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Waves

What are waves?

A wave is a vibration or oscillation, a to-and-fro motion, which is transmitted through a material or through space. Waves can transfer energy and information from one place to another without the transfer of physical material.

There are some properties of waves taht are common to diffirent types of wave such as sound, light and radio waves, but there are also diffirences.

Waves are either longitudinal or transverce, this depends on the direction of the vibrations comparded to the direction of the wave.

  • A longitudinal wave has vibrations that are parallel to the waves direction of travel
  • A transverse wave has vibrations that are perpindicular to the waves direction of travel
  • Sounds waves are longitudinal but light and electromagnetic waves are transverse.

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