Describing Waves

Describing Waves

1. Ways of Making Ripples

   • wooden bar in a ripple tank which touches the surface of the water
     • bar vibrates up and down at a steady rate
       • send equally spaced straight ripples across surface
   • spherical dipper just touches surface of water
     • vibrates up and down, equally speed circular ripples spread out across water surface

2. ripples produced by smith vibrating up and down vertically

3. ripples move out horizontally

4. each water molecule drags its neighbours up and down, then start their other neighbours moving

5. straight ripples can be like a beam of light mob coming from the Sun

6. circular ripples could be spreading out from a vibrating dipper like light spreading out from a lamp