PHYS122 University of Waterloo

Physics for Physicists
Christopher ODonovan Version 0.1.2 April 4, 2010
ii
c 2005-2010 Christopher ODonovan Copyright This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives license http://creativecommons.org/.
Chapter 17 Universal Gravitation

17.1 Introduction
In this chapter the only new physics introduced is Newtons Law of Universal Gravitation, Eq 17.1, there are many concepts and much jargon that are used in other elds of physics, largely because in the historical development of physics the study of the motion of the planets occurred rst. There are two important properties of the gravitational force. First, it is a radial force (i.e. it is directed along the line joining = 0) and the centres of the bodies) it creates no torque (i.e. rF so angular momentum is conserved. And, second, it is a conservative force so mechanical energy is conserved. These two properties of gravitationally interacting systems, that both angular momentum and energy are conserved, allow us to solve many classes of problems that would be difcult or impossible using Newtons Second Law. Such problems are more easily tackled using Lagrangian or Hamiltonian mechanics, which were originally developed for exactly such problems. These more mathematically sophisticated forms of mechanics are not addressed in this chapter. 69
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CHAPTER 17. UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION

m1 F21 F12 m2
12 is the gravitational attraction of mass 1 Figure 17.1: The force F on mass 2. The vector r12 is from the centre of mass 1 to that of mass 2; r 12 is the unit vector in the same direction. From Newtons Third Law, the forces on each of the two masses are equal in magnitude and 12 = F 21 . opposite in direction, F
17.2
Newtons Other Law
Newtons law of universal gravitation is1 F12 = Gm1 m2 . 2 r12 (17.1)
The attractive gravitational force between two point masses is proportional to each of the masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the objects. The force is directed along the line joining the objects. The constant of proportionality, G, is the universal gravitational constant and, in SI units, is equal to 6.672 1011 N m2 /kg2 . For extended objects it is possible to calculate, using integral calculus, the gravitational attraction. Certain symmetries, however, make such calculations unnecessary. Happily, one such symmetry is that of a spherical object with uniform density, which we can treat as a point mass with all the mass concentrated at the centre of the sphere. The planet Earth, due to its rotation, has a radius at the equator slightly larger than that at the poles (it is an oblate spheroid). This difference, however, is a fraction of a percent so for all but the most sensitive calculations we can treat it as a sphere. Other celestial bodies have a similar attening that we can ignore for our purposes. The gravitational eld due to a spherical object of mass M is the
1
I dont know why this isnt called Newtons fourth law.
17.2. NEWTONS OTHER LAW gravitational force per unit mass, 2 g= GM r r2
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where r is the distance from the origin at the centre of the sphere and r is the unit vector in the radial direction. Problem 17.2.1. Clarke Orbit Consider the planet Earth and an articial satellite of mass m travelling in a circular orbit of radius r about it. (a) Use your knowledge of the universal gravitational constant, G, the radius of Earth, R , and the free fall acceleration at the Earths surface, g , to nd an expression for the mass of the Earth, M . Compare your answer to the accepted value. [answer: 5.9736 1024 kg] (b) Use dimensional analysis to derive an expression for the period of the satellite. (Your answer will involve the universal gravitational constant, G, along with M and r, the orbits radius.) (c) Draw the free body diagram of the satellite. Include on your diagram the acceleration, a, and velocity, v , vectors. Add to your diagram the radial and tangential .3 (d) Determine the period, T , of the satellite unit vectors, r and using appropriate equations. (Hint: For uniform circular motion the speed is a constant equal to one circumference per period.) (e) For what size orbit, rClarke , will the orbit be geosynchronous?4 Draw a sketch of this orbit along with the planet Earth. Add to your sketch the rotational axis of Earth.
Similarly, the electric eld is the electric force (Coulombs Law) per unit charge. In each case the vector eld associates a vector quantity with each point in space (except at singularities). Since the gravitational force couples with mass the gravitational eld is the force per unit mass; for the electric or Coulomb force, the corresponding eld is the force per unit charge. 3 These are the unit vectors for a polar coordinate system. The radial unit , points vector, r , points away from the origin and the tangential unit vector, in the direction of increasing , the polar angle. Interestingly, these unit vectors = & move with changing and so their time derivatives are not constant, r = r . 4 An object in a geosynchronous orbit will appear stationary to an observer on the surface of the planet Earth. Such an orbit is commonly used for communications satellites and was rst proposed for this use in 1945 by noted science ction author Arthur C. Clarke; consequently this orbit is also known as a Clarke orbit.
2
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periapsis apoapsis
r v
Figure 17.2: For an object in a circular orbit, left, the centripetal force must be equal to the objects mass multiplied by the centripetal acceleration, a = v2/r. For an object in an elliptical orbit, right, things are more complicated. When a planet is farthest from the Sun it is said to be at aphelion; at closest approach it is at perihelion. For an object in orbit about the Earth the corresponding terms are apogee and perigee. The general terms are apoapsis and periapsis.
17.3
Keplers Laws
Historically, Kepler deduced his three eponymous and empirical laws in 1605, thirty-eight years before Newton was born and they were an attempt to account for the observed discrepancies in the motion of the various planets. They came almost a century after Nicolaus Copernicus heliocentric universe started modern astronomy by initiating the paradigm shift from the geocentric to the heliocentric universe. In Copernicus model the planets had circular orbits around the Sun; Kepler improved this model by postulating that the orbits were actually ellipses with the Sun at one of the foci of the ellipses.
17.3.1
Keplers First Law
All planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus. The planets known to Kepler have orbits that are almost circular so the discrepancy between their observed positions and that predicted by Copernicus circular orbits was small but measurable. We already know from our study of uniform circular motion in Ch. 10 that the acceleration, a, speed, v , and radius, r, are each constant and are related by the expression v 2 = ar. For elliptical
17.3. KEPLERS LAWS

y
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a c b x a = semi-major axis b = semi-minor axis c = linear eccentricity e = c/a = eccentricity
foci
Figure 17.3: An ellipse, like other conic sections, is created by the intersection of a plane with a right, circular cone (left); for an ellipse the angle between the plane and the axis of the cone must be between /2 and half angle, . An ellipse is characterized (right) by the lengths of its semi-major and semi-minor axes, a and b. Other quantities of interest for an ellipse are the linear eccentricity, c, and the eccentricity, e. These latter two quantities are not independent of the former two.
motion all three quantities vary with position and there is no simple relationship between them. However, angular momentum and energy are conserved for either orbit so we can still perform many calculations. In particular, at the apses, where the velocity and position vectors are perpendicular, the angular momentum is easy to calculate. (The apses are the points closest, periapsis, and farthest, apoapsis, from the object being orbited; see Fig. 17.2.) There are many ways to describe ellipses. The most basic is discussed in Fig. 17.3 while another is that it is the locus of points such that the sum of the distances from two points, called the foci, is a constant. Using this denition we can draw an ellipse with two pins and a length of string by placing the two pins at the foci and creating a loop from the string with length 2a + 2c, where a is the semi-major axis and c is the linear eccentricity (see Fig. 17.3). Problem 17.3.1. Elliptical Questions Consider the diagram of an ellipse shown on the right in Fig. 17.3. (a) Show that the sum of the distance of the point (b, 0) to the foci is 2a + 2c. (b) By considering the triangle with apices at the two foci and (a, 0), nd a relationship between a, b and c. (Hint: The sum of the distances of the point (0, a) to the foci may be helpful.) (c) If the eccentricity of an ellipse is e = 0.017, what is the ratio a/b?
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Problem 17.3.2. Elliptical Orbits If a comet (which orbits the sun in a highly elliptical orbit) has an perihelion of rP and a period of T (a) determine its aphelion, rA and (b) show that for a circular orbit with rP = R you get the expected result for rA .
17.3.2
Keplers Second Law
The radius vector drawn from the Sun to a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times. Problem 17.3.3. Angular Momentum and Keplers Second Law In time t a planet in an elliptical orbit sweeps out an area of dA as r where it moves a distance r is the position vector relative to the sun which is located at one of the foci of the ellipse. (a) Draw a diagram of the area A along with the vectors r and r. (b) On the r. (c) What is the relationship same diagram indicate the area r between your answers to (a) and (b)? (d) Multiply your answer to (b) by m, the mass of the planet, divide it by t and take the t 0 limit of the result. What is this quantity? (e) If there is no torque on the planet what can you say about your answer to (d)? (f) What can you conclude about the quantity dA found in (a)?
17.3.3
Keplers Third Law
The square of the orbital period is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of the elliptical orbit. Problem 17.3.4. Circular Thirds Consider an object in a circular orbit of radius r. It experiences a centripetal force given by Newtons Law of Universal Gravitation, Eq. 17.1. (a) Draw the free body diagram of an object of mass m undergoing uniform circular motion about an object of mass M . (b) Newtons Second Law along with Newtons Law of Universal Gravitation, Eq. 17.1, and the usual expression for centripetal acceleration to nd an expression for the square of the objects velocity, v 2. (c) For uniform circular motion the velocity is a constant equal
17.4. ENERGY OF GRAVITATIONAL SYSTEMS

U r
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Figure 17.4: The zero for the gravitational potential energy for a point mass at the origin is dened as the point at innity so that no unnecessary and arbitrary constants are introduced, giving Eq. 17.2. As a consequence, the gravitational potential energy is always negative, U r1 .
to one circumference per period, T . Use this to nd a relationship between the period and radius of the orbit.
17.4
Energy of Gravitational Systems
Since the work done by the gravitational force depends only upon the initial and nal congurations it is a conservative force and, rather than calculating the work done along a trajectory, we can use, instead, the change in the appropriate potential energy 2 1 1 d U12 = W12 = F r = GM m . r2 r1 1 Since it is only a change in a potential energy that has any physical meaning we can choose any arbitrary point as the zero of potential energy. It is both convenient and conventional to choose the point at innity as the this point; the gravitational potential energy is then U = GM m . r (17.2)
Note that this expression is always negative as r in this equation is always positive (were using a spherical coordinate system) and that the total energy of a gravitationally bound system is always negative
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(i.e. if the energy is positive then the objects do not form a bound system). See Fig. 17.4. If M m then we can consider the centre of the mass M as an inertial reference frame (why?) and the mechanical energy of the system is GM m E =K +U = 1 mv 2 . 2 r However, if the two masses are comparable in size then we cannot assume that M m and the two objects will orbit their common centre of mass. If M m then we would have to include both kinetic energies in our calculation of the mechanical energy. If there were several bodies the mechanical energy would have a kinetic energy for each body as well as a potential energy for each possible pair of bodies, E= Binding Energy The binding energy of a system is the energy required to separate the system so that all parts are innitely far apart and all their velocities are zero. Because of our choice for the zero of gravitational potential energy, the binding energy is the energy we need to add to make the mechanical energy zero. Consequently it is the negative of the total energy of the system. Problem 17.4.1. Circular Binding Consider a planet of mass m in an elliptical orbit about a star of mass M m with a radius r. (cf. Pr. 26.5.1) (a) Draw the free body diagram of the planet. (b) What is the acceleration, a, of the planet? (c) What is the speed, v , of the planet in its circular orbit? (d) What is the total mechanical energy, E = K + U , of the planet? (e) Use your result to (c) to nd the kinetic energy, K , of the planet in terms of the radius of its orbit, r. (f) What is the kinetic energy, K , of the planet in terms of its gravitational potential energy, U ? (This is a special 1 G mi mj 2 mi vi . 2 i 2 i,j,i=j rij
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case of the virial theorem.5 ) (g) User your result from (f) to nd a simple expression for the energy, E . [answer: E = GM m/2r, for a more general result see Pr. 17.4.2.] Problem 17.4.2. Elliptical Binding This problem is on the practice exam. One of its results is that the energy of a an object of mass m in an elliptical orbit about an object of mass M m is E = GM m/2a, where a is the semi-major axis. Example 17.4.1. Binding Energy Consider a satellite of mass m which is in a circular orbit of radius r1 about Earth (which has a mass M m). As the systems on board the satellite start to fail due to its advanced age it must be ejected so as not to contribute to the growing sea of space junk about Earth. (a) What is the initial energy, E1 , of the satellite? (b) What is the speed, v1 , of the satellite? (c) A powerful rocket engine is red for a short time, increasing the speed of the satellite by 10%. The initial and nal velocity vectors are parallel. What is the satellites new energy, E2 ? (d) The orbit is now elliptical and the satellite is at perigee. What is the length of the semi-major axis, a? (e) What is the maximum distance of the satellite from the centre of the Earth, r3 ? (f) If, instead, the rocket increased the speed of the satellite by a factor of 2 what would be the satellites energy, E4 ? (g) What would be the maximum distance of the satellite for this case? Solution (a) From Prob. 17.4.1 we know that the energy of an object in a circular orbit is GM m E1 = . 2r1
The virial theorem tells us that if the potential is proportional to rn then the average kinetic energy is equal to n 2 times the average potential energy. For a circular orbit the kinetic and potential energies are constant and so this is an exact relationship. For the case of a circular orbit this result can also be found as a result of Newtons Second Law.
5
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(b) We recall that for a circular orbit the kinetic energy is

2 K1 = 1 U 1 mv1 = 2 1 2
GM m 2r1
so its speed is v1 =
(c) The new kinetic energy is K2 = 1 m(v1 + v )2 = 1 m( 11 v )2 2 2 10 and the potential energy is unchanged, so E2 = 121GM m GM m 79GM m = . 200r1 r1 200r1
GM/r1
(d) We know from Pr. 17.4.2 that the energy of an object in an elliptical orbit is E = GM m/2a so E2 = 79GM m = GM m/2a a = 200r1
100 r. 79 1
Since 2a = ra + rp and the radius of the initial orbit is now the closest distance, rp = r1 , the maximum distance is r3 = 2a r1 = an increase of more than 50%. (e) The new kinetic energy would be K4 = 1 m ( 2v1 )2 = 2K1 = 2 U1 and the total energy would be E4 = K4 + U1 = 0. (f) The maximum distance would be innite. The satellite would have reached its escape velocity. Doubling the kinetic energy of an object in a circular orbit added enough energy to make the total energy zero, an amount called the binding energy. Example 17.4.2. Escape Speed Consider an object of mass m that is red vertically upward with speed v from the surface of a spherical, airless, non-rotating planet of mass M m and radius R. (a) What is the initial energy of the object, Ei ? (b) What is the speed of the object, vh , when it
200 r 79 1
r1 =
121 r, 79 1
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is a height h above the surface of the planet? (c) What is the maximum height, hmax , of the object? (d) The escape speed is the initial vertical velocity required for an object at the surface of a planet to just not return to the planet. What is the escape speed, vesc , of this planet? (e) What is the energy, Eesc , of the object if it initially has exactly the escape speed? Solution (a) E =K +U = 1 mv 2 2 (b) The energy at height h is
2 Eh = 1 mvh 2
GM m R
GM m . R+h
Energy is conserved so we can equate this to the result from (a) and rearrange to get 1 1 2 2 vh = v + 2GM . R+h R (c) The maximum height occurs when vh = 0. Using this in our answer to (c) and solving for h gives h= 2GM R . 2 2GM vi R
(d) The initial velocity for the escape speed occurs when the denominator of the answer to (d) is zero: 2GM vesc = . R (e) Substituting the answer to (f) into that of (a) gives 2GM GM m 1 Eesc = 2 m = 0. R R
This is exactly what we would expect: The system for this case is just barely not bound so the total energy is zero.
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Figure 17.5: Einstein rings are formed when the rays of light from an object are bent by an intense gravitational eld like, for example, that of a galaxy which acts as a gravitational lens. In these images from the Hubble Space Telescope
17.5
General Relativity
There are some observations that are in slight disagreement with Newtons Universal Gravitation. One of them is the precession of the perihelion of the orbits of the planet Mercury, for which there is a discrepancy of 43 arcseconds per century. A second is the deection of light by gravity (which can be accurately observed during a solar eclipse) which is twice that predicted by Newtons theory. These discrepancies are accounted for by Einsteins theory of General Relativity. The instantaneous action at a distance of Newtons theory is replace by mass curving space and objects travelling on geodesic curves.6 In General Relativity Newtons Universal Gravitation is replaced by the Einstein Field Equations which in tensor form are 1 8 G R g R + g = 4 T , 2 c where R is the curvature tensor, g is the metric tensor, R is the scalar curvature is the cosmological constant, T is the stressenergy tensor, c is the speed of light, and G is the same gravitational constant as in Newtons Universal Gravitation. This is a concise
A geodesic is the shortest path between two points. In a at space it is a straight line but in a curved space they are no longer straight. As a specic example, on a sphere a great circle is a geodesic. In General Relativity an object moving on an inertial path traces a geodesic.
6
17.5. GENERAL RELATIVITY
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Figure 17.6: In this image from the Hubble Space Telescope a particle jet is emerging from a black hole at the centre of the M87 galaxy, fty million light years away from our galaxy. The black hole has a mass billions of times that of our Sun.
form of ten non-linear, partial differential equations. If the gravitational eld is weak then these equations reduce to Newtons Universal Gravitation. Solving the Einstein Field Equations is quite difcult and is best left for a more advanced course.
17.5.1
Black Holes
A black hole is an object that is so massive that the escape speed is greater than the speed of light. The radius from such an object for which the escape speed is exactly the speed of light is called the Schwarzschild Radius. The spherical surface with this radius is called the event horizon as events beyond this surface are not observable. The presence of a black hole can be inferred by its interaction with objects nearby. Most dramatically, the effect called gravitational lensing in which a multiple images of, for example, a galaxy behind a large compact object are formed in what are known as Einstein rings (see Fig. 17.5). Astronomers are condent that there is a black hole at the centre of our galaxy with a mass millions of times the mass of our Sun. Problem 17.5.1. Dark Events
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The event horizon of a black hole is the geometric surface where the escape velocity is equal to the speed of light, c. (a) If a black hole has a mass N times that of the Sun, M , what will be the radius of the event horizon, reh ? (b) If an astronaut of height h is orbiting this black hole with an orbit of radius r and her feet toward this black hole what will be the difference, g , between the gravitational elds felt by her head and her feet? (Assume that her centre of mass is at her geometric centre.) (c) If this is more than a few times the gravitational eld on the surface of the Earth, gE , it will be quite uncomfortable. At approximately what distance from the black hole, rp , will g = gE if N = 10 and h = 2 m? (M = 2 1030 kg and the binomial expansion, (1 x)n = 1 + nx + 1 n(n + 1)x2 + 2 1 n(n + 1)(n + 2)x3 + ..., |x| < 1, may be useful) (d) What is the 6 ratio rp /reh ?
17.6
Further Problems
Problem 17.6.1. Astronomical Unit The Earths orbit is roughly circular (e = 0.017) and has a period of one year. The centre to centre average Earth-Sun distance is called an Astronomical Unit (AU). (a) Determine the length of an AU in SI units given that the mass of the Sun is M = 2 1030 kg. (b) Determine the radius of Mars orbit, in AU, given that it is roughly circular and that its period is about two years. Problem 17.6.2. Halleys Comet Halleys comet has a perihelion of 0.6 AU and a period of 76 years. (a) What is its aphelion, rA ? (b) What is the eccentricity of this orbit? (c) What is the speed of the comet at perihelion? (d) What is the speed of the comet at aphelion relative to that at perihelion, rA /rP ? Problem 17.6.3. Pulsar A binary pulsar consists of two neutron stars orbiting their mutual centre of mass. If each star has a mass of M and a period T determine the separation, d, between the two stars (a) using dimensional analysis and (b) analytically.
17.6. FURTHER PROBLEMS

RE rB
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vi vf
Figure 17.7: Lunar Baseball
Problem 17.6.4. Geosynchronous Satellite A geosynchronous satellite is a satellite whose orbital period is the same as that of the earth, T = 24 hours. If the mass of the earth is MEarth = 5.98 1024 kg determine the speed at which the satellite travels. (Answer in m/s.) Check the dimensionality of your result. Problem 17.6.5. Lunar Baseball A baseball pitcher located on the surface of the Earth (radius RE ) pitches a baseball horizontally to a batter in circular orbit around the Earth, at a radial distance rB from the centre of the Earth. See diagram; ignore air resistance and the rotation of the Earth. Thrown with an initial speed vi the baseball enters an elliptical orbit, and is moving with a speed vf when it reaches the batter. Notice that the batters orbital speed in the clockwise direction is greater than vf , so from his point of view the baseball is coming straight at him, as in the usual game of baseball! (a) Determine the required pitch speed, vi , and express it as a fraction of vesc , the escape speed of any object from the surface of the Earth. (b) Determine vf using conservation of angular momentum, and express your answer as a fraction of vi . (c) Considering the period of the elliptical orbit, how long, t, will it take for the ball to reach the batter? (d) What is the binding energy, Eb , of the ball while on its elliptical trajectory from pitcher to batter? (e) Notice that if the batter simply bunts the ball when it crosses home plate, i.e. bats the ball so that it comes to rest relative to him, he has effectively hit a home run: the ball is now in a circular orbit about the Earth at a radial distance rB ! Determine E , the resulting change in the balls total energy.
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Problem 17.6.6. Light Headed Consider an object of mass m on the surface of a spherical, airless, non-rotating planet of mass M m and radius R. (a) What is the free-fall acceleration due to gravity, g (R)? (b) If the object is raised to a height h above the surface of the planet what would be the change in the free fall acceleration due to gravity, g = g (R + h) g (R)? (c) Perform a binomial expansion on your answer to (b) assuming that R h, and so nd an expression for the fractional change in the free-fall acceleration due to gravity, g/g , as a function of height above the surface, h. (d) What is g (r), the free-fall acceleration due to gravity at a distance r from the centre of the planet? Assume r > R. (e) What is the natural logarithm of your result from (d), ln (g (r))? Write your answer as y = mx + b d where y = ln g and x = ln r. (f) What is dr ln (g (r))? (g) For small values of r we can write dr r and dg g . Use this and your result from (e) to nd an expression for the fractional change in the free-fall acceleration due to gravity, g/g , due to a change in r. Compare your answer to that of part (c). Problem 17.6.7. Gravitational Tunnelling It is straightforward to show, using integral calculus, that the gravitational force on an object of mass m at a depth x inside a uniform, spherical object of density and radius R is equal the gravitational force on the same object caused by a uniform sphere of the same density and centre with a radius equal to the distance to the centre, R x (i.e. only the part of the sphere below the object has a net gravitational effect upon the object). (a) What is the mass of a sphere, M (x), of density and radius R x? (Hint: Check that you get the expected result for x = 0.) (b) What is the magnitude of the net force, F (x), the object as a function of depth? Choose down as the positive direction. (Hint: Check that you get the expected results for x = R and x = 0.) (c) What is the acceleration, x , of the object? (Hint: Check that you force is positive in the down direction.) (d) If there was a tunnel through the centre of a uniform, non-rotating, airless planet of mass M and radius R and an object of mass m was dropped from the end of the tunnel, what is the objects position as a function of time, x(t)? Take t = 0 at the moment it is dropped (i.e. x(0) = x (0) = 0). (Hint: The substitution y = R x
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may be helpful in nding x(t). Alternatively, plotting what you expect x(t) to look like may be helpful dont forget that down is the positive direction.) (e) In order to deliver mail to the alien beings on the opposite end of this tunnel the mail is dropped at one end. How long, t , does it take to arrive at the opposite end?
Chapter 19 Elastic Properties of Solids

19.1 Introduction
Stress is the force per unit area applied to an object and is an intrinsic quantity. There are three different types of stress (see Fig. 19.1), tensile, shear and bulk. When a stress is applied to an object the resulting fractional deformation is called a strain; strain is also an intrinsic property. For small stresses we expect, in the spirit of Hookes Law, the strain to be proportional to the stress. The constant of proportionality is called the elastic modulus. stress elastic modulus = (19.1) strain and, as the ratio of two intrinsic quantities, is also an intrinsic quantity. As such, it is a property of the material the object is made from rather than of the specic object. A short table of elastic moduli is included on p. 99. Stress can be applied to an object in different ways: tensile stress, shear stress or bulk stress. If a material is not isotropic then the elastic moduli will be tensors rather than a scalars the stress vector and the resulting strain vector will not necessarily be parallel. Also, the stresses can be applied in some combination at the same time resulting in a more complicated deformation. For this chapter we will assume that the materials are isotropic and that the stresses are applied one at a time. 93
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CHAPTER 19. ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS
Tensile Stress
Shear Stress
Bulk Stress
Figure 19.1: There are three different ways to apply stress to an object. For tensile stress the applied forces are equal, opposite and colinear. For shear stress the applied forces are equal, opposite and not co-linear. For bulk stress the applied forces are everywhere perpendicular to the faces of the object.
19.2
Tensile Stress
If the forces are parallel and co-linear then the elastic modulus is know as Youngs Modulus, Y , the stress is the force per unit area, in which the area, A. is perpendicular to the applied forces, and the resulting strain is is the fractional change in length, /, parallel to the forces F/A Y = . (19.2) / We would expect that when a material is stretched in one direction it would contract in the other two dimensions. The ratio of the longitudinal to transverse strain is known as Poisons Ratio. A perfectly incompressible material would have no change in volume and a Poissons Ratio of 0.5; in practice when a material is deformed the molecular bonds change in length and the volume of the material does change by a generally tiny amount.1 For this chapter we will assume that the strains are small and any change in cross-sectional areas can be neglected.
Interestingly, there are materials with a negative Poissons Ratio materials that expand in the transverse direction when they are stretched.
1
19.2. TENSILE STRESS

stress fracture neck F
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strain
(a)
(b)
Figure 19.2: As the stress on an object is increased the strain is initially proportional to the stress (blue portion of curve on left) but shortly afterwards the material becomes permanently deformed (green region). For a brittle material the stress reaches a maximum as the material fractures. For a ductile material the the stress reaches a maximum and necking occurs (red region on left, cartoon on right) before the material fractures.
19.2.1
Tensile Strength
As the stress applied to an object is increased the corresponding strain will initially be linear (blue region of curve in Fig. 19.2.a) but then, as the stress is further increased, becomes non-linear (green region of curve). Shortly afterward entering this non-linear region the material becomes permanently deformed (i.e. it will not return to its original shape if the stress is removed); the stress that causes permanent deformation is called the yield strength of the material. What happens next depends upon the type of material the object is made from. If it is brittle then its ultimate strength, the stress at which the material fractures, occurs shortly afterwards. If, instead, the material is ductile then the stress will reach a maximum, called the ultimate strength, and then decrease as the material begins to neck (i.e. the cross-sectional area at one region of the material starts to decrease, see Fig. 19.2.b) before ultimately fracturing. Many materials have very differ stress-strain curves for compression. Materials such as concrete or stone are much stronger in com-
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A x F
h F
Figure 19.3: The geometry for a shear force is more complicated than that of either a tensile of bulk force. The displacement, x, is parallel to the applied forces, F , while the length h is the shortest distance between the parallel forces. The area A is perpendicular to the length h.
pression than in tension. And, of course, you cannot push a string.2 Problem 19.2.1. Youngs Modulus Consider a cable made of a material with Youngs modulus Y and length . (a) If it is to stretch no more than 0.1% when a mass m1 is suspended from its end what must be its radius, r1 ? (b) If it is to stretch by 5% when a mass m2 is suspended from its end what must be its radius, r2 ? (c) For the case in (a), what is the corresponding spring constant, k1 , and what would be the angular frequency, 1 , of any resulting oscillation? (d) For the case in (b), what is the corresponding spring constant, k2 , and what would be the angular frequency, 2 , of any resulting oscillation?
19.3
Shear Stress
If the applied forces are parallel but not co-linear then the material will undergo a shear stress and the shear modulus will be the relevant elastic modulus, F/A G= . (19.3) x/h
2
This is the rst law of String Theory.
19.4. BULK STRESS
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Here, h is the distance between the applied shear forces and x is the displacement of the material in the direction of the forces. Note that this strain, x/h, is intrinsic.3
19.3.1
Shear Strength
Materials can also fail due to excess shear stress. In general, ductile materials have lower shear strengths than brittle materials something known to anyone that has tried to cut cookies with scissors.4 Problem 19.3.1. Hole Punch Consider a sheet of metal of thickness d. The maximum shear stress of the metal is (i.e. if a larger shear stress is applied the metal will shear). (a) Determine the force, F1 , required to punch a hole of radius r through the metal sheet. (b) What force, F3 , is required to punch a hole with twice the radius, 2r, through the sheet of metal? (c) What force, F2 , is required to punch the original size hole, radius r, through a sheet of metal twice as thick? (d) Are your answers consistent with the maximum shear stress of the metal, , being an intrinsic property?
19.4
Bulk Stress
If the force is applied uniformly to the entire surface of an object, then the bulk modulus will be the relevant elastic modulus (although, really, this is just the three dimensional version of tensile stress). This occurs when a solid object is submerged in a uid or when a uid is compressed by, for example, a piston.5 The resulting stress is the change in pressure, P, caused by being submerged in the uid.
It may be helpful to think of holding a book horizontally between your palms and pushing one hand to the left and the other to the right. The resulting shear on the book will slide the pages past one-another, each page by a small amount. 4 Proper cookies that is, not the horrible uncooked pieces of dough that often pass for cookies now-a-days. Uncooked cookies are both oxymoronic and disgusting. 5 Interestingly, for an ideal gas at constant temperature the bulk modulus is equal to the pressure a property easily derived from Boyles Law, PV = constant, and the denition of the bulk modulus, Eq. 19.4.
3
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And the resulting strain is the fractional change in the volume of the object, V /V . P B= (19.4) V /V The bulk modulus is the reciprocal of the compressibility of the object. The minus sign is present to keep the bulk modulus positive for positive P, V will (usually) be negative. Problem 19.4.1. Cold Pop When water freezes it expands by about 10%. What is the pressure increase, P, when a pop can freezes. Assume that the cans dimensions remain unchanged. The bulk modulus of ice is 2 GPa. Comment on the assumptions made in this question.
19.4.1
Bulk Strength
As the bulk pressure on a gas is increased it will (usually) condense into a liquid. If the pressure is increased further the liquid will (usually) increase further in density and become a solid. Often this process can be continued, with the solid taking on more and more compact crystalline structures. These types of transitions are called phase transitions and occur suddenly as the pressure reaches a critical value. A phase diagram usually shows the different phases of a material as a function of temperature and pressure. As some types of stars run out of fuel to feed the fusion reaction that powers them they explode as supernovae. After this spectacular explosion the remnant is often a neutron star. The density of a neutron star is similar to that of an atomic nucleus, about 1014 times denser than the precursor star. This phase transition is more dramatic than most other types.
19.5
Sound Waves
When a sound wave travels through a uid the wave is a longitudinal wave and it is the bulk modulus that provides the restoring force that all oscillations must have. The square of the wave speed is equal to the bulk modulus divided by the density of the uid. When sound
19.5. SOUND WAVES Y G B ethanol 1 water 2.2 Mercury 27 glass 70 26 40 aluminium 69 25 76 diamond 1220 480 440
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Table 19.1: Young (Y ), shear (G) and bulk (B ) moduli for selected materials. All quantities in units of giga-Pascals, GPa. The values for glass are approximate because there are several different kinds of glass.
travels through a solid material the wave can be either a longitudinal or transverse wave.6 The longitudinal wave will obey the same formula as for uids but the transverse wave will have the shear modulus in the formula for its speed. Since the two moduli have different values the two types of sound waves in solids will travel at different speeds. In Table 19.1 some elastic moduli are listed and as we can see, the bulk and shear moduli are often quite different. The different arrival time of these two waves are used to help locate the epicentres of earthquakes the different arrival times of the two waves at a seismic monitors will give the distance to the epicentre (there are also types of surface waves that can provide additional information). This type of data was used to deduce the inner structure of the Earth, including that it has a molten core. Small underground explosions (aka seismic testing) can provide information about the presence of oil or gas deposits since transverse wave do not travel through liquids.
The longitudinal and transverse are known as P (for primary) and S (for shear) waves, respectively. This nomenclature has nothing to do with the orbitals of the same names in chemistry.
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19.6
Further Problems
Problem 19.6.1. Two Wires Two wires of circular cross section and made from the same material are subjected to the same tensile force. The second wire is three times as long and its diameter is twice as large as the rst wire. (a) Determine the ratio of their changes in length, 2 /1 . (b) What would the ratio be if the two wires had square cross sections? (Interpret the diameter of the square as its diagonal.) Problem 19.6.2. Atwoods Machine The wire connecting the two masses in an Atwoods machine has a radius r, a length and a Youngs modulus Y . (a) If the two masses are m1 and m2 and the pulley is light, by how much is the wire stretched while the masses are in motion? (b) If the pulley had a radius R and mass m3 , by how much is the wire stretched while the masses are in motion? Problem 19.6.3. Young Hooke A wire of length is made out of a material with a Youngs modulus Y and cross sectional area A is stretched by an amount x by an applied force F at one end (the other end is attached to a wall). (a) What is the force, F , in terms of the other quantities? (b) What is the work done, W , in stretching the wire? (c) Hookes law is given by F = kx. Derive an expression for Hookes constant, k , in terms of the other constants. Problem 19.6.4. New Springs Consider a rectangular prism with length h and a square cross-section of side a which is made from a material with a Youngs modulus Y . (a) As a tensile force, F , is applied to the material, what is its increase in length, h? (b) If the volume of the prism is to remain constant, what is the corresponding decrease in its cross-sectional area, A? (c) If the two sides of length a decrease by the same amount, what is the change, a, in the side? (d) What is the ratio, , of the strain on the length, h/h, to that of the side, a/a? This ratio is called Poissons ratio. (e) Problem 19.6.5. Newer Springs Consider a rectangular prism with height h and a square cross-section
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of side a which is made from a light material with a Youngs modulus Y . (a) If one end of the prism is attached to the ceiling and a mass, m, is attached to the other end the mass will undergo oscillations. What is the corresponding spring constant, k1 ? (b) If a second, identical, prism was attached in parallel to the rst and the mass m hung from both as in (a), what will be the corresponding spring constant, k2 ? (c) What is the relationship between k1 and k2 ? (d) If, instead, the second prism is attached end-to-end with the rst and the mass m is hung from the bottom as in (a), what will be the corresponding spring constant, k3 ? (e) What is the relationship between k1 and k3 ? Can you rearrange the result into a tidy equation? Problem 19.6.6. New Scissors Consider a rectangular prism with height h and a square cross-section of side a which is made from a light material with a shear modulus G. (a) If one end of the prism is attached to a wall and mass m, is attached to other end, what is the equilibrium lateral displacement, x, of the end. If the end with the mass undergoes oscillations, what is the corresponding spring constant, k1 ? (b) If a second, identical, prism was attached in parallel to the rst and the mass m attached to both as in (a), what will be the corresponding spring constant, k2 ? (c) What is the relationship between k1 and k2 ? Can you rearrange the result into a tidy equation? (d) If, instead, the second prism is attached end-to-end with the rst and the mass m is attached to the end as in (a), what will be the corresponding spring constant, k3 ? (e) What is the relationship between k1 and k3 ? Problem 19.6.7. Skateboarder A skateboarder of mass m moves through a turn of radius r at speed v . The wheels of the skateboard have radius a and width w, and are made of a material with shear modulus S . The bottom half of the wheels below the axle will shear as indicated in Fig. 19.4 (a) Draw a free body diagram of a wheel, showing the horizontal forces only. What is the magnitude of the static friction force on each wheel? (This force may vary from wheel to wheel; consider an average over the four wheels.) (b) Estimate the shear angle, , by using a simplied model in which the wheels are considered to be square (of side length 2a) instead of round. (c) What is the limit of your expression
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Figure 19.4: Front view of a skateboard wheel as the boarder executes a tight turn. The lateral forces from the axel and the road create a shear in the lower part of the wheel.
for as the width, w, approaches zero? Give a very brief explanation of why this is a reasonable answer. (d) What is the limit of your expression for as the shear modulus, S , approaches innity? Give a very brief explanation of why this is a reasonable answer. Problem 19.6.8. Bulky with Gas Show that the bulk modulus for a gas obeying Boyles Law, PV = constant, is equal to the pressure. Problem 19.6.9. Broken Spring Consider an ideal spring of length and spring constant k . It is cut into two parts, one with length f and the other with length (1 f ). (a) What is the spring constant, k1 , of the spring of length f ? (b) What is the spring constant, k2 , of the spring of length (1 f )? (c) Show that you get the expected results for your answers to (a) and (b) in the f 0 limit. (d) Show that you get the expected results for your answers to (a) and (b) in the f 1 limit. (e) For springs connected in series the effective spring constant is given by 1 1 the expression . Show that you get the expected result i ki when the two parts are connected in series for any value of f .
19.7
Further Interesting Problems
Problem 19.7.1. Young and Bulky Consider a solid object made from a material with Youngs modulus Y , bulk modulus B , and Poissons ratio, , with dimensions x by y
19.7. FURTHER INTERESTING PROBLEMS
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by z . (a) What is the volume, V , of the object? (b) If the object is stretched along its x dimension by an amount x, what is the change in volume, V , of the object? Use Poissons ratio to eliminate the changes in the y and z dimensions. (Poissons ratio is the ratio of the longitudinal to transverse strain.) (c) What is the fractional change in the objects volume, V /V ? (d) Expand your result from (c) and neglect higher powers of x/x since this is a small quantity. (e) Now consider the same object undergoing hydrostatic pressure, P. Use your expression for the fractional change in volume from (d) to nd a relationship between the bulk modulus, B , Youngs modulus, Y , and Poissons ratio, . [answer: Y = 3B (1 2 )]
Chapter 20 Fluid Mechanics

20.1 Introduction
In this chapter we will examine static uids as well as uids moving at a constant ow rate. For static uids we will examine how pressure changes with depth as well as the effects of buoyant forces. We next study motion through a uid and so will need to understand how the viscosity of a uid affects such motion. We will nd that there are two types of motion, laminar and turbulent, and the distinction between the two is characterized by Reynolds Number. Next, we will make an approximation that the uids are ideal uids and study their motion.1 Because we will be treating uids as continuous systems it is convenient to deal with intensive properties such as pressure or density. As we shall see, when we consider the energy of a uid in motion, it is convenient to use the energy density, the energy per unit volume, and this results in the Bernoulli Equation, Eq. 20.6.
You may wonder why Fluid Dynamics is in the Statics section of this book. We will only be examining uids owing at constant rates static motion if you will.
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CHAPTER 20. FLUID MECHANICS
20.2
Fluid Statics
It is difcult for a uid to sustain tensile or shear stresses it is, however, able to apply a compressive force perpendicular to a surface. Pressure, P, is a measure of this compressive force2 P= F , A
and is the force per unit area and is a scalar quantity.3 It has SI units pascal (1 Pa = 1 N/m2 ) and is always positive (i.e. there is no such thing as negative pressure a pressure of zero is known as a vacuum). Often, however, it is the pressure difference, P, that is important and, of course, this quantity can be negative. If the force is not constant over a surface then we have, instead, P= dF . dA (20.1)
Other units of pressure are quite common. One atmosphere is the air pressure at sea level and is dened as Patm = 1 atm = 101 325 Pa although the pressure varies on a day-to-day basis with the weather. Because this is close to 105 Pa another common unit is the bar (from baros, the Greek for weight) which is just this quantity. Yet more common units of pressure are pound per square inch (psi), mm of mercury (mmHg), and torr4 (1/760 of an atmosphere or 1 mmHg). Patm = 14.6959 psi = 29.72 mmHg.
I will use the symbol P for pressure so that it is not confused with power, for which I use the symbol P . This is particularly important when we talk about the power transmitted by a pressure wave in Ch. 23. 3 = PA We can understand this equation as a vector equation if we write it as F and interpret the vector area as having magnitude A and a direction perpendicular to the surface. Writing an area as a vector in this manner is actually quite common. . It is particularly convenient when dealing with innitesimal areas, dA 4 The torr is named after the inventor of the barometer, Evangelista Torricelli. A barometer is a device used for measuring pressure and is discussed in Ex. 20.2.3.
2
20.2. FLUID STATICS

Patm A w Axg Patm A
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(a)
F1
(b)
F1
Figure 20.1: The free body diagram for the top face of the cube in air is shown on the left. On the right is the same face when the cube is under water. For the latter case the weight of both the air and water above the top face are acting on that face.
Example 20.2.1. Under Pressure Anyone who has dived more than a meter or two under water has directly experienced the rapid change in pressure with depth. Similarly, anyone who has visited an high altitude region like the top of a mountain has directly experienced the less rapid decrease in pressure with altitude. (For this problem use w = 1000 kg/m3 and air = 1 kg/m3 as the densities of water and air, respectively, the atmospheric pressure at sea level, Patm = 1 bar, and the free fall acceleration at the Earths surface, g , as 10 m/s2 .) Consider a cube, each side of which has an area, A, of one square metre, which is sitting on the horizontal ground at sea level. (a) Draw the free body diagram of the top surface of the cube. Include the weight of the atmosphere directly above the cube. Label the balancing, internal force F1 . (b) Using Newtons Second Law calculate the mass, m1 , of air directly above the cube. Use your knowledge that the atmospheric pressure at sea level is about one bar. (c) Considering that a typical human has a cross sectional area of about 1/10 m2 , what is the mass resting upon each of us? How do you manage to carry this around? (d) Now consider the same cube at a depth of x of water. Again draw the free body diagram for the top surface of the cube. Label the balancing, internal force
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F2 . (e) What is the pressure, P(x), on the top surface of the cube? (f) Sketch P(x); include x < 0 on your plot (i.e. for above the water as well as below). (g) If the air had a constant density, for what value of x would vacuum occur? Solution (a) See Fig. 20.1.a. (b) For the cube we have M a = 0 = F1 m1 g where M is the mass of the top face of the cube and m1 is the mass of air directly above the cube. Since the pressure at the top of the cube is the atmospheric pressure multiplied by the area of the top of the cube we have m1 g = Patm A m1 = Patm A (105 )(1) = = 104 kg. g (10)
(c) Since a human has one tenth the cross sectional area she supports one tenth this mass, or 1000 kg of air. It is not the magnitude of the forces acting upon a body but the net force that is important. In this case, the internal pressure of a human is slightly larger than atmospheric pressure (this is why they leak when punctured) and because the pressure acts upon all surfaces of the human the net force is almost zero. (As we shall see, the net force is the buoyant force which will be examined in Ex. 20.2.4.) (d) See Fig. 20.1.b. (e) If the mass of water directly above the cube is m2 then the force on the top of the cube is Patm A F2 = (m1 + m2 )g = + Ax g = Patm A + w Axg g where the volume of water above the cube is V = Ax = 1 m3 . In general, the pressure at a depth x is then P(x) = Patm + gx (20.2)
20.2. FLUID STATICS

P
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air water
x
Figure 20.2: A sketch of the pressure, P, as a function of depth, x; x = 0 is the surface of the water. The rate of change of pressure with depth (i.e. the slope) changes dramatically at the surface of the water (x > 0) because its density is 1000 times greater than that of air (x < 0).
and for this particular case we get P(x) = 104 (10 + x) Pa where x is in metres. (f) See Fig. 20.2. (g) If the air had a uniform density and an height x then we would have Patm = a gx x = Patm 105 = = 10 km. a g (1)(10)
The edge of space (i.e. vacuum) is generally taken as 100 km and the density does indeed change as a function of height. If Patm gx then we can often neglect the second term in Eq. 20.2. An example of such a situation is changes in atmospheric pressure near the Earths surface. The density of air is approximately 1.2 kg/m3 so a 10 m change of height would change the pressure by P g x 1.2 9.8 10 = = = 0.116% Patm Patm 101325
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m2
m1 A1 A2
Figure 20.3: A hydraulic lift consists of two pistons in two connected cylinders. The cylinders are lled with an incompressible uid of density and the two pistons have different cross sectional areas, A1 and A2 .
which is negligible considering that the daily variation in air pressure is a few percent anyway.
20.2.1
Pascals Law
A change in the pressure applied to a uid is transmitted to every point of the uid and its container. As a consequence, we have P = g h, the difference in pressure at various places in a uid depends upon the vertical distance between the points, h, and not the shape of the container holding the uid. Here is the density of the uid and g is the free fall acceleration due to gravity. Example 20.2.2. Hydraulic Lift A hydraulic lift consists of two cylinders of cross section areas A1 and A2 connected by a pipe (see Fig. 20.3). In each cylinder is a light piston and the system is lled with an incompressible uid (such as oil). (a) If a mass m1 is placed on the rst piston what mass, m2 , must be placed on the second piston to maintain equilibrium? (Assume the pistons have the same thickness and are at equal heights.)
20.2. FLUID STATICS
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(b) The pistons are now at heights h1 and h2 measured from the oor. If the density of the uid is what mass, m2 , must be placed on the second piston to maintain equilibrium? (c) What is the ratio m2/m2 ? (d) Is it meaningful to include the change in atmospheric pressure at the two pistons in your solution to part (b)? (Take = 2000 kg/m3 , m2 = 1000 kg, A2 = 102 m2 , make reasonable assumptions for the remaining quantities and calculate the percent change in your answer.) Solution (a) The pressure at the points in the uid just under the pistons are, by Pascals Law, equal. The free body diagram for each of the pistons then tells us that 0 = P1 A1 m1 g and 0 = P2 A2 m2 g . Solving each equation for the pressure, Pi and equating the results gives m1 g m2 g A2 = m2 = m1 A1 A2 A1 (b) The difference in the two pressures is P = g h so g (h2 h1 ) = P2 P1 = m2 g m1 g A2 A1 A2 m1 . A1
m2 = A2 (h2 h1 ) + (c)
m2 A1 (h2 h1 ) =1+ m2 m1
Example 20.2.3. Barometer A barometer is a device to measure pressure. One common example (see Fig. 20.4) is a glass tube with one end sealed which is then lled with a liquid and inverted, creating a vacuum at the top (where the pressure is zero). (a) If the distance between the top of the uid and the surface of the uid exposed to the air is h as shown in Fig. 20.4, what is the atmospheric pressure, Patm ? (b) If the
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Ptop = 0 h Pbottom = Patm
Figure 20.4: A liquid barometer is a tube sealed at one end and lled with a liquid. The tube is then inverted, creating a vacuum at the sealed end. An equation similar to Eq. 20.2 can then be used to determine, for example, the atmospheric pressure.
uid was mercury, Hg, which has a density of 13.5951 g/cm3 , then what height, h, will be observed if standard atmospheric pressure is present? Solution (a) Using Pascals Law we get P = Ptop Pbottom = gh where we have taken Ptop = 0 and Pbottom = Patm . (b) Rearranging our answer to (a) we get h= Patm (101, 325) = = 760 mm. g (13.5951 103 )(9.81) Patm = gh
This is exactly what we expect since one of the other units for pressure is mmHg and in these units one standard atmosphere is 760 mmHg. The origin of this unit is, of course, mercury lled barometers. Often pressure is measured with a pressure gauge which measures the gauge pressure. This quantity is the difference between
20.2. FLUID STATICS

Patm Patm + gb Patm + g (a + b) P 2 F 5 F
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1 F
a+b x 3 F
(a)
(b)
m g
Figure 20.5: On the left is a plot of P(x) for a cube of side a and mass m which is suspended by a string and submerged in a uid of density , as shown on the right. Note that the diagram on the right is an incomplete free body diagram since three of the four horizontal forces are not shown.
two pressures and is what we commonly use to measure, for example, the pressure in our bicycle tires. For a pressure gauge used for measuring the pressure in tires the reading it gives is the difference in the pressures inside and outside the tire; this is why a at tire has zero pressure. Example 20.2.4. Cubically Buoyant A uniform, cubic block of side a and mass m is suspended from a light, inextensible string attached to the centre of one face and is submerged in a uid of density . The top surface of the cube is at a depth b. (a) Sketch the pressure on one of the vertical faces of the cube as a function of depth, x. (b) Calculate the net force, 1 , on one of the vertical faces of the cube. You may need to use F Eq. 20.1 or you can be clever and nd a shortcut. (c) Calculate the
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magnitude of the net force on the vertical faces of the cube. (d) Cal2 , on the top face of the cube, caused by the culate the net force, F 3 , on the bottom face of the cube. uid. (e) Calculate the net force, F 4 , on the cube, caused by the uid. This (f) Calculate the net force, F 5 , in the force is called the buoyant force. (g) What is the tension, F string? (h) Under what conditions will the tension in the string be zero? Solution (a) The pressure as a function of depth is P(x) = Patm + gx; see Fig. 20.5.a. (b) The force on an innitesimal strip of width a, height dx and at depth x is dF = P(x)adx so the force on one of the vertical faces has magnitude F1 =
a+b
= Patm a2 + 1 ga3 + ga2 b. 2
2 a+b (Patm + gx) adx = a Patm x + 1 gx 2 b
Alternatively, we can recognize that the force on the side is the shaded area on the graph from (a) multiplied by the width of the cube, a. (c) There are four vertical faces. Opposite faces will have forces that are equal and opposite so the net force on the vertical faces is zero. (d) The top face of the cube experiences a pressure Patm + gb so the net force on this face is 2 = Patm a2 + gba2 F . (e) Similarly, the net force on the bottom face is 3 = Patm a2 + g (a + b)a2 F .
20.3. FLUID DYNAMICS
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(f) The forces on the sides of the cube cancel so the net force on the cube caused by the uid is 4 = F 2 + F 3 = ga3 F . This is equal to the weight of the displaced uid. This is known as Archimedes principle: The buoyant force is equal to the weight of displaced uid, FB = gV, (20.3)
in which V is the volume of the submerged object (or fraction thereof) and is the density of the uid. (g) Applying Newtons Second Law we get (remembering that the net horizontal force is zero) 2 + F 3 + F 5 + m 5 = (mg ga3 ) 0=F gF where we have used g = g . We note that we get the expected result in the 0 limit. (h) The tension in the string is zero if m = a3 which occurs if the density of the cube, m/a3 is equal to the density of the uid, . This is called neutral buoyancy.
20.3
Fluid Dynamics
Fluid ow is traditionally divided in to two regimes: turbulent and laminar. In laminar ow the particles of the uid follow smooth paths and in turbulent ow they dont follow such simple paths the ow contains whirlpools and eddies. The Reynolds Number (see 20.3.2) characterizes this distinction.5 In this chapter we will examine laminar ow only the NavierStokes equations, continuum mechanics and computational uid dynamics are used in study of turbulent ow. It is very interesting.
A owing uid has two main forces acting upon it, viscous and inertial. If the viscous forces are dominant then the ow will be laminar and if the inertial forces are dominant then the ow will be turbulent.
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top plate
uid
bottom plate
Figure 20.6: A uid is trapped between two parallel plates a distance d apart. The top plate is moving with speed vtop and the bottom plate is stationary. The uid directly adjacent to each plate moves with the speed of that plate. If the speed of the uid changes linearly with the position between the plates (a reasonable rst approximation) then v (x) = vtop x/d, where x is measured from the bottom to the top plate. Shown schematically are the velocity vectors at different positions.
20.3.1
Viscosity
Viscosity is a measure of the internal resistance to ow of a uid this is what causes a drag force as an object moves through a uid.6 A thin liquid such as water has a low viscosity and a thick uid such as oil has a high viscosity. We can subject a uid to both shear and tensile stress. A simple model of the effects of viscosity is a uid trapped between two parallel plates, one of which is moving with a speed vtop relative to the other (see Fig. 20.6). The uid in direct contact with each plate moves with the speed of that plate and the speed of the uid in between varies linearly from zero at the bottom to vtop at the top. Because the uid is viscous the top plate needs a constant force to keep it moving at a constant speed relative to the bottom plate.
Interestingly, for a superuid the viscosity is zero. There are many interesting phenomena resulting from superuidity, amongst which is that the vortices (i.e. the whirlpools and eddies) are quantized; the quantum of rotation is called the roton.
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It is found experimentally that, for a given uid, this force, F , is proportional to the relative speed of the plates, vtop , and to the area, A, of the plate and inversely proportional to the distance between the plates, d. The constant of proportionality is called the viscosity, , of the uid, vtop A F = . (20.4) d Equivalently, we could dene the viscosity as the ratio of the shear stress, F/A, to the velocity gradient, v/d. This denition would be more useful in a a more complicated geometry (see Ex. 20.3.1). The SI unit for viscosity is the Pascal-second, Pas.
Example 20.3.1. Viscometer It is possible to measure viscosity with a viscometer, a device which consists of two coaxial cylinders with the uid in question trapped between them. The outer cylinder is spun at a constant angular velocity, , and the torque, , required to prevent the inner cylinder from rotating is measured. (a) If the height of uid between the cylinders is h, the inner radii of the outer cylinder is r2 , and the outer radius of the inner cylinder is r1 , what is the shear force, F/A, that acts on the inner cylinder? (Hint: The torque balances this force and keeps the inner cylinder stationary.) (b) What is the velocity gradient, v/ r, assuming that it is a constant? (c) In terms of the given quantities, what is the viscosity, , of the uid? Solution (a) The wetted area of the outer surface of the inner cylinder is A = 2 r1 h and the torque is the force, F , multiplied by the moment arm, r1 (the two are perpendicular), so F = /r1 . Therefore the shear force is F = . 2 A 2 r1 h (b) The speed of the inner surface of the outer cylinder is v = r2 and the distance between the cylinders is r2 r1 so the (assumed constant) velocity gradient is v r2 = . r r2 r1
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(c) The viscosity is the ratio of the shear stress to the velocity gradient r2 r 1 (r2 r1 ) = = . 2 2 2 r1 h r2 2 r1 r2 h A similar problem related to the viscosity of a uid is that of a small sphere falling through a viscous uid. If the motion is slow enough the Reynolds number will be small and the ow of the uid around the sphere will be laminar. While the geometry of this system is now a more interesting three-dimensional problem, we would expect the drag force on the sphere to be proportional to its speed relative to the uid and to the viscosity (since the viscosity is the ratio of the shear stress to the velocity gradient). George Stokes was the rst to analyze this problem and the result is now known as Stokes Law Fdrag = 6 rv where r is the radius of the sphere and v is its speed relative to the uid. This result is only valid for small speeds when the ow around the sphere is laminar (i.e. a small Reynolds number). If the speed, v , is too large the ow will be turbulent (i.e. a large Reynolds number) and an approximate expression for the drag force, initially proposed by Isaac Newton, is Fdrag = 1 CAv 2 2 where A is the cross-sectional area of the object perpendicular to the velocity vector, is the density of the uid, and C is a dimensionless constant known as the drag coefcient. For a sphere, C 0.47, and for a modern car it can be as low as 0.2 but 0.3 is more typical.7 Problem 20.3.1. Terminal Drag Consider a metal sphere of radius r, drag coefcient C , and density s falling in a uid with density and viscosity . (a) Draw the free body diagram of the sphere. (b) What is the acceleration, v 1 , of
For a car the rolling resistance caused by the tires is more important at low speeds. This resistance behaves more like a conventional friction (i.e. proportional to the normal force).
7
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the sphere? Assume that the ow of the uid around the sphere is laminar. (c) Show that your result from (b) has the solution v1 (t) = a1 (1 eb1 t ) and nd the constants a1 and b1 . (d) As the sphere accelerates the drag force increases until the net force is zero. What is the speed of the sphere, vt1 , when this occurs? [answer: 2(s )gr2 /9 ] This system can be used as another type of viscometer (i.e. to measure the viscosity of a uid). (e) If, instead, the ow was turbulent what would be the acceleration, v 2 ? (f) Show that your result from (e) has the solution v2 (t) = a2 tanh(b2 t) and nd the constants a2 and b2 . (g) As the sphere accelerates the drag force increases until the net force is zero. What is the speed of the sphere, vt2 , when this occurs? [answer: 8(s )rg/3C ] (h) Plot v1 (t) and v2 (t) together on the same graph. Take all of the constants as one. Which curve approaches the asymptote faster and why? [answer: see Fig. 20.7] Listing 20.3.1. Terminal Velocity A short Octave listing to plot a couple of functions. As usual, we spend twice as much effort making it pretty than doing the actual work.
%=========================== % Plot the speed of a falling object which is subject to a % Stokes, v1 (t), and Newton, v2 (t), drag force given by % v1 = a1 (1 eb1 t ) % v2 = a2 tanh(b2 t) t = 0:0.1:8 ; v1 = 1 exp ( t ) ; v2 = tanh ( t ) ; h = p l o t ( t , v1 , ; S t o k e s ; , t , v2 , + ; Newton ; , m a r k e
%=========================== % Make it pretty
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0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
4 t
Figure 20.7: The solution for Pr. 20.3.1.h, plots of v1 (t) and v2 (t). This plot compares the velocity of a falling sphere in a uid which provides a Stokes (red) and Newton (green) drag force. Both curves approach the terminal velocity (here v = 1) asymptotically but since the Newton drag increases more rapidly (it is proportional to the square of the velocity) it is smaller initially (so the velocity increases more quickly) and grows more quickly (so it slows down more rapidly) as it approaches the terminal velocity. The Octave code to create this plot is in List. 20.3.1

