In order for compressional waves to propagate, there must be a medium, i.e. matter must exist in the intervening space
.
Can transverse waves travel through empty space?
Transverse waves can be mechanical or electromagnetic in nature. A mechanical wave is a disturbance that travels through a medium, such as a vibrating string. In contrast, an electromagnetic wave, such as light or radio waves, doesn’t need a medium and
can travel through empty space
.
Which type of waves do not travel through space?
These mechanical waves travel through a medium by causing the molecules to bump into each other, like falling dominoes transferring energy from one to the next.
Sound waves
cannot travel in the vacuum of space because there is no medium to transmit these mechanical waves.
What travels in compressional waves?
Unlike transverse waves, compressional waves can travel
both through the ground and through the atmosphere
. This is because both solids and fluids (the atmosphere and bodies of water) can be compressed.
Which waves is a compressional wave?
Mechanical longitudinal waves
are also called compressional or compression waves, because they produce compression and rarefaction when traveling through a medium, and pressure waves, because they produce increases and decreases in pressure.
Can compressional waves travel through air liquid or solid?
In a P wave, the rock particles are alternately squished together and pulled apart (called compressions and dilatations), so P waves are also called compressional waves. These waves
can travel through solids, liquids, and gases
.
Which wave source can travel through the vacuum of space?
Electromagnetic waves
are waves which can travel through the vacuum of outer space.
Can compressional waves move in the same direction as energy flow?
Longitudinal waves have the same direction of vibration as their direction of travel. This means that
the movement of the medium is in the same direction as the motion of the wave
. Some longitudinal waves are also called compressional waves or compression waves.
What’s the difference between transverse waves and compressional waves?
We call traveling compression waves in liquids “longitudinal waves,” in contrast to “transverse waves” typified by a vibrating string.
The direction that the material moves, relative to the direction of wave propagation, makes the difference
.
Do compressional waves need a medium?
Yes, longitudinal waves need a medium to continue moving forward
. This is because longitudinal waves, sometimes called compression waves, require…
How far can electromagnetic waves travel?
As to how far they can travel in a vacuum, the electromagnetic force reaches to infinity. Radio waves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, so the answer is any distance you care to mention. I think the furthest yet detected by radio telescopes have travelled
nearly 14 billion miles
.
Which part of the compressional wave where the particles are spread apart?
The rarefaction
is the part of the compressional wave where the particles are spread apart. The wavelength is the distance from compression to compression or rarefaction to rarefaction in a compressional wave.
What is compressional wave velocity?
Compressional wave velocity is
a measure of the velocity with which sound waves pass through soil and rock strata
. It varies with porosity, lithology, degree of fracturing and bulk density of the earth material.
Which wave is compressional and longitudinal in nature?
Compressional waves (longitudinal, primary, P-waves of earthquake seismology) are
the fastest of all seismic waves
. They propagate by compressional and dilatational uniaxial strains in the direction of wave travel through solid, liquid, and gas media.
What would S waves do when they enter the asthenosphere?
The velocity of s waves going through the asthenosphere
decreases
, which tells us that peridotite contains a few percent partial melt, but not enough to stop s waves. What is the composition of the mantle? One of Earth’s compositional layers.
What is the most destructive wave?
The most destructive seismic wave is
surface waves
. The surface waves will move just under the surface of the Earth. Surface waves move the slowest but cause the maximum damage to human-made structures.
What kind of waves can not travel in vacuums?
Infrasonic waves
are longitudinal waves therefore, they cannot travel in vacuum.
What kind of waves can travel through both matter and empty space?
An
electromagnetic wave
is a wave that can travel through empty space and through matter.
Can microwaves travel through a vacuum?
The waves that are electromagnetic and
can travel through a vacuum
are any light waves, such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible…
What type of wave contains compressions and rarefactions?
A
longitudinal wave
consists of a repeating pattern of compressions and rarefactions.
Why can the frequency of a compressional wave be counted as either the number of compressions or the number of rarefactions that passes by in one second?
The frequency of a compressional wave is the number of compressions or rarefactions that pass a point every second. This is
related to the energy transferred by a wave
. The greater the wave’s amplitude, the more energy the wave transfers. Amplitude is measured differently for compressional and transverse waves.
How do you find the wavelength of a compressional wave?
The wavelength can always be determined by
measuring the distance between any two corresponding points on adjacent waves
. In the case of a longitudinal wave, a wavelength measurement is made by measuring the distance from a compression to the next compression or from a rarefaction to the next rarefaction.
