Types of waves

The 3 main types of waves are mechanical waves, electromagnetic waves, and matter waves.

Definitions and explanations of the different types of waves

Mechanical waves

A mechanical wave is a wave that can only exist within a material medium such as air, water, or rock. We encounter mechanical waves almost constantly, so we should be familiar with them.

Examples of mechanical waves include to mention a few the following:

Slinky waves

Sound waves

Water waves

Seismic waves

Jump rope waves

Mechanical waves can either be transverse waves or longitudinal waves.

What are transverse waves?

With transverse waves, the vibrations are perpendicular to the direction of motion. In other words, while the particles move up and down, the wave travels to the right or to the left.

What are longitudinal waves?

With longitudinal waves, the vibrations are parallel to the direction in which the wave travels. For instance, while the particles vibrates from left to right, the wave travels to the right.

This website has an animation that shows the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves.