Transverse wave
A transverse wave is a moving wave that is made up of oscillations happening perpendicular(90 degree) to the direction of energy transfer.
In a transverse wave, the medium(the material the wave moves through) moves up and down or side-to-side, while the wave itself moves forward.
Properties
- Crest: Highest point of a wave.
- Trough: Lowest point of a wave.
- Amplitude: Distance from the baseline(rest position) to crest or trough. Amplitude shows how much energy a wave carries.
- Wavelength: Wavelength([math]\displaystyle{ \lambda }[/math]), is the distance between two crests or two troughs that are next to each other.
- Frequency: Frequency([math]\displaystyle{ f }[/math]) is the number of waves that pass a point in one second. Frequency is measured in hertz(Hz).
- Speed: Speed([math]\displaystyle{ v }[/math]) of a wave measure how fast a wave is moving forward.
Formulae
The velocity of a transverse wave is calculated by the following formula:[math]\displaystyle{ v = f\lambda }[/math]To find the wavelength or the frequency of a wavelength, change the formula algebraically.
Examples
Transverse wave can be found in multiple fields of studies and nature, which include such following:
- Electromagnetic wave: Light, Radio wave, Microwave, and X-ray are all forms of transverse waves. These wave forms can travel through vacuum.
- Water wave: Ripples on the surface of the water body, creating a circular transverse wave.
- Seismic wave: During an earthquake, "secondary" waves move through the Earth's crust, which causes a side-by-side or up-down motion.
- Instrument strings: When a guitar or piano string is plucked, it vibrates in a side-by-side or up-down motion, like transverse wave.
Transverse wave vs Longitudinal wave
The main difference between a transverse wave and longitudinal wave is their direction of movement:
- In a transverse wave, the medium moves perpendicular to the wave's direction.
- In a longitudinal wave, the medium moves parallel in the same direction as the wave.
Transverse Wave Media
Illustration of the electric (red) and magnetic (blue) fields along a ray in a simple light wave. For any plane perpendicular to the ray, each field has always the same value at all points of the plane.
Propagation of a transverse spherical wave in a 2d grid (empirical model)
Circular polarization mechanically generated on a rubber thread, converted to linear polarization by a mechanical polarizing filter.
