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How does a compressional wave move?
Compressional waves are also known as a longitudinal waves because of the way in which they travel through a medium. Compressions and rarefactions occur in the direction of travel, which is often visualized as the snapping of a slinky (see figure below).
What happens in a compressional wave?
Longitudinal or compression waves are defined as waves where the particle motion is in the same direction in which the wave is propagating. The oscillations in pressure are sinusoidal in nature and are characterised by their frequency, amplitude and wavelength (Figure 9.1).
How does matter move through a wave?
The energy of a mechanical wave can travel only through matter. The matter through which the wave travels is called the medium (plural, media). As they vibrate, they pass the energy of the disturbance to the particles next to them, which pass the energy to the particles next to them, and so on.
How does matter move in a wave up and down?
In a longitudinal wave, particles of the medium vibrate back and forth parallel to the direction of the wave. In a surface wave, particles of the medium vibrate both up and down and back and forth, so they end up moving in a circle.
Which wave is a compressional wave?
Mechanical longitudinal waves
Mechanical longitudinal waves are also called compressional or compression waves, because they produce compression and rarefaction when traveling through a medium, and pressure waves, because they produce increases and decreases in pressure.
Do compressional waves move in the same direction as energy flow?
Longitudinal waves have the same direction of vibration as their direction of travel. This means that the movement of the medium is in the same direction as the motion of the wave. Some longitudinal waves are also called compressional waves or compression waves.
What is the wavelength of a compressional wave?
The wavelength of a longitudinal wave is the distance between two consecutive compressions, or two consecutive rarefactions. T=1forf=1T. v=fλ.