axis ( [0 8 0 1.18] ) ; g r i d ( on ) ; %set( h, linewidth, 3 ) ; %set( h, color, green ) ;
A % use L TEX for the labels x l a b e l ( $t$ ) ; y l a b e l ( $v$ ) ;
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%=========================== A % save the plot in xg format with L TEX fonts (wont work in MatLab) p r i n t ( d r a g p l o t . f i g , t e x t s p e c i a l ) ;
20.3.2
Reynolds Number
Reynolds number, Re, is a dimensionless constant that characterizes the ow of a uid, whether it is laminar or turbulent. The type of ow depends upon the relative importance of the inertial and viscous properties of the uid. The viscous forces tend to damp the inertial motion and, if this damping is sufcient, the ow will be laminar. Otherwise it will be turbulent. Reynolds number is given by the expression Re = vd
where and are the density and viscosity of the uid, v is the speed of the uid, d is the characteristic size of the system (for a uid owing in a pipe d would be the diameter of the pipe, for an object moving through a uid d would be the size of the object, etc). If Reynolds number is greater than about 2000 the ow will be turbulent. The about is because the onset of turbulence depends upon factors such as the smoothness of the walls of the pipe or the steadiness of the ow rate. From the denition of Reynolds number it is clear that, for any uid, if the ow speed, v , is slow enough then the ow will be laminar. We can see an example of this when we open a water faucet: when the ow speed is small the water comes out of the tap in a
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pipe wall

pipe wall
viscous uid
inviscid uid
pipe wall
pipe wall
Figure 20.8: As a viscous uid ows along a pipe (left) the shear forces create a velocity gradient that increases uniformly from zero at the pipe walls to a maximum at the centre of the pipe. For an inviscid uid (right) there is a narrow boundary layer at the pipe walls where the velocity increases rapidly, but then it remains relatively constant for the rest of the pipe volume.
laminar stream but when the ow speed is increased there is a point when the ow becomes turbulent.
20.3.3
Ideal Fluid
In our study of uid dynamics we will make the following approximations: 1. the uid is inviscid 2. the ow is steady and laminar 3. the uid is incompressible 4. the ow is irrotational A uid that obeys these approximations is called an ideal uid. Clearly this is an approximation, but for low ow rates (i.e. small Reynolds numbers), low compressibility uids it is a reasonable approximation. On the right in Fig. 20.8 is a schematic representation of the ow of an ideal uid in a pipe. The arrows represent the velocity as a function of position in the pipe. For an inviscid, laminar ow the velocity is uniform except at a narrow boundary layer at the pipe
123
wall. On the left is a schematic representation of a viscous ow. The uid velocity is largest at the centre of the pipe and decreases to zero at the pipe walls. The ideal uid approximation will not be valid if the ow is fast enough or the pipe is narrow enough.
20.3.4
Continuity
A consequence of the incompressible approximation is a continuity equation. Consider the rate of volume ow through a pipe, R (the ow rate has dimensions of volume per unit time). The volume of uid passing point 1 of a pipe with cross sectional area is A1 and velocity v1 in time t is A1 v1 t so the volume ow rate is given by R = A1 v1 . The ow rate at some other point in the pipe of cross sectional area A2 with velocity v2 must be the same as mass can not be created or destroyed along the pipe, so R = A1 v1 = A2 v2 . This is the continuity equation. (20.5)
20.3.5
Bernoullis Equation
Consider a particular volume of uid with density moving to the right through a pipe which changes in both diameter and height as depicted schematically in Fig. 20.9, the ends of which have crosssectional areas A1 and A2 . The pressure at the lower end, P1 applies a force, F1 = P1 a1 , to the volume, causing that end to move a distance x1 . The work done on the left end of the volume of uid is 1 x1 = +P1 A1 x1 . Similarly, at the other end the then W1 = F work done on the right end of the uid is W2 = P2 A2 x2 which is negative since the force opposes the motion. The net change in the gravitational potential energy of this volume of uid is a gain of m2 gh2 = A2 x2 gh2 and a loss of m1 gh1 = A1 x1 gh1 . Finally, the net change in the kinetic energy of this volume of uid con2 2 2 sists of a gain of 1 m2 v2 =1 A2 x2 v2 and a loss of 1 m1 v1 = 2 2 2 1 2 A x1 v1 . Since the work done on this volume of uid is equal to 2 1
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A2 F2 A1 F1 h1 h2
Figure 20.9: A volume of uid moves to the right through a pipe which changes diameter and height. At one end of the volume the height is h1 and the cross-section is A1 . There is a force, F1 , acting upon this end (caused by the pressure of the uid to the left) causing the motion and this end of the uid is moving with speed v1 . At the other end of the volume we have h2 , A2 , F2 and v2 ; note that F2 is acting in the opposite direction as F1 the pressure of the uid to the right pushes against the motion.
the change in its mechanical energy, P1 A1 x1 P2 A2 x2 =
2 1 A1 x1 v1 2 +A2 x2 gh2 A1 x1 gh1 .
2 1 A2 x2 v2 2
W = K + U , we get
We then note that, by conservation of mass and the incompressibility assumption, A1 x1 = A2 x2 . We then rearrange and divide by this quantity to give
2 2 P1 + 1 v1 + gh1 = P2 + 1 v2 + gh2 . 2 2
Since we chose arbitrary points for the ends of the volume of uid this expression must be true for any such choice, leading to Bernoullis equation 1 v 2 + gh + P = constant (20.6) 2 is a constant throughout any volume of uid. What Bernoullis equation tells us is that the energy density (i.e. the energy per unit volume) is a constant throughout a uid. Example 20.3.2. Venturi Effect Consider a uid of density moving with a ow rate R through an
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Figure 20.10: A uid moves through an horizontal pipe of crosssectional area A which contains a constriction where the crosssectional area is 1 4 A.
horizontal pipe with a cross-sectional area A. There is a constriction in the pipe and the diameter is reduced by one half (see Fig. 20.10). (a) What is the velocity, v , of the uid in the unconstricted section of the pipe? (b) What is the velocity, v , of the uid in the constricted section of the pipe? (c) If the pressure in the unconstricted section of the pipe is P , what is the pressure, P, in the constricted section? Solution (a) The ow rate is equal to the cross-sectional area multiplied by the velocity so R v = . A (b) The ow rate is unchanged so v= R
1 A 4
4R . A
(c) Bernoullis equation, 20.6, tells us

2 P + 1 v =P+ 1 v 2 2 2
P = P +
1 2
This is an example of the Venturi effect: As a uid moves more quickly (for example, when a pipe is constricted) the pressure decreases. Many people nd this counterintuitive.
R2 16R2 A2 A2
= P
2 15 R 2. 2
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20.4
Further Problems
Problem 20.4.1. Dam A water dam is of height h and width w. Atmospheric pressure at the top of the water is Patm and the density of water is . (a) What is the pressure on the inner dam wall as a function of height, P(x)? (Measure x from the bottom of the dam.) (b) What is the net force, Fi , on the inner dam wall? (Hint: Unless you are clever you will need to use the equation for a non-constant force, Eq. 20.1, and calculate a dam integral, F = dam dF .) (c) What is the net force, Fo , on the outer dam wall? (Assume that the density of the air is constant and one thousand times less than that of water.) (d) What is the net force, F , on the dam wall? (e) How would your answer to (d) change if you considered the air pressure constant as a function of height? Calculate the fractional change in the net force, F/F . Problem 20.4.2. Suspended Block Consider a light beaker containing a volume Vf of uid of density f which sits on a scale. A block of mass m and volume V is suspended in the uid by a light string. Assume the density of the block is greater than the density of the uid and that the block is fully submerged. (a) Draw the free body diagram for the block. (b) Draw the free body diagram for the beaker and the uid together. (c) What is the tension, FT , in the string? (d) What is the reading, W , on the scale? (answer in Newtons) (e) What is the reading on the scale, Wcut , when the string is cut? (f) In an experiment to measure the density of an object it mass is rst found to be m but, due to its irregular shape, its volume is unknown. It is then suspended in a uid as described above. If the change in the scales reading after the string is cut is W , what is the density, , of the object? Problem 20.4.3. Floating Sphere An empty hollow sphere of inner radius r and outer radius R which is made from a material with density oats so that exactly one half is submerged in a uid of density f . (a) If /f = 3 what is the ratio r/R? (Empty means that there is nothing inside the sphere, not even air.) (b) If the sphere, instead of being empty, was lled with a different uid of density a what is the ratio r/R? (c) If the

F
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Figure 20.11: Hypodermic Needle
uid in the sphere is air at atmospheric pressure (a = 1.3 kg/m3 ), the uid in which it oats is water (f = 103 kg/m3 ), the sphere is made from aluminum ( = 2.6 103 kg/m3 ) and the outer radius of the sphere is r = 2 m what is the thickness of the hull, t = R r? Problem 20.4.4. Cylindrical Tank A cylindrical tank of radius r1 is lled to a depth d1 with a uid of density f . The nozzle of a hose leading from the bottom of the tank, of inner radius r2 , rises a distance d2 . (a) What is the speed v2 of the uid exiting the hose? (b) In the r2 r1 limit what is v2 ? (c) Under what circumstances will this limit occur? Problem 20.4.5. Holey Tanks! A rectangular tank has a square cross section of width w and is lled to a height h with a uid of density and is placed on a horizontal table. A small hole of radius r is made a distance h from the bottom. (a) With what velocity, v , will the uid jet from the hole? (b) At what distance, x ,from the base of the tank will the uid strike the table? (c) At what hole height, h, will the water travel the maximum horizontal distance before striking the table? (d) What is this maximum horizontal distance, hmax ? Problem 20.4.6. Pipes A uid of density is moving at a rate R (i.e. volume per unit time) through a pipe whose diameter changes from 2d at the bottom to d at the top as it ascends a distance h. (a) What is the change in the pressure between the bottom and the top of the pipe, P = Ptop Pbottom ? (b) What is the change in pressure in the h 0 limit? Is this what you expected? Problem 20.4.7. Syringe A hypodermic syringe contains a uid with density . The (horizontal) barrel of the syringe has a cross-sectional area A, and the needle
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A1 A2
A B
Figure 20.12: Venturi Tube
has a cross-sectional area a. See Fig. 20.11. (a) If a force F acts on the plunger, determine the volume ow rate, R, of the uid ejected from the end of the needle. (Think carefully about whether a change in atmospheric pressure should affect your answer.) (b) If V is the initial volume of the uid in the barrel, what is the initial kinetic energy, Ki , of the uid? (Express your answer in terms of R.) (c) What is the kinetic energy, Kf , of the entire volume of uid after it has been ejected from the needle? (Express your answer in terms of R.) (d) What is the work, W , done by the force F ? (e) How are your answers in the previous three parts related? Problem 20.4.8. Venturi Tube The drop in pressure at a constriction can be used to measure the ow rate of the uid. The ow rate of uid A of density A is to be found using a Venturi tube (see Fig. 20.12). The uid of density B A is at the bottom of the W shaped tube (often mercury is used in such a set-up). The pressure in the two outer arms of the W are equal while that in the centre arm is lower. (Having two outer parts allows the uid in the bottom to be in equilibrium.) (a) In terms of the quantities given in the gure, what is P, the difference in pressures between where the pipe has a cross sectional areas A1 and A2 ? (b) What is the speed of the uid, v1 , with density A where the pipe has cross sectional area A1 ? (c) What is the ow rate, R, of the uid of density A ? (d) Arrange your answer to part (c) so that all of the known constants (A1 , A2 , A , B and g ) are grouped together and h, the measured quantity, is separate. How does R depend upon h?
Chapter 21 Oscillatory Motion

21.1 Overview
There are many interesting phenomena that involve oscillating systems and traveling waves. From classical systems such as ocean waves or sound to quantum systems such as light, atomic vibrations and electron energy levels, such systems are governed by wave equations. The solutions to such wave equations can be both complicated and complex (in the mathematical sense). Consequently, we will begin our study of oscillatory motion with the simplest zero dimensional system (an oscillating particle) and them study progressively more complicated systems. Common to all oscillatory systems is the idea of an equilibrium position with some sort of restoring force. When the object or medium or whatever is displaced from the equilibrium position the restoring force pushes it back towards the equilibrium position. If we conveniently put our origin at the equilibrium position and measure the force as a function of displacement we will nd that the restoring force is always in a direction opposite to the displacement from the equilibrium position. In the usual way of physicists we wish to simplify the system as much as possible but without removing the essence of what we wish to study. Consider the Taylor expansion of a one-dimensional restoring force F = a1 x1 + a2 x2 + a3 x3 + ... 131
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CHAPTER 21. OSCILLATORY MOTION
where we have taken the leading, constant term, a0 , equal to zero because the x = 0 or equilibrium position is, by the denition of equilibrium, a position where the force is zero. We can see that if x, the displacement from the equilibrium position, is small enough then we can neglect all but the rst term. This is known as the small oscillation approximation and the resulting equation is known as Hookes Law.1
21.1.1
Hookes Law
Hookes law is usually expressed as F = kx in which k is a positive constant known as the spring constant even when there are no springs involved (in the above Taylor expansion a1 = k and the remaining ai = 0). This is done to make explicit the fact that for an oscillating system the force and displacement from equilibrium are in opposite directions (i.e. the force is a restoring force). Note that this is a vector equation in which we have omitted the arrows over the F and x since in one dimension the sign of a quantity is sufcient to specify its direction.
21.2
Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)
While there are many possible types of oscillatory motion the simplest to deal with mathematically is simple harmonic motion one which obeys Hookes Law. Consider an object with mass m connected to a spring which obeys Hookes law with spring constant k can be analyzed using Newtons second law: ma = F = kx a = d2 x k = x = x. 2 dt m (21.1)
This equation is an example of a differential equation: And equation involving an unknown quantity and its derivatives. In this case
Robert Hooke (1635-1703) was a brilliant scientist who had the unfortunate luck of being a contemporary of Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and thus had to work in the shadow of genius.
1
21.2. SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION (SHM)
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the unknown is the displacement from equilibrium of the object as a function of time, x(t). In solving such an equation there will be one or more integration constants which will be identied by the problem at hand (the actual number of such constants will be equal to the order of the highest derivative in the differential equation). The study of differential equations is important in physics as many of the most interesting equations are of this type (e.g. Maxwells equations for electrodynamics and Schr odingers equation for quantum mechanics). Such equations are usually examined in second year courses. However, we can guess the answer to the above equation without too much effort. The quantities k and m are constants so what the equation above tells us is that the second time derivative of a quantity (x ) is proportional to a negative constant multiplied by the quantity. So we need to nd a quantity whose second derivative is proportional to itself. There are three possibilities: sines, cosines and exponentials. (Actually, sines and cosines can be represented as exponentials if we use complex numbers. And this is often done as it can greatly simplify the mathematics. See 4.3 on page 22 for more information.) It should be easy to convince ourselves that the second derivative of an exponential will be a positive constant multiplied by itself (unless we are using complex numbers) so a sine or cosine is the solution to the above differential equation. However, since a sine curve is identical to a cosine curve that has been shifted we will guess the solution to have the form x(t) = A cos( t ) (21.2) where A, 2 and are unknown constants. (Note that the choice of using the cosine instead of a sine function is arbitrary. In fact, we could have used a linear combination of sine and cosine if it would be convenient. For the current problem the cosine will turn out to be convenient. We have made this guess with foresight.) We can easily nd the second derivative of this d2 x =x = 2 A cos( t ) dt2
Note that is the Greek letter omega and not a W. You will be embarrassed if you confuse the two.
2
134
and we can then substitute the two above equations in to the differential equation which resulted from substituting Hookes Law in Newtons Second Law, Eq. 21.1, giving 2 A cos( t ) = k A cos( t ). m
We can then cancel the common factors to leave 2 = k . m (21.3)
So if this equation is true then Eq. 21.2 is a solution to Eq. 21.1. Since was a constant introduced in our guess we can dene it to be equal to k/m and conclude that our guess was indeed the solution we were seeking. If we perform dimensional analysis on the above quantity we will nd that has dimensions of reciprocal time.3 For reasons that will shortly become apparent this quantity is known as the angular frequency. Since both k and m are constants will also be a constant you may wonder why I am introducing a new constant. The simple answer is that will arise in our equations so frequently that k writing /m instead would be awkward. We call the equation for x(t) the equation of motion as it species the position as a function of time.4 The argument of the cosine is know as the phase of the oscillation. There are two remaining unknowns in this equation, the amplitude A and the phase constant . What these represent is made clear by the following examples. Example 21.2.1. Phasors on Stun (a) Plot Eq. 21.2 as a function of time for 0 < t < T and = 0. (b) Label on your plot the maxima, A, and minima, A as well as the period, T . (c) This function is periodic, repeating when the argument of the cosine (known as the phase) increases by 2 . Use this
The quantity k has units of force per unit length so if we divide that by mass we are left with one over time squared. 4 Sometimes the corresponding differential equation (here x = 2 x) is also called the equation of motion. Since one is the solution to the other the distinction is not that important.
3

x A T t
135
Figure 21.1: Equation of Motion with = 0
periodicity to derive a relationship between the angular frequency, , and the period, T . (d) Make a simple argument about the relationship between the period and the frequency and so nd a relationship between the frequency and the angular frequency. Solution (a) We can see that the curve for x(t), plotted in Fig. 21.1, has the expected shape of a cosine. (b) The maximum and minimum values that the displacement, x, can obtain are A and A, respectively. For this reason the constant A is known as the amplitude. Note that we dene A as a positive quantity as if it was negative it would change our results. As we know, the cosine curve repeats itself after a time T , called the period. (c) This repeat time is when the argument of the cosine, the phase, increases by 2 so when t goes from 0 to T we must have: 2 T = 2 T = = 2 m . k
(d) The reciprocal of the period is the frequency,(For example, if an oscillation had a frequency of twice per second, f = 2 Hz, then the period would be half a second, T = 1/2 s.) so f= 1 = = 2 f. T 2
136
(e) We can see why is called the angular frequency there are 2 radians in a circle and circular motion is also periodic. The units for angular frequency are radians per second, rad/s (units is in inverted commas because radians are really dimensionless and are included to distinguish angular frequency from frequency see 4.1 on page 21 for a discussion of angular measurement and radians). Example 21.2.2. Phasors on Kill (a) Plot Eq. 21.2 as a function of time for 0 < t < T and = 0. Assume that 0 < < /2. (b) Label on your plot the maxima, A, and minima, A as well as the period, T . (c) Label on your plot the value of x(0) and x(T ). Solution A A cos A x t / T
This is the same as the previous example except that now is a non-zero constant. The curve is again a cosine but this time shifted to the right (positive t direction). We can see that the rst maximum of the cosine will no longer occur when t = 0, but instead when the phase is zero t = 0 t =
so we can see that the effect of a non-zero value of the phase constant, , is to shift the cosine curve. Such a shift is called a phase shift so is called the phase constant. Note that, as is always positive, if is positive then the cosine curve will be shifted to the right because of the minus sign we have included in Eq. 21.2. 5 We can also see that as a consequence of the phase
Some texts have a plus sign in Eq. 21.2 instead in this case a positive phase constant would shift the cosine to the left. I believe that it is more intuitive to have a positive phase constant shift the curve in the positive time direction
5
137
constant the value of the displacement at t = 0 is now A cos rather than A. The two constants A and are usually (but not always) obtained by the initial conditions for a given problem. Problem 21.2.1. Velocity and Acceleration Consider an object undergoing simple harmonic motion which obeys Eq. 21.2 with the phase constant equal to 3/2, amplitude A and period T . (a) Sketch the displacement of the object as a function of time, x(t), for 0 < t < T . (b) What is the velocity of the object as a function of time, v (t)? Sketch v (t) directly below a sketch of the displacement using the same time scale. (c) What is the maximum velocity, vmax , of the object. Label this on your sketch of v (t). (d) In terms of vmax , what is the minimum velocity, vmin . (e) What is the maximum speed of the object and how often, per oscillation, does it obtain this speed? (f) What is the acceleration of the object as a function of time, a(t)? Sketch a(t) directly below your sketch of v (t) using the same time scale. (g) What is the maximum acceleration, amax ? Label this on your sketch of a(t). (h) Compare your sketch of a(t) to that of x(t). Using your answer to part g what is the relationship between these two quantities? Example 21.2.3. Spring-Block A block of mass m is attached to a spring with spring constant k and is resting on a smooth horizontal surface. At t = 0 it passes through its equilibrium position with a speed v to the left (i.e. the negative direction). Determine the equation of motion of the block. Solution For this problem we have = k/m and x(t) = A cos( t ). At t = 0, x = 0 and v = v so we can use these to nd the two constants: x(0) = 0 = A cos() = 2 v v (0) = v = A sin() = A A = . But now we must determine which sign to use. (If we used a calculator then it would not have given us both possible answers
138
CHAPTER 21. OSCILLATORY MOTION and we may not recognize this important step.) As the three constants, A, and v , must each be positive we must choose the lower sign which corresponds to = /2, so the equation of motion for this problem is x(t) = where 2 = k/m. x t v t v As an alternative method for solving this problem we can plot x(t) and v (t). We start by drawing the axes for the x(t) and v (t) plots and then adding the points x(0) = 0 and v (0) = v . Then we can argue that as the velocity is negative at t = 0 that x will be decreasing. Next, as we know that the curves will be sinusoidal we can plot the complete x(t) and v (t) curves and identify the former as x(t) = A sin( t) and the latter as Finally, we can use v (0) = v to tell us that A = v / , giving x(t) = sin( t) v v (t) = A cos( t) cos( t + ) 2 v
as before. (Note that we have used the identity sin = cos( /2) see 4.2.1 on page 21 for a discussion of this symmetry.)
These two methods are complementary it is wise to use both rather than rely upon one of the other. Especially when the phase
21.3. ENERGY AND THE OSCILLATOR
139
angle is not a multiple of /2 (i.e. if neither the displacement or velocity is zero at t = 0). Problem 21.2.2. The Simple Pendulum Consider a small bob of mass m attached to a light, inextensible string of length and suspended from the ceiling. (a) Draw the free body diagram (FBD) of the bob. Add a polar coordinate system and then the radial and tangential accelerations. (b) Write Newtons second law for this FBD. Measure your angle, , from the equilibrium position. (c) For the tangential equation substitute a suitable expression involving the angular acceleration, . Check your signs carefully by choosing the direction of increasing angle as positive. (Hint: The angular acceleration, , is the second time derivative of the angle. , so both must be measured with respect to the same coordinate system.) (d) What is the maximum angle, max , in radians for which sin differs from by less than one percent? Convert this angle to degrees. (e) Assuming that the angle remains less than this we can approximate sin with with the rst term of its Taylor expansion. Solve the resulting equation after this substitution. (Hint: Try replacing all of the positive constants in your expression with a new positive constant, 2 .) (f) What is the period, T , of the pendulums oscillation?
21.3
Energy and the Oscillator
Problem 21.3.1. Energy and the SHO Consider again the block-spring system on a horizontal frictionless surface. (a) What is the kinetic energy of the system as a function of time? (b) What is the potential energy of the system as a function of time? (c) What is the total energy of the system as a function of time? (d) Show that energy is conserved for this system. (e) Plot your answers to parts (a), (b) and (c) for 0 t 2T on the same graph. Clearly label the times zero, T and 2T on your time axis. (f) Plot the kinetic, potential and total energy as functions of displacement,x, on a new graph for A x A. Problem 21.3.2. Energetic Pendulum (a) For the pendulum described in Problem 21.2.2 calculate the
140
gravitational potential energy using the lowest point of the bob as the zero of height. (b) Using a computer plot the gravitational potential as a function of for >> . (The Octave code in Listing 3.4.1 2 2 may be a good starting point.) (c) On the same graph plot 1 (mg )2 . 2 (d) Again on the same graph plot the difference of the two previous curves. (e) Substitute the rst three terms of the Maclaurin series for cos into your result for part (a) and compare the result to the expression given in part (c).
21.4
Other Potentials
We could perform a similar analysis to that in Problem 21.3.2 for any potential that has a local minimum. From a physics perspective, a local minimum in the potential means we have a restoring force towards the equilibrium point6 and so for small deviations from this point we will expect oscillatory motion. From a mathematical perspective we can perform a Taylor expansion about the local minimum and then for small oscillations approximate the potential as a parabola. Problem 21.4.1. Lennard-Jones Potential The Lennard-Jones potential is commonly used to model empirically the potential between two neutral atoms or molecules 12 6 ULJ = 4 r r and the local minimum at r = 6 2 can be modeled as a parabola to calculate the oscillation frequency. Because of the form in which the potential it is particularly easy to identify the dimensionless length and energy, and , respectively (cf. Ex. 3.4.1). (a) Find the force, F (r) = dU , on an object in a Lennard-Jones dr potential. (b) Sketch the force, F (r), for 0 < r < 2 . At what point,
You should be able to convince yourself of this by considering the relationship between force and potential, F = dU/dx, and examining the slope of U (x) on either side of a minima.
6
21.5. DAMPED HARMONIC MOTION
141
Figure 21.2: In damped harmonic motion the amplitude of the oscillation decreases, usually exponentially (left). In driven harmonic motion the amplitude increases as the driving frequency approaches the natural frequency of the object (right).
r , is the force zero? (c) Sketch the force, F (r), in the region near r (i.e. the region where it would be reasonable to truncate the Taylor expansion at the rst non-constant term). (d) Sketch the potential using the same scale below the sketch of the force. (e) Label the equilibrium
21.5
Damped Harmonic Motion
In the Real WorldTM there is always some form of dissipative or frictional forces. Often these forces increase with the speed of the system (e.g. air resistance) so we can approximate them with where b is the constant of proportionality and the minus sign is because the frictional force and the velocity are in opposite directions. For a block-spring system we now have for Newtons Second Law F = ma = kx bv or k b x x m m which is a different differential equation which has the solution x = x(t) = Aebt/2m cos( t + ) Ff = bv
142 where
k b2 m 4m2 which can be checked by direct substition. Note that in the b 0 limit this solution reduces to that of the SHO, as it must. This is an oscillatory solution in which the amplitude of the oscillations decreases exponentially with time (the ebt/2m factor). If k = b2 /4m then = 0 and there are no oscillations but the amplitude still decreases exponentially with time, a situation know as critical damping. If k < b2 /4m then is imaginary and the system is over damped and the amplitude again decreases exponentially with time, but this time more slowly. 2 =
21.6
Natural Frequencies and Resonance
All rigid systems will have a natural frequency of vibration and can be approximated by our equation for damped harmonic motion, with a restoring force (caused by the rigidity) and a damping force (caused by dissipative, or frictional, forces that are always present). So far we have looked at systems with restoring forces (e.g. kx) and damping forces (e.g. bx ). We can also have driving forces. For systems with a restoring force, all of which undergo oscillatory motion, the interesting type of force is a periodic one Fd (t) = F cos(t) with angular frequency, , which, combined with Newtons second law, gives F = mx = kx bx + Fd
which is very similar to the damped simple harmonic system but is more complicated to solve. The response of the system depends upon how well the driving frequency, , matches the natural frequency, , of the system, with the amplitude of the oscillation growing dramatically when the two match. Depending upon the strength of the driving force, F , and the amount of damping, b, present, the response can grow exponentially. And exponential growth is usually destructive.
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Problem 21.6.1. Wet Oscillations Consider a dampled harmonic oscillator consisting of a mass m attached to a spring with spring constant k and damping parameter b. (a) After being set in motion the position of the mass t 2 2, is given by x(t) = Ae cos( t + ), where = = b/2m and = k/m (the natural frequency of the undamped oscillator). Assuming , determine the mechanical energy, E (t), of the oscillator as a function of time. (Hint: E (t) should decay according to a simple exponential law.) (b) Suppose the oscillator from part (a) is now driven with a forcing function F (t) = F cos(f t). In the steady state the position of the mass is given by x(t) = A cos(f t ), where F /m A= . 2 2 )2 + 4 2 2 ( f f
The amplitude of oscillation is maximum when the forcing frequency, f , is equal to the resonance frequency, r . Find this resonance frequency, r , and the amplitude, Amax , at this frequency? (Hint: A2 has the same maximum as A.) (c) What is the 0 limit of your answer to part (a)? (d) It can be shown that in the limit of small damping (ie, ) the phase angle, , approachs /2. In this limit the velocity is in phase with the forcing function, F (t). Calculate as a function of time the power, P (t), being supplied to the oscillator by the forcing function. Express your answer in terms of vmax , the maximum instantaneous speed of the oscillator. (e) What is (t), being supplied to the oscillator? the average power (over time), P (Hint: Sketch P (t) and use your physical intuition.)
21.7
Further Problems
Problem 21.7.1. Out of Phase A block of mass m rests upon a smooth horizontal plane and is attached to a spring of spring constant k . (a) If at t = 0, x = x and v = 0 what is the equation of motion for the block? (b) If at t = 0, x = 0 and v = v what is the equation of motion for the block? (c) If at t = 0, x = x and v = v what is the amplitude of the motion of
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the block? (d) If at t = 0, x = x and v = v what is the equation of motion for the block? Assume x > 0 and v > 0. Problem 21.7.2. Hanging Block Consider a block of mass m hanging from a spring with spring constant k which is released from rest after the mass is connected to the unstretched spring. (a) Find the equation of motion for the block. (Hint: Try the substitution y = x + C and then choose C so that the problem is one you recognize.) (b) Plot the position and velocity as functions of time. Problem 21.7.3. Spring-Block 2 A block of mass m attached to a spring of spring constant k rests upon a frictionless horizontal surface. At t = 0 it is hit sharply with a hammer giving it an initial velocity v to the left. (a) Plot the displacement and velocity as functions of time. (b) How long after the hammer strike is the displacement one half of its maximum value? (c) What is the velocity of the block at this time? (d) Using energy methods calculate the blocks speed when its displacement from equilibrium is one half of its maximum displacement? Problem 21.7.4. Physical Pendulum If the approximations made for the simple pendulum are not appropriate then a more sophisticated analysis is needed. Consider an object that is pivoted to rotate in a vertical plane and the pivot point is a distance d from the centre of mass of the object. Assume that the object is rotated a small amount, , from its equilibrium position and released; it will then oscillate in a manner similar to the simple pendulum. (a) Draw the free body diagram for the object when it is rotated through a small angle theta. (b) If the moment of inertia of the object about its centre of mass is I , what is its moment of inertia about the pivot? (c) What is the net torque about the pivot point? (d) Derive an expression for the angular acceleration of the object. (e) Make the small angle approximation to nd the equation of motion, (t), of the object. (f) What is the period, T , of the oscillation? Problem 21.7.5. Torsional Pendulum Consider an object that is suspended from a light inextensible string

