Wave Parameters Analysis

MahIzadYar

Hi dear friends,
I am Maziar Bahiraee a chemical engineering graduate. I had a question about one of my last inventions and I found that friends this group are specialized in this field.
Q: After a wave with specific parameters encounters an obstacle, which of the parameter(s) is changed and how this change parameter(s) can be measured and what device can calculate the destination between the obstacle and the device. By the wave this obstacle is not a barrier kind. For example, assume this wave is moving on a paved road and hits a speed reducer (as an obstacle) which of the wave parameters will change after the hit?

Simon Bridge

Welcome to PF.

What kind of wave are we talking about?

In general a travelling sine wave has form [itex]y(x)=A\sin[k(x-vt)][/itex] ... so it's parameters would be k, v, and A. If it hits a barrier, what happens depends on the nature of the barrier. Some of the wave is inverted and reflected so it's speed is reversed. Some is absorbed in the barrier, and some transmitted into the medium of the barrier. Not sure how to relate this to a paved road... but the distance between an object reflecting a radio wave and the device emmitting the waves can be found by a process called interferometry.

But you are a chemical engineering graduate - you should know all this. You know how waves get measured and so forth.
Perhaps if you can be more specific?

MahIzadYar

Dear Simon,
Thanks for your kindly quick reply.
Let me explain it in another way. when a wave hits a Lump (lump: Metallic nature with free electrons) one of its parameters(λ or frequency or... I don't exactly which) would change, I would set another device at the other side to receive this changed wave. I want this device to diagnosis this changed wave parameter and calculate the distance between the lump and the device.
I want to the name of this device or the process the lead to calculate the distance, the kind of wave and the parameter(s) that would change.
thanks in advance.

Simon Bridge

For the wave to be influenced by something with free electrons, it must be an electromagnetic wave? Is this correct? The interaction between an EM wave and a conductor can be quite complicated.

In general, if a travelling wave encounters a region where the wave speed is slower, then the wavelength gets shorter, inside that region. When it emerges from the other side, then the wavelength returns to it's original value.

There is no standard wavelength-meter ... but the most common technique to compare wavelengths is interferometry and the associated device is called an interferometer. I'm afraid your question is still far too general for a useful answer.