a) Both longitudinal and transversewaves can propagate through a solid. A wave o

Question

a) Both longitudinal and transversewaves can propagate through a solid. A wave on the surface of aliquid can involve both longitudinal and transverse motion ofelements of the medium. On the other hand, a wave propagatingthrough the volume of a fluid must be purely longitudinal, nottransverse. Why?

b) A satellite in orbit is not truly traveling through a vacuum.It is moving through very, very thin air. Does the resulting airfriction cause the satellite to slow down?

c) The electric field inside a hollow, uniformly charged sphereis zero. Does this imply that the potential is zero inside thesphere? Explain

Explanation / Answer

1. The reason is that the matter in the volume of theliquid does not offer        sufficientresistance in the transverse direction to cause anyvibration.          The surfacetension in liquid and cohesive forces in solid are sufficientenough. 2. Yes ! The satellite does slow down and in order tocompensate for loss of speed it falls to a lower orbit,       at which the gravitationalforce equals the centrifugal force. Thus ultimately satellite hasto be brought down      into the ocean or destroyed inspace. 3. No ! It means that the electric potential is justconstant in the interior.         V =Q/4R in the interior of a hollow spherewithradius R and charge Q distributed uniformly over itssurface.      Imagine placing a test charge qat origin and placing infinite charges adding upto Q at a distanceR from origin forming a sphere. Potential energy would be Qq/4R So, electric potential at the center isQ/4R Since electric field is zero, -dV/dr = 0 => dV = 0 So, V = constant = Q/4R throughout.

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