longitudinal wave

noun

, Physics.

1. a wave in which the direction of displacement is the same as the direction of propagation, as a sound wave.

longitudinal wave

noun

1. a wave that is propagated in the same direction as the displacement of the transmitting medium Compare transverse wave

longitudinal wave

1. A wave that oscillates back and forth on an axis that is the same as the axis along which the wave propagates. Sound waves are longitudinal waves, since the air molecules are displaced forward and backward on the same axis along which the sound travels.
2. Compare transverse waveSee more at wave

Word History and Origins

Origin of longitudinal wave¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

As it comes from behind you, a transverse waves lifts you up and then drops down; a longitudinal wave coming from behind pushes you forward and pulls you back.

From Literature

You can view here animations of longitudinal and transverse waves, single particles being disturbed by a transverse wave or by a longitudinal wave, and particles being disturbed by transverse and longitudinal waves.

From Literature

But the wave inside a tube, since it is a sound wave already, is a longitudinal wave; the waves do not go from side to side in the tube.

From Literature

A kind of ether in which this difficulty of the longitudinal wave does not occur was imagined by Cauchy and afterwards discussed by Lord Kelvin, who called it the contractile, or labile, ether.

From Project Gutenberg

Returning to the longitudinal wave, Mallet calls the line FP the wave-path at P. The direction EP gives the azimuth of the wave-path, or its direction along the surface of the earth.

From Project Gutenberg