Longitudinal waves:


In a longitudinal wave the particle displacement is parallel to the direction of wave propagation.Longitudinal waves are waves that have the same direction of oscillation or vibration along their direction of travel, which means that the oscillation of the medium (particle) is in the same direction or opposite direction as the motion of the wave. Mechanical longitudinal waves have been also referred to as compressional waves or compression waves.

Example of longitudinal waves:sound, ultrasound, and earthquake P-waves.

Transverse Waves:


A transverse wave is a moving wave that consists of oscillations occurring perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer. If a transverse wave is moving in the positive x-direction, its oscillations are in up and down directions that lie in the y-z plane.

Example of Transverse waves:Transverse waves include seismic S (secondary) waves, and the motion of the electric (E) and magnetic (M) fields in an electromagnetic plane wave, which both oscillate perpendicularly to each other as well as to the direction of energy transfer. Therefore an electromagnetic wave consists of two transverse waves, visible light being an example of an electromagnetic wave. See electromagnetic spectrum for information on different types of electromagnetic waves.
An oscillating string is another example of a transverse wave; a more everyday example would be an audience wave.
Some examples of transverse waves include Atomic, Chemical, Heat, Electrical, Light, and Mechanical energy.

Video on longitudinal and transverse waves:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbuhdo0AZDU

Done BY:Al Shafiq