k1 m k2
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Figure 21.3: Block Double-Spring
but instead of swinging left-to-right this object is given a small initial rotation about the axis dened by the string. There will be a restoring torque caused by the string and the object will oscillate about this axis. (a) If the moment of inertia of the object about a vertical axis through its centre of mass is I and the rst term in the Taylor expansion for the restoring torque is derive an expression for the angular acceleration of the object for small oscillations. (b) Find the equation of motion, (t), of the object. (c) What is the period, T , of the oscillation? Problem 21.7.6. Block Double-Spring 1 Consider a block of mass m attached to two springs with spring constants k1 and k2 and rests upon a frictionless horizontal surface as shown. (a) Draw the free body diagram for the block if it is displace a distance x to the right of its equilibrium position. (b) Write Newtons second law for this system. (c) What is the angular frequency, , for this system? (d) What is the effective spring constant, keff , for this system? (e) What would be the angular frequency if the frictionless surface was inclined at an angle to the horizontal? Problem 21.7.7. Block Double-Spring 2 Consider a block of mass m attached to two springs with spring constants k1 and k2 and rests upon a frictionless horizontal surface as shown. (a) Draw the free body diagram for the block if it is displace a distance x to the right of its equilibrium position. (b) Draw the free body diagram for the connection between the two springs. (c) Write Newtons second law for each of these systems. (d) What is the angular frequency, , for this system? (e) What is the effective spring constant, keff , for this system? (f) What would be the angular frequency if the frictionless surface was inclined at an angle to the horizontal?
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k1 k2 m
Figure 21.4: Block Double-Spring
Problem 21.7.8. Simple Simple Harmonic Motion (a) A block of mass m undergoes simple harmonic motion of frequency f about the point x = 0. At t = 0 it has displacement x = x and zero velocity. Find each of the following quantities. (i) the period (ii) the angular frequency (iii) the amplitude (iv) the displacement as a function of time (v) the velocity as a function of time (vi) the maximum velocity (vii) the maximum acceleration (viii) the displacement at time t = T (ix) the velocity at time t = T (b) A block of mass m rests on top of a piston which is undergoing simple harmonic motion in the vertical direction with a period of T . What is the maximum amplitude of oscillation for which the block remains in contact with the piston at all times? (c) A block of mass m attached to a spring rests upon a smooth horizontal surface and oscillates in simple harmonic motion with a period of T1 . When the mass is increased by m the period is T2 . What is the mass m? Problem 21.7.9. Horizontal Spring-Block System A block of mass m rests upon a smooth horizontal plane and is attached to a spring of spring constant k . (a) If at t = 0, x = x and v = 0 what is the equation of motion for the block? (b) If at t = 0, x = 0 and v = v what is the equation of motion for the block? (c) If at t = 0, x = x and v = v what is the amplitude of the motion of the block? (d) If at t = 0, x = x and v = v what is the equation of motion for the block? Assume x > 0 and v > 0. Problem 21.7.10. Vertical Oscillations A block of mass m is suspended vertically from a spring of spring constant k . (a) As a function of x, the displacement from the unstretched length of the spring, what is the net force acting on the block? (Hint: Force is a vector quantity.) (b) What is the acceler2x ation, a = d , of the block as a function of x, the displacement dt2 from the unstretched length of the spring? (c) Change variables 2 x = x + mg/k to nd the acceleration, a = ddtx 2 , as a function
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of x . (d) If the block is attached to the unstretched spring and released from rest what is the equation of motion of the block in the primed coordinate system? (e) What is the equation of motion of the block in the original coordinate system? Problem 21.7.11. Damped Oscillator Consider a dampled harmonic oscillator consisting of a mass m attached to a spring with spring constant k and damping parameter b. (a) After being set in motion the position of the mass t 2 2, is given by x(t) = Ae cos( t + ), where = = b/2m and = k/m (the natural frequency of the undamped oscillator). Assuming , determine the mechanical energy, E (t), of the oscillator as a function of time. (Hint: E (t) should decay according to a simple exponential law.) (b) Suppose the oscillator from part (a) is now driven with a forcing function F (t) = F cos(f t). In the steady state the position of the mass is given by x(t) = A cos(f t ), where F /m A= . 2 2 )2 + 4 2 2 ( f f
The amplitude of oscillation is maximum when the forcing frequency, f , is equal to the resonance frequency, r . Find this resonance frequency, r , and the amplitude, Amax , at this frequency? (Hint: A2 has the same maximum as A.) (c) What is the 0 limit of your answer to part (a)? (d) It can be shown that in the limit of small damping (ie, ) the phase angle, , approachs /2. In this limit the velocity is in phase with the forcing function, F (t). Calculate as a function of time the power, P (t), being supplied to the oscillator by the forcing function. Express your answer in terms of vmax , the maximum instantaneous speed of the oscillator. (e) What is (t), being supplied to the oscillator? the average power (over time), P (Hint: Sketch P (t) and use your physical intuition.) Problem 21.7.12. Rubber Band A block of mass M is attached to the end of a rubber band which has an unstretched length , spring constant k and a mass m which is much less than M (i.e. you can assume that M m throughout this
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question). The block is released from rest when the rubber band is unstretched. (a) What is the length of the rubber band, xlow , when the block is in its lowest position? (b) What is the tension, Flow , in the rubber band when the block is in its lowest position? (c) The block is now brought to rest at this lowest position. What is the speed , vw,1 , of a transverse wave in rubber band? (d) The temperature now changes and the rubber bands length changes by . What is the new speed, vw,2 , of a transverse wave in rubber band? Problem 21.7.13. Block-Spring A block of mass m attached to a spring with spring constant k is undergoing simple harmonic motion with an amplitude A. What is the magnitude of the blocks acceleration when its velocity is one half its maximum value? Problem 21.7.14. Find g In an experiment to measure the local value of g on the surface of another planet a simple pendulum of length and mass m is observed to undergo N complete small oscillations in a time t. Find an expression for g in terms of the quantities , m, N and t.
21.7. FURTHER PROBLEMS Problem 21.7.15. Pendulum
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A pendulum consists of a rigid rod of length but negligible mass with a small bob of mass m attached at h k its end. Furthermore, it has a spring with spring constant k connected to it at a distance h below its point of m suspension as shown. The spring is in equilibrium when the pendulum is vertical. (a) Draw the free body diagram for the rod plus bob system. Include all forces on the diagram. You should assume that the spring force remains horizontal as the system oscillates. (b) Sum the torques about the pivot. Take the counter-clockwise direction as positive. (c) Apply the small angle approximation (sin tan ) and 2 nd an expression for the angular acceleration, = d . The modt2 ment of inertia of the system about the pivot is I = m2 . (d) What is the period of oscillation? (e) What is the period of oscillation in the h 0 limit? (f) What is the period of oscillation in the g 0 and h limit?
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Problem 21.7.16. Physical Pendulum A physical pendulum consists of a rigid rod of length and mass m. Furthermore, it has a spring with h k spring constant k connected to it at a distance h below its point of susm pension as shown. The spring is in equilibrium when the pendulum is vertical. (a) Draw the free body diagram for the rod. Include all forces on the diagram. You should assume that the spring force remains horizontal as the system oscillates. (b) Sum the torques about the pivot. Take the counter-clockwise direction as positive. The moment of inertia of the rod about the pivot is I = 1 m2 . (c) Apply the small angle 3 approximation (sin tan ) and nd an expression for the 2 angular acceleration, = d . (d) What is the period of oscillation? dt2 (e) What is the period of oscillation in the h 0 limit?
Chapter 22 Waves
22.1 Overview
Mechanical waves are disturbances that travel through a medium an external agent creates a local disturbance in the medium which, in turn, disturbs adjacent parts of the medium before bouncing back past its equilibrium state, again disturbing adjacent parts of the medium, but now in the opposite direction. This sets up a travelling wave in the medium. It is important to understand that it is the disturbance that is travelling through the medium rather than the medium itself. For example, if you watch a seagull oating on the ocean as waves travel past you will see that the seagull bobs up and down (the disturbance in the medium it oscillates about its equilibrium position) as the waves travel past. Each part of the medium oscillates about its equilibrium position (acting like one of the oscillators we examined in the preceding chapter) and the restoring force is the interaction of that part of the medium with its neighbouring parts, thereby disturbing them from their current position (by Newtons Third Law). It is this neighbouring interaction that causes each part of the medium to oscillate in sympathy with its neighbours but slightly out of phase with them. It is this continuously changing phase difference that we observe as a travelling wave. In fact, we can view a wave as a series of oscillators, each oscil151
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lating with a phase slightly different than its neighbours. Examples of mechanical waves are sound waves, waves on a string, water waves, etc. Electromagnetic waves are not mechanical waves and require no medium (although they can travel through a medium). The deviation from equilibrium is a function of both space and time and when we watch such waves they appear to move even though each point in the medium is merely oscillating about its equilibrium position a phenomenon called travelling waves. The reason for the apparent motion of the waves is that there is a relationship between the phase of the medium at different points in space adjacent points are slightly out of phase and this phase changes in a uniform manner. A very visual example of this is when the fans in a stadium do the wave when the person to your left stands up you stand up and when they sit down you sit down. In this case the medium is the fans and the wave travels around the stadium.
22.1.1
Types of Waves
Interestingly, there are two types of mechanical travelling waves. The rst, transverse waves, are easier to visualize as the medium oscillates perpendicular to the direction of wave motion; an example is a wave travelling on the surface of the ocean. The second, longitudinal waves, have the medium oscillating in the same direction as the wave motion and are more difcult to visualize; sound waves are examples of longitudinal waves (sound waves are covered in detail in a future chapter). In this chapter we will focus upon transverse waves.
22.2
Waves on a String
Waves on the surface of a body of water travel in two dimensions while sound waves travel in three dimensions. Because one dimensional waves retain all of the important physics while being mathematically much simpler to deal with we will start our study of travelling waves by examining transverse waves travelling on a taut string.
22.2. WAVES ON A STRING

y y (x1 , t1 ) y (0, 0) y (x, 0) vw x x1 vw t1 vw t1 x1 y (x, t1 )
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Figure 22.1: A travelling wave.
We will also restrict ourselves to the case in which the oscillations (which are perpendicular to the string) are in a single plane.1 If we choose our x-axis as along the string and the y -axis along the direction of oscillation (so all of the motion is conned to the xy plane) then we can describe the travelling wave as y (x, t), which species the deviation of the string from its equilibrium position as a function of space (x) and time (t). If at t = 0 the string has the shape f (x) then y (x, 0) = f (x). If the wave is moving with speed vw in the positive x-direction then at time t1 later the part of the wave that was at x = 0 will be at x = vw t1 . Similarly, the part of the wave at position x1 at time t1 was at x1 vw t1 at time t = 0 (see Fig. 22.1). From this we can conclude y (x1 , t1 ) = y (x1 vw t1 , 0) = f (x1 vw t1 ). This must be true in general so we have the following expression for a travelling wave with shape f (x) at time t = 0: y (x, t) = f (x vw t). (22.1)
If the wave was instead travelling in the negative x direction we would have the same expression but with vw replaced with vw . It is
Waves for which the oscillations are restricted to a single plane are said to be plane-polarized. If the direction of oscillation rotates about the direction of wave propagation as the wave travels then it is circularly-polarized. We wont be examining this latter case (although it isnt as bad as it sounds).
1
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t y
CHAPTER 22. WAVES
vw
Figure 22.2: A three dimensional depiction of a travelling wave. A snapshot of the wave is taken at regular time intervals. The peak of the wave is moving in the positive x-direction with speed vw .
important to remember that any travelling wave must have this form (i.e. the space and time variables must appear together as x vw t). Note that in the above diagram we have plotted y (x, 0) and y (x, t1 ), snapshots of the wave-function at two different times. Because the wave-function is a function of two variables we must be careful when we plot it. It is also possible to plot the deviation of the string from its equilibrium position as a function of time for different positions along the string. Alternatively, we can try to plot y (x, t) on a three dimensional plot. Problem 22.2.1. Wave Functions A pulse on a string under tension Ft has the wave function y (x, t) = A (x vw t)2 + b2
where x is the direction along the string, t is time, y is the transverse displacement of the string from its equilibrium position and vw . A and b are constants with suitable units. (a) What must the dimensionality of A and b be in order for the wave function to be a valid physics equation? (b) Plot this wave function at t = 0. Assume that the three constants are each equal to one. (c) How far, x1 , has the maximum of the pulse moved at time t1 ? (d) Sketch this wave function at t = t1 . (e) Sketch the motion of the point on the string x = x1 as a function of time. Assume that x1 b. Label the point t1 on your axis. (f) What is the linear density, , of the string?
22.3. SINUSOIDAL WAVES
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22.3
Sinusoidal Waves
In the previous section we examined pulses travelling along a string. In this section we will look at periodic or sinusoidal waves. These are two extremes one is very regular and periodic and the other is a one-time occurrence. There are other possibilities but we will not lose generality because, in theory. we can represent any wave shape as a superposition, or sum, of sinusoidal waves (an application of Fourier analysis). We write a sinusoidal wave as where k is a constant called the wave number and A and are again the amplitude and phase constant, respectively.2 Note that the space and time variables appear in the combination required for a wave, namely (x vw t). Note the similarity of this equation to Eq. 21.2, the equation of motion for a simple harmonic oscillator. In fact, this equation is the solution to the general wave equation,
2 2y 2 y = t2 x2 which is a partial differential equation (PDE) in which k and are the wave number and angular frequency we have seen before. We wont be examining PDEs in any further detail. 3 Just as in the previous chapter, the argument of the sine is called the phase and is represented by (x, t); is the constant part of the phase called, of course, the phase constant. Note in particular that in physics the argument of trigonometric functions must be dimensionless and that, consequently, the phase is also dimensionless.4
y (x, t) = A sin(k (x vw t) )
k2
Dont confuse the wave number, k , with the spring constant, k , from the previous chapter. Although the two symbols look similar, they represent very different quantities. 3 In fact, for the rest of this chapter we will gloss over the difference between a partial and complete differential. If you dont know what this means dont worry. 4 We often refer to the unit as radians but really this is a misnomer since the angle in radians is the ratio of the arc length to the radius a dimensionless quantity. See 4.1 on page 21 for more details.
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When we studied oscillatory motion in the previous chapter we found that the oscillations were periodic in time; for sinusoidal travelling waves the oscillations are periodic in both space and time. The temporal periodicity we called the period and represented with T ; we now represent the spatial periodicity with and call it the wavelength. We can analyze this in the same manner as in the previous chapter: When x increases by the phase must increase by 2 , so 2 = = (k (x + ) t + ) (kx t + ) = k k= 2 .
Similarly, when t increases by T the phase must also increase by 2 , so 2 2 = kvw T = = kvw T where we have reintroduced the angular frequency, = 2 f , from the previous chapter. Finally, the wave must progress a distance in time T so v w = = f = . T k We have introduced the wave number, k = 2 /, and the angular frequency, = 2 /T , merely to make the sinusoidal wave equation tidier: y (x, t) = A sin(kx t ). In this section we have several three letter equations but most of them are just denitions or straighforward relationships between the relevant quantities so try not to let them confuse you. The above equation represents a complicated situation so it is worth reviewing. The equation represents a travelling wave because the space and time variables appear as the combination x t/k = x vw t. It is travelling in the positive x-direction with speed vw . Its temporal period is T = 2 / and its spatial period (aka its wavelength) is = 2 /k . Its amplitude and phase constant are A and , respectively.
22.4. REFLECTION AND TRANSMISSION
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The variable y represents the displacement of the medium from its equilibrium position. The velocity and acceleration of the medium will be y (x, t) = A cos(kx t + ) y (x, t) = 2 A sin(kx t + ). It is easy to confuse the wave speed, vw , and the particle velocity, y we will use y instead of v to aid with the distinction. It, perhaps, helps to recall that one, vw , is a constant for a given medium and the particle velocity, y , is a function of time. Problem 22.3.1. Wave Speed I (a) Draw the free body diagram of a small section of the string of length s at the top of a sinusoidal wave. Assume that the string is under a tension of FT which acts along its length. This segment will form a circular arc of radius R, subtending the angle ; add the centre of this circle to your diagram. (b) As the wave passes to the right this segment will be travelling along the circular arc of radius R. Write Newtons second law for this segment of string. (c) If the linear density of the string is what is the mass, m, of the small segment of string? (d) Solve your equations to nd an expression for the wave speed, vw , in terms of the non-innitesimal quantities. (Hint: You will need to identify the angle subtended by the segment of string, , and then examine the limit as this angle becomes small.) (e) We can see that the segment of string will move to the left with speed dx/dt as the wave moves to the right, so the wave speed will be given by vw = dx/dt. Use the chain rule and the equation for y (x, t) to derive the expected result for the wave speed, vw .
22.4
Reection and Transmission
Example 22.4.1. Two Strings When a wave travelling through a medium meets an interface between two media it is observed to be both reected and transmitted. Consider two strings of linear densities 1 and 2 which are
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tied together at x = 0 and stretched along the x-axis with a tension F . A wave given by y (x, t) = A sin k1 (x v1 t) travels in the string of linear density 1 . When it meets the knot it is both reected, giving a wave C sin k1 (x + v1 t), and transmitted, giving a wave B sin k2 (x v2 t). (a) What is the physical interpretation of the assumption that k1 v1 = k2 v2 ? (b) What is the physical interpretation of the assumption that the strings have the same slope at the knot? (Hint: Draw the free body diagram of the knot.) (c) Show that A = B + C ? (Hint: Use the principle of superposition for string 1.) (d) Find the reection coefcient, C , in terms of the incoming amplitude, A, and the two wave speeds, v1 and v2 . (e) Under what conditions will C be negative. Solution (a) Since v1 and v2 are the speed of the waves in the two media they are equal to the ratio of the angular frequency to the wave number for each media, vw = /k. Making this substitution we can see that this assumption is equivalent to the angular frequencies in the two strings being the same. In other words, the knot connecting the two strings is oscillating up and down at a certain frequency and so is the string on either side of the knot (it wouldnt be much of a knot otherwise). (b) Newtons Second Law for the knot is =F T1 + F T2 = m F aknot
i is the tension in string i and m is the mass of the knot where F T1 and F T2 are parallel the knot is either accelerating along so if F the string (impossible) or m aknot = 0 (and the two tensions are equal and opposite). Since the knot is going up and down (and so its velocity is changing) we must conclude that m = 0. And so the assumption is that the knot is massless (or at least that its mass is very small).
(c) On string 1 we have two waves, one travelling to the right and one to the left. The principle of superposition tells us that the
22.4. REFLECTION AND TRANSMISSION net wave function on strings 1 and 2 are y1 (x, t) = A sin k1 (x v1 t) + C sin k1 (x + v1 t) y2 (x, t) = B sin k2 (x v2 t)
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at the knot x = 0 and the two displacements must be equal at this point (i.e. y1 (0, t) = y2 (0, t)) so A sin(k1 v1 t) + C sin(k1 v1 t) = B sin(k2 v2 t) but since, from (a), k1 v1 = k2 v2 , the sines cancel, leaving A + C = B A = B + C as required (we also used the fact that sine is an odd function i.e. sin() = sin ). This is telling us that the sum of the amplitudes on either side of an interface must be equal, a result that is not unexpected. (d) The slope of string 1 is dy1 = k1 A cos k1 (x v1 t) + k1 C cos k1 (x + v1 t) dx and on string 2 it is dy2 = k2 A cos k2 (x v2 t). dx At x = 0 the two slopes are the same, so k1 A cos k1 (v1 t) + k1 C cos k1 (v1 t) = k2 A cos k2 (v2 t) and we again use k1 v1 = k2 v2 to this time cancel the cosines (remember that cosine is an even function, see 4.2 on page 21), leaving k1 A + k1 C = k2 B B = k1 (A + C ). k2
We can then substitute this into the result from (c) to give A= k1 k2 k1 (A + C ) + C C = A k2 k2 + k1
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CHAPTER 22. WAVES into which we can substitute ki = /vi to give our nal result: C= v1 v2 A. v1 + v2
(e) We can see that the reectivity coefcient, C , will be negative if v1 < v2 if the speed of the wave in string 2 is greater than that in string 1. Note also that, as expected, if the two strings are the same then v1 = v2 and there is no reected wave. Concept 22.4.1. Transmission What is the transmission coefcient, B ? Could this ever be negative? Why or why not? Solution From Ex. 22.4.1 we have A = B + C and C = Eliminating C from these equations gives B= 2v2 A v1 + v2
v1 v2 A. v1 + v2
which can never be negative. The transmission coefcient, B , must always be positive because the incoming and transmitted waves must be in phase otherwise the strings will be disconnected at the knot. It turns out that the result of the preceding example is general depending upon the relative densities of the two media the reected wave may or may not be inverted (i.e. acquire a phase shift of ). (If there is any doubt, the denser medium is the one with the lower wave speed.) It is observed that when a wave passes from a less to a more dense medium that the reected wave is inverted, otherwise it is erect (i.e. not inverted). A mnemonic for this is low to high, phase shift of . See Fig. 22.3. It is interesting that when we look at quantum mechanical tunnelling through a barrier, 27.4 on page 243, that we will encounter the same problem (and solution) the wave function, (x). will again have to be smooth (d1/dx = d2/dx) and continuous (1 = 2 ) at the interface between two media.
22.5. ENERGY TRANSFER

