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Mechanical waves are those that require some sort of
medium to travel through. Waves like sound waves, water
waves, vibrating strings, etc. are distinguished from
electromagnetic waves that can propagate through vacuum.
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| In "transverse waves", the medium moves perpendicular
to the motion of the wave --> |
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<-- In "longitudinal waves",
the medium moves parallel to the wave. |
| Some waves are both transverse and longitudinal,
called "elliptical waves". Water waves are like
that. Watch something floating on a pond. When a wave
passes, the object doesn't just move up and down, but
side to side a bit, too. |
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A wave pulse (above) is one single wave moving along
the medium. A wave train is a succession of pulses.
Using a thick rope, we can easily see one single wave
pulse moving down the rope.
The rope works well to show a pulse because the pulse
moves slowly
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