PHY11101 - Mechanical Waves

Mechanical Waves and Vibrating Bodies
Mechanical waves:
A wave is a method of transferring energy from one place to another without
transferring matter. Mechanical waves are those that require a medium for their
transfer. Water waves, sound waves, waves in stretched strings, etc are examples of
mechanical waves.
A disturbance at a position causes a disturbance of a particle that drags its neighbour's

particles along with it until the disturbance reaches a new position. If the disturbance at
the source continues, the wave is maintained, and if it is simple harmonic, then a plot
of the displacement of the particles at a single point in time is a sine curve. This is the
basic nature of a mechanical wave that is considered when looking at mechanical
waves.
There are two basic types of wave motion for mechanical waves: longitudinal waves
and transverse waves.
Figure 1: Longitudinal and transverse wave

Longitudinal waves:
A longitudinal wave is a wave in which particles of the medium move in a direction
parallel to the direction which the wave moves.
Transverse waves:
A transverse wave is a wave in which particles of the medium move in a direction
perpendicular to the direction which the wave moves.
Mathematical description of a wave:

We consider a stretched string which in its equilibrium position lies along the x- axis of
a coordinate system. During wave motion each particle, labeled by its equilibrium x, is
displaced some distance y in the transverse direction. The value of y depends on
which particle of string is being described (that is, on x) and also on the time t at which
we look at it. Thus y is a function of x and t: y = f (x, t). Once the function y = f (x, t) is
known, it constitutes a complete description of the motion. Such a function is called a
wave function.
As a sinusoidal wave travels from left to right on a string, each particle undergoes
simple harmonic motion, but successive particles have left end (at x = 0) where the
motion originates. Let the displacement of a particle at the origin (x = 0) be given by
y  Asin t  Asin 2ft …………. (1)
Amrita Khan/Lecturer, SECS 1

PHY 111
The time required for the wave disturbance to travel from x = 0 to some point x to the
right of the origin is given by x/c, c is the wave speed. The motion of a point at time t is
the same as the motion of point x = 0 at the earlier time t – x/c. Thus the displacement
of point x at time t is obtained simply by replacing t in eq. (1) by (t – x/c), and we find
 x  x
yx, t   A sin   t    A sin 2f  t   ……….. (2)
 c  c
The notation y(x, t) is a reminder that the displacement y is a function of both the
location x of the point and the time t.
Eq. (2) can be rewritten in several alternative forms, conveying the same information in
different ways. In terms of the period T and wavelength , we find
 fx 
y x, t   As in 2  ft  
 c 
 t x  
 yx, t   A sin 2    ............... (3)
1
 T  f & c  f 
T    
Another convenient form is obtained by defining a quantity k, called the propagation
constant or wave number as k = 2. In terms of k and w, eq. (3) can be written as
 2t 2x 
yx, t   A sin   
 T  
 2 2 
 yx, t   A sin t  kx………….. (4)    &k 
 T  
The above formulas may be used to represent a wave traveling in the negative x-
direction by making a simple modification. In this case the displacement of point x at
time t is the same as the motion of point x = 0 at the later time (t + x/c), and in eq. (1)
we must replace t by (t + x/c). Thus, for a wave traveling in the negative x- direction
 x  t x
yx, t   A sin 2f  t    A sin 2     A sin t  kx …….. (5)
 c T  
Particle speed: The particle speed v for any point in a transverse wave (that is, at a
fixed point of x) is obtained by taking the derivative of y with respect to t, holding x
constant. Thus for a sinusoidal wave given by eq. (4), we have
y
v  A cost  kx
t
Acceleration: The acceleration of the point is the second partial derivative of eq. (4)
v  2 y
a    2 A sin t  kx
t t 2
Principle of superposition:
When a continuous succession of waves, such as a sinusoidal wave, arrives at a fixed
end of the string, a corresponding continuous succession of reflected waves originates
at this end and travels in the opposite direction. The resulting motion of the string is
determined by an extremely important principle known as the principle of
superposition, which states that the actual displacement of any point on the string, at
any time, is obtained by adding the displacement that point would have if only the first
wave were present, and the displacement it would have with only the second wave.
Mathematically, if y1(x, t) and y2(x, t) are the wave functions of the two separate waves,
then according to the principle of superposition the wave function describing the
resulting motion is the summation of the wave function of these waves, i.e. y1 + y2.

PHY 111
Standing waves:
Standing wave patterns are produced as the result of the repeated interference of two
waves of identical frequency while moving in opposite directions along the same
medium. All standing wave patterns consist of nodes and antinodes.
Standing wave patterns are characterized by certain fixed points along the medium
which undergo no displacement. These points of no displacement are called nodes.
The nodes are always located at the same location along the medium, giving the entire
pattern an appearance of standing still (thus the name “standing waves”).
Nodes Antinodes
Figure 2: Standing waves
Midway between every consecutive nodal point there are points which undergo
maximum displacement. These points are called antinodes. Antinodes are points
along the medium which oscillate back and forth between a large positive
displacement and a large negative displacement.
The wave function for the standing waves can be obtained by adding the
displacements of two waves of equal amplitude, time period, and wavelength, traveling
in opposite directions. Thus, if
y1  A sin t  kx (positive x- direction),
y2   Asin t  kx (negative x- direction),
Then the wave function of the standing wave is
y1  y2  Asin t  kx  sin t  kx
  t  kx  t  kx   t  kx  t  kx 
 y1  y2  A2 cos  sin  
  2   2 
 y1  y2  A2 cost  sin kx
 y1  y2  2 A cost sin kx …………. (1)
Therefore, the shape of the string at each instant is a sine curve whose amplitude (i.e.
2Acost), varies with time.
The positions of nodes can be obtained from eq. (1). Wherever sinkx = 0, the
displacement is always zero. This occurs when
kx = 0, , 2, 3,…….
or
x = 0, /k, 2/k, 3/k,........
or
x = 0, /2, , 3/2,…….
Problems for practice: Exercise 21-3, 21-4, 21-5, etc

PHY 111

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Mechanical Waves and Vibrating Bodies

A disturbance at a position causes a disturbance of a particle that drags its neighbour's

Figure 1: Longitudinal and transverse wave

Mathematical description of a wave:

Amrita Khan/Lecturer, SECS 1

Amrita Khan/Lecturer, SECS 2

Figure 2: Standing waves

Amrita Khan/Lecturer, SECS 3

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