PHY-401

Waves and Oscillations

BS Physics
3rd Semester

Dr. Ejaz Ahmed

Department of Physics
Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan
Waves in Physical Media

Lecture 13
 Lecture 13: Topics to be Covered

❑ Phase and Phase Constant

❑ Wave Speed on a Stretched String

➢ Phase Speed by Applying Dimensional Analysis

➢ Phase Speed by Applying Newton’s Law

 Phase and Phase Constant
In the traveling waves Eq. 𝒚 𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝒚𝒎 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒙 − 𝝎𝒕 , we have assumed that the displacement 𝒚 is zero
at the position 𝒙 = 𝟎 at the time 𝒕 = 𝟎. This, of course, need not be the case. The general expression for
a sinusoidal wave traveling in the positive x-direction is

𝒚 𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝒚𝒎 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒙 − 𝝎𝒕 − 𝝓

The quantity that appears in the argument of the sine, namely, 𝒌𝒙 − 𝝎𝒕 − 𝝓, is called the phase of the
wave. Two waves with the same phase (or with phases differing by any integer multiple of 𝟐𝝅) are said to
be “in phase”; they execute the same motion at the same time.

The angle 𝝓 is called the phase constant. The phase constant does not affect the shape of the wave; it
moves the wave forward or backward in space or time.
 Phase and Phase Constant
To see this, we rewrite the Eq. 𝒚 𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝒚𝒎 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒙 − 𝝎𝒕 − 𝝓 in two equivalent forms:
𝝓 𝝓
𝒚 𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝒚𝒎 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒌 𝒙 − − 𝝎𝒕 and 𝒚 𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝒚𝒎 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒙 − 𝝎 𝒕 −
𝒌 𝝎

Figure: (a) A snapshot of two sine waves traveling in the positive x-direction. Wave A has phase constant
𝝓
𝝓, and wave B has 𝝓 = 𝟎. Wave A is a distance of ൗ𝒌 ahead of wave B. (b) The motion of a single point
𝝓
in time due to the same two waves. Wave A is a time Τ𝝎 ahead of wave B.
Note that, in a graph of y versus t, “ahead of ” means “to the left of,” whereas in a graph of y versus x,
“ahead of ” means “to the right of,” if the waves travel in the positive x-direction.
 Dimensional Analysis

The study of the relationship between physical quantities with the help of dimensions and units of

measurement is termed dimensional analysis. Dimensional analysis is essential because it keeps the units the

same, helping us perform mathematical calculations smoothly.

 Applications of Dimensional Analysis

Dimensional analysis is a fundamental aspect of measurement and is applied in real-life physics. We make

use of dimensional analysis for three prominent reasons:

➢ To check the consistency of a dimensional equation

➢ To derive the relation between physical quantities in physical phenomena

➢ To change units from one system to another

 Limitations of Dimensional Analysis

Some limitations of dimensional analysis are:

➢ It doesn’t give information about the dimensional constant.

➢ The formula containing trigonometric function, exponential functions, logarithmic function, etc.

cannot be derived.

➢ It gives no information about whether a physical quantity is a scalar or vector.

 Dimensional Analysis

Unit Conversion and Dimensional Analysis

Dimensional analysis is also called Factor Label Method or Unit Factor Method because we use

conversion factors to get the same units. To help you understand the stated better, let’s say you want to know

how many meters make 3 km?

We know that 1000 meters make 1 km,

Therefore,

3 𝑘𝑚 = 3 × 1000 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 = 3000 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠

Here, the conversion factor is 1000 meters.

 Dimensional Analysis

Using Dimensional Analysis to Check the Correctness of Physical Equation

Let’s say that you don’t remember whether

1. 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 = 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅/𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, or

2. 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 = 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆/𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅
We can check this by making sure the dimensions on each side of the equations match.
Reducing both the equations to its fundamental units on each side of the equation, we get

𝑳 𝑻−𝟏
1. 𝑻 = = 𝑻−𝟏 (𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈)
𝑳

𝑳
2. 𝑻 =
𝑳 𝑻−𝟏
= 𝑻 (𝑹𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕)

However, it should be kept in mind that dimensional analysis cannot help you determine any
dimensionless constants in the equation.
 WAVE SPEED ON A STRETCHED STRING

The phase speed of a sinusoidal wave can be derived based on the mechanical properties of the
medium through which the wave travels, in our case a stretched string. In this section we will obtain the
phase speed by applying dimensional analysis and Newton’s laws to the motion of the wave along the
string.
Phase Speed by Applying Dimensional Analysis
The speed of a wave depends on the properties of the medium and is assumed to be independent of
frequency and wavelength. Each element of the string pulls on its neighbors with a force given by the

tension T in the string. The stronger the tension, the greater the force between neighboring elements and
the more rapidly any disturbance will propagate down the string. Thus, the wave speed should increase
with increasing tension.
 WAVE SPEED ON A STRETCHED STRING

On the other hand, the inertia of each element limits how effective the tension will be in accelerating that

element to move the wave along the string. Thus, for the same tension T, the wave speed will be smaller in
strings having more massive elements. The mass of each small element can be given in terms of the mass

density 𝝁, (mass per unit length), which for a uniform string is equal to its mass divided by its length. On
the basis of these general principles, we therefore expect

𝑻 𝒂
𝒗∝ ൗ 𝒃
𝝁

where a and b are exponents that must be determined from the analysis.

