Band structures and band gaps of liquid surface waves propagating through an infinite array of cylinders

Xinhua Hu1, Yifeng Shen, Xiaohan Liu

  • 1Surface Physics Laboratory (National Key Lab), Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.

Related Concept Videos

Band Theory02:35

Band Theory

When two or more atoms come together to form a molecule, their atomic orbitals combine and molecular orbitals of distinct energies result. In a solid, there are a large number of atoms, and therefore a large number of atomic orbitals that may be combined into molecular orbitals. These groups of molecular orbitals are so closely placed together to form continuous regions of energies, known as the bands.
The energy difference between these bands is known as the band gap.
Conductor, Semiconductor,...
Standing Waves in a Cavity01:28

Standing Waves in a Cavity

A household microwave and lasers are examples of standing electromagnetic waves in a cavity. When two conducting metal plates are placed parallel at the nodal planes, it creates a cavity where standing waves are formed. The cavity between the two planes is analogous to a stretched string held at the points x = 0 and x = L. Here, the distance 'L' between the two planes must be an integer multiple of half of the wavelength. The wavelengths that satisfy this condition are given by:
Modes of Standing Waves: II01:04

Modes of Standing Waves: II

The starting point for expressing the modes of standing waves is understanding the boundary conditions that the waves must follow. The boundary conditions are derived from the physical understanding of how the standing waves are sustained, that is, how the vibrating particles of the medium behave at the boundaries imposed on them.
For a tube open at one end and closed at the other filled with air, the modes are such that there is always an antinode at the open end and a node at the closed end.
Propagation of Waves01:07

Propagation of Waves

When a wave propagates from one medium to another, part of it may get reflected in the first medium, and part of it may get transmitted to the second medium. In such a case, the interface of the two mediums can be considered as a boundary that is neither fixed nor free.
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
Travelling Waves01:04

Travelling Waves

A wave is a disturbance that propagates from its source, repeating itself periodically, and is typically associated with simple harmonic motion. Mechanical waves are governed by Newton's laws and require a medium to travel. A medium is a substance in which a mechanical wave propagates, and the medium produces an elastic restoring force when it is deformed.
Water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves are some examples of mechanical waves. For water waves, the wave propagation medium is water;...
Deriving the Speed of Sound in a Liquid01:09

Deriving the Speed of Sound in a Liquid

As with waves on a string, the speed of sound or a mechanical wave in a fluid depends on the fluid's elastic modulus and inertia. The two relevant physical quantities are the bulk modulus and the density of the material. Indeed, it turns out that the relationship between speed and the bulk modulus and density in fluids is the same as that between the speed and the Young's modulus and density in solids.
The speed of sound in fluids can be derived by considering a mechanical wave propagating...