incoming
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transmitted reected incoming
reected
transmitted
Figure 22.3: When a wave meets the interface between two media it is both reected and transmitted. The transmitted wave is erect and the reected wave may be either erect or inverted depending upon the relative densities of the two media (and, hence, the wave speed in the media). The mnemonic to remember this is: low to high, phase shift of .
22.5
Energy Transfer
Problem 22.5.1. Energy Transfer A sinusoidal wave is travelling along a string of linear density with wave number k , angular frequency and amplitude A. (a) Write the equation for the displacement of the string from its equilibrium position assuming that the wave is travelling in the positive x-direction. (b) If y (0, 0) = 0 and y (0, 0) < 0, what is the phase constant, ? (c) Consider a small piece of string of length x. Write the kinetic energy of this segment, K . Find dK by taking the x 0 limit. (Hint: Do you want to use the wave speed, vw , or the particle velocity, y , when you calculate the kinetic energy?) (d) Calculate the kinetic energy of a length of string equal to wavelength, K . one (This will involve a simple integral. K = 0 dK .) (e) Similarly, calculate the potential energy of a length of string equal to one wavelength, U . (f) Calculate the power transferred along the string, P , by calculating energy transferred along the string in t = T . Express you answer so that it is independent of the wavelength or wave
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number. (Hint: How far does the wave travel in this time?)
22.6
Further Problems
Problem 22.6.1. Wave on a Vertical String A uniform rope of mass m and length hangs vertically from the ceiling. (a) Find the speed of a wave on the string as a function of x, the distance from the lower end of the string. (b) Find the time taken for a wave to travel from the bottom to the top of the string. (Hint: This will involve an integral.) (c) Find the time taken for a wave to travel from the bottom to the top of the string if the mass of the string is doubled. (d) Find the time taken for a wave to travel from the bottom to the top of the string if the length of the string is doubled. Problem 22.6.2. Wave on a Circular String A uniform circular hoop of string of mass m and radius r is rotating in the absence of gravity. Its tangential speed is v . (a) Draw the free body diagram of a length x = r of the string. (b) Find the tension in the string. (c) Find the speed of a wave travelling on the string. (d) Find the speed of a wave travelling on the string if its mass is doubled. (e) Find the speed of a wave travelling on the string if its radius is doubled. (f) Use dimensional analysis to nd an expression for the wave speed to within a dimensionless factor of order one.
Chapter 23 Sound
23.1 Overview
In this chapter we examine sound as a particular type of travelling wave worthy of further study. Sound waves not only have the properties discussed in the previous chapter but also exhibit other interesting phenomena such as the Doppler Effect and shock waves. As longitudinal waves sound waves are more difcult to visualize than a wave travelling on a string. Adding further complication, sound travels in three dimensions rather than the single dimension that a wave on a string is conned to.
23.2
Speed of Sound
When we examined the speed of a wave on a string we found that the 2 square of the wave speed, vw , was proportional to the elastic property (the tension, FT ) and inversely proportional to the inertial property (the linear density, ). It turns out that this is a general result and for sound travelling through a gas the corresponding quantities are the bulk modulus, B ,1 and the density, .
The bulk modulus is an intensive property of a substance and is the reciprocal of the compressibility. It is dened by the relation: P = B V /V where P is the pressure and V is the volume. See Chapter 19 for more details.
1
163
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Example 23.2.1. Bulk Modulus It is easy to devise simple experiments to measure the speed of sound in various gases as well as the densities of the gases. For air it is found that, at room temperature, air has a density of approximately 1.1 kg/m3 and that sound travels at about 340 m/s. (a) What is the dimensionality of the bulk modulus, B , and what is the corresponding SI unit? (b) What is the bulk modulus of air at room temperature? (c) Given the denition of bulk modulus, B = V P/V , would you expect the bulk modulus of a liquid to be much higher or much lower than that of a gas? Solution (a) From the given equation for bulk modulus, P = B V /V it is easy to see that the dimensionalities of the two volumes, V and V , will cancel so the bulk modulus, B , must have the same dimensionality as pressure, P, force per unit area or M/T 2 L. The SI unit of pressure is the Pascal. (b) We know that the square of the speed of sound in air is equal to the bulk modulus, B , divided by the density,
2 2 vw = B/ B = vw = (340)2 (1.1) = 127 kPa.
(c) For a given volume, V , and change in pressure, P, I would expect that the change in volume, V , of a liquid to be much less than that of a gas and so the bulk modulus, B , of a liquid should be much larger than that of a gas. 2 Concept 23.2.1. Under Water Screams Would you expect the speed of sound in water to be faster or slower than that in air? Solution
Measured values of the bulk moduli are 1.0 to 1.4 kPa for air and 2.2 GPa for water (the range of value for air is due to the different possible ways of measuring this quantity).
2
23.2. SPEED OF SOUND
165
Because the bulk modulus of water is 106 times larger than that of air but its density is only 103 times larger I would expect, using the values from the previous example and its footnote 2.2 109 2 vw = B/ = vw = 1.5 km/s. 1000 so the speed of sound in water is about 4 times faster than that in air. What do you expect to happen to the speed of sound in air as the pressure drops? What happens when it reaches zero?
23.2.1
Temperature and the Speed of Sound
In the ideal gas approximation thermodynamics allows us to derive a relationship between the speed of sound and the absolute temperature, 2 vw T.
On a microscopic level the absolute temperature is a measure of the average energy per molecule;3 and for a gas the energy is almost completely kinetic, giving for a monoatomic ideal gas (i.e. one in which we can neglect the inter-molecular forces)
3 k T 2 B
2 =1 mv 2
2 is the average of the square of where kB is Boltzmans constant v the molecular speed (it is from this relationship that the ideal gas law can be derived). The three is present because there are three degrees of freedom for the kinetic energy corresponding to the three spatial dimensions. Problem 23.2.1. Cool Sounds From experiment the speed of sound in air at STP4 is 331 m/s.
This is the equipartition theorem. Standard conditions for Temperature and Pressure (STP) are actually nonstandard. Those set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) dictate 20 C and 1 atmosphere (101 kPa) while those set by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) dictate 0 C and 100 kPa. Historically, however, STP was dened as 0 C and 1 atmosphere. A very non-standard standard which varies with both space and time.
4 3
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(a) Derive an expression for the speed of sound at any temperature. (b) What is the speed of sound at room temperature (20 C)? (c) What do you expect to happen in the T 0 limit for a real gas? (d) What do you expect to happen in the T limit for a real gas?
23.3
23.3.1
Sources of Sound
Voices
Human voices are produced by air passing from the lungs through the larynx. The larynx contains the vocal folds, the gap between which are controlled by muscles. When this gap is closed it allows us to swallow without food or liquid entering the trachea, which leads to the lungs. By controlling the gap between and tension in the vocal folds as we exhale air past them the folds vibrate, producing sound. It is the shape of our tongue, lips, teeth, etc that produces the vowels and consonants as sound passes from our larynges.
23.3.2
Wind Instruments
The type of musical instrument know as wind instruments contain resonators, an enclosed cavity of air of a specic (and often variable) geometry. Certain frequencies will bounce back and forth in these cavities creating constructive interference (see Ch. ?? on Interference). This is very similar to the function of the mouth for voices. The source of the vibration is the players lips for a brass instrument and often a reed for a wind instrument (but there are other possibilities for wind instruments). The concept of a resonator is very important in physics and engineering. They are used whenever we want to control or select a specic frequency, for example in electrical circuits.
23.3.3
The Loudspeaker
If we examine the operation of a loudspeaker we see that it consists of a diaphragm attached to a coil which is, in turn, wrapped around a magnet. The varying voltage from the source travels along the
23.3. SOURCES OF SOUND
167
Figure 23.1: The larynx, including the trachea, vocal folds and epiglottis, is used by humans to create sound. Air passes from the lungs, through the trachea, past the vibrating vocal folds, over the epiglottis and into the mouth where vowels and consonants are shaped. The image is a reproduction of a lithograph plate from Grays Anatomy and is courtesy Wikipedia.
wire to the coil which causes the diaphragm to vibrates. When the diaphragm moves forward it compresses the air immediately in front of it and when it moves backward it rarees the air immediately in front of it. These local compressions and rarefactions create similar compressions and rarefactions in the adjacent parts of the air and so form travelling waves.
23.3.4
Seismic Sound
Earthquakes are caused by sudden slips, or geological faults, in the plates that make up the Earths mantle. This sends a pulse of sound, or seismic wave, through the Earth which is picked up by seismometers. By comparing the time of arrival of the pulse at several different locations the location, or epicentre, of the earthquake can be located. Because these sound waves are travelling through a solid instead of a liquid or gas (known, collectively, as uids) they can
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have both longitudinal and transverse components, also known as P-waves and S-waves, respectively.5 Interestingly, these two components, P and S-waves, can travel at different speeds. And if the solid is not isotropic then sound can also travel at different speeds in different directions. If this isnt complicated enough already, a solid can also support other types of waves on their surfaces; and these waves will have different speeds as well. And all of these types of waves will be both reected and transmitted at the boundaries between different layers of the mantle. Seismologists have their work cut out for them!
23.4
Periodic One Dimensional Sound Waves
If the source of a loudspeaker provides a periodic signal then the sound wave will also be periodic. If the speaker is placed at one end of tube then the periodic sound wave will travel along the tube, creating a one dimensional sound wave. If we represent the displacement of the air molecules from their equilibrium position as s(x, t) where x is measured along the axis of the tube then for the system described we will have s(x, t) = smax cos(kx t). Note that for this system the displacement of the molecules is also in the x-direction so we have a longitudinal wave. We call this quantity the displacement wave. Problem 23.4.1. Well Enough (a) A boy with a stopwatch drops a stone in a well. If he hears the splash a time t after dropping the stone how deep, d, is the well? (b) Consider the vw gt limit of your solution for part (a) for both possible sign choices in front of the square root. What sign choice gives a reasonable answer and what is that answer? (Hint: Use the binomial expansion for the square root up to the second order term.) (c) What is the g limit of your answer to part (a)? (d) If
Fluids cannot transmit transverse waves because they cannot support a shear stress there would be no restoring force for a transverse wave.
5
23.5. PRESSURE WAVES
169
the boy assumed that sound travelled instantaneously what would he calculate the depth of the well to be? Problem 23.4.2. Rays & Wavefronts Consider a source of periodic sound waves, S. The sound waves propagate in two dimensions at the same speed in all directions. Create a diagram with the source, S, at the centre. (a) Add to your diagram eight rays. Rays are directed lines that commence at the source and are directed in the direction of sound propagation. Make the angles between the rays approximately equal at the source. (b) Add to your diagram four wavefronts. Wavefronts are surfaces of constant phase (e.g. for a sinusoidal wave the wavefronts will be lines for which the argument of the sine or cosine is a constant modulus 6 2 ). (c) Can you draw any conclusions about the relative directions of the rays and wavefronts? (d) Create a second diagram for a region that is very far from the source (very far would be a distance that is large compared to the wavelength of the waves). Add several rays and wavefronts to this diagram. What would be a reasonable approximation for this situation.
23.5
Pressure Waves
An alternative way to represent sound waves is as a pressure wave. Interestingly, the nodes in the pressure wave appear where the antinodes of the displacement are and vice versa (see diagram). When we plot the sound pressure wave we plot the deviation, P, from the equilibrium pressure, P . Starting from the denition of the bulk modulus, B = V P/V and examining an element of air of cross sectional area A and width x we nd that as the sound wave passes is expands and contracts by an amount s. Substituting these quantities in to the bulk moduModulo arithmetic results in the remainder. For us, modulo 2 means that we divide the argument of the sine or cosine by 2 and keep the remainder. This reects the periodicity of the sine and cosine functions; for example sin(9/4) = sin(/4) because 9/4 mod 2 = /4.
6
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CHAPTER 23. SOUND
Figure 23.2: A snapshot of a sound wave and its representation as both a displacement wave and a sound pressure wave. Note that there is a phase shift of /2 between the two representations.
lus equation and rearranging we get, after taking the x 0 limit, P = B s 7 . x
Into this we can substitute the expression for the displacement wave, 2 s(x, t), along with expressions for the wave speed, vw = B/ and wave number, k = /vw , to yield the sound pressure P = Pmax sin(kx t) where Pmax = vw smax is the amplitude of the sound pressure oscillation. Problem 23.5.1. Pressure and Displacement Waves Consider a sound wave travelling along a tube (i.e. a one dimensional travelling wave) with cross sectional area A. (a) Write the
This is a partial derivative. Because the displacement is a function of both position and time, s(x, t), when we take the derivative with respect to position we want to keep the time constant. We indicate this by writing it as a partial derivative. Otherwise we would also have the total derivative and we have to include how time changes as we change position. This is because there are an innite number of possible tangent lines to the surface described by s(x, t) at any given point; by holding the other variables constant we have specied the tangent line in one specic direction.
7
23.5. PRESSURE WAVES
171
wave equation for the displacement wave assuming the wave is travelling in the positive x-direction and has amplitude sm . (b) Now consider a volume V = Ax of the air in the tube. As the sound wave passes through this air its volume changes by V = As where s(x, t) is the displacement wave. Starting from the denition for the bulk modulus derive an expression for the sound pressure, P, in terms of various constants, x and s. (c) Take the x 0 limit of your expression and then substitute in s(x, t) to obtain P as an explicit function of x and t. (d) What is the amplitude of the sound pressure wave in terms of the angular frequency, and whatever constants necessary? (e) What is the phase relationship between the displacement and the sound pressure waves? Problem 23.5.2. Energy Transfer A sinusoidal sound wave is travelling through a tube of cross sectional area A lled with air of density with wave number k , angular frequency and amplitude sm . (a) Write the equation for the displacement of the air from its equilibrium position assuming that at t = 0, x = 0. (b) Consider a small volume of air of length x. Write the kinetic energy of this volume, K . (c) Calculate the kinetic energy of the air of a length of the tube equal to one wavelength, K . (d) Assume that the total potential energy for this volume of air is equal to the kinetic energy and so calculate the power transfered along the tube, P , by calculating energy transfered along the tube in time t = T . Express you answer so that it is independent of the wavelength or wave number. [answer: P = 1 Avw ( sm )2 ] (e) Dis2 cuss briey the comparison of the answer to part (d) and that from question 22.5.1. Problem 23.5.3. Intensity Use the results from questions 23.5.1 and 23.5.2 to calculate the intensity, I = P/A, the power transmitted per unit area in terms of (a) the displacement wave amplitude and (b) the pressure wave , of a sound wave from amplitude. (c) What is the average intensity, I a source emitting an average power P a distance r from the sourse (assume that the wave propagates uniformly in all directions).
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CHAPTER 23. SOUND
(a)
(b)
Figure 23.3: On the left the observer is approaching a stationary source and on the right the source is approaching the stationary observer.
23.6
The Doppler Effect
The Doppler effect is the shift in frequency caused by either the source or observer moving relative to the medium through which the waves are travelling. It is critically important to remember that the speeds are measured relative to the medium and that Galilean relativity does not apply in this situation. Example 23.6.1. Christian Johann Doppler (a) Consider the situation of a stationary source of sound and an observer named Johann moving towards the source with speed vobs . From Johanns viewpoint, with what speed, v , do the wavefronts approach? (b) What frequency, f , will Johann measure? (Hint: What will he observe the frequency to be?) (c) How would your answer to (b) change if Johan was moving away from the source? (d) Now consider the situation of a source moving towards a stationary Johann with speed vsrc . From Johanns viewpoint what will be the wavelength, , of the waves? (Hint: They will be less by an amount equal to the distance travelled by the source between successive wavefronts.) (e) What frequency, f , will Johann measure? (f) How would your answer to (b) change if the source was moving away from Johann? (g) What frequency, f , will Johann measure if both the source and Johann are moving towards each other with speeds vsrc and vobs , respectively? Solution (a) If the source is stationary relative to the medium and Johann is approaching the source at speed vobs (see Fig. 23.3.a) then
23.6. THE DOPPLER EFFECT
173
the wavelength is unchanged and Johann will observe the wavefronts approaching him at speed v = vw + vobs . (b) Since the frequency that Johann will observe corresponds to the number of wavefronts he meets each second, f = v vw + vobs vw + vobs = f = f vw
where v is the speed of the wavefronts relative to the observer and we have used vw = f to eliminate . (c) If Johann was moving away from the source our analysis would be identical to the above with the change vobs vobs , giving f = vw vobs f vw
(d) If Johann is stationary relative to the medium and the source is approaching at with speed v +src (see Fig. 23.3.b) then the wavelength he observes will be decreased by an amount which corresponds to the distance the source moves in time T , the period. The wavelength would be = = vsrc T. (e) The frequency that Johann observes will again correspond the the number of wavefronts which strike him each second f = vw vw vw = f = f. vsrc T vw vsrc
(f) If the source was moving away from Johann our analysis would be identical to the above with the change vsrc vsrc , giving f = vw f vw + vsrc
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CHAPTER 23. SOUND
(g) If both Johann and the source are moving towards each other then we could combine the above analyses to give f = vw + vobs f vw vsrc (23.1)
in which the positive direction of both vobs and vsrc is towards each other. We take especial care to note two things about this equation: In Eq. 23.1 the positive direction of vobs and vsrc depend upon the relative positions of the source and observer. Galilean transformations do not, in general, apply to the Doppler equation because the speed of both the observer and source must be measured relative to the medium and not to each other. Problem 23.6.1. Police Standing at a crosswalk you hear a frequency of f1 from a siren of an approaching police car. After the police car passes the observed frequency is f2 . (a) Determine the cars speed from these observations. (Assume that the speed of sound is vw .) [answer: v = vw f1 f2/f1 +f2 ] (b) What is the frequency of the police siren? (c) What is the wavelength of the police siren when the car is stationary in terms of the wavelengths 1 = vw /f1 and 2 = vw /f2 of the siren as the car approaches and recedes? [answer: = 1 (1 + 2 )] (d) Does 2 your answer to part (c) suggest an alternative method for calculating the frequency of the siren when the police car is stationary? If so, describe this method, possibly using a diagram.
23.6.1
Doppler Effect and Light
For light the Doppler effect equation is slightly different. Einsteins theory of Special Relativity gives c+v fobserver = fsource cv
where v is the relative speed of the source and observer (towards each other is positive).
23.7. SHOCK WAVES
175
v < vw
v = vw
v > vw
Figure 23.4: As an object moves through a medium a pressure wave propagates in front of it. If the speed of the object is less than the speed of the wave (left), equal to the speed of the wave (centre) or greater than the speed of the wave (right) different situations arise. Note that in this diagram the circles are not wavefronts but rather the current position of the pressure wave created at equal time intervals in the past. This pressure wave is rather a continuously created pulse at the front of the object moving through the medium (there is actually also a second pulse created at the trailing edge of the object and is the source of the double sonic boom often heard.
For an approaching source we will observe an increase in frequency. This increase for visible light is towards the blue end of the spectrum and is know as blue shift. Similarly, a receding source will exhibit a red shift.
23.7
Shock Waves
As an object moves through a medium (such as a plane in air or a boat in water) it forms a pressure wave at the front of the object that travels through the medium at the wave speed of the medium, vw . As the speed of the object approaches the wave speed of the medium these pressure waves are unable to propagate ahead of the object (see gure) and the pressure waves accumulate. This situation is commonly seen when boating when you exceed the wave speed in the water a bow wave develops. Problem 23.7.1. Horizontal Plane A plane travelling horizontally passes overhead at a height h at t = 0. At time t = t1 a sonic boom is heard. (a) Draw a diagram of the plane at t = t1 , the path of the plane, the observer and the shockwave
176
vt
CHAPTER 23. SOUND
vw t
Figure 23.5: The shock angle, , can be calculated with the aid of this diagram. By examining the radius of the pressure wave created at time t = 0 at a later time t along with the position of the object at these two times we can see that sin = vw /v . Note that in this diagram the circles are not wavefronts.
cone. Label the point where the plane was at t = 0. (b) Determine the speed of the plane. (c) What is the t1 0 limit of your answer to part (b)? (Hint: What would the shockwave cone look like in this case?)
23.8
Further Problems
Problem 23.8.1. Submarines Two submarines are approaching each other on a collision course, the rst with a speed v1 and the second with a speed v2 . The speed of sound in sea water is vsea . (a) The rst submarine emits a sonar pulse of frequency f1 . What is the frequency, f2 , of this pulse as measured by the second submarine? (b) The sonar pulse is reected by the second submarine and detected by the rst submarine at a frequency f3 . In terms of the rst submarines speed, v1 , the speed of sound in seawater, vsea , the original frequency, f1 and the detected frequency, f3 , nd the speed of the second submarine, v2 . (c) What is the v1 0 limit to your answer to part (b)? (d) What is the f3 f1 limit to your answer to part (b)?
Chapter 24 Superposition
24.1 Superposition Principle
The superposition principle states: If two or more travelling waves are moving through a medium the resulting wave function is the sum of two individual wave functions. This statement is valid for linear waves those with an amplitude much smaller than their wavelengths.1 The combination of separate waves in the same region of space is called interference. If the displacement of the two waves are in the same direction the result is constructive interference, otherwise there is destructive interference. This phenomena is more interesting in two or more dimensions. As you will likely guess, this is an approximation. In general, the wave speed will have a slight dependence upon the frequency, a phenomenon know as dispersion. It works quite well, however, for small amplitude waves for the same reason that Hookes law works for small oscillations: Only the rst term in the Taylor expansion about the equilibrium position is important for small deviations from equilibrium. In jargon, the oscillations are linear (the response to an applied force increases linearly with the magnitude of the force).
In most diagrams in this book the amplitudes use an exaggerated scale since it would otherwise be difcult to see the actual waves.
1
177
178
vw
CHAPTER 24. SUPERPOSITION

vw
vw vw
vw
vw
Figure 24.1: The superposition principle means that two travelling waves can pass through each other unchanged. In the diagrams above a broad low pulse is moving from left to right while a narrow high pulse is travelling from right to left. At the top the two pulses are approaching each other. In the middle they are passing through each other. At the bottom they have passed through each other and continue, unchanged in shape by the passage through each other.
Figure 24.2: When the two pulses meet there is constructive (left) or destructive (right) interference but after they have passed through each other they continue unchanged.
Non-linear waves are much more interesting, giving rise to phenomena such as solitons2 or frequency doubling crystals used in some laser applications. In this chapter we will restrict ourselves to linear phenomena.
A soliton is a wave in which the non-linear effects cancel with the dispersive effects, leading to a single pulse that retains its shape as it travels through the medium.
2
24.1. SUPERPOSITION PRINCIPLE
179
Example 24.1.1. Superposition of Sinusoidal Waves Consider two travelling, sinusoidal waves with the same amplitude but different phases,3 y1 (x, t) = A sin(kx t + 1 ) y2 (x, t) = A sin(kx t + 2 ). (a) The superposition of the two waves will be the algebraic sum, y (x, t) = y1 (x, t) + y2 (x, t). Simplify this expression by using a trigonometric identity to combine the two terms into a single term. ) (b) If your result to (a) is written as y (x, t) = A sin(kx t + what are A and ? (c) Give an interpretation of the result for when = 2 1 = . (d) Is the result a travelling wave? Why or why not? Solution (a) Using the identity sin a + sin b = 2 cos we nd that y (x, t) = 2A cos (b) A = 2A cos
ab 2
sin
a+b 2
2 1 2
sin(kx t + 1 (1 + 2 )) 2
2 1 2
= 1 (1 + 2 ) & 2
(c) When = , A = 0 so y (x, t) = 0 everywhere and always. If the phase difference between two otherwise identical waves is then the two waves exactly cancel out. ) = A sin(k (x (d) We can write y (x, t) = A sin(kx t + ) so the resultant wave is a travelling wave (since x and vw t) + t appear only in the combination xvw t) but now the phase is the average phase and the amplitude, A , is given by the expression above.
3
See Pr. 24.6.1 for a similar example but with differing amplitudes.
180
24.2
Standing Waves
Standing waves are important for an understanding of many phenomena, from how notes form in wind and brass instruments to the solutions to the Scrh odinger equation. A standing wave has nodes and anti-nodes that do not move through space like those of a travelling wave but are, instead, stationary. (See Fig. 24.3.) Often standing waves are formed by a travelling wave which is reected from an interface between two media. The superposition of the incoming and reected waves, if the geometry is right, create a resonance. The geometrical condition is usually that the length of the object in which the waves are travelling divided by the wavelength of the wave be a rational number (i.e. , a ratio of integers). One complication to note here is that, depending upon the relative densities of the two media on either side of the reecting interface the reected wave may be inverted, introducing an extra phase difference of . Example 24.2.1. Standing Ovation Consider two travelling, sinusoidal waves with the same amplitude but different phases which are travelling in opposite directions, y1 (x, t) = A sin(kx t + 1 ) y2 (x, t) = A sin(kx + t + 2 ). (a) The superposition of the two waves will be the algebraic sum, y (x, t) = y1 (x, t) + y2 (x, t). Simplify this expression by using a trigonometric identity to combine the two terms into a single term. and as dened in Ex. 24.1.1. (b) Write your result in terms of (c) Is the result a travelling wave? Why or why not? (d) Plot the resultant wave, y (x, t), for 0 x 3/2 (where = 2/k is the wavelength) for t {0, T/8, T/4, 3T/8, T/4, 5T/8, 3T/4, 7T/8, T }. Label the nodes and anti-nodes. Solution (a) This problem is mathematically very similar to Ex. 24.1.1. Using the same trigonometric identity we nd the sum of the two
24.2. STANDING WAVES
181
(b)
travelling waves to be y (x, t) = 2A cos t + 1 (2 1 ) sin kx + 1 (1 + 2 ) 2 2 y (x, t) = 2A cos t + 1 sin kx + 2
(c) Because the space and time variables, x and t, do not appear together in the form x vw t this is not a travelling wave. Instead it is a standing wave which occurs when two otherwise identical waves are travelling in opposite directions. (d) In Fig. 24.3 is a standing wave at several different times with the nodes and anti-nodes marked. Example 24.2.2. Quantization Consider a string of length , one end of which is being driven by a small amplitude oscillator with frequency f and the other end of which is xed. For certain oscillator frequencies, fn , we will observe standing waves. (a) If there are n anti-nodes in the standing wave what is the wavelength, , of the two travelling waves which are creating the standing wave? (b) What frequencies, fn , will create standing waves? (Assume a wave speed vw .) Your result is known as quantization; only these frequencies will create standing waves on the string. (c) If the string has tension FT and linear density then what are the quantized frequencies, fn , that will set up standing waves in terms of the measurable properties of the string (i.e. its tension, length and linear density)? (d) The lowest quantized frequency, f1 , is known as the fundamental frequency and the higher quantized frequencies are known as harmonics. What are the harmonic frequencies, fn , in terms of the fundamental frequency, f1 ? Solution (a) If there are n anti-nodes then the length of the string is n half wavelengths 2 =n = . 2 n
182
y
1 2

nodes x
3 2
anti-nodes
Figure 24.3: The superposition of two waves travelling in opposite directions which are otherwise identical results in a standing wave. = n where n is an integer The points along the string where kx + = 0). are stationary and are called nodes (here we have taken The distance between the nodes is one half-wavelength. Instead of a travelling wave each point on the string, with position x, is undergoing simple harmonic motion with amplitude 2A sin(kx).
(b) The frequencies, fn , that will create a standing wave are fn = vw vw fn = n . 2
2 Since vw = FT/, the frequencies which will create resonance are
fn = n (c) This is a simple relationship:
FT 42
fn = nf1 . Problem 24.2.1. Measuring Bugs In an experiment to conrm that the speed of a wave on a taut string, vw , is given by both f and FT/, an oscillator is attached to one end of the string. The other end passes over a bridge (forcing a node at this point) and then over a pulley. A mass m is attached to the opposite end of the string, as shown in Fig. 24.4, creating a tension mg in the string. The distance between the oscillator and the bridge is . Assume that the point where the oscillator is attached is a node (this is an approximation). (a) Sketch the string at the rst three resonances (i.e. those with the lowest frequencies). (b) For the wave
24.2. STANDING WAVES
183
Figure 24.4: A string is attached to an oscillator at one end. The oscillator moves up and down a small amount at an adjustable frequency, f . The string then passes over a bridge (which forces a node at this position) a distance from the oscillator and then over a pulley. The other end of the string is attached to a mass m which hangs freely. Resonances will occur for certain frequencies, fn , where n enumerates these frequencies.
travelling on the string, what possible wavelengths, n , will occur at the resonances? (c) If the linear density of the string is what are the possible frequencies, fn ? Problem 24.2.2. Air Columns Consider a sound wave travelling along an air column with length . Assume STP. (a) If the air column has closed ends then when the sound wave meets the end it will be reected in a manner analogous to that of the wave on a string meeting a xed end the displacement wave will have nodes at the closed ends. Sketch the displacement wave, s(x, t), as function of x for 0 x for several representative values of t. (b) What are the quantized frequencies, fn , for this situation in terms of the measurable properties of the air column (i.e. its density, , bulk modulus, B , and length, )? (c) If the air column has open ends then when the sound wave meets the end it will be reected the sound pressure wave will have nodes at each end.4 Sketch the sound pressure wave, P(x, t), as function of x for 0 x for several representative values of t. (d) What are the
It is less obvious that there are nodes at an open end it is because the medium is changing from air in a column to open air that we get nodes. And the actual nodes are about 0.6R outside the column where R is the radius of the column. This detail is important to designers of musical instruments but we will stick with the approximation that the node is at the end of the air column.
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quantized frequencies, fn , for this situation in terms of the measurable properties of the air column? (e) If the air column has one open end and one closed end then when the sound wave meets the end it will be reected (but for different reasons at each end). On two separate diagrams sketch the displacement wave, s(x, t), and the sound pressure wave, P(x, t), as function of x for 0 x for several representative values of t. (f) What are the quantized frequencies, fn , for this situation in terms of the measurable properties of the air column? (Be careful.)
24.3
Beats
Beats is a phenomena in which two oscillations with similar frequencies are superimposed. The result is an oscillation with a frequency equal to the average frequency but with a periodic variation in the amplitude. This is dramatically demonstrated by a stereo sound le with slightly differing tones on each channel. By placing the balance to the extreme left or right each tone is heard. When the balance is in the centre the beat phenomena is heard. Interestingly, this still works when wearing headphones the sound from each channel only reaches one ear so the interference is happening inside your brain! Problem 24.3.1. Beat It! Consider two tuning forks with frequencies f1 and f2 such that the = two frequencies are close to each other (i.e. f = f1 f2 f 1 (f + f2 )). (a) Use a computer to plot the amplitude of the forks 2 1 oscillations, y1 (x, t) & y2 (x, t), on the same plot as functions of time for 20 periods of oscillation. Choose an arbitrary value for the amplitude, phases and for the position, x (e.g. , the distance of your ear equal to about 5. (b) Now from the forks) and set the ratio of f to f plot the sum of two oscillations, y (x, t) = y1 (x, t) + y2 (x, t). Use the same values for the phases, etc. (c) On the second plot sketch the envelope of the plot (i.e. two curves that touch the local maxima and minima, respectively). [answer: see Fig. 24.5] (d) Describe qualitatively what you will hear if these two forks are oscillating at
24.3. BEATS
1
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0.5
-0.5
-1
0.2
0.4 t
0.6
Figure 24.5: Two oscillations with similar frequencies are combined. Here we have chosen f1 = 20 Hz and f2 = 24 Hz and the amplitude with arbitrary units.
the same time. (e) Use a trigonometric identity to express the sum of the two waves as a single term. Which part of the result corresponds to the envelope? [answer: 2A cos( 1 t) sin( t)] (f) Describe quan2 titatively in terms of a frequency what is heard.
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24.4
Two Dimensional Interference
Interference is even more interesting in two or more dimensions. If a wave can arrive at a destination by two (or more) paths then it is possible for it to interfere with itself! The type of interference, constructive or destructive, will depend upon the phase difference, , between the two waves at the destination. In order to determine the phase difference we will need to determine the geometric path difference, L, the difference in the length of the two path which the wave travelled from the source to the destination. If the path difference is an even number, n, of half-wavelengths, 2n/2, then the waves will arrive at the destination in sync, crests with crests and troughs with troughs, and add in a maximum constructive manner. Conversely, if the path difference is an odd number, n, of half-wavelengths, (2n1)/2, then the waves will arrive at the destination out of sync, crests with troughs and troughs with crests, and add in a maximum destructive manner. If the path difference is an intermediate value then there will be partial constructive or partial destructive interference. In order to deal with this mathematically we need to nd the phase difference in terms of the path difference. Since the ratio of the phase difference, , to 2 will equal that of the path difference, L, to the wavelength, , the phase difference, , will then be given by L = = k L (24.1) 2 where k = 2/ is the wave number. While the two formula above represent the same relationship the former is more intuitive. In terms of the phase difference, the condition for constructive interference is a phase difference of 2n and for destructive interference the phase difference is (2n + 1) where, for both cases, n is an integer (i.e. n {...2, 1, 0, 1, 2...}).5 For intermediate values of the phase difference there will be partial constructive or deNote that when we are counting maxima or minima we must be careful to consider whether we are including the zeroth order maxima or minima, that for which n = 0 in the two formulas. See the footnote on p. 189.
5
24.4. TWO DIMENSIONAL INTERFERENCE

