1. Introduction to Waves and Waveforms
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2. Main Menu
What is a wave? Types of waves Waveforms Still to Come Citations About the author Concept map
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3. What is a wave?
A wave is the transmission of energy through space and time cause by a disturbance in space. Everyone has seen an example of this when you have wiggled an end of a string up and down. But, for those who might need an illustration, check out this website: . By wiggling the wrench up and down you create a disturbance. You then can see the energy from the disturbance transmitted along the string. Keep this illustration in mind, because it’s the big idea behind waves.
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4. Mechanical Waves, Electromagnetic Waves, Matter Waves
Types of Waves
There are three types of waves that physicists study. Click on the links below to learn more about each type.
Mechanical Waves, Electromagnetic Waves, Matter Waves
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5. Waveforms Waves travel in two different forms:
Transverse waves are waves in which the energy that is transmitted oscillates perpendicular to the direction the wave is traveling.
Longitudinal waves are waves in which the energy that is transmitted oscillates parallel to the direction the wave is traveling.
Learn More: transverse waves, longitudinal waves
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6. Still To Come
We’ve only just begun to talk about waves. Here are some things still to come:
Parts of wave
Frequency and wavelength
Wave speed
Superposition of waves
Wave interference
And more…
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7. Citations Wave information verified from:
Halliday, David, Robert Resnick, and Jearl Walker. Fundamentals of Physics. 7th Ed, Wiley. Hoboken, NJ
All pictures and videos (website cited with each) were downloaded on 6/10/08
Electromagnetic waves video:
Elements of Physics: Waves: Sound and Electromagnetism. United Learning unitedstreaming. 10 June
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8. Concept Map
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9. Mechanical Waves
Mechanical waves are the most familiar type of waves to us because they can be most readily seen in action. They also have the following properties:
Mechanical waves must have a material to travel through (known as a medium). This can be water, air, dirt, basically anything made of matter.
Mechanical waves are governed by Newton’s Laws.
Water waves and sound waves are examples of mechanical waves.
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10. Electromagnetic Waves
While waves of this type are not as easy to see in action as mechanical waves, we use them daily. Light travels as electromagnetic waves, and the common microwave oven uses electromagnetic waves to cook food. Electromagnetic waves differ from mechanical waves in that they require no medium to exist or travel.
This link will take you to a video that explains electromagnetic waves in much more detail:
EM Waves Video Clip
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11. Electromagnetic Waves Video Clip
Click on the movie to begin playback.
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12. Matter Waves
Matter waves are a phenomenon studied in modern physics involving the oscillation of elementary particles in space. We will focus our attention on mechanical and electromagnetic waves and leave the study of matter waves for quantum mechanics.
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13. Transverse Waves
As was said previously, a transverse wave is one in which the direction of oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of wave motion. Think back to the wave-on-a-string applet you played with earlier. In that you could see that the disturbance was causing the string to move up and down while the disturbance itself was moving right to left. That is a transverse wave. Some examples of transverse waves are:
wave on a string
Water waves
Light and all other EM waves
Almost all of us have even participated in a transverse wave. Don’t believe it? Check it out:
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14. Longitudinal Waves
Longitudinal waves are more difficult to explain because they are harder to see in everyday life. Their oscillations occur in the same direction as the wave is traveling. Sound is a common example of a longitudinal wave. With sound, a vibration pushes on the air molecules surrounding it, which in turn push on the air molecules surrounding them. This causes a chain reaction of vibrating molecules that will eventually reach the ear and be perceived as sound. To get a better visual of this, as well as a comparison between longitudinal and transverse waves, watch this video:
For another neat longitudinal wave example, check out:
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