Waves and motion

Waves and motion

1. Mechanical waves (water waves, springs)

   • cannot travel in a vacuum, must have a medium as they travel by molecule to molecule

2. Electromagnetic waves (radio waves, x-rays, gamma-rays)

   • do not need a medium to travel
     • can travel extremely fast (sometimes the speed of light)

3. waves are a means of traveling energy from one place to another

4. Traveling waves

   • can be mechanical or electromagnetic
   • Transverse- vibrates perpendicular to the direction in which the wave is traveling
   • Longitudinal- vibrates parallel to the direction in which the wave is traveling

Images and files in the map