Waves are a pattern of motion that transfer energy from place to place without transferring matter. There are different types of waves. Sound waves travel through air and allow us to hear sound. Water waves move on top of water.

A wave can be thought of as a disturbance or oscillation that travels through space-time, accompanied by a transfer of energy. The direction a wave propagates is perpendicular to the direction it oscillates for transverse waves. A wave does not move mass in the direction of propagation; it transfers energy.

A wave is a kind of oscillation (disturbance) that travels through space and matter. Wave motions transfer energy from one place to another. Waves require some oscillating or vibrating source. Ocean surface waves were the first known waves. Later, other kinds were discovered.

Electromagnetic Wave

• Microwaves.
• X-ray.
• Radio waves.
• Ultraviolet waves.

1 : to motion with the hands or with something held in them in signal or salute. 2 : to float, play, or shake in an air current : move loosely to and fro : flutter flags waving in the breeze. 3 of water : to move in waves : heave.

Waves come in two kinds, longitudinal and transverse. Transverse waves are like those on water, with the surface going up and down, and longitudinal waves are like of those of sound, consisting of alternating compressions and rarefactions in a medium.

The EM spectrum is generally divided into seven regions, in order of decreasing wavelength and increasing energy and frequency. The common designations are: radio waves, microwaves, infrared (IR), visible light, ultraviolet (UV), X-rays and gamma rays.

The different types of waves have different uses and functions in our everyday lives. The most important of these is visible light, which enables us to see. Radio waves have the longest wavelengths of all the electromagnetic waves. They range from around a foot long to several miles long.

There are three types of mechanical waves: transverse, longitudinal, and surface waves. They differ in how particles of the medium move when the energy of the wave passes through.

Sound is the most important example of a mechanical wave. Sound waves cannot travel through a vacuum.

Examples of transverse waves include:

• ripples on the surface of water.
• vibrations in a guitar string.
• a Mexican wave in a sports stadium.
• electromagnetic waves – eg light waves, microwaves, radio waves.
• seismic S-waves.

– Electromagnetic waves transport energy (electromagnetic energy in the form of light) from the Sun to the Earth. – Sound waves transport energy from speakers to our ear drums. In waves, energy is transported over large distances, but matter is not.

Mechanical Waves

Wave period is the distance between two waves passing through a stationary point, measured in seconds. When it comes reading forecast graphs, swell period is definitely the magic number. The shorter the period, the weaker and slower the swell, and the closer to the surface it travels.

mechanical waves

Light, X-rays, and microwaves are all examples of electromagnetic waves; even if you cannot recall if they are longitudinal or transverse, they are all members of the same phenomenon and will have the same type of wave transmission.

When most people use the term light waves, they usually mean visible light. From lowest energy to highest energy (red to blue) there are radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays.

Light waves are just one type of electromagnetic wave. Other electromagnetic waves include the microwaves in your oven, radio waves, and X-rays. Light waves are regarded as a varying electric field (E) coupled with a varying magnetic field (B), at right angles to each other and to the direction of travel.

Light normally travels in straight lines, but with some clever pre-adjustment, it curves instead.

The speed of light as it travels through air and space is much faster than that of sound; it travels at 300 million meters per second or 273,400 miles per hour. Visible light can also travel through other things besides through air and through space.

Hint: Light travels in a straight line because the diffraction effect is least due to the small wavelength of light. So the small wavelength of light produces negligible diffraction and therefore light travels along a straight line.

The speed of sound through air is about 340 meters per second. Light will travel through a vacuum at 300 million meters per second. So they’re totally different scales. No information can propagate faster than the speed of light.

The speed of sound depends on the medium in which it is transported. Sound travels fastest through solids, slower through liquids and slowest through gases.

Most of us already know that darkness is the absence of light, and that light travels at the fastest speed possible for a physical object. In this respect, darkness has the same speed as light.

Laser beams

very fast – in a relatively short time; “she finished the assignment in no time” in no time. Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection.

The 8 fastest man-made objects ever

• NASA X-43 – 7,000 mph. An X-43A artist concept drawing. (
• Space Shuttles, 17,500 mph. The Space Shuttle Columbia on lift-off. (
• Apollo 10 Capsule – 24,791 mph.
• Stardust – 28,856 mph.
• Voyager 1 – 38,610 mph.
• An iron manhole cover – 125,000 mph.
• Helios Satellites – 157,078 mph.

While the human body can withstand any constant speed—be it 20 miles per hour or 20 billion miles per hour—we can only change that rate of travel relatively slowly. Speed up or slow down too quickly and it’s lights out for you, permanently.

Changes in speed are expressed in multiples of gravitational acceleration, or ‘G’. Most of us can withstand up to 4-6G. Fighter pilots can manage up to about 9G for a second or two. But sustained G-forces of even 6G would be fatal.