Waves

Prerequisites

  • an understanding of harmonic oscillations;
  • the concept of period, frequency, angular frequency and phase.

Learning objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to

  • understand the dual periodicity of wave phenomena through the wave function;
  • characterise wave processes such as reflexion, refraction, diffraction and polarisation;
  • grasp the concept of interference and predict its outcome depending on phase difference or path difference;
  • describe the boundary conditions that determine the properties of standing waves, which also helps them comprehend laser oscillator modes;
  • apply the Doppler effect to determine the speed of moving wave sources (as in Doppler ultrasonography);
  • express sound intensities on a decibel scale and grasp the magnitude of intensity differences expressed on a logarithmic scale.


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