Transverse and Longitudinal Waves

Wave motion happens when a periodic disturbance of some kind is propagated through a medium. Pressure variations in the air, transverse motions along a guitar string, and variations in the intensities of local electric and magnetic fields in space, which make up electromagnetic radiation, are all examples of wave motion. Each medium has a specific velocity at which the disturbance moves.

There are three techniques to quantify wave motion: amplitude, wavelength, and frequency.

Certain circumstances necessitate the description of a wave’s phase. The product of a wave’s wavelength and frequency determines its velocity.

Wave

A wave is a dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities that propagates and is commonly described by a wave equation. At least two field quantities in the wave medium are involved in physical waves. Periodic waves occur when variables oscillate periodically around an equilibrium (resting) value at a specific frequency. 

A travelling wave occurs when the entire waveform moves in one direction; a standing wave occurs when two superimposed periodic waves move in opposite directions. The amplitude of vibration in a standing wave features nulls at some points when the wave amplitude seems reduced or even zero.

Mechanical and electromagnetic waves are the most popular research types of waves in classical physics. Stress and strain fields oscillate around a mechanical equilibrium in a mechanical wave.

Types of Wave

Although the concept of waves has been around for much longer, scientific research of waves dates back to the seventeenth century. As we go more into the topic of waves, there are various sorts and sub-types of waves that can be studied. Determining the direction of particle movement in the medium is one method of analysing waves. When we categories waves on this basis, we get two types of waves

• Transverse Waves

• Longitudinal Waves

Transverse Wave

This is a wave in which the medium’s particles move in a direction that is perpendicular to the waves. Consider the following scenario: if a rope is set out horizontally in a room and a motion is produced on the left end of the rope, the energy in the rope will transfer from left to right, causing the rope to move both upward and downward. A transverse wave is the sort of wave that is formed. A transverse wave is defined by the fact that the particle’s motion is perpendicular to the wave’s motion.

Longitudinal Waves

A longitudinal wave is one that moves in the same direction as waves of particles in motion, as the names suggest. Above the particle, there is a straight parallel line. If a pulse is applied to the left and right ends of a horizontal rope, for example, the energy flows from both ends, trapping the movements in a parallel motion. These are waves that go in one direction.

Waves travelling through a solid medium can be either longitudinal or transverse, whereas waves travelling through fluid mediums like liquid or gas are always longitudinal. We’ll need a highly concrete or hard medium for transverse waves to occur.

Difference between Longitudinal Wave and transverse Wave

Conclusion

In this article we have studied waves and their types. Here we also discussed longitudinal waves and transverse waves in detail. When energy is conveyed in a transverse wave, one particle travels and is thought to pull on the particles nearby. This is important for transverse waves, but if the medium isn’t rigid enough, like liquid or gas, the particles will just glide past each other (for mechanical transverse waves). 

This is why, the disturbances caused longitudinal waves in the ocean, transverse and longitudinal waves can occur during an earthquake, depending on where the epicentre of the event is located. As seismologists learned more about waves, they discovered that longitudinal waves can travel to the earth’s core, this is why the core contains molten ore.