Science and fun

HELLO GUYS!

"IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN INTELLIGENCE"

Albert Einstein

Science doesn't need to be boring. Actually it's kind of funny cause you can do many things with that. Imagine you shooting a rocket or even creating an explosion, Wouldn't that be amazing?! Science can help you to realize these dreams!

Haven't you ever asked yourself how we can hear things, or why the sea waves are that way? To answer those questions we have to talk about waves.

WHAT ARE WAVES?

A wave is a movement involving the transfer of energy from place to place. In science, energy is defined as the ability to do work. They can travel in different kinds of medium such as air, water and solid. They are called mechanic waves because they need something to travel through

TYPES OF WAVES

Transversal waves:

A transversal wave vibrates the medium at right angles, or perpendicular, to the direction in which the wave travels. A high point on a transverse wave is called a crest, and a low point is called trough.

Longitudinal waves:

A longitudinal wave vibrates the medium in the same direction in which the wave travels. An area where the coils are close together is called a compression. An area where the coils are spread out is called a rarefaction.

Surface waves:

Surface waves are combinations of transverse and longitudinal waves. This type of wave travels along a surface that separates two mediums. Ocean waves are the most familiar surface wave. An ocean wave travels at the surface between water and air.

Basic properties of waves

The basic properties of waves are: amplitude, wavelength, frequency and speed.

Amplitude: describes how far the medium in a wave moves;
Wavelength: describes a wave's length;
Frequency: describes how often it occurs. Frequency is measured in units called hertz(Hz), and is defined as the number of waves per second;
Speed: describes how quickly a wave moves. You can determine a wave's speed by dividing the distance it traves by the time it takes to travel that distance.

speed = wavelength x frequency

frequency = speed/wavelength

Direction of a wave

Like a ball, waves can also change direction. Waves change direction by reflection, refraction, and diffraction.

Reflection: when a wave hits a surface but it can't pass through it than it bounces back:

Refrection: the bending of waves due to a change in speed:

Diffraction: when a wave moves around a barrier and spreads out:

Wave Interference

Interference is the interaction between waves that meet. There are two types of interference: constructive and destructive.

Constructive Interference: is the interference in which waves combine to form a wave with a larger amplitude than any individual wave's amplitude.