Transverse wave

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A light wave is an example of a transverse wave. The light wave is however composite, but all of the parts cause disturbance in the medium perpendicularly to the direction of motion.

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A transverse wave is a wave that causes a disturbance in the medium perpendicular to the direction it advances. For example: if a wave moves along the x-axis, its disturbances are in the yz-plane.

In other words, it causes medium disturbances across the two-dimensional plane that it is travelling in.

1 Properties
2 Mathematical description
3 Examples
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Properties

Longitudinal waves include sound, and certain types of waves from earthquakes, where the particle motion is parallel to the direction of travel.

Transverse waves are ripples in water or the vibrations of a stretched string or electromagnetic waves. In a transverse wave, the molecules of the medium oscillate perpendicular to the direction of propagation. In seismology transverse waves are called S (for “secondary”) waves as they arrive later than the P (“primary”) waves from an earthquake. The absence of transverse waves traveling through the earth’s core shows that it is liquid.

[edit] Mathematical description

In mathematics, transverse waves are associated with the curl operator and are governed by a vector wave equation, in contrast to longitudinal waves, which are associated with the div operator and are governed by a scalar wave equation. A longitudinal wave exists as compressions moving through the plane in which it is travelling. Energy from this wave is transmitted as mechanical energy. An example would be a slinky which was pushed forward and backwards, compressing and extending it as the motion of the wave was transmitted. The speed of a transverse wave is determined by the equation "wave speed= frequency x wavelength"

[edit] Examples

Light is composed of transverse waves. See electromagnetic spectrum for information on different types of electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves. A transverse wave could be represented by moving a slinky, spread across a table, to the left and right or up and down. The oscillating string is another example of a transverse wave.