waves

• wave speed: distance travelled by a wave each second
• a stationary wave is one that stores energy instead of transferring it from one point to another
• the process of a stationary wave being formed on a string that is fixed at both ends - part 1:

  1. a wave is generated at one end of the string and travels down it
  2. at the other end, this wave is reflected and travels back in the opposite direction
  3. the frequency of wave generation and the length of the string are such that the next wave generated meets this reflected wave and undergoes superposition
• the fundamental frequency of a wave on a string can be found from the following equation: $f =$$\frac{1}{2l}\sqrt{\frac{T}{\mu}}$ where $T =$$mg$ and $\mu =$$\frac{M}{l}$. from the equation, we can tell that raising the tension or shortening the length of a given string increases the pitch.
• coherence means that waves have the same frequency with a constant phase difference
• when light is shone through a diffraction grating, monochromatic light will display a diffraction pattern
• increasing the slit width creates an intense but narrow central maximum