Waves: An Interactive Tutorial is a set of 33 exercises designed to teach the fundamentals of wave dynamics. It starts with very simple wave properties and ends with an examination of nonlinear wave behavior. The emphasis
here is on the properties of waves which are difficult to illustrate in a static textbook figure.
Simulations are not a substitute for laboratory work. However they allow for visualization of processes that cannot normally be seen (for example electric and magnetic fields). They allow for visualization of process that are too fast (for example waves) to follow in real time or too small to see (for example thermodynamics at the molecular scale). They allow manipulation of processes which might be dangerous (collisions) or hard to experiment with (waves).
They also allow for easy repetition. For all of these reasons, simulations are an excellent way to introduce
students to the complex phenomena of waves.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Basic Properties
- Introduction
- Sine Waves
- Wave Speed
- Transverse Waves
- Simple Harmonic Motion
- Driven Damped Harmonic Motion
- Longitudinal Waves
- Water Waves
- Two-Dimensional Waves
2. Combining Waves
- Adding Waves
- Interference
- Group and Phase Velocities
- Other Waves
- Fourier Series with Sound
3. External Interactions
- Mirrors
- Boundaries
- Standing Waves
- Refraction
- Lenses
- Path Difference
- Impedance
- Dispersion I
- Dispersion II
- Diffraction
4. Applications
- Doppler Effect
- Accelerated Charge Radiation
- Antenna
- Electromagnetic Waves
- Polarization
- Wave Equation
- Mass Chains
- NonLinearity
- Solitons
5. Appendices
- Tutorial History and Credits
- Texts and Resources