How Can I Determine Where the Pulses Will Meet on a Stretched Wire?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a problem involving wave pulses on a stretched wire, specifically determining where two pulses will meet given their separation in time and the physical properties of the wire.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the formula for wave speed on a stretched wire and how to apply it to find the meeting point of the pulses. Questions arise regarding the calculation of the distance where the pulses meet and the reasoning behind it.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided calculations for wave speed and the distance where the pulses meet, while others express uncertainty about the method used to determine the meeting point. The conversation is ongoing with various interpretations being explored.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working within the constraints of a homework problem, and there is mention of specific values such as tension, mass, and time separation, which may influence their calculations.

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I'm having a hard time with this problem, and was wondering if somebody can help
A wire 10.3 m long have a mass of 97.8 g is stretched under tension of 248N. If two pulses, separated in time by 29.6 ms, are generated on at each end of the wire, where will the pulses meet?

Plz e-mail if anybody has a way to do this problem
dj_werd@hotmail.com
 
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Unless this is a course in partial differential equations, you were probably given a formula for wave speed on a stretched wire: if I remember correctly it is
[tex]c= \sqrt{(\frac{T}{\rho})}[/tex]
where T is the tension and ρ is the linear density of the wire (mass divided by length). Once you know the wave speed, it should be easy to determine where the pulses meet.
 
I get a wave speed of 161.6 m/s and that the two pulses meet 7.54 m from the end at which the first pulse started.
 
Okay so I understand how to get the wave speed, but I am not really sure how you found the distance on where the pulses will meet.
 

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