Sound, Waves and Light

PHYS 110 Sound, Waves and Light

Instructors: Robert Cohen (summer)
Instructors: John Elwood, Mary Ann Moore, David Larrabee (fall/spring)

The following are in Word 2002 format:

Study Guide

Summer 2004 Syllabus

Figures (for unit exams)

Links to Sound, Wave and Light phenomena

Chapter 1
Chapter 2 Simulations of a spring and a pendulum are among the many simulations of oscillations shown at MyPhysicsLab. Run the simulation of a cart attached to a spring (by Daniel Roth) to see what a graph of the motion (displacement vs. time) looks like. Enter a value of 0.0 for k to see undamped motion and a value of 0.5 for k to see damped motion (remember to hit enter after changing the value).
Chapter 3 Sound
Chapter 4 Here is a simulation comparing transverse and longitudinal waves (from Northwestern University Virtual Physics Laboratory).
Chapter 5 Simulation of water wave motion
Chapter 6 Polarization Best way to see this is by playing with two or more polarizing filters (see instructor) EM spectrum Spectrum applet allowing you to click on any part and see characteristics
Chapter 7 Propagation of wave fronts: Ripple Tank simulation Doppler Effect: Simulation Video There is also Video taken from three perspectives (within the car, outside the car and in another car) Reflection and Refraction reflection and refraction; also illustrates the difference between wave fronts and rays (Fu-Kwan Hwang, Dept of Physics, National Taiwan Normal University) Dispersion An example of light dispersion through a prism is provided by the University of Hawaii (Sergey Kiselev and Tanya Yanovsky-Kiselev). scattering
Chapter 8 See the optics page of the CoVis guide to the atmosphere. See here for a picture of noctilucent clouds. A FAQ page for noctilucent clouds also exists. For a neat picture of the green flash and mirage, see the abstract of a paper given by Dr. Alistair Fraser of Penn State. A good explanation of mirage phenomena is given by Andrew T. Young. Check out the Light Pillars page by Keith Heidorn (the weather doctor)
Chapter 9 You can add colors together here (Fu-Kwun Hwang, Dept. of physics, National Taiwan Normal University) filters The University of Hawaii (Sergey Kiselev and Tanya Yanovsky-Kiselev) show how images are formed by converging lens, a diverging lens and a diverging mirror.
Chapter 10 A simulation of diffraction due to a single slit is shown here by Sergey Kiselev, Tanya Yanovsky-Kiselev (University of Hawaii). Note how colors like blue create a more narrow band than colors like red. A simulation of interference in a water ripple tank shows how waves in general will interfere with each other. You can also send the wave through slits. beats lasers slits
Chapter 11 Interference Interference between two point sources (shows differences in distance from each source) Thin Film Interference and examples in nature Ripple Tank Effect Here is a simulation of a wave on a string interfering with its reflection to set up a standing wave (from Northwestern University Virtual Physics Laboratory).
Chapter 12 examples of standing waves Standing waves Harmonics

Send e-mail to study guide author (Robert Cohen)

Last updated: July, 2004.

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