There are two different types of mechanical waves, transverse and longitudinal waves. Transverse waves consist of crests and troughs because the particles in the medium are up and down. A crest is the highest point in a wave, whereas a trough is the lowest point in a wave. Longitudinal waves have compressions and rarefactions because the particles in the medium are horizontal. A compression is when the coils are close together. A rarefaction is when the coils are spread out. The amplitude of a wave is the maximum distance that the particles of the medium carrying the wave move away from their rest positions. The wavelength is the distance between two corresponding parts of a wave. The frequency (measured in hertz) is the number of complete waves that pass a given point in a certain amount of time.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
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