Transverse and longitudinal waves. The equation of a travelling wave, with its amplitude, wavelength, period and phase. The speed of a wave on a stretched string, and the speed of sound in a gas with Laplace's correction.
3 lessons, about 1 h 30 min3 simulations12 problems6 practice questionsPython in every lesson
Created by StemPy LabA wave carries energy and a pattern from place to place, while the medium only moves about its own place. In a transverse wave the particles move across the direction of travel. In a longitudinal wave they move along it. Mechanical waves need a medium.
A wave moving towards is . Here is the amplitude, the angular wave number and the angular frequency. The wave speed is . With the wave moves towards .
The speed of a mechanical wave is set by the medium: by how hard it pulls back and by its inertia. On a string . For sound in a fluid , which for a gas gives Laplace's . In a gas grows as the square root of the absolute temperature.
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