D L L D
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Figure 24.6: On the left we have the geometry for Ex. 24.4.1 and on the right is a more detailed diagram of the top triangle showing the path difference, L. In some cases it is possible to simplify the geometric calculations. For example, if L D then we can approximate the heavy triangle at the top right as a right triangle this is a geometric approximation. See Ex. 24.4.1. If we also have L x then the angle is small and we can make further approximations. See Pr. ??.
structive interference. Phase differences are more abstract than path differences but this abstraction makes them more widely applicable. It is worth mentioning again that if one of the two paths involves a reection then that wave may (or may not, depending upon the media) be inverted at the interface, introducing a phase shift of ; and if there are several reections then each will have to be examined to determine which, if any, introduce a phase shift of . Example 24.4.1. Debating Team Two loudspeakers a distance D apart emit the same tone of frequency f and are in phase. A person with a sound level meter walks along a line parallel to that joining the two speakers a distance L from them (cf. Pr. 24.5.7).6 (a) If the person starts equidistant from the two speakers and walks a distance x, what is the path difference, L, between the sound waves emanating from the two speakers? (b) If we assume that L D and L x then we can perform a binomial expansion on the radicals in the expression for
The L D geometry is called Fresnel diffraction after the French scientist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788-1827).
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L. Using this approximation, what is the phase difference, , between the sound waves emanating from the two speakers? (c) Using this approximation, how many minima, n, will the person observe as they travel the distance x? (d) If L = 12 m, D = 4.0 m, x = 7 m and f = 1000 Hz, how many minima are there according to your result from part (a)? (e) How minima are there using the approximation from part (c)? Account for any discrepancy with your answer to (d). Solution (a) Referring to the left diagram in Fig. 24.6, we can see that the path lengths from the two speakers, L and L+ are, using Pythagorus theorem, given by the expressions 1 2 2 L = L + (x 2 D) & L+ = L2 + (x + 1 D)2 2 and so the path difference, L = L+ L , is 1 2 2 L = L + (x + 2 D) L2 + (x 1 D)2 . 2
(b) If we assume that x and D are less than L then we can perform a binomial expansion on the radicals, x L 2 1 D 2 1
2
L = L 1 +
L 1+
1 2
x 1 D 2 L
and so the path difference, L = L+ L , is 2 2 1 1 x + D x D 2 2 L L 1 + 1 L 1+ 1 2 2 L L = 2xD . L
The phase difference will therefore be = 2 L f L 2f xD = 2 = 2 . vw Lvw
24.4. TWO DIMENSIONAL INTERFERENCE
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We can see that this is dimensionless, as it must be, since (f x) will have the same dimension as the velocity and L and D are both lengths. (c) We will have destructive interference when the phase difference is equal to (2n 1) where n is an integer7 2f xD 1 n= +2 Lvw where : is the oor function (which gives the largest integer smaller than its argument). (d) For these values of L, D, x and f the wavelength is = vw/f = 343/1000 = 0.343 m. For L we get L = 122 + (7 2)2 L+ = 15 m & L = 13 m and so giving the phase difference = 2 Minima occur when = (2n 1) n = 5.831 + 0.5 = 6 where we have rounded down using the oor function since n must be an integer. (e) Using the approximation from (c) we get 2(1000)(7)(4) 1 n= + 2 = 14. (12)(343)
Here we want to start counting from when the phase difference is /2 so we have chosen this alternate formula for destructive interference so that n is the number we are seeking. See the footnote on p. 186.
7
L = 15 13 = 2 m. 2 = 2 (5.831). 0.343
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CHAPTER 24. SUPERPOSITION The reason for the discrepancy between this answer and that to (d) is because D + x L and so the approximation used in the binomial expansion is not very good (i.e. taking only the rst two terms). When we study light, in the next chapter, we will nd that, since lights wavelength is many orders of magnitude smaller than that of sound, the approximation is more useful.
24.5
Further Problems
Problem 24.5.1. Tight-Rope Walking Consider a string of length held taught with tension FT and linear density . If one end of the string is oscillated with frequency f a wave will travel to the other end of the string whereupon it will be reected (and inverted). Upon reaching the end where it originated it will again be reected (and inverted). (a) Under what conditions will the second reected wave be in phase with the oscillator at the point of reection and so cause resonance? (This is called the quantization condition.) (b) The lowest possible resonant frequency? (This is called the fundamental frequency and the higher frequency resonances are called the harmonics.) Problem 24.5.2. Open Air Wind instruments contain a column of air in which a standing wave is set up by blowing air past a reed. An organ pipe is such an air column that is closed at both ends. (a) Draw the displacement wave, s(x, t), for the rst three harmonics in such a pipe of length . (b) Draw the pressure wave, P(x, t), for the same three harmonics. (c) What are the frequencies, fn , at which resonance occurs? (d) Repeat parts (a)-(c) for a ute which is open at one end.(That there is a reection at the open end is not obvious because the medium (air) is the same on both sides of the interface. However, the air constrained inside the tube causes a travelling wave to behave differently than it would without the tube, so the travelling sound wave is both reected and transmitter at the interface.) Problem 24.5.3. Bottle Blowing By blowing over the top of a bottle a tone is heard. This tone changes
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depending upon the amount of uid in the bottle. (You may need to refer to Ch. 20, Fluid Mechanics, for this problem.) (a) If the bottle has an inside height of h and is lled to a depth x what are the possible frequencies that can be obtained from such an instrument? (b) If the bottle has a cross-sectional area A and a small hole in the bottom with cross-sectional area a at what speed, v = dx/dt, will the top of the uid drop? (c) What is x(t)? (d) How does the fundamental frequency, f1 , of this instrument change with time? Problem 24.5.4. Nodes and Anti-nodes (a) Two synchronized sources are a emitting sound with a wavelength and are a distance d = 3 apart. A boy with a sound level 2 meter walks around a circle of radius r = 2 centred on the point midway between the two sources. How many maxima does he nd as he walks around the complete circle? (b) A rod of length is held rigidly at its centre. It is tapped with a hammer. If the speed of a transverse wave in the rod is vw what are the possible frequencies? Problem 24.5.5. In Good Standing (a) A stretched wire of length and linear density is in front of a loudspeaker. The loudspeaker is driven by an oscillator and amplier and it is observed that the wire has adjacent resonances at frequencies fn and fn+1 . What is the tension in the wire? (b) Two wires are joined end to end, and the resulting longer wire is stretched between two posts. The rst wire has a length 1 and a linear density 1 and the second has a length 2 and a linear density 2 . A standing wave of frequency f is set up in the wires so that there is a node at the weld. What is the ratio of the number of anti-nodes in each of the two wires, n2 /n1 ? Problem 24.5.6. Shortwave Radios The signals from shortwave radios, with wavelengths between 10 m and 100 m, are able to bounce off both the ground and the ionosphere (which has an altitude of about 100 km). It is desired to transmit a signal from the transmitter on the left of the mountain to the receiver on the right of the mountain, a horizontal distance d, by bouncing the signal off of the ionosphere which has a height h (see Fig. 24.7). Assume that there is no phase change
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d
Figure 24.7: In order to be able to transmit signals to receivers that are not line-of-sight it is possible to use the interface between the ionosphere and the lower atmosphere to bounce radio waves. The frequency band in the range of 3 to 30 MHz, know as shortwave, is the most effective for this type of reection.
at the reections. (a) If the signal is transmitted with a single ionospheric bounce what is the length of this path? (b) If the signal is transmitted with two ionospheric bounces what is the length of this path? (c) Find L = L2 L1 in the d h limit. (Hint: Use the binomial expansion, (1+ x)r = 1+ rx + 1 r(r 1)x2 + 1 r(r 1)(r 2 6 3 2)x + ..., to nd the leading term in L.) (d) Find the positions, dn , of the maxima of a signal with wavelength if the signal travels over the mountain range by the two paths depicted in the diagram? Problem 24.5.7. Geometric Approximations Consider the geometry described in Ex. 24.4.1. If L D > and x L then we can make a geometric approximation.8 . (a) By examining the geometry in Fig. 24.6 derive two relationships, the rst between L, D and and the second between x, L and . Describe the approximation you have to make. (b) Apply the small angle approximation to your two relationships from part (a) to obtain an expression for L in terms of the other lengths. (c) Compare your result from part (b) to the approximation made in Ex. 24.4.1 and comment upon the result.
The L D limit is also called Fraunhofer diffraction after the German scientist Joseph Fraunhofer (1787-1826)
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24.6
Problem 24.6.1. Different Amplitudes Consider two travelling waves with different amplitudes and phases but which are otherwise the same. y1 (x, t) = A1 sin(kx t + 1 ) y2 (x, t) = A2 sin(kx t + 2 ). (a) Use a trigonometric identity to write y (x, t), the sum of the two waves, in terms of sines and cosines of (kx t) plus other quantities. (b) Collect terms with common factors sin(kx t) and cos(kx t) and replace their multiplicands with a and b, respectively. These multiplicands should be constants (i.e. not contain x 2 + b2 and draw a right or t). (c) Take out a common factor of a triangle with sides a and b and a2 + b2 . Label one of the non-right angles . (d) Use a trigonometric identity to combine the multiplier of a2 + b2 into a single term. (e) Eliminate from your result in favour of a and b. (f) Substitute the original values of a and b from part (b) to get your nal result. (g) Find an easier way to reach the same result using Eulers formula, eix = cos x + i sin x. Problem 24.6.2. Many Slits If, instead of two slits, we had many parallel, equally spaced slits of equal width we would expect constructive interference in the same positions on the screen as we observed for two slits since the conditions for constructive interference would be the same for each pair of adjacent slits. We would, of course, expect the maximum to be larger since more slits are contributing to the constructive interference. Consider a system of N parallel slits with a centre-to-centre spacing of d. Plane waves of wavelength are incident upon the slits such that the wavefronts are parallel to the plane of the slits. A screen is a distance L from the slits and also parallel to plane of the slits. Assume that L d (i.e. Fraunhofer diffraction). (a) What is the position of the mth maxima on the screen, ym , where y = 0 is the point on the screen directly opposite the centre of the slits? (b) Use a procedure similar to that used in the analysis of single slit diffraction
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to nd the position of the rst minimum adjacent to the central maxima, y1 . Assume that N is even. (c) What is the phase difference, , as a fraction of the wavelength, , between the waves arriving from adjacent slits at the minima found in (b)? (d) Again, use a procedure similar to that used in the analysis of single slit diffraction to nd the position of the second minimum adjacent to the central maxima, y2 . Assume that N is divisible by 3. (This is slightly more tricky than part (b).) (e) What is the phase difference, , as a fraction of the wavelength, , between the waves arriving from adjacent slits at the minima found in (d)? (f) If N = 6 how many minima are there between each of the large maxima discussed in the preamble (i.e. those found for two slits)? Sketch the intensity, I (y ), you would expect to nd on the screen as a function of y .
Chapter 25 Interference
25.1 Introduction
In this chapter we continue examination of the properties of waves from Ch. 24, but now we will specically look at light waves. We will be looking specically at visible light, but the phenomena we discuss are present for all wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the human eye consists of, roughly, wavelengths between 400 nm and 700 nm, fractions of a micron or millionths of a metre. Light can be considered as both a wave phenomenon and a particle phenomenon (photons). This duality is a consequence of the quantum mechanical nature of light. In later chapters we will examine the particle nature of light; in this chapter we will investigate the wave nature of light. In vacuum light consists of oscillating electric and magnetic elds. The direction of the oscillation are perpendicular to each other and to the direction of propagation of the light. This wave picture of light is described most accurately by Maxwells equations (a set of four coupled differential equations that are the topic of a later course). For visible light the wavelengths of interest are in the 400-700 nm range (i.e. a fraction of a micron). This corresponds to frequencies in the terahertz range ( 545 1012 Hz for yellow light at the centre of the visible spectrum1 ) so what we actually observe (with1
Yellow is at the centre of the visible spectrum because our eyes are adapted
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CHAPTER 25. INTERFERENCE
Figure 25.1: The rays and wavefronts are everywhere perpendicular (left). Each point on the wavefront acts as a source for secondary wavelets which are then added together to obtain the next wavefront (right). Here we apply Huygens principle to one of the wavefronts. Note the similarity of this construction to that used in the analysis of shock waves in 23.7 on p. 175.
out very specialized equipment) is the time average of the intensity of the light.
25.1.1
Wavefronts & Rays
We can represent waves travelling through a medium using either or both of two different methods. The rst is by drawing the wavefronts which are lines (or surfaces in 3D) of constant phase (we can think of these as the position of the crests of the travelling waves at a particular instant in time). The distance between adjacent wavefronts will be one wavelength. The second method is to represent the travelling wave as rays which are parallel to the wave velocity, that is, they are along the direction of wave propagation. The wavefronts and the rays will always be perpendicular to each other. (cf. Pr. 23.4.2 in which we examined rays and wavefronts for sound)
25.2. HUYGENS PRINCIPLE
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25.2
Huygens Principle
Huygens principle states that each point on a wavefront acts as a disturbance of the medium and so is a source of further waves. The sum of these waves is the advancing wavefront see Fig. 25.1 for an example construction for a spherical wavefront. This can be used to derive the laws of diffraction, refraction and reection. Interestingly, sound waves meeting an interface between two media also exhibit the phenomena of refraction, reection and diffraction. This is the basis of ultrasound imaging.
25.2.1
Refraction
We nd that by applying Huygens Principle to the case when parallel wavefronts meet an interface between two media that, since the wavefronts on each side of the interface travel at different speeds and the frequency of the oscillation does not change as the wave passes from one medium to another, then the wavelength must change. If we draw wavelets similar to those in Fig. 25.1 then the secondary wavefronts will have a different curvature on either side of the interface. If the wavefronts and the interface are not parallel then the wavefronts in the new medium (and their corresponding rays) will travel in a slightly different directions, see Fig. 25.2 for an explanation of how Huygens Principle leads to the refraction of wave as they cross the interface between two media. Since the frequency is unchanged we have vw1 vw2 1 vw1 =f = = 1 2 2 vw2 where vw1 is the wave speed in medium 1, etc. By examining the enlarged blue right triangles on the right in Fig. 25.2 we can see that, since they share an hypotenuse, 1 2 sin 1 1 vw1 = = = . sin 1 sin 2 sin 2 2 vw2
for daytime vision and, at the Earths surface, the Sun is brightest at this colour.
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1 2
Figure 25.2: On the top of the left diagram we have the incoming wavefronts (thin lines) meeting the interface (thick horizontal line). The Huygens secondary wavelets (red arcs) expand more slowly in the lower medium (blue arcs) where the refractive index is higher, creating wavefronts that make a smaller angle with the interface. When the incoming wavefronts (top centre black lines) meet the interface (thick horizontal line) they, consequently, change direction. Since the wave speeds differ on either side of the interface but the frequency of the oscillation at the interface must remain the same, the wavelengths also differ. If the incident rays are oblique, this results in a change in direction of the travelling wave, a result known as Snells Law. Note that, because the wavefronts and rays are perpendicular, the angle between the wavefronts and the interface is the same as the angle between the rays and the normal to the interface. On the right is an expansion of the blue triangles in the centre gure; the wavefronts make angles i with the interface.
The index of refraction of a material, n, is a measure of how much the speed of light is reduced from than in a vacuum ni c . v wi
Combining this with the above result gives Snells Law (aka the law of refraction) n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2 . (25.1) Problem 25.2.1. Overly Refractive We know that when a wave meets an interface between two media it is both reected and transmitted. From Snells Law we can see that, in some situation, when light is travelling from a denser to a less dense medium there will be no real solution for the angle of the
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refracted ray.2 (a) What is the maximum angle at which light will be transmitted through an interface from a medium with refractive index n1 into a medium with refractive index n2 if n1 > n2 ? This angle is known as the critical angle. (b) Use Huygens Principle to sketch the secondary wavelets, similar to Fig. 25.2, for an angle slightly less than the critical angle. What is the direction of the refracted ray? (c) Ordinary glass has a refractive index of 1.33. What is the critical angle for glass in air? Diamond has a refractive index of 2.42. What is the critical angle for diamond in air? (d) If the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, what are the reection and transmission coefcients, A and B , respectively? (e) Describe what you would see if light was incident on an interface at an angle greater than the critical angle. Can you think of an everyday example in which this occurs?
25.2.2
Reection
In a similar manner, the law of reection (angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reection) can be derived from Huygens Principle (see Pr. 25.2.2). A reection from a mirror-like surface, known as specular reection, is distinct from diffuse reection from a rough surface. The former will produce an image while the latter will instead appear illuminated. Clearly this is a continuum: as a mirror becomes tarnished the image will become poorer and poorer until it will cease to produce an image at all and will instead appear illuminated. Problem 25.2.2. Huygens Mirror (a) Construct a diagram which uses Huygens Principle for wavefronts incident upon a mirror surface similar to the leftmost diagram in Fig. 25.2. (b) Create a second gure which shows the rays and wavefronts similar to the central diagram in Fig. 25.2. (c) Create a third geometric gure similar to the rightmost diagram in Fig. 25.2
Interestingly, there is an imaginary solution for the refracted ray and this imaginary solution can be observed. This solution is known as an evanescent wave a non-waving wave that decreases in amplitude exponentially with distance from the interface.
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Figure 25.3: On the left we have the incoming blue wavefronts and the corresponding rays (lighter blue). As an incoming wavefront moves from position 1 to position 2 it creates a series of Huygens wavelets (yellow) which add together constructively, creating the outgoing green wavefronts. On the right is an enlargement of the lines marked in red. Line AB is parallel to the incoming wavefronts and line CD is parallel to the outgoing wavefronts. Distance BD is the distance the incoming wavefront travels in time t, vw t, and distance AC is the distance the outgoing wavefront travels in the same the same time. Since these distances are along the rays they are perpendicular to the wavefronts, and we can conclude that the triangles ABD and ACD are similar. Hence, 1 = 2 .
which shows the angles of incidence and reection in such a manner that you can complete part (d) of this question. (d) Use your knowledge of geometry and trigonometry to derive the Law of Reection.
25.2.3
Diffraction
Diffraction is the ability of a wave to travel around corners. We see this all the time with water waves3 but it is not so obvious for light waves because not only is the wavelength of visible light very small (less than a micron) but it is usually made up of multiple colours (i.e. different wavelengths) whereas water waves are often monochromatic (i.e. a single wavelength). We can deduce the presence of diffraction as waves pass through an aperture from Huygens PrinciWe also hear diffraction all the time with sound waves we dont need lineof-sight in order to hear someone talk to us from, say, around a corner.
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Figure 25.4: Unlike particles, waves are able to travel around corners when they meet a barrier, a phenomenon called diffraction. Here plane waves are incident upon a barrier (heavy vertical line) and we apply Huygens principle to the wavefronts emerging from the gap in the barrier. These are called plane waves because the wavefronts are made up of a series of parallel planes. If we are very far from a source of spherical waves we often approximate the expanding spherical wavefronts as plane waves. Here, very far means that the distance is much larger than the wavelength of the waves.
ple; see Fig. 25.4. Diffraction effects are most noticeable when the size of the diffracting object is comparable to the wavelength of the diffracted wave. Poisson Spot There is an interesting story about the early controversy about whether light was made up of waves or particles. In 1818 Augustin Fresnel entered a paper in a contest run by the French Academy which proposed a wave theory of light. Sim eon Poisson, one of the judges and a proponent of the particle theory of light, showed that Fresnels theory predicted the preposterous result that light striking an opaque circular obstacle would have a bright spot at the centre of its shadow (the path difference for any ray from the edge of the obstacle to the centre of the shadow is clearly zero, leading to constructive interference for all wavelengths). Poisson argued that Fresnel couldnt possibly win the contest with his ridiculous wave theory of light. Another of the judges, Dominique Arago, thought that this was easy enough to check (even though it sounded shy to him) and found exactly what Poissons analysis of Fresnels theory predicted. To
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Poissons embarrassment, this spot is now known as a Poisson Spot. Fresnel won the contest. Problem 25.2.3. Single Slit Consider plane waves with wavelength incident upon a single slit of width D > which is parallel to the wavefronts. Light is diffracted as it passes through the slit and then falls upon a screen a distance L from the slit and parallel to it. The light which reaches the screen a distance x from the perpendicular line joining the centre of the slit and the screen will make an angle to this line. See Fig. 24.6 for a similar geometry. (a) Using Huygens Principle we can consider a wavefront which is in the slit as a series of point sources for secondary waves. Consider a point at the top of the slit and a point at the centre of the slit. The light from these two points will interfere destructively at the point x on the screen if the path difference is a half wavelength. Now consider a point just below the top of the slit and a point just below the centre of the slit; the same conditions will apply for destructive interference. We can continue this argument for all of the points in the slit, nding the same condition for destructive interference. In terms of the given quantities, what is this condition? You may assume that L D. (b) Use the same argument but with the slit divided up into four regions and nd another condition for destructive interference. (c) Now divide the slit into six regions and nd yet another condition for destructive interference. (d) Find a general expression for the mth minima on the screen. (e) Now assume that L x and use the small angle approximation to further simplify your answer to part (d). (f) For what values of m does your expression give the location of minima?
25.3
Youngs Experiment
Interference phenomena are important in explaining many unusual situations in physics such as iridescence, moire patterns and many aspects of quantum mechanics. The simplest demonstration of interference (and, hence, the wave nature of light) was performed by Thomas Young (1773-1829) in
25.3. YOUNGS EXPERIMENT
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1801.4 In this experiment two monochromatic (i.e. only one wavelength is present), coherent (i.e. the relative phase is constant) sources of travelling waves interfere which each other. Youngs original experiments used both water waves and light waves passing through two narrow slits (which diffract as they pass through the slits) for the sources of the travelling waves. However, any pair of monochromatic, coherent sources will give the same result.5
Problem 25.3.1. Double Slit Consider monochromatic light of wavelength emerging from two narrow parallel slits a distance D apart in an opaque material. The light then falls upon a screen (which is parallel to the slits) a distance L from the slits. (a) Calculate the distance that the light travels from each of the slits, L1 & L2 , to a point on the screen a distance x from the point equidistant from the two slits. (b) Assume that L D and L x and so use the binomial expansion to nd an approximate expression for the phase difference, , between the waves arriving via the two different paths. (c) If the electric eld of the travelling waves is given by E ( r, t) = E sin( k r t) at the point it emerges from the slit what is the net electric eld, E ( r, t), at the point on the screen a distance x from the point equidistant from the two slits? (The wave vector, k , is everywhere parallel to the rays so for the rst path k r = kL1 .) Use a trigonometric identity to simplify your answer. (d) Given that the intensity of the light is proportional to the time average of the square of the electric eld, what is the functional dependence of the intensity of the light, I (x), as a function of x? (e) At what positions on the screen do you expect there to be maxima and minima in the intensity of the light?
You may wonder why if Young, an Englishman, demonstrated the wave nature of light in 1801, the French were still arguing about it in 1818. The reason is that England and France were engaged in interminable wars and there was very little communication between their respective scientists. 5 This experiment can be done with electrons since they are quantum mechanical waves; see 26.5 for details.
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25.4
Light in a Medium
When light travels through a medium its speed changes from c to vw = c/n where n is the refractive index of the medium (which must always be greater than one why?). The frequency of the light does not change when it enters the medium (why?) so the wavelength must change: vw = f n = c f = n n n = n
When we are examining interference effects involving light travelling through a medium this change in wavelength must be accounted for. If light travels a distance through a medium with refractive index n then the phase shift will be: n = = 2 n = kn
and so we often consider the optical thickness of a material of thickness and refractive index n to be n. In other words, instead of taking into account the fact that the wavelength in the medium is compressed by a factor of 1/n we instead incorporate this factor into the thickness of the medium, making the optical thickness of the medium greater than the actual thickness by a factor of n.6 Problem 25.4.1. Iridescent Soap Bubbles Consider a soap bubble of thickness t and refractive index ns . When a ray of polychromatic light (i.e. white light) meets the soap bubble it is both reected and transmitted by both interfaces. See Fig. 25.5. (a) For rays of light that are almost perpendicular to the soap bubble, which wavelengths are most strongly reected? (b) If instead of a bubble a lm of soap was on the surface of a uid with refractive index nf > ns how would your answer change? (c) For the soap bubble light can also be transmitted both directly and after two reections off the inner surfaces of the soap bubble. What wavelengths will be most strongly transmitted? Compare your answer to
Using the optical thickness instead of accounting for the shortened wavelength in various media is a calculational convenience so dont let it confuse you.
6
25.5. MICHELSONS INTERFEROMETER
205
Figure 25.5: An iridescent soap bubble. The phenomena of iridescence is caused by polychromatic light reecting from two surfaces separated by an amount comparable to the wavelength of the light. In this case, the two surfaces are the inner and outer surface of a soap bubble. Depending upon the thickness of the soap lm different colours will experience constructive or destructive interference. Image courtesy, Wikipedia.
that of part (a). (d) Describe what you would see if the thickness of the soap bubble changed in a uniform manner (say, as a result of the effects of gravity). (e) If such a soap bubble was about to burst what would you expect to see near the point where the bubble was thinnest?
25.5
Michelsons Interferometer
An interferometer is a device in which monochromatic light, after passing through a beam splitter (e.g. a half-silvered mirror), travels along two arms and then is recombined to form an interference pattern. Any change in the length of one of the arms will result in a shift of the interference pattern. If one of the mirrors is moved by a distance 1 then the interfer2 ence pattern (which is usually projected on a graduated screen in a small telescope) will shift by one fringe. In this way movements of the mirror by a small fraction of the wavelength can be measured. By mounting the movable mirror on a sample material its thermal expansion, for example, can be measured with great accuracy. Alternatively, a chamber can be mounted along the path of one of the arms and, by slowly lling the chamber with different gasses or uids their refractive indices can be found.
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source beam splitter telescope xed mirror movable mirror
Figure 25.6: The Michelson Interferometer consists of a monochromatic light source, a beam splitter, two mirrors and a telescope. The light from the source can reach the destination (the telescope) via two different paths. As the difference in the lengths of these paths varies the interference fringes observed in the telescope shift accordingly. The reected rays are displaced for clarity.
25.6
Further Problems
Problem 25.6.1. Mirror, Mirror Consider the monochromatic light source as depicted in Fig. 25.7. The light can reach the screen by two different paths, either directly or after being reected by the mirror. The mirror and screen are perpendicular, the source is a distance D from the mirror and a distance L from the screen. (a) What is the path length from the source to a point on the screen a distance x from the mirror? (b) What is the path length from the source to the same point on the mirror of the reected ray? (The angle of reection is equal to the angle of incidence. There is a trick to simplify the geometry can you nd it?) (c) What is the path difference between the light arriving by the two paths? (You may use the geometric approximation.) (d) Taking in to account the phase shift at the point of reection, what is the phase difference between the light arriving by the two paths? (e) At what positions on the screen do you expect there to be maxima and minima in the intensity of the light? Problem 25.6.2. Rhinestones Rhinestones (used in costume jewelry) are made from glass (refrac-
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source mirror
screen
Figure 25.7: Monochromatic light from the source can reach the screen by two different paths, either directly or after being reected by the mirror. Note that the reected light experiences a phase shift when it is reected as the usual rule applies and the refractive index is the relevant property.
tive index nglass = 3/2) coated with a thin lm of silicon monoxide (refractive index nSiO = 2) of thickness t to make them glitter. (a) Draw a ray diagram for the light reecting from the rhinestones with the incident light nearly perpendicular to the surface. Identify which, if any, rays have a net phase shift of . (b) What is the path difference, L, between the reected rays? (c) What is the optical path difference, Loptical , between the reected rays? (d) What is the minimum thickness of the coating, tmin , such that green light with wavelength green = 550 nm is maximally reected? (e) If the angle of incidence of the light is i what is the optical path difference between the reected rays, Loptical (i )? (You will need to use Snells Law relating the angle of incidence, i , and the angle of reectance, r , ni sin i = nr sin r .) Problem 25.6.3. Interferometer One leg of a Michelson Interferometer contains a hollow rectangular glass prism of length . As an unknown gas is evacuated from the prism it is observed that N fringes pass the reticule of the telescope. If the wavelength of the light used is what is the refractive index of the gas, ngas ? Problem 25.6.4. Shifty Shelly Consider Youngs two slit experiment. Shelly performs a similar experiment carefully with two horizontal slits and records the quantities L, D and x, the position of the mth maxima, carefully. (You may need to refer to Fig. 24.6 your solution to Pr. 25.3.1 for this problem.) (a) What is the wavelength, , of the light? (b) Shelly
208
now carefully measures the thickness of a sliver of unknown, transparent material and nds it to be t. She then places it in front of the upper slit and observes that the interference pattern shifts. In which direction does the central maxima shift? (c) Shelly measures the distance that the central maxima shifts to be x. What is the refractive index, n, of the unknown material? Problem 25.6.5. Slim Sean Sean wants to measure the thickness of a metal thread. He has two pieces of optically at glass (i.e. the biggest bump on the pieces of glass is smaller than one half the wavelength of the light he will use). He places the thread between the the pieces of glass, trapping a triangular wedge of air. He then illuminates from directly above with a monochromatic light source with wavelength and observes m dark fringes between where the two pieces of glass touch and the metal thread. How thick, t, is the thread? Problem 25.6.6. Soapy Sams Sam and his lab partner Samantha are illuminating soap lms with monochromatic light of wavelength . The soap lm is held in a vertical wire loop of radius r so that, due to gravity, its thickness varies from the top where it is thinest to the bottom where it is thickest. Sam is holding the light source and facing the lm. He can see Samantha who is on the other side of the lm. (a) As they watch the interference pattern on the lm gravity pulls the soap downwards where it drips off the bottom. Sam observes that just before the lm pops that it is dark at the top. What does Samantha observe and why? (b) Just before it pops Sam counts m dark bands between the top and the bottom. If the refractive index of the soap is n, how thick is the lm at the bottom? (c) Sam tells Samantha that he saw a bright fringe at the bottom just before the lm popped. Samantha disagrees: she says that there was a dark fringe at the bottom at that moment. Who is right and why? (d) How many dark fringes did Samantha see just before the lm popped? Problem 25.6.7. Rayleighs Problem Consider two independent point sources of light (i.e. they are not coherent) are both a large, equal distance from a single slit of width
209
D. Each emits light with the same wavelength, . The angular separation of the two sources, from the slit, is ; this angle can be considered small. A distance L from the other side of the slit is a screen. You may consider L much bigger than D. (a) Each source will form a diffraction pattern on the screen. What is the distance on the screen, d, between the central maximum of each source? (b) If the central maximum of each falls exactly on the rst minimum of the other, what is the angular separation of the two sources, ? This is an empirical measure of the resolving power of the optical system; if the two sources were any closer together then the central diffraction peaks would overlap. (c) If, instead of a slit we had a circular aperture, then the term containing sin in your answer to (b) would increase by a factor of 1.220 due to the different geometry.7 If a binary star is a distance d from an observer on Earth with a telescope that has a primary lens with diameter D, how close can the two stars be and still be resolved if one assumes an optimal geometry? Problem 25.6.8. Reector A source emitting a single tone of sound is a distance d from a detector. It is found that when a reector is a distance h1 from the source-detector plane that there is a maximum at the detector and when it is raised to a distance h2 that there is a minimum. (a) Find the wavelength, , in terms of d, h1 and h2 . (b) If the d is much smaller than the distances to the reector use the binomial expansion, (1 + x)r = 1 + rx + 1 r(r + 1)x2 + 1 r(r + 1)(r + 2)x3 + ..., 2 6 to obtain an approximate estimate for the wavelength without the radicals.
25.7
Problem 25.7.1. No Approximations In this problem we will use a computer to plot the net wave-function for coherent waves with wavelength emanating from two point sources a distance d = 10 apart. (a) Write an expression
This dimensionless factor results from the different geometry but the physical concepts are identical. For circular geometries the oscillating function that corresponds to the sine for linear geometries is called a Bessel Function.
7
210
for the net wave-function for at any point in the x-y plane. Place the origin at the centre between the two point sources and y -axis through the point sources. (The notation introduced in Prob. 25.3.1 may be helpful.) (b) Use a computer to plot your answer for (a) in the region 50 < x, y < 50 at a snapshot in time (i.e. pick an arbitrary time). A contour plot with contours only at, say, 98% of the maximum amplitude should show the lines where there is maximum constructive interference. A heat plot may also be cool. (c) Use a computer to plot the approximate result from Prob. ??, m = xd/y. The function cos(2xd/y) should have maxima where constructive interference occurs. (d) Discuss the similarities and differences between your two plots. You may wish to re-plot your results so as to focus on a region of interest.
Chapter 26 Old Quantum Theory

