Rarefaction is the reduction of an item's density, the opposite of compression. Like compression, which can travel in waves, rarefaction waves also exist in nature. A common rarefaction wave is the area of low relative pressure following a shock wave.

What does rarefaction mean in waves?

A decrease in the density of something is rarefaction. ... When rarefaction occurs, the particles in a gas become more spread out. You may come across this word in the context of sound waves. A sound wave moving through air is made up of alternating areas of higher and lower density.

What does rarefaction mean in sound?

rarefaction, in the physics of sound, segment of one cycle of a longitudinal wave during its travel or motion, the other segment being compression. ... A succession of rarefactions and compressions makes up the longitudinal wave motion that emanates from an acoustic source.