SINEWAVE

Animation of Traveling Sine Wave

This animation shows a traveling sine wave.

The program recognizes the following commands. The command may be executed by either clicking the button with the mouse (first column below) or by pressing a key (second column below). The mouse buttons may be removed from the screen by pressing the M key. Press M again to restore buttons.

stops Stop animation. Press stop again to resume animation.
wavelengthw Lines appear one wavelength apart. Press wavelength again to remove lines.
periodp An audible click is heard each time one wavelength passes by. The time between the clicks is the period of the wave. The number of clicks per unit time is the frequency of the wave. Press period again to stop the clicking.
harmonic_motionh A ball moves up and down with harmonic motion, following the point of the wave which intersects the y axis. This demonstrates that a point on the wave undergoes simple harmonic motion in the vertical direction. Press harmonic_motion again to remove the ball.