Section 1: The Nature of Waves Waves, Chapter 11 Section 1: The Nature of Waves
Wave A repeating disturbance or movement that transfers energy through matter or space Molecules pass energy on to neighboring molecules Waves carry energy without transporting matter All waves are produced by something that vibrates Medium: a material through which a wave travels May be a solid, liquid or gas Not all waves need a medium to travel through (example: Light waves, ultraviolet (UV) waves)
Mechanical Waves Waves that travel only through matter Transverse waves: matter in the medium moves back and forth at right angles to the direction that the wave travels (example: light waves) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbd8QUkRbjw http://library.thinkquest.org/15433/unit5/transv1.gif
Mechanical Waves Waves that travel only through matter Compressional waves: matter in the medium moves in the same direction that the wave travels (example: sound waves) Also called longitudinal waves http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aguCWnbRETU http://clackhi.nclack.k12.or.us/physics/projects/experiments/1999/Deb%20&%20Liz/slin_com.gif
Mechanical Waves Waves that travel only through matter Most waves are a combination of transverse and compressional waves (example: water and seismic (earthquake) waves) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQrj0DNXjMY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yPTa8qi5X8&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J6EHnra7Mo&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8a61G8Hvi0&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRSK4k3D-50