Longitudinal Waves
Longitudinal Waves
- In longitudinal waves, the direction of the energy transfer is the same as the direction of particle displacment.
- A sound wave consists of multiple compressions and rarefactions, in the medium of the sound wave
- It's difficult to represent a longitudinal wave graphically, due to the way that the waves travel, therefore they are normally plotted against time, however this can make them look similar to transverse waves, so be careful.