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Transverse waves are contrasted with longitudinal waves, where the oscillations occur in the direction of the wave. The standard example of a longitudinal wave is a sound wave or "pressure wave" in gases, liquids, or solids, whose oscillations cause compression and expansion of the material through which the wave is propagating. Pressure waves ...
A wave can be longitudinal where the oscillations are parallel (or antiparallel) to the propagation direction, or transverse where the oscillations are perpendicular to the propagation direction. These oscillations are characterized by a periodically time-varying displacement in the parallel or perpendicular direction, and so the instantaneous ...
Transverse waves that exhibit polarization include electromagnetic waves such as light and radio waves, gravitational waves, [6] and transverse sound waves (shear waves) in solids. An electromagnetic wave such as light consists of a coupled oscillating electric field and magnetic field which are always perpendicular to each other.
A transverse mode of electromagnetic radiation is a particular electromagnetic field pattern of the radiation in the plane perpendicular (i.e., transverse) to the radiation's propagation direction. Transverse modes occur in radio waves and microwaves confined to a waveguide , and also in light waves in an optical fiber and in a laser 's optical ...
The transverse vibration of a string is a function of tension and inertia, and is constrained by the length of the string as the ends are fixed. This constraint limits the steady state modes that are possible, and thereby the frequencies.
Here, is a positive constant, which gives the speed at which transverse vibration waves propagate in the membrane. In terms of the physical parameters, the wave speed, c, is given by In terms of the physical parameters, the wave speed, c, is given by
The waves in quantum systems are oscillations in probability amplitude rather than material displacement. The frequency of oscillation, f, relates to the mode energy by E = hf where h is the Planck constant. Thus a system like an atom consists of a linear combination of modes of definite energy. These energies are characteristic of the ...
Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum and alternating current. Oscillations can be used in physics to approximate complex interactions, such ...