave Speed = Wavelength x Frequency
Frequency: 6.3 Hz
Wavelength: 0.01m
- Wave Speed: 0.063m/s
Part 3: Wave Interference
A. Dual Pin Interference- Two spherical waves that combine to form a wave whose amplitude is the sum of the amplitudes of the interfering waves.
B. Double Slit Interference-When a plane wave passes through two slits and transforms into two spherical waves that interfere with each other.
C. Types of Interference:
- Constructive Interference - When the crest of one wave overlaps the other waves' crest creating a bigger amplitude.
- Destructive Interference - The crest of one wave that's equal to the trough of another wave known as cancellation.
D. Difference Between the Dual Pin and Double slit: In the Dual Pin the waves don't go through two slits to cause the interference.
Part 4: Wave Reflection
A. Wave Reflection - A change in the direction that a wave travels when it bounces off a barrier between two kinds of media
B. The angle that reflects off the bar is called an incident angle. The incident ray, the reflect ray, and the normal to the reflection surface at the point of the incidence lie in the same plane.
Angle of Reflection - the angle at which the waves bounce off the given block
- 90 degrees
- 43 degrees
- 58 degrees
C. A ray of light observed approaching and reflecting off of a flat mirror, then the behavior of the light as it reflects would follow a predictable law known as The Law of Reflection
Part 5: Wave Diffraction
Diffraction is the bending of waves, especially sound and light waves, around obstacles in their path. In picture A you can see a simple diffraction. It refracts the wave through the opening between the two blocks; As the blocks are moved further away they create a larger diffraction.
In picture B, it shows the tri-blockshows another form of diffraction.
In picture C, it shows the blocks at a 45 degree angle and yet again another example of diffraction.
Part 6: Doppler Effect
The Doppler effect can be observed for any type of wave - water wave, sound wave, light wave, etc. Most familiar with the Doppler effect because of our experiences with sound waves.
Example: When a police car or emergency vehicle was traveling towards you on the highway. As the car approached with its siren blasting, the pitch of the siren sound (a measure of the siren's frequency) was high; and then suddenly after the car passed by, the pitch of the siren sound was low.
That was the Doppler effect - an apparent shift in frequency for a sound wave produced by a moving source.