Physics III: Vibrations and Waves

Syllabus

1. Week 1

   Simple harmonic motion; damping

2. Week 2

   Forced oscillation; resonance

3. Week 3

   Coupled oscillators; normal modes

4. Week 4

   Waves on strings; wave equation

5. Week 5

   Sound waves; longitudinal waves

6. Week 6

   Boundary conditions; reflection and transmission

7. Week 7

   Standing waves; resonant cavities

8. Week 8

   Electromagnetic waves; polarisation

9. Week 9

   Interference; double-slit

10. Week 10

    Diffraction; single-slit; gratings

11. Week 11

    Fourier analysis of waveforms

12. Week 12

    Wave packets; group and phase velocity