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When a longitudinal wave moves through the medium, the particles in the medium only move back and forth relative to the direction of motion of the wave. We can see this in [link] which shows the motion of the particles in a medium as a longitudinal wave moves through the medium.
We can draw a graph of the particle's change in position from its starting point as a function of time. For the wave shown in [link] , we can draw the graph shown in [link] for particle 0. The graph for each of the other particles will be identical.
The graph of the particle's velocity as a function of time is obtained by taking the gradient of the position vs. time graph. The graph of velocity vs. time for the position vs. time graph shown in [link] is shown is [link] .
The graph of the particle's acceleration as a function of time is obtained by taking the gradient of the velocity vs. time graph. The graph of acceleration vs. time for the position vs. time graph shown in [link] is shown is [link] .
Sound waves coming from a tuning fork are caused by the vibrations of the tuning fork which push against the air particles in front of it. As the air particles are pushed together a compression is formed. The particles behind the compression move further apart causing a rarefaction. As the particles continue to push against each other, the sound wave travels through the air. Due to this motion of the particles, there is a constant variation in the pressure in the air. Sound waves are therefore pressure waves. This means that in media where the particles are closer together, sound waves will travel quicker.
Sound waves travel faster through liquids, like water, than through the air because water is denser than air (the particles are closer together). Sound waves travel faster in solids than in liquids.
Also, because a sound wave is a mechanical wave (i.e. that it needs a medium) it is not capable of traveling through a vacuum, whereas a light wave can travel through a vacuum.
Sound will be studied in more detail in Chapter [link] .
Seismic waves are waves from vibrations in the Earth (core, mantle, oceans). Seismic waves also occur on other planets, for example the moon and can be natural (due to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or meteor strikes) or man-made (due to explosions or anything that hits the earth hard). Seismic P-waves (P for pressure) are longitudinal waves which can travel through solid and liquid.
Column A | Column B |
waves in the air caused by vibrations | longitudinal waves |
waves that move in one direction, but medium moves in another | frequency |
waves and medium that move in the same direction | white noise |
the distance between consecutive points of a wave which are in phase | amplitude |
how often a single wavelength goes by | sound waves |
half the difference between high points and low points of waves | standing waves |
the distance a wave covers per time interval | transverse waves |
the time taken for one wavelength to pass a point | wavelength |
music | |
sounds | |
wave speed |
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