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[Physltest] [Phys-L] flipping over upon reflection



A student inquired today about pulses reflecting and possibly flipping over at,
say, the boundary between two strings.

When a pulse on a string reflects from a boundary with a more massive string,
the reflected wave is inverted. This follows from the displacement and slope
being continuous at the boundary. The flipping over requires a shorter
wavelength (and lower phase velocity) and longer k-vector in the second medium.

But I have no qualitative argument for this, without using equations.

Does anyone have a qualitative argument for this behavior, without the
equations: slower wave speed in the second medium (larger k, smaller
wavelength) causes the reflected wave to be flipped over?

Mike

--
Mike Moloney, Physics & Optical Engineering Department
Rose-Hulman Inst of Tech, 812 877 8302
moloney@rose-hulman.edu http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~moloney
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