Physics of Sound: Demonstrations

Longitudinal, thansverse, and other waves

In longitudinal waves, media's particles are moving in the direction of the wave propagation (back and forth). In transverse waves, particles are moving in the perpendicular direction. There are mixed types of waves, such as waves on the water and surface acoustic waves, in which particles are performing both of these motions.

The animation below allows to see all these types of waves by changing a control parameter.