Question
You have learnt that a travelling wave in one dimension is represented by a function y = f (x, t)where x and t must appear in the combination x – v t or x + v t, i.e.y = f (x ± v t).
Is the converse true? Examine if the following functions for y can possibly represent a travelling wave:
(a) (x – vt)2
(b) log [(x + vt) / x0]
(c) 1 / (x + vt)
Is the converse true? Examine if the following functions for y can possibly represent a travelling wave:
Solution
No, the converse is not true. The basic requirements for a wave function to represent a travelling wave is that for all values of x and t, wave function must have finite value. Out of the given functions for y, no one satisfies this condition. Therefore, none can represent a travelling wave.
