For example, the ripples on the surface of a lake are transverse waves. Transverse wavesĪ mechanical wave is transverse when all the particles of the medium, which are solid or liquid (and never gas), vibrate perpendicularly at right angles, up and down, and continue to move in the direction of the wave.
For example, a vibrating tuning fork creates compressions and rarefactions as the tines move back and forth. In contrast, rarefactions occur in low-pressure areas when particles are spread apart from each other. Compression occurs when particles move close together creating regions of high pressure.
When longitudinal waves travel through any given medium, they also include compressions and rarefactions. Longitudinal wavesĪ longitudinal wave is one where all the particles of the medium (such as gas, liquid or solid) vibrate in the same direction as the wave. There are two types of mechanical waves: longitudinal waves and transverse waves. Are sound waves longitudinal or transverse? The origin of the modern study of sound is attributed to Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). The Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius and the Roman philosopher Boethius each theorized that sound may move in waves. The idea that sound moves in waves goes back to, at least, the first century B.C.
The wave carries the sound energy through the medium, usually in all directions and less intensely as it moves farther from the source. The pattern of the disturbance creates outward movement in a wave pattern, like sea water in the ocean. The pressure wave disturbs the particles in the surrounding medium, and those particles disturb others next to them, and so on. Sound waves are created by object vibrations and produce pressure waves, for example, a ringing cellphone. A sound wave is the pattern of disturbance caused by the movement of energy traveling through a medium (such as air, water or any other liquid or solid matter) as it propagates away from the source of the sound.
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