Transverse wave
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A transverse wave is a wave that causes a disturbance in the medium perpendicular to the direction it advances. For example: if a wave moves along the x-axis, its disturbances are in the yz-plane. In other words, it causes medium disturbances across the two-dimensional plane that it is travelling in. A transverse wave has 3 nodes and 2 antinodes. They do not move up and down like most people think
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[edit] Properties
Transverse waves are ripples in water or the vibrations of a stretched string or electromagnetic waves. In a transverse wave, the molecules of the medium oscillate perpendicular to the direction of propagation. In seismology transverse waves are called secondary, or s waves because they arrive later than the primary, or p waves from an earthquake. The absence of transverse waves traveling through the earth’s core shows that it is liquid.
[edit] Examples
Light is composed of transverse waves. See electromagnetic spectrum for information on different types of electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves. A transverse wave could be represented by moving a slinky, spread across a table, to the left and right or up and down. The oscillating string is another example of a transverse wave.
[edit] Mathematical description
In mathematics, transverse waves are associated with the curl operator and are governed by a vector wave equation, in contrast to longitudinal waves, which are associated with the div operator and are governed by a scalar wave equation. A longitudinal wave exists as compressions moving through the plane in which it is travelling. Energy from this wave is transmitted as mechanical energy. An example would be a slinky which was pushed forward and backwards, compressing and extending it as the motion of the wave was transmitted. The speed of a transverse wave is determined by the equation "wave speed= frequency x wavelength"
