Lecture 8

Energy and Power of a Wave Traveling Along a String

When we set up a wave on a stretched string, we provide energy for the motion of
the string. As the wave moves away from us, it transports that energy as both
kinetic energy and elastic potential energy.

Kinetic Energy
A string element of mass dm, oscillating transversely in simple harmonic
Fig : A section of the string with mass Δm
motion as the wave passes through it, has kinetic energy associated with its
oscillates at the same frequency as the wave.
transverse velocity

Elastic Potential Energy

To send a sinusoidal wave along a previously straight string, the wave must necessarily stretch the string. As a string element of length dx
oscillates transversely, its length must increase and decrease in a periodic way if the string element is to fit the sinusoidal wave form.
Elastic potential energy is associated with these length changes, just as for a spring. (The total length of the string does not change
permanently with wave propagation, but the local length of small elements of the string does periodically change as the wave moves
along the string.)

String has a constant linear density μ = Δm /Δx ,

Each mass element of the string has the mass Δm = μΔx.
Each mass element of the string oscillates with a velocity

The wave can be very long, consisting of many wavelengths. To standardize the energy, consider the kinetic energy associated with the
wavelength of the wave. This kinetic energy can be integrated over the wavelength to find the energy associated with each wavelength of the
wave:
When a mass attached to the spring oscillates in
The time-averaged power of a sinusoidal mechanical wave, which is the average rate of energy transfer associated with a
wave as it passes a point, can be found by taking the total energy associated with the wave divided by the time it takes to
transfer the energy. If the velocity of the sinusoidal wave is constant, the time for one wavelength to pass by a point is
equal to the period of the wave, which is also constant. For a sinusoidal mechanical wave, the time-averaged power is
therefore the energy associated with a wavelength divided by the period of the wave. The wavelength of the wave divided
by the period is equal to the velocity of the wave,

The factors μ and v in this equation depend on the material and tension of the string. The factors ω and A depend on the
process that generates the wave. The dependence of the average power of a wave on the square of its amplitude and also on
the square of its angular frequency is a general result, true for waves of all types
 Intensity of the waves
Another important characteristic of waves is the intensity of the waves. Waves can also be concentrated or spread out. Waves
from an earthquake, for example, spread out over a larger area as they move away from a source, so they do less damage
the farther they get from the source. Changing the area the waves cover has important effects. All these pertinent factors are
included in the definition of intensity (I) as power per unit area:

If there are no dissipative forces, the energy will remain constant as the spherical wave moves away from the source,
but the intensity will decrease as the surface area increases.
In the case of the two-dimensional circular wave, the wave moves out, increasing the circumference of the wave as the
radius of the circle increases. If you toss a pebble in a pond, the surface ripple moves out as a circular wave. As the
ripple moves away from the source, the amplitude decreases. The energy of the wave spreads around a larger
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circumference and the amplitude decreases proportional to 𝑟 , which is also the same in the case of a spherical wave,
since intensity is proportional to the amplitude squared
 The Principle of Superposition for Waves

It often happens that two or more waves pass simultaneously through the same region.When
we listen to a concert, for example, sound waves from many instruments fall simultaneously
on our eardrums. The electrons in the antennas of our radio and television receivers are set in
motion by the net effect of many electromagnetic waves from many different broadcasting
centers.

Suppose that two waves travel simultaneously along the same stretched string. Let y1(x, t) and
y2(x, t) be the displacements that the string would experience if each wave traveled alone. The
displacement of the string when the waves overlap is then the algebraic sum

Overlapping waves algebraically add to produce a resultant wave (or net wave). the principle of superposition,
which says that when several effects occur simultaneously, their net effect is the sum of the individual effects.
 Standing or Stationary Waves
We discussed two sinusoidal waves of the same wavelength and amplitude traveling in the same direction along a stretched
string. What if they travel in opposite directions? We can again find the resultant wave by applying the superposition
principle.

The outstanding feature of the resultant wave is that there are places along the string, called nodes, where the string never
moves. Four such nodes are marked by dots in Fig. 16-17c. Halfway between adjacent nodes are antinodes, where the
amplitude of the resultant wave is a maximum. Wave patterns such as that of Fig. 16-17c are called standing waves because
the wave patterns do not move left or right; the locations of the maxima and minima do not change. Under certain conditions,
waves can bounce back and forth through a particular region, effectively becoming stationary. These are called standing waves.
Consider two identical waves that move in opposite directions. The first wave has a wave function of

2A
 Phase Velocity
The phase velocity is the speed at which a point of constant phase (e.g., a crest)
of a wave travels.
 Group Velocity
Let us consider the superposition occurs between two waves with The envelope gives the cosine wave and is called the Beat wave. It
nearly same frequency, follow the equations, consists of a group of waves, each group consists of a number of
waves. Group velocity is nothing but the velocity at which the
y1= a sin(k1x – ω1t ) (9.9)
envelope travels.
y2= a sin(k2x - ω2t ) (9.10)
The group velocity is the speed at which the envelope of
The equation of the resultant wave is, a group of waves (wave packet) travels.
y= y1+ y2 = a sin(k1x - ω1t ) + a sin(k2x – ω2t )
Applying the trigonometric relation,
1 1
sinA + sinB = 2 sin (A+B) cos (A-B)
2 2
(k1+k2) (ω1+ω2) (k1−k2) (ω1−ω2)
So, y = 2a sin [ x- t ] cos[ x- t]
2 2 2 2

Let us consider, ω1- ω2= Δω and k1- k2= Δk; where Δω and Δk are very
small.
1 1
Also, ω = (ω1+ω2) and k = (k1+ k2)
2 2
1
y = 2a cos (Δk.x - Δω.t ) sin (k.x – ωt) (9.11)
2

Thus, the resultant wave has the same frequency and wavelength as the
1
original with the amplitude modulated by a factor cos (Δk.x - Δω.t).
2

Figure: Phase velocity and group velocity

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 Relation between phase velocity and group velocity

The envelope travels as a wave with the Hence the relation between group
1
wave number 2 Δk and angular frequency velocity (u) and phase velocity (v) is
1 given by,
Δω.
2
Δω Δ(𝑣𝑘)
u= =
The velocity at which the envelope travels Δk Δk
can be determined by considering the Δ𝑣
1
modulating factor, cos 2(Δω.t – Δk.x) Or, u = v + k
Δk
1 1 Δ𝑣 Δλ
=cos (2Δk.x - 2Δω.t ) Or, u = v + k Δλ
Δk
1 Δω 2𝜋 2𝜋
= cos 2Δk (x - Since k = 𝜆 or, 𝜆=
Δk
. t) k
1 Δλ 2π
= cos 2Δk (x - ut) Hence,
Δk
= - 𝑘2

Δω Δ𝑣 2π 2π Δ𝑣
Where, u = is called the group velocity. Thus, u = v –k Δλ 𝑘2 = v - 𝑘 Δλ
Δk
But, ω= vk and v is the phase velocity. Δ𝒗
∴ u = v -𝝀 Δ𝝀 (9.12)
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