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Parallel – in the same direction. Transverse – intersecting at any angle, i.e. not parallel. Orthogonal (or perpendicular) – at a right angle (at the point of intersection). Elevation – along a curve from a point on the horizon to the zenith, directly overhead. Depression – along a curve from a point on the horizon to the nadir ...
The other main type of wave is the transverse wave, in which the displacements of the medium are at right angles to the direction of propagation. Transverse waves, for instance, describe some bulk sound waves in solid materials (but not in fluids); these are also called "shear waves" to differentiate them from the (longitudinal) 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 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.
For longitudinal waves such as sound waves in fluids, the direction of oscillation is by definition along the direction of travel, so the issue of polarization is normally not even mentioned. On the other hand, sound waves in a bulk solid can be transverse as well as longitudinal, for a total of three polarization components.
A plane wave is classified as a transverse wave if the field disturbance at each point is described by a vector perpendicular to the direction of propagation (also the direction of energy transfer); or longitudinal wave if those vectors are aligned with the propagation direction. Mechanical waves include both transverse and longitudinal waves ...
The nature of two types of crests, longitudinal and transverse, is graphically illustrated by the pattern of wavefronts of a moving point source in proper frame. The radii of wavefronts are proportional, due to dispersion, to the square of time (measured from the moment of emission), and the envelope of the wavefronts represents the Kelvin wake ...
The first six longitudinal modes of a plane-parallel cavity. A longitudinal mode of a resonant cavity is a particular standing wave pattern formed by waves confined in the cavity. The longitudinal modes correspond to the wavelengths of the wave which are reinforced by constructive interference after many reflections from the cavity's reflecting ...