Wave motion



Wave Motion 2830
Photo by: yellowj

Wave motion is a disturbance that moves from place to place in some medium, carrying energy with it. Probably the most familiar example of wave motion is the action of water waves. A boat at rest on the ocean moves up and down as water waves pass beneath it. The waves appear to be moving toward the shore. But the water particles that make up the wave are actually moving in a vertical direction. The boat itself does not move toward the shore or, if it does, it's at a much slower rate than that of the water waves themselves.

The energy carried by a water wave is obvious to anyone who has watched a wave hit the shore. Even small waves have enough energy to move bits of sand. Much larger waves can, of course, tear apart the shore and wash away homes.

Types of wave motion

Two types of waves exist: transverse and longitudinal. A transverse wave is one that causes the particles of the surrounding medium to vibrate in a direction at right angles to the direction of the wave. A water wave is an example of a transverse wave. As water particles move up and down, the water wave itself appears to move to the right or left.

Words to Know

Amplitude: The maximum displacement (difference between an original position and a later position) of the material that is vibrating. Amplitude can be thought of visually as the highest and lowest points of a wave.

Condensation: A region of space with a higher-than-normal density.

Crest: The highest point reached by a wave.

Frequency: The number of wave crests (or wave troughs) that pass a given point per unit of time (usually per second).

Longitudinal wave: A wave that causes the particles of the surrounding medium to vibrate in the same direction as that in which the wave is moving.

Rarefaction: A region of space with a lower-than-normal density.

Transverse wave: A wave that causes the particles of the surrounding medium to vibrate in a direction at right angles to the direction of the wave motion.

Trough: The lowest point reached by a wave.

Wavelength: The distance between any two adjacent wave crests (wave crests that are next to each other) or any two adjacent wave troughs in a wave.

A longitudinal wave is one that causes the particles of the surrounding medium to vibrate in the same direction as that in which the wave is moving. A sound wave is an example of a longitudinal wave. A sound wave is produced when the pressure in a medium is suddenly increased or decreased. That pressure change causes pulses of rarefactions and condensations to spread out away from the source of the sound. A rarefaction is a region of space with a lower-than-normal density; a condensation is a region with a higher-than-normal density. The sound wave travels from one place to another as particles vibrate back and forth in the medium in the same direction as the sound wave.

Characteristics of a wave

Any wave can be fully characterized by describing three properties: wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. Like any wave, a water wave appears to move up and down in a regular pattern. The highest point reached by the wave is known as the wave crest; the lowest point reached is the wave trough (pronounced trawf).

The distance between any two adjacent (next to each other) wave crests or any two adjacent wave troughs is known as the wavelength of the wave. The wavelength is generally abbreviated with the Greek letter lambda, λ . The number of wave crests (or wave troughs) that pass a given point per unit of time (usually per second) is known as the frequency of the wave. Frequency is generally represented by the letter f. The highest point reached by a wave above its average height is known as the amplitude of the wave. The speed at which a wave moves is the product of its wavelength and its frequency, or, v = λ f.

Two kinds of waves most commonly encountered in science are sound waves and electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic radiation includes a wide variety of kinds of energy, including visible light, ultraviolet light, infrared radiation, X rays, gamma rays, radar, microwaves, and radio waves. As different as these forms of energy appear to be, they are all alike in the way in which they are transmitted. They travel as transverse waves with the same velocity, about 3 × 10 10 centimeters (1.2 × 10 10 inches) per second, but with different wavelengths and frequencies.

Properties of waves

Waves have many interesting properties. They can reflect from surfaces and refract, or change their direction, when they pass from one medium into another. An example of reflection is the light we observe that bounces off an object, allowing us to see that object. An example of refraction is the apparent dislocation of objects when they are placed underwater.

Waves also can interfere, or combine, with each other. For example, two waves can reach a particular point at just the right time for both to disturb the medium in the same way. This effect is known as constructive interference. Similarly, destructive interference occurs when the disturbances of different waves cancel each other out. Interference can also lead to standing waves—waves that appear to be stationary. The medium is still disturbed, but the disturbances are oscillating in place. Standing waves can occur only within confined regions, such as in water in a bathtub or on a guitar string that is fixed at both ends.

[ See also Acoustics ; Fluid dynamics ; Interference ; Light ]



User Contributions:

1
Jared
yea it's me again
how can use sit there talking bout waves when ther are all hot babes on the street
u shoud be thinking bout then not no waves
2
katrina bacong
what is the essence of physics in our daily lives?
is it needed even in our last day in the world?
3
V-Unit
Thanks jared, this stuff is really helpful. I am just starting IB Physics and this is really helping me to remember the terms required, however some are given a bit basic.tks
4
Wendy
THanks your site helped alot:) I help with something i had to do for school,
5
aidan
can you tell me why waves come in sets and how I might it explain it for my science project? thank you
6
Rachel R
hi i have a prodject that needs 7 types of waves i already have sound,water,seismic & radio waves i need 3 more my my computer is like YOU'VE BEEN DENIED!! please help
thank you..it's a big help your website to my knowledge and espicially to my report:).
why the frequency will not change when the wave moved one medium to another medium?
The topic is well treated,because all the important terms were explained properly
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11
zamira
i like this, but im doing a science fair project on how to create a fin that keeps the boat from moving back and forth. i've done alot of research and i still cant find what i need. so if there's something that you might know that can help me could you please write back. i would appreciate it. Thank you, and God bless you.
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13
Rubi
when the particles in a wave move do they move in a circular motion or do they move forward???
14
mrinalini
do wave motion depend on orientation(shape) of medium??
15
Sabreen
I know that waves can move through solids, but can a solid bar moves a wavy motion? for example a longitudinal wave wave motion?
16
Mary Da Pearl
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17
franklin
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18
Ryan Walker
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19
mazlan
It is extremely good write-up. Keep it up. Precise on elaborating the Head Chapters inclusive the true discussion. All info are important to initiate my basic understanding. Discussion on the wave flow and the distribution impact has helped me to start thinking for the class discussin.
I am very impressed on your idea, am student and your discussion have let remember some basic aspect of WAVE under motion.
21
Bikash
Practically what we see when an object is on the water surface it moves towards the shore, where as water partical's vibration is in the right angle direction of the wave propagation.but why the object moves towards the shore?

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