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Transverse waves are contrasted with longitudinal waves, where the oscillations occur in the direction of the wave. The standard example of a longitudinal wave is a sound wave or "pressure wave" in gases, liquids, or solids, whose oscillations cause compression and expansion of the material through which the wave is propagating. Pressure waves ...
Mechanical waves can be produced only in media which possess elasticity and inertia. There are three types of mechanical waves: transverse waves, longitudinal waves, and surface waves. Some of the most common examples of mechanical waves are water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves. Like all waves, mechanical waves transport energy.
S waves are transverse waves, meaning that the direction of particle movement of an S wave is perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation, and the main restoring force comes from shear stress. [2] Therefore, S waves cannot propagate in liquids [3] with zero (or very low) viscosity; however, they may propagate in liquids with high ...
Polarization (waves) Polarization (also polarisation) is a property of transverse waves which specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. [1][2][3][4][5] In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wave. [4] A simple example of a polarized transverse wave is vibrations ...
Real-world examples include sound waves (vibrations in pressure, a particle of displacement, and particle velocity propagated in an elastic medium) and seismic P-waves (created by earthquakes and explosions). The other main type of wave is the transverse wave, in which the displacements of the medium are at right angles to the direction of ...
Crest and trough. A Crest point on a wave is the maximum value of upward displacement within a cycle. A crest is a point on a surface wave where the displacement of the medium is at a maximum. A trough is the opposite of a crest, so the minimum or lowest point in a cycle. When the crests and troughs of two sine waves of equal amplitude and ...
The phase velocity is the rate at which the phase of the wave propagates in space. The group velocity is the rate at which the wave envelope, i.e. the changes in amplitude, propagates. The wave envelope is the profile of the wave amplitudes; all transverse displacements are bound by the envelope profile.
Normal mode. A normal mode of a dynamical system is a pattern of motion in which all parts of the system move sinusoidally with the same frequency and with a fixed phase relation. The free motion described by the normal modes takes place at fixed frequencies. These fixed frequencies of the normal modes of a system are known as its natural ...