Reflection, Refraction & Transmission When waves arrive at a boundary between two materials, they can be: Reflected Refracted Transmitted Absorbed Reflection Reflection occurs when: A wave hits...
Malus's Law Intensity of Polarised Light The intensity of unpolarised light is reduced as a result of polarisation If unpolarised light of intensity I0 passes through a polariser, the intensity of ...
Polarisation Transverse waves can oscillate in any plane perpendicular to the direction of motion (and energy transfer) of the wave Such waves are said to be unpolarised When a transverse wave is p...
Superposition The principle of superposition states that: When two or more waves meet, the resultant displacement is the vector sum of the displacements of the individual waves The principle of su...
Amplitude & Intensity Intensity The intensity of a wave is defined as follows: Power per unit area Intensity is measured in W m–2 Power is defined as: The rate of energy transfer Therefore, in...
Wavefronts Waves can be represented graphically in two different ways: Wavefronts - lines joining all the points that oscillate in phase and are perpendicular to the direction of motion (and energy...
Sound Waves Sound waves are longitudinal waves and, as such, require a medium in which to propagate Sound waves are generated by oscillating sources, which produce a change in density of the surrou...
Electromagnetic Waves An electromagnetic wave is generated by the combined oscillation of an electric and a magnetic field These fields oscillate perpendicular to each other and to the direction of...
Transverse & Longitudinal Waves In mechanical waves, particles oscillate about fixed points There are two types of wave: transverse and longitudinal The type of wave can be determined by the di...