26.1 Introduction
At the end of the nineteenth century there seemed to be only a few questions left to answer before the eld of physics would be complete. Two of these were blackbody radiation (how a body radiates electromagnetic radiation at frequencies that are characteristic of its temperature) and the photoelectric effect (how metals eject electrons when they are irradiated with electromagnetic radiation with frequencies above certain characteristic frequencies).1 The explanations for these phenomena by Max Planck and Albert Einstein in the early twentieth century led to a deluge of new physics, which culminated in what we now call Quantum Mechanics, and which is the subject of the next chapter. In the current chapter we examine some of the key steps that led to QM. In Classical Mechanics, which is governed by Newtons Laws,2 gives accurate results for macroscopic objects those with sizes such that we can ignore that they are made up of atoms, electrons, etc. However, as we examine smaller and smaller objects their atomic nature becomes more and more important until it dominates their beAnother notable problem was the failure to observe the ther (see Ch. 11). Or, if you prefer a different formulation, the Euler-Lagrange equation. Or, yet another formulation, Hamiltons equations. These alternate formulations of Classical Mechanics, however, give the same result with more or less mathematical and conceptual difculties.
2 1
211
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CHAPTER 26. OLD QUANTUM THEORY
haviour and we require QM to explain these microscopic phenomena. Because we are macroscopic beings who live in a macroscopic world we have no direct experience with many of these microscopic phenomena. Consequently, many of the results of QM are nonintuitive, which can present conceptual difculties when we rst encounter them. The theory is extremely well supported by experiments and so, as scientists, we must accept the evidence supporting QM even if they, at times, make us philosophically uncomfortable. As one would expect, if we use QM to describe the statistical behaviour of large numbers of microscopic particles, a eld of study known as Statistical Mechanics, then we regain the laws of Classical Mechanics. Here, by large numbers, we mean numbers comparable to Avogadros number, NA 1023 ; statistics with such large numbers are usually extremely accurate. This new physics was different from what went before, not being based on intuitive insight and what we now refer to as classical models. Instead, QM dealt with the microscopic world of elementary particles with typical lengths, masses and charges of 1010 m, 1027 kg and 1019 C. It turns out that quantities such as energy or angular momentum are often not continuous but are rather quantized they come in distinct chunks but that the chunks are so small we never noticed the distinction for macroscopic, everyday objects. The consequences of this quantization are strange and sometimes even bizarre. But they are conrmed by experiment so even though many are non-intuitive we must accept them. Importantly, the distinction between a wave and a particle becomes blurred (a property known as duality) and what the observer does affects the results of experiments if you look for wave properties you observe waves but if you look for particle properties you nd particles. Upon more careful consideration, the non-intuitive results of quantum mechanics are not that surprising (even if they were unexpected) since we dont have direct experience of this microscopic world there is reason to expect our intuition to act as a good guide to this new and exciting world.3
3
This situation is not dissimilar to that encountered when Einsteins Special
26.2. BLACKBODY RADIATION
213
Figure 26.1: Blackbody radiation is emitted by all objects (blackbody means that the radiation does not include any reected light) with a wavelength distribution that is characteristic of the temperature of the object. A hotter object gives a more radiation with a peak at a shorter wavelength. The position of the peak is given by Wiens Displacement Law. (gure from Wikipedia)
In this chapter we will start by examining Blackbody Radiation and the Photoelectric Effect, the explanations of which, that radiation is quantized, initiated the quantum revolution. We will next examine how wave-particle duality gives particle-like properties to waves and wave-like properties to particles by looking at how Compton attributed momentum to the massless photons and de Broglie gave a wavelength to everything else. It was this wave-particle duality that led to the current QM which is the subject of the next chapter.
26.2
Blackbody Radiation
Blackbody radiation is so-called because it does not include any reected light (hence, the object would appear black). This radiation is emitted from all bodies with a wavelength distribution that is characteristic of the temperature of the body (see Fig. 26.1). When we see an object that is red-hot its blackbody radiation has entered the long-wavelength region of visible light; when an object is whiteand General Relativity are encountered. We again have no direct experience of travelling at speeds comparable to the speed of light or masses large enough to noticeably curve space.
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hot its blackbody radiation peaks in the visible region of the spectrum and all visible wavelengths are present. The wavelength with the maximum intensity is given by Wiens Displacement Law: max T = 0.2898 102 m K (26.1)
where T is the absolute temperature. Attempts to explain blackbody radiation resulted in the Rayleigh-Jeans Law describing the wavelength and temperature dependence of the spectral radiance: I (, T ) = 2 ckB T 4 (26.2)
where c is the speed of light, kB is Boltzmanns constant and I (, T ), the spectral radiance, is the power per unit area per unit solid angle in the interval between and + d (see Prob. 26.2.1). This expression agreed with the observations for long wavelengths but diverges to innity as the wavelength approaches zero (this was known as the ultraviolet catastrophe). As the total energy emitted by an object attemperature T is proportional to the area under the I (, T ) curve, 0 I (, T )d, the Rayleigh-Jeans Law was certainly catastrophic. In 1900 Max Planck derived a new formula for the spectral radiance, I (, T ), in which he assumed that the molecules that make up whatever object we are examining absorb and emit energy in discrete quantities proportional to some natural frequency, fmol 4 En = nhfmol where n is an integer and the new constant h is now called Plancks constant h = 6.626 1034 J s
and f is the frequency of the light. (Often Plancks constant is introduced as h-bar, = h/2 instead of h because physicists dont
These natural frequencies turn out to be the vibrational and rotational modes of the molecules rather than the electronic energy levels. cf. the fundamental frequencies and harmonics for standing waves examined in Prob. 24.5.1.
4
26.2. BLACKBODY RADIATION
215
like to have s oating around in their equations.)5 From this it follows that the energy emitted and absorbed as radiation was quantized that the light comes in discrete chunks, or quanta,6 called photons corresponding to the energy absorbed or emitted as the molecules change from one natural frequency to another. The energy of these photons is given by E = hf = (26.3)
where f is the frequency of the light and = 2 f is its angular frequency. With the postulate that the molecules act as oscillators emitting and absorbing energy only at discrete energies Planck obtained the following expression for the spectral radiance, I (, T ) = 2 hc2 5 (ehc/kB T 1) (26.4)
which is in remarkable agreement with experimental observations. This result is now known as Plancks Law7 Problem 26.2.1. Ghostly Glow (a) Consider the quantity x = hc/kB T . For what wavelength, long , will x be one at room temperature? (b) What colour does this correspond to? (c) Assuming that x as dened in (a) is small, perform a Taylor expansion8 on the exponential in Plancks Law about
The dimensionality of Plancks new constant, energy-time, is referred to as action and its modern meaning has its roots in Lagrangian mechanics. Plancks constant is the quantum of action. 6 Quanta is the plural of quantum and is from Latin, quantus, or quantity. In this case this means that the energy comes in discrete amounts rather than being continuous. The quantum of energy is extremely small so the effect of it being quantized are often subtle. 7 The derivation of Plancks Law requires a knowledge of Statistical Mechanics (the application of probability theory to the study of large numbers of objects) and a remarkable quantity known as the partition function, which connects the microscopic states of the system (e.g. the mass, charge, velocity, etc of the atoms or particles) with the macroscopic thermodynamic quantities (e.g. temperature, pressure, density, etc). 1 8 The Taylor expansion of f (x) about x = a is f (x) = 0! f (a)(x a)0 + 1 1 1 2 1! f (a)(x a) + 2! f (a)(x a) + ... where f (a) is the rst derivative of f (x) evaluated at x = a, etc.
5
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current high intensity 2 1 low intensity 2 1 voltage Vs2 Vs1
Figure 26.2: It is found that the stopping voltage of the photoelectrons depends upon the wavelength but is independent of the intensity of the light.
x = 0, Eq. 26.4, for the spectral radiance and so nd an expression for the long wavelength limit of the spectral radiance. Compare your result to the Rayleigh-Jeans law. (d) What is the dimensionality of your expression? (e) Compare your answer to Eq. 26.2. (f) Make the substitution dened in (a) in Plancks expression for the spectral radiance, Eq. 26.4, to get I (x, T ). Calculate the derivative of this expression with respect to x, dI/dx, and so nd a transcendental expression for x (i.e. one which cant be solved using algebra that transcends algebra) at which the spectral radiance is an extremum. (g) Use a computer to plot your transcendental expression for x and so nd the value of T for which Plancks spectral radiance is a maximum and compare your answer to the Rayleigh-Jeans Law, Eq. 26.2. (h) Plot on a computer Plancks expression for the spectral radiance, Eq. 26.4, along with your expression for the long wavelength limit; also mark on the plot the values you found for long and max . Choose T so that max corresponds to 550 nm, the centre of the visible spectrum.
26.3
The Photoelectric Effect
Another experimental result that was inexplicable when it was rst observed shortly before the beginning of the twentieth century is the
26.3. THE PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT (a)

target light
v electron
217
1 2 3 f fc1 fc2 fc3
detector
(b)
0 1 2 3
I V
+
Figure 26.3: (a) The light of frequency f falls on the target which emits photo-electrons. By adjusting the voltage, V , the stopping potential until the current, I , is zero the kinetic energy, K , of the electrons can be determined. It is found that for a given frequency of light the stopping voltage is a constant, independent of the intensity of the light. (b) The plot of the kinetic energy, K , versus the frequency, f , for three different metals. Each plot has the same slope given by Plancks constant, h, but each has a different intercept, given by the negative of the work function.
photoelectric effect. This phenomenon, rst observed by Heinrich Hertz in 1887, involves the emission of electrons when metals are irradiated with light above a certain cut-off frequency, fc , (which is a characteristic of each metal) but not for frequencies below this cut-off. What made this result unusual was that it was independent of the intensity of the radiation there were more electrons (and so a larger photo-current) for higher intensity light but the cut-off was still present (see Fig. 26.2). Even very bright light would not generate photo-electrons if its frequency was below the cut-off frequency. Consider the experimental set-up depicted in gure 26.3(a). Light of frequency f falls on the metal target which emits photo-electrons with velocity v . When these electrons reach the detector a current, I , is measured. By adjusting the voltage between the target and detector until the current is zero the stopping voltage, Vs , can be measured. It was found that this stopping voltage is independent of the intensity of the light, but dependent on its wavelength (see gure 26.2). If the electrons are given off with kinetic energy K and the stop-
218
ping voltage is Vs then, from conservation of energy, K = eVs where e is the electron charge. When K is plotted as a function of the frequency of the light, f , a linear relationship is found (see gure 26.3(b)): K = hf
where is a constant, called the work function, which depend upon the metal used for the target and, interestingly, h is Plancks constant. Of course, the kinetic energy cant be negative the frequency where these lines intercept the frequency axis is the cut-off frequency, fc . Einstein postulated that the light was quantized and that it arrived in packets called photons with energy hf and that a certain amount of energy, , was required to allow the electrons to escape from the metal target. Each photo-electron has absorbed a single photon and gained energy hf . This simple idea explains both why more intense light at a frequency above the cut-off frequency gives more photo-electrons without raising the energy of each photo-electron and why intense light at a frequency below the cut-off frequency produces no photoelectrons. Conservation of energy gives hf = K + (26.5)
where K , the kinetic energy, is the energy left over after the electron has escaped from the metal. The quantity is called the work function of the metal because this is the amount of work that must be done to remove the electron from the metal.9 Problem 26.3.1. Cutoffs (a) Explain in your own words why the presence of a cut off in the wavelength of light below which there is no photoelectric effect is evidence for the particle theory of light. (b) Why does the stopping voltage not depend upon the intensity of the light?
This work required to remove an electron is what prevents electrons from falling out of the bottom of a piece of metal (it is just the attraction of the positively charged nuclei in the metal).
9
26.4. THE COMPTON EFFECT
219
26.4
The Compton Effect
Arthur Holly Compton (1892-1962) performed experiments around 1923 which showed that when X-rays scattered from electrons that the wavelength of the scattered X-rays varied with the scattering angle. The wave theory of light was unable to explain this result. Compton reasoned that, if the energy and momentum for a relativistic particle were given by Einsteins special relatvity, E = mc2 and p = m v , then p c v = E c so for light, which has v = c, the momentum would be10 p= E . c
Combining this with the photons energy given by Einsteins photoelectric formula, E = hf , then results in the momentum being given by hf h p= = = k, c 2 where k = / is the wave-number. It was rather brave to postulate that massless particles such as photons have momentum. He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize for this work. Example 26.4.1. Compton Shift In order to explain his experimental observations, Compton assumed that a free electron (so that there is no complications caused by the work function) and a photon undergo an elastic collision (i.e. both energy and momentum are conserved). Because this is a relativistic collision the energy of the particles is given by the expression 11 E 2 = (pc)2 + (mc2 )2 .
Here we continue with the convention that a symbol without the arrow indicating a vector quantity represents the vectors magnitude, v = | v |, p = |p |, etc. 11 This problem is particularly interesting since it combines both Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics.
10
220
(a) If the electron is initially at rest and has nal momentum p and the scattered photon has initial energy hf1 and nal energy hf2 , write the conservation of energy equation. (b) Write the conservation of momentum equation, isolate the electrons momentum and then take the inner product of the result with itself (thereby eliminating the unknown scattering angle of the electron). Take the angle between the initial and nal photon directions to be , the scattering angle of the outgoing photon. (c) Eliminate the nal electron momentum, p, from your results to parts (a) and (b). (d) Replace the photon frequencies with the corresponding wavelengths and so nd an expression for = f = i . (e) You should have a factor of h/mc in your nal result. Check that this has the correct dimensions and calculate its value in SI units. This quantity is known as the Compton wavelength. Of course, other charged particles with different masses would have different Compton wavelengths. (f) What is the Compton wavelength for an electron? (g) What is the energy, in electron Volts, of a photon with this wavelength? (h) What is the wavelength of a photon which has an energy equal to the rest mass of the electron, mc2 ? Solution (a) For energy we have hf1 + mc2 = hf2 + (b) For momentum we have (pc)2 + (mc2 )2 .
k1 = p + k2 2 2 p = (k1 ) 2k1 k2 cos + (k2 )2 2 2 hf1 hf1 hf2 hf2 = 2 cos + c c2 c where we have temporarily introduced the wave vectors, ki , of 12 the two photons.
The wave vector is parallel to the direction the photon travels and has magnitude given by k = 2/ = 2f/c.
12
26.4. THE COMPTON EFFECT
221
(c) From (a) we have 2 (pc)2 = hf1 + mc2 hf2 (mc2 )2 = (hf1 )2 2(hf1 )(hf2 ) + (hf2 )2 + 2mc2 (hf1 hf2 ) and from (b) we have (pc)2 = (hf1 )2 2hf1 hf2 cos + (hf2 )2 2hmc2 (f1 f2 ) = 2hf1 hf2 (1 cos ) c c h = = (1 cos ) . (26.6) f2 f1 mc This result might be worth recording rather than deriving it from scratch each time we might need it. (d) Plancks constant, h, has dimensions of action or energy-time, [h] = M L2 T 1 so h M L 2 T 1 = =L mc M LT 1 which is what we expect for a wavelength. (e) In SI units the wavelength is: h 6.626 1034 = 2.426 1012 m. = mc (9.109 1031 )(2.998 108 )
Equating these gives, after cancelling or shufing several terms,
This is quite small, about the size of a gamma ray or 1% of the wavelength for a typical X-ray. Or a millionth of the wavelength of a visible light photon (which is why we dont observe this effect in our day-to-day experience. (f) A photon with this wavelength has energy hc mc = hc = mc2 h and so, in electron Volts, we have hf = hf mc2 (9.109 1031 )(2.998 108 )2 = = = 0.511 MeV. e e (1.602 1019 )
222 (g)
hc h = mc2 = mc This is the Compton wavelength. hf =
26.5
Matter Waves
In his 1923 PhD thesis Louis de Broglie postulated that if waves have particle-like properties then perhaps particles would have wave-like properties. And that if the momentum of a photon was p = h/ then the wavelength of a particle would be = h/p. De Broglie was awarded the 1929 Nobel Prize for this work.
26.5.1
The Davisson-Germer Experiment
This result was accepted theoretically but was not really believed it would have been simple to test but no one bothered. However, a few years later two American experimental physicists, Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer, serendipitously observed electrons diffracting from a nickel target while looking for a different effect.13 Their observations were consistent with de Broglies theory and Davisson was awarded the 1937 Nobel Prize for this work. The principle of complementarity is part of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and is also know as waveparticle duality. In essence, we will observe either wave or particle properties depending upon the experiment we perform; and that both ideas are necessary in order to describe the physical properties of both light and elementary particles such as electrons, protons or neutrons. Example 26.5.1. The Best Scattering In crystalline solids the atoms are arranged in a regular array called a lattice. Different materials have different arrangements (there are
While trying to evaporate an oxide layer that formed on their nickel target as a result of a vacuum leak they inadvertently annealed the polycrystalline nickel into a single crystal, thereby enabling them to observe Bragg Scattering of the electrons they were ring at the nickel target.
13
26.5. MATTER WAVES
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Figure 26.4: Two planes of atoms (green dots) are seen edge on and are a distance d apart. The incident wave makes an angle to the planes and is diffracted (blue rays). The path difference, L, is highlighted in red.
230 possible arrangements (or space groups) in total). In these lattices it is possible to dene planes of atoms which will have a periodic spacing from similar planes.14 When monochromatic waves are diffracted from these periodic planes there will be certain directions in which constructive interference will occur. (a) Draw a diagram in which a ray is incident upon two adjacent planes and is reected from both. Choose the plane of your diagram so that it contains the ray and so that the parallel planes are edge-on. (b) If the spacing between the planes is d and the angle the ray makes with the planes is , what is the path difference, L, between the rays scattered by adjacent planes? (c) If the waves have a wavelength , at which angles will you expect to observe peaks in the diffracted rays? (d) What wavelength, typically, would be necessary to observe this effect? (e) What is the energy of a photon with a suitable wavelength? Express your answer in electron-Volts. (f) What is the energy of an electron with a suitable wavelength? Express your answer in electron-Volts. (g) Briey discuss what sort of microscope would be most suitable to examine objects at this length scale. Solution (a) See Fig. 26.4. (b) The path difference, highlighted in red in the gure, is L = 2d sin .
14
(26.7)
These planes are the cleavage planes used, for example, when cutting gemstones such as diamonds.
224
(c) Since both rays would have a phase shift we can ignore this effect and we would expect constructive interference when m = 2d sin where m is an integer. This type of scattering is know as Bragg Scattering after William Lawrence Bragg and William Henry Bragg, a father and son team. They were awarded the 1915 Nobel Prize for their work. At 25, William Lawrence Bragg is still the youngest Nobel laureate. (d) Since the spacing between atoms in a crystal is typically 1 A 10 (= 10 m) we would expect that X-rays would be needed. would have an energy (e) A photon with a wavelength of 1 A E = hf = hc (6.626 1034 )(2.998 108 ) = 1010 1.986 1015 = 1.986 1015 J = = 1.249 104 eV. 1.602 1019 p2 h2 (6.626 1034 )2 = = 2m 2m2 2(9.109 1031 )(1010 )2 3.637 1018 = 3.637 1018 J = = 2.270 101 eV. 19 1.602 10
would have energy (f) An electron with a wavelength of 1 A E =
Here we have used the non-relativistic equation so we should check that the velocity is small compared to the speed of light: p = mv = h v h 6.626 1034 = = 0.2%, c mc (9.109 1031 )(2.998 108 )(1010 )
so this is a valid approximation.
(g) Since the photon energy is signicantly larger than the ionization energy of most atoms photons are likely to be unsuitable for examining objects at an atomic scale. Such photons, know as X-rays, are sometimes referred to as ionizing radiation.
26.5. MATTER WAVES
225
26.5.2
Bohr Model
Niels Bohr (1885-1962) was central to the birth of Quantum Mechanics and the most prevalent interpretation of QM, the Copenhagen Interpretation, is named after the location of the institute he headed. He was awarded the 1922 Nobel Prize for his work. In 1913 Bohr introduced his model for the atom which is the subject of Prob. 26.5.1. The central result is that the energy of the atom is given by RE En = 2 n where n is a positive integer and RE is the Rydberg energy.15 Since the atomic energies were quantized, when the atom changed energy states it emitted or absorbed photons with energies 1 1 hf = E = Enf Eni = RE 2 . n2 ni f The Bohr model of the atom was a key part of the early quantum theory and, along with de Broglies waves, led Schr odinger to his famous wave equation, Eq. 27.3. Problem 26.5.1. Bohred Consider an electron and proton bound together by the Coulomb force. Since the proton is more than a thousand times heavier than the electron it is reasonable to think of the electron orbiting the proton with energy E = 1 mv 2 e2/4 r where v , m and e are the 2 speed, mass and charge of the electron, r is the radius of its orbit and is the permitivity of free space. If the electron has a wavelength given by the de Broglie relation, = h/p, then it wouldnt be unreasonable to require that the orbits be standing waves with the circumference equal to an integral number of wavelengths. (cf. Pr. 17.4.1) (a) Draw the free body diagram of the electron. Assume that it is travelling in a circular orbit and so nd an expression for
Johannes Robert Rydberg (1854-1919) devised his eponymous formula in 1888. This empirical formula agreed with the experimentally measured spectrum of hydrogen. Bohr found that his model expressed the Rydberg energy in terms of fundamental constants, thereby giving great weight to his model.
15
226
the speed, v , of the electron. (b) Use your answer to (a) to eliminate the electrons velocity from the expression for the total energy of the electron.16 (c) The quantization condition is that the orbits consist of standing waves, 2 r = n. Use this, along with de Broglies postulate, to calculate the energies of the orbits, En , where n is an integer known as the quantum number. Your answer should not contain the radius of the electrons orbit or its speed, but rather the quantum number and several physical constants. (d) Express your answer in terms of the ne structure constant,17 = e2/4 c and the rest energy of the electron, mc2 . [answer: mc2 2/2n2 ] (e) The quantity RE = E1 is known as the Rydberg Energy. Calculate the value of RE in electron-Volts. (f) What is the angular momentum of these orbits. Check that your answer is dimensionally correct. Does your answer suggest an alternative quantization condition?18
26.6
Further Problems
Problem 26.6.1. Photons (a) Estimate the number of photons emitted by a 100 W light bulb per second under the assumption that the average wavelength of the photons is 500 nm. (b) A nuclear explosion has a temperature of about 107 K. What wavelength corresponds to the maximum spectral radiance? And what colour does this correspond to? Problem 26.6.2. Sunny The radius of the Sun is about 109 m and the power output is about 1026 W. (a) If the Sun is a black body what is its surface temperature? (b) At what wavelength would the maximum spectral radiance occur? (c) Estimate the number of photons emitted per second under the assumption that the average wavelength of the photons is the maximum wavelength you found in part (b).
The virial theorem can be used to show that the resulting, simple expression is also true for non-circular orbits. 17 The ne structure constant is dimensionless and almost equal to 1/137. Since 137 is the 33rd prime number this led to some numerology until more accurate experiments showed that that it is actually the reciprocal of 137.035999084. 18 This was what Bohr actually used as his quantization condition his model predated de Broglies theory by a decade.
16
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Problem 26.6.3. Twinkle-twinkle (a) The light given off by our Sun has a maximum in its spectrum in the green region. From this information what would you estimate the surface temperature of our Sun to be? [answer: Tsun 5800 K] (b) When we look at distant stars some of them appear red. Are these stars hotter or colder than our Sun? (c) Some of the stars appear blue; are they hotter or colder that our Sun? Problem 26.6.4. Gamma Scatter In certain nuclear decay processes gamma rays are emitted with wavelengths less that a picometer. (a) If a photon with a fre20 quency of 3 10 Hz is scattered by the nucleus of a hydrogen atom, in what direction would you expect the maximum change in its wavelength and what would be the fractional change, /? (b) If, instead, it was scattered by an electron what would be the maximum fractional change in its wavelength? (c) BONUS: Where does the energy for such photons come from? Problem 26.6.5. Electric Waves Consider an electron that is accelerated through a potential difference of 5000 V. (a) What is the velocity, v , of the electron? (b) What is v/c, the fraction of the speed of light? Do we have to worry about relativistic effects? If so, recalculate your answer to (a). (c) What is the wavelength of the electron? (d) The spacing be (1 A = 1010 m). Would tween adjacent layers in graphite is 3.35 A this make an appropriate diffraction grating and why? (e) At what smallest angle, , to the incident beam would you expect to nd a maximum in the interference pattern? Problem 26.6.6. Thermal Neutron A thermal neutron is one with a temperature close to room temperature. (a) Using the relationship between temperature and 2 , what is the enkinetic energy for a free particle, 3 k T 1 mv 2 B 2 ergy, E , of a typical free neutron? (b) What is the momentum, p, of a typical neutron? (c) What is the corresponding wavelength, ? (d) Compare this to the typical inter-atomic spacing in solids and make observations about possible diffraction effects.
228
26.7
Problem 26.7.1. Bohred Again Consider again the Bohr Model of the atom examined in Prob. 26.5.1. (a) The virial theorem tells us that for a potential proportional to r1 such as the Coulomb potential the kinetic energy is equal to 1 2 times the potential energy. Use this along with the postulate that the angular momentum of the electron in Bohrs model is quantized, L = mvr = n, to nd the energy of an electron orbiting a proton, E = 1 mv 2 e2/4 r where v , m and e are the speed, mass and 2 charge of the electron, r is the radius of its orbit and is the permitivity of free space, in terms of fundamental constants. Eliminate the electron charge from your answer in favour of the ne structure constant, = e2/4 c. (b) In terms of fundamental constants, what is the radius of the smallest Bohr orbit? Compare your answer to the Compton wavelength discussed in Ex. 26.4.1; in particular, what is the ratio of the Bohr radius to the Compton wavelength? (c) In SI units, what is the radius of the smallest Bohr orbit? (d) Since the electron is charged and is moving in a circular orbit we expect a magnetic moment,19 = IA, where I = e/T is the current of the orbiting electron and A = r2 is the area of its orbit (T is the period of the orbit). In terms of fundamental constants, what is this magnetic moment for the Bohr Model?20 (e) Do you expect the magnetic moment vector to be parallel or anti-parallel to its angular momentum? Why? (f) In SI units, what is the magnetic moment of the electron in the Bohr Model?
The magnetic moment is how strong a magnet is. A magnet in an external , will experience a torque equal to which tries to align the magnetic eld, B B magnetic with the external eld (this is how a compass works). Alternatively, the (the minus potential energy of the magnet in an external magnetic eld is B sign is because when the magnetic is aligned with the eld its energy is lowest). 20 It should be noted that this result is not correct: The lowest energy orbital of the hydrogen atom has no angular momentum (known as the s-orbital by chemists). Interestingly, the electron itself has an intrinsic angular momentum as one of its properties (along with its mass and charge) and, consequently, has a magnetic moment. It is the magnetic moment of the electrons that, when aligned in certain crystals, gives rise to macroscopic magnetism.
19
Chapter 27 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics

