SOME IMPORTANT TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH WAVES AND SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

 

SOME IMPORTANT TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH WAVES AND SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

Oscillatory motion: The backward and forward motion of a body to its mean position and the path of the motion is called oscillatory motion. Some terms are related to oscillatory motion.

1. Cycle/ vibration: The complete one-round trip of a body is called a cycle.
2. Time period: The time in which the oscillatory body completes its round is called time period.
3. Frequency: The number of cycles an oscillatory object completes in one second is called frequency, and it is represented by f.
4. Displacement: In the motion, the distance of the oscillatory body to its mean position is called displacement.
5. Amplitude: When we displace an object, the maximum displacement is called the amplitude of the oscillatory object.
   
   
   

Simple harmonic motion: Backward and forward vibration or oscillation of a body along the same path is called simple harmonic motion. In simple harmonic motion, the force is directly proportional to the displacement. Mathematically

                                     Fα-x

This means that the greater the displacement the greater the force because the force is directly proportional to the displacement.

Simple pendulum: A simple pendulum is a type of simple harmonic motion that performs the oscillatory motion. A simple pendulum consists of an inextensible string, a bob and we consider the mass of the string to be negligible we displace the bob and the bob starts the oscillation about its mean position and neglects the air resistance this is the ideal case of a simple pendulum.    

Damping: Damping occurs only in the real pendulum, in damping the oscillation of the pendulum slows down with time, and this is a real-world problem because we see that when the pendulum starts oscillating after some time the oscillation of the body stops due to the friction and resistance force.

Waves and their types: A wave is a disturbance that carries energy from one point to another without the transfer of matter.  There are two types of waves mechanical and electromagnetic waves we can discuss below one by one.

1. Mechanical waves: mechanical waves are those types of waves in which the propagation waves need a medium for their propagation, without the material medium mechanical waves can not transform from one point to another, water waves and sound waves are examples of mechanical waves.
2. Electromagnetic waves: These types of waves for which the propagation does not require a medium for their propagation. These waves are a combination of travel of electric and magnetic fields, for example, visible and ultraviolet light, radio waves, etc. 

 The waves are classified in another way which can be explained below.

1. Transverse waves: In this type of wave the propagation and disturbance are perpendicular to each other, the disturbance is about their mean position but the waves propagate in the other parts which are perpendicular to the propagation.
2. Longitudinal waves: in this type of wave the propagation and disturbance are parallel to each other.

Characteristic of wave parameters: There are some characteristic wave parameters which are given below.

1. Wavelength: The length between two crusts is called wavelength.
2. Amplitude: The maximum distance of a wave from its mean position is called the amplitude of the wave.
3. Wave cycle: The one complete round of the wave Is called wave cycle.
4. Time period: The time in which the wave completes one round about its mean position is called the time period.
5. Frequency: The number of cycles completed in one second is called the frequency of waves.
6. Wave speed: The distance of the completed in unit time is called wave speed.