Introduction
The
common thread that will ‘undulate’ through this set of
lectures will be the discussion of waves and wave motion
(pun intended). Wave motion can be found in almost every
branch of physics, from mechanics to electromagnetism,
from solid-state physics through to atomic and nuclear
physics. In these units we shall first develop the mathematics
necessary to describe waves and wave motion, and then
discuss the behaviour of various types of waves. While
our aim is to acquire an understanding of waves in general,
we shall spend extra time discussing two specific types
of waves, sound waves and light waves. We shall highlight
those characteristics that are exclusive to waves and
which, in a way, define what a wave is. Remarkably, the
“strange” behaviour of waves when compared to particles
will be vital in getting to understand the world of atomic
particles, a branch of physics we now call quantum physics
(sometimes also called wave mechanics). Although you
will have to study a lot more before you will really appreciate
quantum physics, these lectures are a first step in that
long and strenuous path. Here, we shall review a range
of key experiments that forced scientists in the early
1900s to look beyond classical physics.
Assumed
knowledge
The
student enrolled in this course is assumed to have successfully
completed the physics and math courses taught in Session
1, and has been recommended to this class by the First
Year Office.
About
the course
Part
of this course taught by Professor Gal is divided into
6 units. Each unit corresponds to approximately a week’s
work, and includes three lectures and one tutorial. Another
lecturer will teach the second half of the course.
Unit
1 introduces us to various types of waves. We learn how
to calculate the speed of waves in different media, and
the energy (power) carried by waves. We shall discuss
the principle of superposition and discuss interference
of waves, the idea of standing waves and resonance.
Unit
2 is about sound waves. We shall apply what we learned
in unit 1 to sound waves. We shall also discuss the sources
of sound, including various types of musical instruments.
We shall derive the Doppler effect and talk about shock
waves.
Unit
3 and 4 introduces us to light waves, various types of
interference and diffraction experiments, several optical
instruments, the resolving power of spectrometers and
astronomical instruments. We shall conclude this section
by discussing x-ray diffraction.
Unit
5 and 6 reviews the historical origins of quantum mechanics.
We shall discuss in some detail those experiments that
shook the foundation of (classical) physics.
The
lecturer
The
first half of this course is lectured by Professor Mike
Gal. Mike is Professor of Physics and coordinator of the
Optoelectronics and Photonics programs in the School of
Physics. He is available for consultation on Friday
afternoons between 3 and 4pm. Obviously, the tutorials
are an excellent place to ask questions or make comments.
Mike’s office is in room LG47; his email is m.gal@unsw.edu.au.
Tutorials
There
is one tutorial per week for this course. It will be
assumed that the students have attempted to solve the
tutorial questions prior to coming to class. In addition
to solving problems in the tutorials, example problems
will also be discussed during the lectures.
Eugene
Hecht: Physics: calculus (second ed) ISBN 0-534-37350-X
Assessment
There
will be a mid-session test and a final exam for this course.
Check with the First Year Office for date and time. The
test/exam questions will be similar in style and difficulty
to most of the problems solved in class during lectures
and tutorials. Previous years’ exams are available from
the Library. The laboratory mark will also be taken into
account on calculating the final mark for this subject.
The
original material prepared for these lecture notes is
copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of
private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted
under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by
any process without written permission. Enquiries should
be addressed to School of Physics, UNSW.
© 2006
The University of New South Wales
Sydney 2052 Australia
School of Physics
Tel: 61-2-9385 6293
Fax: 61-2-9385 6060
