Wave motion
is initiated by an energetic disturbance that subsequently travels through a medium with a fixed velocity (for homogeneous media). This moving disturbance is referred to as a traveling wave.
A wave propagates through a medium via internal cohesive forces, though the medium itself is not transported.
The wave speed is determined by the mass (or mass density) and elastic modulus (or tension) of the medium in which it travels. A more “massy” material will have a lower propagation speed. A “stiffer” material will have a higher speed of propagation.
Transverse Wave Motion: vibration of particles in the medium is perpendicular to the direction of wave motion.
If a system is driven by a continuous sinusoidal disturbance of frequency , periodic motion
will result with a wavelength given by
, where is the wave speed of propagation. The wavelength represents the distance between successive, periodic movements of a medium.
Low amplitude waves that interact (linearly) from different directions will pass through each other unchanged (referred to as linear superposition).