Physics 212 Lecture: "Introduction to Waves." Feb 2, 1998

• A wave is a disturbance which travels from one place to another, carrying energy with it
• Transverse waves have displacements perpendicular to the direction of travel (light waves, plucked strings)
• Longitudinal waves have displacements parallel to the direction of travel (sound waves, pressure waves)
• One can describe a wave by its amplitude, wavelength, period and frequency
• The speed of a wave is the product of its wavelength and frequency
• Waves are an example simple harmonic motion, both in displacement vs. position, and in displacement vs. time
• The speed of a wave travelling down a plucked string depends on the tension and the linear mass density of the string

This lecture discusses material in Chapter 16 of Cutnell and Johnson.

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Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.