How does light travel?

Question

academicgurusinc · Answer

Light is an example of a mechanical wave. There are two types of mechanical waves - transverse and longitudinal. Think about a coiled spring (the same ones we play with as kids). Note the picture attached. Figure a is an example of a transverse wave (moving the spring up and down). Figure b is an example of a longitudinal wave (compressing the spring and releasing it forward). As you can see, the way the wave travels is different. In a transverse wave, the motion of the medium (the spring) is perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels. The wave is traveling left to right, but the spring is moving up and down. This is how light waves travel. A light wave is a transverse wave.

In longitudinal waves the motion of the medium travels parallel to the direction in which the wave travels, left to right in the figure. Sound is an example of a longitudinal wave.

academicgurusinc · Answer

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