Transverse and longitudinal waves, including sound and light

In a transverse wave, the medium moves perpendicular to the direction the wave travels, like a wave sent along a rope shaken up and down; light and other electromagnetic waves are transverse too, and unlike mechanical waves they need no medium, so they can cross empty space. In a longitudinal wave, the medium moves back and forth parallel to the direction the wave travels, forming compressions and rarefactions; sound is a longitudinal wave. Because sound needs a medium, it cannot travel through a vacuum, and it generally travels faster in liquids and solids than in air, where it moves at about 343 m/s at room temperature. All waves share properties like amplitude, wavelength, frequency (cycles per second), period (the time for one cycle, equal to 1 divided by the frequency), and speed, which is calculated as wave speed = frequency x wavelength for both kinds.

This explanation is AI-generated and can occasionally be wrong. 🚩 Report