![]() Love waves are a type of transverse wave where the motion is side to side instead of up and down. Rayleigh waves are rolling waves, similar to transverse waves but with more bending motion. The main types of surface waves are Rayleigh waves, Love waves and Stonely waves. ![]() If these disturbances cause a wave to travel along the surface of the earth they are called surface or L-waves which generally move more slowly than S- or P- waves. P- or Primary waves are longitudinal (compressional) waves the earth moves back and forth relative to the direction the wave is traveling as the wave passes. S- or Shear waves are transverse waves the earth moves up and down (or back and forth) as the wave moves through. If the movement is inside the earth, two different types of waves, S-waves and P-waves are formed. For a particle suspended in the water at a certain depth the back and forth motion increases with depth and the up and down motion decreases.Īn earthquake occurs when there is a sudden movement of two parts of the earth's crust relative to each other. A cork on the surface also has a little bit of back and forth motion as it bobs up and down. If you are interested in the deeper mathematical properties of waves, have a look at Forinash's Wave Tutorial.Īlthough waves on the surface of a pond or ocean look like examples of transverse waves, they are actually a bit more complicated. It is also the case that the same equations apply to many types of waves, although we won't go into great detail about this. We are mainly interested in sound waves in this book but many other types of waves exist and have the same properties and behavior as sound waves. We will look at the details of sound waves in the next few chapters. Sound waves are an example of a longitudinal wave, the air molecules vibrate back and forth as the sound wave passes through them. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. When the longitudinal component becomes very large compared to the transverse component, the wave breaks. However, as they approach a shore they interact with the bottom and acquire a longitudinal component. Water waves in deep water are mainly transverse. Finally, if he grabs several coils and twists them around the axis of the spring, a torsional wave will travel along the spring.Ī wave may be a combination of types. If the first person then shakes his end up and down or from side to side, a transverse wave will travel along the spring. If the person holding one end pulls a few coils toward himself and releases them, a longitudinal wave will travel along the spring, with coils alternately being pressed closer together, then stretched apart, as the wave passes. ![]() The three types of waves are illustrated by an example in which a coil spring is held stretched out by two persons. In longitudinal, or compressional, waves the vibration is in the same direction as the transfer of energy in transverse waves the vibration is at right angles to the transfer of energy in torsional waves the vibration consists of a twisting motion as the medium rotates back and forth around the direction of energy transfer. Waves may be classified according to the direction of vibration relative to that of the energy transfer.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |