Unit 1 Physics: Waves in Communication

?
Frequency
The number of oscillations (vibrations) per second.
1 of 32
Periodic time
The time taken to complete one oscillation.
periodic time= 1/ frequency
2 of 32
Amplitude
The largest distance between the point that the wave moves from its rest position.
3 of 32
Wavelength
The distance between two adjacent wavefront peaks.
4 of 32
Wave speed
The speed that it takes the wave to travel to a given point in a period of time.
5 of 32
Phase
Describes how far through a cycle a wave is.
6 of 32
Phase difference
A measure of the difference in where two waves are in their cycle.
7 of 32
Transverse waves
When particles in the medium vibrate at right angles to the direction of the wave's motion.
8 of 32
Longitudinal waves
When the medium's particles vibrate in the same direction as the wave's motion.
9 of 32
Stationary wave
When two progressive waves (same wavelength/ frequency) move in opposite directions, interfering with eachother.
10 of 32
Node
A point on a stationary wave that have zero amplitude.
11 of 32
Anti-node
A point which oscillate from the furthest point upwards to the furthest point downwards.
12 of 32
Electromagnetic waves
Vibrating electrical/ mechanical fields that travel through space with no medium.
13 of 32
Displacement
The distance at any given moment from the central/ equilibrium position.
14 of 32
Path difference
The number of cycle's difference there's between two waves from the same source.
15 of 32
Refraction
When light enters a more dense medium and bends towards the normal.
16 of 32
Diffraction
The spreading of waves when they pass through a gap or move past an obstacle.
17 of 32
Reflection
The change in the direction of a wave that can either be light or sound, away from the wave boundary.
18 of 32
Specular reflection
Defined as light reflected from a smooth surface at a definite angle.
19 of 32
Diffuse reflection
Waves that are produced by rough surfaces that tend to reflect light in all directions.
20 of 32
Superposition
The net displacement of the medium at any point in space or time, is simply the sum of the individual wave displacements.
21 of 32
Constructive interference
When both waves have the same sign displacement.
22 of 32
Destructive interference
At the point of overlap, if the waves have opposite displacements, they will cancel eachother out.
23 of 32
Coherent
The superposition of the waves gives a visible interference pattern.
24 of 32
Single slit diffraction
When light passes through a narrow slit, a pattern of alternate bright and dark fringes are produced.
25 of 32
Resonance
When an object is made to oscillate at its natural frequency, it creates large amplitude oscillations.
26 of 32
Optical density
The degree at which the light refracts through a medium.
27 of 32
Refractive index
A number that denotes how light passes through a medium/ how much light is refracted.
28 of 32
Total internal reflection
Complete reflection of a light ray reaching a boundary greater than the critical angle.
29 of 32
Optical fibres
Used to transmit light, communication and medicinal applications; cylindrical core of glass encased in glass cladding.
30 of 32
Analogue signals
Signals that continuously vary in frequency and amplitude.
31 of 32
Digital signals
Signal of a sequence of discrete values (either 0 or 1).
32 of 32

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

The time taken to complete one oscillation.
periodic time= 1/ frequency

Back

Periodic time

Card 3

Front

The largest distance between the point that the wave moves from its rest position.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

The distance between two adjacent wavefront peaks.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

The speed that it takes the wave to travel to a given point in a period of time.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Applied Science resources:

See all Applied Science resources »See all Waves in Communication resources »