It turns out that we can deduce the values of a and b based on a dimensional analysis; that is, there is only
one combination of force and mass density that gives a quantity with the dimensions of velocity.
 WAVE SPEED ON A STRETCHED STRING
𝑻 𝒂
𝒗∝ ൗ 𝒃 where a and b are exponents that must be determined from the analysis.
𝝁
The dimension of a physical quantity can be expressed as a product of the basic physical dimensions such
as length, mass and time, each raised to a rational power.
The SI standard recommends the usage of the following dimensions and corresponding symbols: length
(L), mass (M), time (T), electric current (I), absolute temperature (Θ), amount of substance (N) and
luminous intensity (J).
𝐝𝐢𝐦 𝑸 = 𝑳𝒂 𝑴𝒃 𝑻𝒄 𝑰𝒅 𝜽𝒆 𝑵𝒇 𝑱𝒈
Where a, b, c, d, e, f, g are the dimensional exponents.
𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝑳
As examples, the dimension of the physical quantity speed v is 𝐝𝐢𝐦 𝒗 = = = 𝑳𝑻−𝟏
𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑻

𝐝𝐢𝐦 𝑭 = 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 × 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

and the dimension of the physical quantity force F is
𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝑴𝑳
= 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 × = 𝟐 = 𝑴𝑳𝑻−𝟐
𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑻
 WAVE SPEED ON A STRETCHED STRING
𝒗 ∝ 𝑻𝒂 𝝁−𝒃 ----- (1)
First of all, we will write the units of all the quantities involved.
𝑘𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑀
𝑣=
𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟
=
𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
=
𝐿
= 𝐿𝑇 −1 𝜇= = = = 𝑀𝐿−1
𝑠𝑒𝑐 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑇 𝑚 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝐿
𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑀𝐿
𝑇 = 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × = 2 = 𝑀𝐿𝑇 −2
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑇
Putting all these values in equation (1) 1
𝟏ൗ −𝟏ൗ𝟐 𝑇ൗ
𝒗∝ 𝑻 𝟐 𝝁 ⇒ 𝑣 ∝ 𝑇ൗ𝜇 2 ⇒𝑣∝ 𝜇
𝐿𝑇 −1 ∝ 𝑀𝐿𝑇 −2 𝑎
𝑀𝐿−1 𝑏

𝐿𝑇 −1 ∝ 𝑀𝑎 𝐿𝑎 𝑇 −2𝑎 𝑀𝑏 𝐿−𝑏 𝒗 = 𝑪 𝑻ൗ𝝁

𝑀0 𝐿1 𝑇 −1 ∝ 𝑀𝑎+𝑏 𝐿𝑎−𝑏 𝑇 −2𝑎
𝑎+𝑏 =0 As we see next, the analysis using Newton’s laws gives

𝑎−𝑏 =1 1 1 this same result and shows that C = 1.

−2𝑎 = −1 ⇒ 𝑎 = 2 ⇒𝑏=−
2
 Derivation of wave velocity for transverse wave
Phase Speed by Applying Newton’s Law
∆𝒍 ∆𝒍 ∆𝒍
𝜃𝜃
𝒗 𝒗 𝒗

(1) 𝑅 𝑅

𝑻 ∆𝒍 𝑻
(2) (3)
𝜃𝜃
𝒗 𝑻 𝑻 Figure: A pulse moving to the right on a stationary

𝑇𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝜃 𝜃 𝑇𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 string is equivalent to a pulse in a fixed position on a

𝑅 string that is moving to the left. We consider the

𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝜃 ≪ tension forces on a section of string of length ∆𝒍 on

(4) (5) the “fixed” pulse.

 Derivation of wave velocity for transverse wave
The total force due to tension T is

𝐹 = 𝑇𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 + 𝑇𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 = 2𝑇𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃

For small angle approximation when 𝜃 ≪

𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 ≈ 𝜃 [where 𝜃 is in radians]

∴ 𝐹 = 2𝑇𝜃

∴ 𝐹 = 𝑇. 2𝜃

We know that the length ∆𝒍 of the arc on the circle is equal to radius (R)times the angle (𝟐𝜽) subtended at
the center by the arc. 𝐵𝑦 𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑺 = 𝒓𝜽
∆𝒍 = 𝑅. 2𝜃 or 2𝜃 = ∆𝒍ൗ𝑅
𝑭 = 𝑻. ∆𝒍ൗ𝑹
 Derivation of wave velocity for transverse wave
Let us assume that the linear density 𝝁 of this small length ∆𝒍 of mass ∆𝒎 ∆𝒍
𝜇 = ∆𝑚ൗ∆𝑙 or ∆𝑚 = 𝜇. ∆𝑙 𝒂 𝒗
we also observe that the small length ∆𝒍 is moving in an arc of a circle and centripetal
acceleration
therefore it will experience the centripetal acceleration which is acting towards the 𝑅

center of the circle. 2

𝑣
𝑎 = ൗ𝑅
We have from Newton’s 2nd law of motion

⇒ 𝑣 2 = 𝑇ൗ𝜇
2
𝐹 = ∆𝑚. 𝑎 ⇒ 𝑇. ∆𝒍Τ𝑅 = 𝜇. ∆𝑙. 𝑣 ൗ𝑅 ⇒𝒗= 𝑻ൗ
𝝁

𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑚

𝒗=
𝐼𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑚
 Video Lectures to Watch

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIjPJERQnnw (Phase Difference - A level Physics)

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-DokQ20yP4 (Phase and Phase Difference in Hindi | Concept of

leading and lagging of AC)

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTEdQqy5Sn4 (Derivation of wave velocity equation #5)

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O2P2hezbTs (Deriving a dimensional formula or equation)

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd6uFWxsSPU (wave speed | wave speed by Dimensional

Analysis | wave speed by Mechanical Analysis)