Wave behaviour

Wave behaviour

• 1.
  Reflection, Refraction, Diffraction
• 2.
  Reflection  Reflection occurswhen waves strike an impervious barrier.  If the barrier is straight or flat, then the waves will reflect at the same angle they struck it. The angle of incidence = the angle of reflection
• 3.
  Reflection  When awave strikes a concave barrier they become curved and are made to converge:
• 4.
  Reflection  When wavesstrike a convex barrier they are made to diverge, (spread out).
• 5.
  Refraction  If wavesenter shallower water, they travel more slowly.  If they enter the shallower water at an angle to their direction of movement, they will refract.  The waves bend towards the normal on entering shallower water and away from the normal on entering deeper water.
• 6.
  Diffraction  Diffraction occurswhen waves pass through a gap in a boundary.  If the gap is larger than the wavelength, most of the waves pass through the gap and continue in a straight line.
• 7.
  Diffraction  If thegap in the boundary is equal to the wavelength, the waves radiate and no longer travel in a straight line; this is called Diffraction.  Why do you think this might be important when designing a harbour?