This lecture provides background informatio for sections 1-1 through 1-4 of McQuarrie:
We start with the expression for the propagation of a one dimensional wave through free space as it travels to the right. We generate the profile of a wave as it travels through space and time. We then treat the problem of a wave reflecting from a rigid boundary as the linear superposition of two waves traveling in opposite directions. A movie of this phenomenon allows us to see how a stationary wave is formed.
We then consider the description of a point radiator emitting waves uniformly in all directions in the X,Y plane. We then consider the interference pattern formed when two point sources spaced a fixed distance apart radiate simultaneously. The simulation results are compared with waves generated in a water tank. Good correspondence is found.
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Click here to see a copy of the M-file for the first part of this lecture. This m file and all of the others have line breaks missing. Do not "save" the file. Instead, highlight the entire text and copy and paste it into the MATLAB editor (select a new M file in the File menu of MATLAB first). Now the script will have line breaks and you can do a " save as" to save it as a named file.
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