Simple Harmonic Motion

• Evaluate a automobile bumper design
• Create a long-period timer in a small space

Sound Waves

• Buoy can be heard downwind but not upwind because wind speed increases with height
• Bending of sound waves as wave speed increases with height (1)
• Bending of sound waves as wave speed increases with height (2)
• Dispersion of sound waves in the ocean deeps
• Dispersion of waves on a piano wire
• Standing wave is equivalent to two traveling waves

Beats

• FM reception involves beats between local oscillator and radio signal
• A method of having students in class determine frequency
• An animation of beats
• The doppler effect for sound waves, with animation

Polarization

• Glare from sunlight at Le Mans
• 3D 'spacecurve' and animation of circularly polarized light
• Starter program for two circularly polarized beams giving linear polarization
• Show that two circularly polarized beams can create linear polarization

Reflection and Refraction

• Curvature of glass in a zoo aquarium
• Internal reflection used in deep oil exploration
• Tiny beads act like retro-reflectors
• Mirage due to a heated roadway (simple version)
• Mirage due to heated roadway (complex version)

Lenses, mirrors

• Paraxial ray trace through 2 lenses

Interference

• Steering a beam of radiation through interference of several sources
• Animation of beam-steered motion
• Detect a source of radio waves with an array of detectors (starter program)
• Detect a source of radio waves with an array of detectors
• A fuzzy TV signal due to interference from a passing airplane
• Interference between 2, 4, etc. sources
• Track the 'Red October' underwater with an array of hydrophones
• How many elements in an array are needed to resolve two objects in the sky?
• Track a light source with an array

Diffraction

• For which openings of a cat's eye can it resolve two oncoming car headlights?
• Satellite dish diameters have reduced in size, so did frequencies change?