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A sine wave is travelling in a medium.  The minimum distance between the two particles, always having same speed, is

Question

A sine wave is travelling in a medium.  The minimum distance between the two particles, always having same speed, is

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Solution

The minimum distance between two particles in a medium, which are always moving with the same speed in a sine wave, is the wavelength divided by 4.

Here's why:

  1. In a sine wave, particles in the medium oscillate back and forth in simple harmonic motion.

  2. Two particles moving with the same speed will be at the same point in their oscillation.

  3. In one complete cycle of a sine wave (which is the wavelength), a particle goes from its starting position, reaches maximum speed, slows down, stops, speeds up in the opposite direction, reaches maximum speed again, slows down, and stops back at the starting position.

  4. So, two particles moving with the same speed will be a quarter of a cycle apart, because they reach their maximum speeds at a quarter and three quarters of the way through the cycle.

  5. Therefore, the minimum distance between two such particles is a quarter of the wavelength.

This problem has been solved

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