27.1 Introduction
In this chapter we will look briey at the mathematical formalism created by Werner Heisenberg, Matrix Mechanics, which allows us to calculate quantum effects with great accuracy. We will then examine in more detail Erwin Schr odingers wave equation, an alternate mathematical formalism. In the previous chapter we examined some of the important steps that led to the theories of Heisenberg (Matrix Mechanics) and Schr odinger (the Schr odinger Equation). Without an understanding of the non-classical observations and the rst steps in explaining them, Matrix Mechanics and the the Schr odinger Equation would be even more difcult to understand. Paul A M Dirac showed that the two theories were equivalent and we now use a notation, called Dirac Notation or Bra-ket Notation, that allows us to switch between the two theories with relative ease. Dirac shared the 1933 Nobel Prize with Schr odinger for their work in this area. Over the years Quantum Mechanics has acquired some jargon and terminology which can, initially, serve to confuse rather than illuminate. Since many of the concepts and properties have no classical analogue this is unavoidable. 229
230
CHAPTER 27. INTRODUCTION TO QM
27.2
Matrix Mechanics
One of the most important differences between Classical Mechanics1 and Quantum Mechanics is that in Quantum Mechanics there are no trajectories. In Classical Mechanics the position of an object can be described as a function of time, r(t), and so the momentum is just the mass of the object multiplied by the time derivative of the (t), hence we can, in theory, know the exact trajecposition, p = m r tory of an object. It turns out that such knowledge is impossible for microscopic systems. In the 1920s Werner Heisenberg developed a mathematical system to describe Quantum Mechanics called Matrix Mechanics. Heisenbergs system represented observables, or measurable quantities, as matrices and the state of a microscopic system as a column vector. Heisenbergs reasoning was that since, for example, the electrons orbit in an atom cannot be observed, he would create a Quantum Mechanics which only contained quantities which could be observed.
27.2.1
State Vectors
Instead of the continuous functions, such as r(t), used to describe the evolution of a classical system we have the discrete elements of the state vector, called probability amplitudes. each corresponding to a measurable property of the quantum system. The square of the magnitude of each complex probability amplitudes2 is the probability of a measurement of the system nding it in the corresponding quantum state. To make things more interesting, these are often innite dimensional, complex state vectors. In order to manipulate these state vectors it is convenient to use what is known as Dirac Notation, in which a typical state vector is written as: |
Classical Mechanics includes Newtonian, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Mechanics. Each of these gives the same result, with more or less difculty, for any given problem. 2 When I write complex I mean that it has real and imaginary parts, not that it is complicated. It may, of course, be both complex and complicated.
1
27.2. MATRIX MECHANICS and its Hermitian conjugate3 is | = |
231
which is a row vector in which each element is the complex conjugate of the corresponding element of the original column vector. The inner product of the state vector with its Hermitian conjugate is written as | and is, of course, a scalar which corresponds to the length of the vector.4 We interpret this length as the sum of the probabilities (each element is being multiplied by its complex conjugate so the result is real) of it being in the individual quantum states. This sum must, of course, equal one the probability of the system being in any of its possible states. This is known as the normalization condition the sum of the probabilities of it being in any of the possible states must be one, | = 1. Example 27.2.1. Bohred yet Again The energies predicted by the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, 1 2 En = E1/n2 where E1 = 2 mc2 , is a measurable quantity. In an experiment which measures the energy of a large number of identically prepared hydrogen atoms the energy is measured to be E1 50% of the time, E2 30% of the time and E3 20% of the time. (a) To 5 within a complex phase factor, what is the state vector, | , for this system? (b) Check that your answer to (a) gives the expected result for | . (c) If the energy of a large number of these hydrogen atoms was measured, what would you expect the average value, , E , to be? (d) What would the corresponding energy matrix, H | be? (e) Is your result Hermitian? (f) Calculate | H
The Hermitian conjugate is the transpose of the complex conjugate. It is common to use the dagger, , as the Hermitian conjugate operator. The Hermitian conjugate is sometimes referred to as the adjoint. 4 It is important to note that the length of a vector, or any other scalar, is independent of its representation (i.e. the basis used). 5 A complex phase factor would be ei which has a magnitude of one and a direction, or phase, on the complex plane of measured from the positive real axis. Eulers Formula may be a helpful way to understand this.
3
232
Solution (a) If | = a1
a2 a3
. . . then, since the an are the probability amplitudes we need and an = 0 for n > 3 so, to within a complex phase factor for each element, 0.5 (b) 0.3 | = 0.2 0 . . .
|a1 |2 = 0.5,
|a2 |2 = 0.3,
|a3 |2 = 0.2
0.3 | = ( 0.5, 0.3, 0.2,0, ) 0.2 0 . . . = 0.5 + 0.3 + 0.2 = 1

0.5
as expected. (c) Since we know that measurement gives E1 50% of the time. E2 30% of the time and E3 20% of the time the average value should be E = 0.5E1 + 0.3E2 + 0.2E3 E1 E1 43 = 0.5E1 + 0.3 2 + 0.2 2 = E1 . 2 3 72 (d) We can see that this will only be possible if the matrix corresponding to the energy is diagonal with elements equal to the Bohr energies. 1/12 0 0 = E1 H
0 0
1/22
. . .
. . .
1/32
. . . . ..
27.2. MATRIX MECHANICS is real and diagonal it is clearly Hermitian. (e) Since H (f) | = ( 0.5,0.3,0.2,0, ) E1 | H = 43 E1 , 72 the same as in (d). 1/12
0 0 0 0 1/22 0 0 1/32
233
. . .
. . .
0.5 0.3 0.2 0 . .. . . . . . .
27.2.2
Observables
As mentioned earlier, observables are represented by matrices in Matrix Mechanics. Examples of measurable quantities are the position, momentum, energy, or angular momentum; each of these observables can, in principle, be measured in a laboratory. It is com, P , H and mon to represent the matrices for these observables as X ; the hat over the symbols reminds us that these quantities are maL trices. It is important to remember which quantities are matrices because matrix multiplication is non-commutative. Non-commutative B = B A although there are cases where means that, in general, A specic matrices do commute. If the matrices for two observables commute then they are referred to as compatible observables otherwise they are incompatible observables. Because this non-commutative behaviour is so important it has a special notation called the commutator B A B B A A,
which is the zero matrix for compatible observables. The canonical example of incompatible observables are the position and momentum matrices X, P = iI (27.1) is the identity matrix and i = 1 is the unit imaginary where I and P matrices are number. The details of the elements of the X
234
dependant upon the system under study but this result is true for all systems. The commutation relation between the position and momentum, Eq. 27.1, is, as we shall see, the mathematical equivalent of the wave-particle duality discussed in the previous chapter.
27.2.3
Expectation Values
The connection between the observable represented by the matrices and the corresponding quantities measured in a laboratory is the expectation value. If we had a classical system with probabilities pi of having a certain property with values vi then the average of many measurements, v , would be v = vi pi ,
i
with each possible value weighted by its probability. For a quantum mechanical system in a state | a measurement, would, on average, yield a, of the observable represented by A | a = | A
(27.2)
which is a row vector, | = | , multiplied by the column vector | (a matrix times a vector is a vector). This was, of course, what A was calculated in the last part of Ex. 27.2.1, the expectation value of the energy. Note the use of the angle brackets to represent the average value | as the average of the enclosed quantity. We can think of | A or expectation value of the operator A when the system is in state | . With the interpretation of the elements of the state vector as probability amplitudes we see the similarity between the classical calculation of v and the quantum mechanical calculation of a. Since the state of the system, | , is a series of probability amplitudes, quantum mechanics can only tell us about statistical quantities such as averages. Luckily, it is usually quite easy to create an ensemble, or large numbers of identical systems, upon which we can repeatedly perform the same measurement.
27.2. MATRIX MECHANICS
235
27.2.4
Hermitian Operators
Since the average measurement, a, must result in a real value (i.e. with no imaginary component) this imposes important restrictions , which can represent observable quantities. upon the matrices, A Specically, they must be Hermitian6 = A. A , that expectation values It is easy to show, using the Hermiticity of A such as Eq. 27.2 are equal to their Hermitian conjugate and so are real.7
27.2.5
The Uncertainty Principle
Heisenbergs uncertainty principle states that it is impossible to simultaneously determine complementary observables such as position and momentum or energy and time. And that the minimum that the product of the uncertainties can be is /2. xp 2 & E t 2
Heisenbergs uncertainty principle is often attributed with more meaning than it has in popularizations. However, it is signicant in that as a direct consequence there is no clockwork universe in which a knowledge of the position and momentum of a system at a given point in time deterministically denes its fate for all subsequent times there are no trajectories. Example 27.2.2. Simply Uncertain Consider a particle with momentum p which, after passing through a single slit of width D, strikes a screen. We know that the particle will have a wavelength = h/p and will be diffracted by its passage through the slit. (a) Since the particle passed through the slit,
A Hermitian quantity, one that is equal to its Hermitian conjugate, is sometimes called self-adjoint. 7 You also need to know that the transpose of a product of matrices is the prodB ) = B A . uct of the transposes of the matrices in the reverse order, (A
6
236
estimate the uncertainty in its position, x, at the moment it passed through the slit. (b) Assume that the particle strikes the screen within the central diffraction peak and so estimate the uncertainty in its momentum, p. Assume that the angle through which the particle is deected is small. (c) What is xp? Solution (a) As a rough guess we can say that it passed through the centre of the slit with an uncertainty x D/2. (b) The angular position of the rst minima in the diffraction pattern is = /D. Taking this direction as the maximum deviation of the momentum vector from the straight line we get p D where we have used the small angle approximation. p = p(sin + cos ) p p sin (c) D p =1 h 2 2 D where we have used de Broglies relation, p = h/. xp
See Pr. 27.6.1 if you wish to explore a more mathematically rigorous derivation of Heisenbergs uncertainty.
27.3
Wave Mechanics
Prior to the rise of Quantum Mechanics physicists had very little use for matrices and were, instead, more intimately familiar with differential equations. Consequently, Heisenbergs Matrix Mechanics were initially resisted. Shortly after Heisenbergs breakthrough Schr odinger, through a process of trial and error, derived his now eponymous equation.8 The Schr odinger Equation in one dimension is 2 d2 (x) + V (x) (x) = E (x) (27.3) 2m dx2
8
Erwin Schr odinger was awarded the 1933 Nobel Prize for this work.
27.3. WAVE MECHANICS
237
which is a wave equation which has as its solution a complex function, (x), called the wave-function, each of which has a corresponding energy, E . In this equation V (x) is the potential affecting the particle of mass m and is, of course, Plancks constant. If the particle is bound by the potential (cf. gravitational binding, 17.4) then only certain values of the energy, E , will have acceptable wave-functions (x) (i.e. those that are nite everywhere and so can be normalized) and we say that the energy is quantized. It is in this way that Schr odinger reproduced the discrete values of Heisenbergs Matrix Mechanics. The wave-function, (x), differs from previous wave equations in that there is no physical thing (e.g. string, electric eld, etc) that is waving. It is, instead, interpreted as a probability amplitude. In fact, it is often written as a ket, | , so that Matrix Mechanics and Wave Mechanics can be used interchangeably. The quantity | (x)|2 is the probability density the probability of nding the particle between x and x + dx, so | (x)|2 dx = 1
all space
since the probability of nding the particle somewhere must be one. Example 27.3.1. Innite Square Well ( ) Consider a particle of mass m trapped in a potential given by 0 for 0 x a V (x) = otherwise in which we understand that by we mean that it is extremely large compared to all the other energies in the problem.9 (a) What must the solution, (x), be outside the region 0 x a? (b) Inside the region 0 x a, rearrange the Scrh odinger equation so that it has 2 the form = k . What is the constant k ? (c) Solve the resulting Scrh odinger equation. (d) If the wave-function, (x), must be continuous at the boundary x = 0 what does this tell us about
This is the physics version of innity, as distinct from the mathematics version. Really were just using the symbol as shorthand for very large. Perhaps we should make our own symbol how about ?
9
238
your answer to (c)? (e) If the wave-function, (x), must be continuous at the boundary x = a what does this tell us about your answer to (c)? (f) What are the allowed energies? (g) What are the corresponding wave-functions? (h) Normalize your wave-function so that | (x)|2 dx = 1 where the integral is over all space. (i) What are the possible values of your quantum number that give non-trivial and unique solutions? Solution (a) The only possible value of (x) outside the region that will satisfy the SE is (x)|x<0 = (x)|x>a = 0. We recognize that no real potential is actually innite; rather, the potential can be so large in some region that (x) in that region is vanishingly small. (b) We can rearrange the Schr odinger equation as d2 2mE (x) = 2 (x) = k 2 2 dx k2
2mE . 2 (c) We, of course, recognize this equation as the harmonic oscillator equation with solutions (x) = A sin(kx) + B cos(kx). (d) If (0) = 0 then (0) = 0 = A sin(0) + B cos(0) = B so (x) = A sin(kx). (e) If (a) = 0 then (a) = 0 = A sin(ka) so ka = n where n is an integer. This is the quantization.
where
27.3. WAVE MECHANICS (f) Using the value for k from above we get E= (g) n (x) = A sin 2 k 2 2 2 2 = n 2m 2ma2 n x a
239
(h) Since (x) = 0 outside the region 0 x a the integral over all space is zero everywhere except inside this region. a a a 2 2 2 n x 1= | (x)| dx = A sin = A2 a 2 0 0 A= 2 a
and the nal solution for the innite square well is x 2 sin n for 0 x a a a n (x) = 0 otherwise (i) If n = 0 then (x) = 0 which is the trivial solution to the Schr odinger Equation. Since sin(x) = sin(x) the negative integer solutions simply reproduce the positive integer solutions with a different phase so the interesting and unique solutions are for n = 1, 2, 3.... This is quite an interesting result. Only certain values of the energy are allowed by the Schr odinger equation the energy of this system (the innite square well) is quantized. Even more interesting, the wave-functions are exactly what we had for a standing wave on a string see Fig. 27.1); this is not that surprising since we had the same boundary conditions (i.e. a node at each end) and the spatial part of the wave equations are the same, = k 2 .10
The temporal parts of the wave equations are different; the string equation 2 = . has y = vw y while the Schr odinger Equation has i
10
240

(x) 1 3
x 0 2 a
Figure 27.1: For the innite square well the curvature, , will be negative inside the well (concave) and the wave function, , will be zero outside the well. The ground state solution, 1 , will have one bump, the rst excited state, 2 , will have two bumps, etc. This bump rule is generally true for a bound system.
A free particle (i.e. one for which V = 0) will, in general, have the solution given by (c) in the above example. The boundary conditions keep the particle in the box by reecting the wave at the edges, thereby creating a standing wave. Only those waves with the right wavelength (and the corresponding allowed energy.) have a nonzero probability amplitude, E= 2 k 2 h2 p2 = = . 2m 2m2 2m
This means that if the particle changes from one energy state to another it must absorb or emit a xed amount of energy hf = Enf Eni . For a charged particle this energy usually comes in the form of a photon.
27.3.1
For the nite square well the potential is 0 for 0 < x < a V (x) = V otherwise
Finite Square Well (
27.3. WAVE MECHANICS

(x) 1 x 0 a 2
241
Figure 27.2: For the nite square well the curvature, , will be negative inside the well (concave) and positive outside the well (convex). This concave/convex situation will be generally true for E < V /E < V . We can use this property to sketch the wave-function for other potentials.
so if the energy is less than V the particle will be stuck in the well and inside we will have the oscillating solution as before. However, we can no longer say that (x) = 0 outside the well. In these regions we can write the Schr odinger equation as = 2 , which has solutions (x) = Cex + Dex . Rather than waving these solutions exponentials. are 2 The normalization condition ( | | dx = 1) will require that the coefcient (i.e. C or D) of the growing exponential be zero, and the nal solution will have the wave-function waving inside the well and exponentially decreasing outside the well. See Fig. 27.2 2 2m(V E ) 2
27.3.2
Other Potentials
It is also possible to solve the Schr odinger equation for other choices of the potential, V (x), but the mathematics becomes much more involved. However, the basic result of quantized energies for a bound
242
system remains. The relationship between the curvature of the wavefunction and the energy discussed in Fig. 27.2 is also true in general. Erwin Schr odinger was able to solve his equation for the Coulomb potential, e2/r, (where e is the electron charge) and show that the possible energies for an electron bound to a proton (aka an hydrogen atom) were11 2 En = mc2 2 2n 2 where = e /c is the dimensionless ne structure constant, mc2 is the rest energy of the electron and n is again a positive integer. This is the same result for the energy as Bohr had for his model of the hydrogen atom. However, Schr odinger was also able to calculate the corresponding wave-functions, n (x). These wave-functions are able to explain many features of chemistry such as the shapes of the various orbitals (i.e. s, p, d, etc) and the shell model (i.e. 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 3d, etc).
27.3.3
Expectation Values
The expectation value (or mean) of any quantity, say f (x), is the sum of each possible value multiplied by its probability. If we know the probability distribution, P (x), of some quantity then we can calculate f (x) = f (x)P (x)dx.
all space
In quantum mechanics the wave function can be complex so we have, instead, f (x) = (x)f (x) (x)dx.
all space
where (x) is the complex conjugate of (x). Also, sometimes the observable (e.g. f (x)) is an operator so the order of the quantities in the above equation is important the operator only operates on the function to its immediate right.
This is a three dimensional problem rather than the one dimensional problems we have been examining. Vector calculus is needed to solve this problem in detail.
11
27.4. TUNNELLING
V (r) A B C
243
Vbarrier E2 E1 Vin 0 0 a
Figure 27.3: If a particle is trapped inside a potential well (region A) without enough energy to escape classically (i.e. Vin < Eparticle < Vbarrier ) then it will still be able to escape through a process called tunnelling. In the classically forbidden region (region B) the kinetic energy would, classically, be negative with an imaginary momentum. In quantum mechanics the wave-function decays exponentially in the forbidden region but there is a nite probability that the trapped particle will tunnel through the barrier. The probability of this happening in any given time interval is governed by the height of the barrier, Vbarrier Vin , and its width. Shown schematically are the rst two wave-functions (light and dark green curves) for energies E1 and E2 ; note that inside and outside the well they have negative curvature and in the barrier, where Eparticle < Vbarrier , they have positive curvature and that their amplitudes outside the well are smaller.
27.4
Tunnelling
When the potential, V (x), is a constant that is greater than the energy we can rearrange the Schr odinger equation as d2 2m(V E ) (x) = (x) 2 dx 2 which has solutions (x) = Ae+x + Bex
244
where 2 = 2m(V E )/2 is real. The result of this is that the probability density is non-zero (but decreasing exponentially) in a region that is classically forbidden (i.e. where a classical particle can not be). That the constants A and B must be chosen so that the normalization condition holds means that the probability density decays exponentially in the classically forbidden region. However, if the classically forbidden region is very narrow then there is a nite probability that the particle will tunnel through this region. This result explains many phenomena. The probability that a particle trapped in a potential well, such as that in Fig. 27.3, is able to tunnel out of the well depends upon the height and width of the barrier as well as the relative potentials inside and outside the barrier. -decay Certain radioactive nuclei, such as 235 92 U, decay by emitting an particle (i.e. an helium nucleus). In this process the particle must tunnel through a potential barrier (caused by the strong nuclear force) to escape from the nucleus. Nuclear Fusion Nuclear fusion is the process that powers stars. By combining lighter elements under high pressure and temperature into heavier elements, energy is released. The principle reaction in stars is called the proton-proton chain: H +1 H 2 D +1 H 3 He +3 He
1
D + e+ + 3 He + 4 He + 2(1 H)
2
and was rst thought of by Hans Bethe while on a train on the way home from a conference which was discussing the stellar problem. An alternative to the last step which occurs about 15% of the
27.5. FURTHER PROBLEMS time is

3
245
He +4 He 7 Be + 7 Be + e 7 Li + 7 Li +1 H 2(4 He).
In either case we can calculate the energy released in the process using Einsteins famous E = mc2 formula E = (4mH mHe 2me ) c2 26 MeV which works out to about 626 GJ for each gram of He produced. Scanning Tunnelling Microscopes In an STM a very sharp metal tip is brought close to the sample and the current is measured as electrons tunnel from the tip to the sample. The tip is then scanned across the sample in a raster pattern and an image is produced of the surface of the sample.
27.5
Further Problems
Problem 27.5.1. Trapped! (a) What is the typical size of a nucleus? (b) If an electron was conned inside the nucleus what would its momentum have to be? (c) What would its speed have to be? Compare your answer to the speed of light and then, if required, use the relativistic expression for the momentum, p = mv , to determine the speed of such an electron. (d) Perform a similar calculation for a proton. Problem 27.5.2. Life and Death (a) Look up the mass and lifetime of the subatomic particle called the muon. (b) What is the uncertainty in the mass-energy of the muon? (Hint: E = mc2 ) (c) Is your answer consistent with the mass you found? Problem 27.5.3. Whos on second? Consider a particle of mass m in an innite square well of width a.
246
The wave function is given by (a) = A sin(kx) where k = n /a, n = 1, 2, 3... (a) Calculate the normalization constant, A, by assuming the particle is in the well. (b) Plot the probability distribution for the two lowest energy states. (c) Calculate the expected value of the position, x for the lowest energy state (called the ground state). (d) Calculate the expected value of the position, x for the next lowest energy state (called the rest excited state). (e) What is the probablility of nding the particle within of the centre of the well if it is in the rst excited state? (f) Calculate the result to part (e) for = a/20 (i.e. in the middle 10% of the well) and comment on your result with relation to your answer to part (d). Problem 27.5.4. Heisenberg Again Consider a particle of mass m in an innite square well of width a. The wave function is given by (a) = A sin(kx) where k = n /a, n = 1, 2, 3... (a) Calculate the square of the uncertainty in the position for the ground state, x2 = x2 x2 . (b) Calculate the square of the uncertainty in the momentum for the ground state, d p2 = p2 p2 where p = i dx is the momentum operator. (c) Calculate the product xp and compare your answer to the expected result.
27.6
Problem 27.6.1. Generalized Uncertainty In statistics the standard deviation, A , is often used as a measure of uncertainty in a quantity A. It is dened as the square root of the square of the average deviation from the average, 1 2 A = (Ai A)2 = A A2 . N i In QM we have a similar quantity called the uncertainty which we write as A2 = f |f where the vector |f is dened as A | |f = A
247
and its uncertainty, (a) If we introduce a second observable B 2 B = g |g where |g is dened appropriately, show that A2 B 2 |f |g |2 . (Hint: Think of the inner product of the two vectors, |f and |g .) (b) Show that, for any complex number z , that |z |2 1
2i
(c) Since f |g is a complex number, show that A2 B 2 1
2 ( z z ) 2i
and B , (d) In terms of the expectation values of the operators A what are f |g and g |f ? (e) What is f |g g |f in terms of the and B ? Write your answer expectation values of the operators A as a commutator. (f) What is AB in terms of the expectation and B ? This is the generalized uncertainty values of the operators A 1 B ] ] principle. [answer: AB 2 [ A, i
2 (f |g g |f ) .
Index
abstraction, 25 action, 215 adjoint, 231 angular frequency, 134, 156 Archimedes principle, 115 Atwoods Machine, 100 barometer, 111 Bernoullis Equation, 123 Bessel Function, 209 binding energy, 76 blackbody radiation, 211, 213 Bohr Model, 225 Bragg Scattering, 224 bulk modulus, 97 buoyant force, 114 Clarke orbit, 71 coherent, 203 commutator, 233 compatible observables, 233 compressibility, 98 Compton Effect, 219 Compton wavelength, 220 continuity equation., 123 critical angle, 199 degrees of freedom, 165 differential equation, 132 diffraction, 200 single slit, 202 diffuse reection, 199 Dirac Notation, 230 dispersion, 177 displacement wave, 168 drag coefcient, 118 duality, 195, 212, 234 Einstein rings, 81 elastic modulus, 93 encapsulation, 25 ensemble, 234 equation of motion, 134 escape speed, 78, 79 Eulers formula, 193 Euler-Lagrange equation, 211 evanescent wave, 199 event horizon, 81 expectation value, 234, 242 ne structure constant, 226 Fourier, 155 frequency doubling, 178 gauge pressure, 112 General Relativity, 80 geosynchronous, 71 gravitational energy, 75 gravitational lensing, 81 Hamiltons equations, 211 hierarchy, 25 257
258 Hookes Law, 132 Huygens Principle, 197 ideal uid, 122 incompatible observables, 233 index of refraction, 198 intensive property, 163 iridescence, 205 lattice, 222 longitudinal waves, 152 magnetic moment, 228 Matrix Mechanics, 230 modulo arithmetic, 169 monochromatic, 203 quantization, 181 quantum number, 226
INDEX
Rayleigh-Jeans Law, 214 rays, 169, 196 reection, 199 refraction, 197 resolving power, 209 Reynolds Number, 17 Reynolds number, 121 Rydberg Energy, 226
Schr odinger Equation, 236 Schwarzschild Radius, 81 seismic wave, 167 self-adjoint, 235 serendipity, 222 Nobel Prize, 219, 222, 224, 225, shear stress, 96 229, 236 Snells Law, 198 non-linear waves, 178 soliton, 178 normalization condition, 231 sound pressure, 169 sound waves, 98 oblate spheroid, 70 space groups, 223 optical thickness, 204 spectral radiance, 214 specular reection, 199 partial derivative, 170 standard deviation, 9, 246 particle velocity, 157 standing wave, 181 partition function, 215 Statistical Mechanics, 212, 215 phase, 134 Stokes Law, 118 photoelectric effect, 211, 216 STP, 165 photons, 215 String Theory, 96 Plancks constant, 214 superuid, 116 Plancks Law, 215 supernova, 98 plane waves, 201 superposition principle, 177 Poisons Ratio, 94 Poisson Spot, 201 Poissons ratio, 100 polarization, 153 probability amplitudes, 230 tensile stress, 94 transverse waves, 152 ultraviolet catastrophe, 214
INDEX universal gravitational constant, 70 variance, 9 Venturi effect, 124 virial theorem, 77, 226 viscosity, 117 Wave Mechanics, 236 wave number, 155 wave-function, 237 wavefronts, 169, 196 wavelength, 156 Wiens Displacement Law, 214 work function, 218 Youngs Modulus, 94
259

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What is Newton's law of universal gravitation?

What is Newton's law of universal gravitation?

What are the two important properties of the gravitational force?

What are the two important properties of the gravitational force?

Physics for Physicists

Christopher ODonovan Version 0.1.2 April 4, 2010

Chapter 17 Universal Gravitation

CHAPTER 17. UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION

Newtons Other Law

Newtons law of universal gravitation is1 F12 = Gm1 m2 . 2 r12 (17.1)

I dont know why this isnt called Newtons fourth law.

17.2. NEWTONS OTHER LAW gravitational force per unit mass, 2 g= GM r r2

CHAPTER 17. UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION

Keplers First Law

17.3. KEPLERS LAWS

CHAPTER 17. UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION

Keplers Second Law

Keplers Third Law

17.4. ENERGY OF GRAVITATIONAL SYSTEMS

Energy of Gravitational Systems

CHAPTER 17. UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION

17.4. ENERGY OF GRAVITATIONAL SYSTEMS

CHAPTER 17. UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION

(b) We recall that for a circular orbit the kinetic energy is

17.4. ENERGY OF GRAVITATIONAL SYSTEMS

CHAPTER 17. UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION

17.5. GENERAL RELATIVITY

CHAPTER 17. UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION

17.6. FURTHER PROBLEMS

Figure 17.7: Lunar Baseball

CHAPTER 17. UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION

17.6. FURTHER PROBLEMS

Chapter 19 Elastic Properties of Solids

CHAPTER 19. ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS

19.2. TENSILE STRESS

CHAPTER 19. ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS

This is the rst law of String Theory.

19.4. BULK STRESS

CHAPTER 19. ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS

CHAPTER 19. ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS

19.6. FURTHER PROBLEMS

CHAPTER 19. ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS

Further Interesting Problems

19.7. FURTHER INTERESTING PROBLEMS

Chapter 20 Fluid Mechanics

CHAPTER 20. FLUID MECHANICS

20.2. FLUID STATICS

CHAPTER 20. FLUID MECHANICS

20.2. FLUID STATICS

CHAPTER 20. FLUID MECHANICS

20.2. FLUID STATICS

CHAPTER 20. FLUID MECHANICS

Ptop = 0 h Pbottom = Patm

20.2. FLUID STATICS

CHAPTER 20. FLUID MECHANICS

= Patm a2 + 1 ga3 + ga2 b. 2

2 a+b (Patm + gx) adx = a Patm x + 1 gx 2 b

20.3. FLUID DYNAMICS

CHAPTER 20. FLUID MECHANICS

20.3. FLUID DYNAMICS