Traveling Wave (Noun)
Meaning
A wave in which the medium moves in the direction of propagation of the wave.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural events.
Examples
- A traveling wave is a disturbance that travels through a medium, where each point of the wave moves in the same direction as the wave is propagating.
- In a traveling wave the high and low pressure areas move through the medium and transfer energy from one point to another.
- At any given point a particle in a traveling wave will move back and forth around equilibrium as the wave passes through the medium.
- A simple example of a traveling wave is when a stone is thrown into a body of water, the waves then move outward from the point of impact.
- When the particles of a guitar string move back and forth as a wave travels down it is an example of a one-dimensional traveling wave.