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Introduction

This chapter forms the basis of the discussion into mechanical waves. Waves are all around us, even though most of us are not aware of it. The most common waves are waves in the sea, but waves can be created in any container of water, ranging from an ocean to a tea-cup. Waves do not only occur in water, they occur in any kind of medium. Earthquakes generate waves that travel through the rock of the Earth. When your friend speaks to you he produces sound waves that travel through the air to your ears. Light is made up of electromagnetic waves. A wave is simply moving energy.

What is a medium ?

In this chapter, as well as in the following chapters, we will speak about waves moving in a medium. A medium is just the substance or material through which waves move. In other words the medium carries the wave from one place to another. The medium does not create the wave and the medium is not the wave. Therefore the medium does not travel with the wave as the wave propagates through it. Air is a medium for sound waves, water is a medium for water waves and rock is a medium for earthquakes (which are also a type of wave). Air, water and rock are therefore examples of media (media is the plural of medium).

Medium

A medium is the substance or material in which a wave will move.

In each medium, the atoms that make up the medium are moved temporarily from their rest position. In order for a wave to travel, the different parts of the medium must be able to interact with each other.

What is a pulse ?

Investigation : observation of pulses

Take a heavy rope. Have two people hold the rope stretched out horizontally. Flick the rope at one end only once.

What happens to the disturbance that you created in the rope? Does it stay at the place where it was created or does it move down the length of the rope?

In the activity, we created a pulse . A pulse is a single disturbance that moves through a medium. In a transverse pulse the displacement of the medium is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the pulse. [link] shows an example of a transverse pulse. In the activity, the rope or spring was held horizontally and the pulse moved the rope up and down. This was an example of a transverse pulse.

Pulse

A pulse is a single disturbance that moves through a medium.

Transverse Pulse

A pulse where all of the particles disturbed by the pulse move perpendicular (at a right angle) to the direction in which the pulse is moving.

Pulse length and amplitude

The amplitude of a pulse is a measurement of how far the medium is displaced momentarily from a position of rest. The pulse length is a measurement of how long the pulse is. Both these quantities are shown in [link] .

Amplitude

The amplitude of a pulse is a measurement of how far the medium is displaced from rest.

Example of a transverse pulse

The position of rest is the position the medium would be in if it were undisturbed. This is also called the equilibrium position. Sometimes people will use rest and sometimes equilibrium but they will also use to the two in the same discussion to mean the same thing.

Questions & Answers

I'm interested in biological psychology and cognitive psychology
Tanya Reply
what does preconceived mean
sammie Reply
physiological Psychology
Nwosu Reply
How can I develope my cognitive domain
Amanyire Reply
why is communication effective
Dakolo Reply
Communication is effective because it allows individuals to share ideas, thoughts, and information with others.
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Every time someone flushes a toilet in the apartment building, the person begins to jumb back automatically after hearing the flush, before the water temperature changes. Identify the types of learning, if it is classical conditioning identify the NS, UCS, CS and CR. If it is operant conditioning, identify the type of consequence positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment
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Wekolamo
because it helps many people around the world to understand how to interact with other people and understand them well, for example at work (job).
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ARC
A child is a member of community not society elucidate ?
JESSY Reply
Isn't practices worldwide, be it psychology, be it science. isn't much just a false belief of control over something the mind cannot truly comprehend?
Simon Reply
compare and contrast skinner's perspective on personality development on freud
namakula Reply
Skinner skipped the whole unconscious phenomenon and rather emphasized on classical conditioning
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explain how nature and nurture affect the development and later the productivity of an individual.
Amesalu Reply
nature is an hereditary factor while nurture is an environmental factor which constitute an individual personality. so if an individual's parent has a deviant behavior and was also brought up in an deviant environment, observation of the behavior and the inborn trait we make the individual deviant.
Samuel
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interpersonal relationships
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What would be the best educational aid(s) for gifted kids/savants?
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Source:  OpenStax, Physics - grade 10 [caps 2011]. OpenStax CNX. Jun 14, 2011 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11298/1.3
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