Can transverse waves travel through a gas?
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Harper Adams
Studied at Stanford University, Lives in Palo Alto, CA
As a domain expert in physics, I can explain that transverse waves are characterized by the movement of particles that is perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. In a solid, the particles are closely packed and can maintain this perpendicular motion, allowing transverse waves to travel through.
However, in a gas, the particles are much further apart and move freely in random directions. This lack of rigidity and the random motion of gas particles make it difficult for transverse waves to maintain the necessary perpendicular movement. Instead, gases can transmit longitudinal waves, such as sound waves, where the particle movement is parallel to the direction of wave propagation.
To summarize, while transverse waves cannot effectively propagate through a gas due to the nature of particle movement in gases, longitudinal waves can and do travel through gases.
Works at Microsoft, Lives in Redmond, WA
Solids are not like that; they are rigid. The particles in transverse waves move perpendicularly to the direction of propagation so it cannot propagate in a gas or a liquid because there is no mechanism for driving motion perpendicular to the propagation of the wave.
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Harper Taylor
QuesHub.com delivers expert answers and knowledge to you.
Solids are not like that; they are rigid. The particles in transverse waves move perpendicularly to the direction of propagation so it cannot propagate in a gas or a liquid because there is no mechanism for driving motion perpendicular to the propagation of the wave.
