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Do Mechanical Waves Require a Medium?

Alexander Ross • • 6 min read
Do Mechanical Waves Require a Medium?

ALL “mechanical” waves require a medium to travel. Transverse waves -Waves that have disturbance perpendicular to the direction of propagation.

What waves do require a medium?

Mechanical waves are waves that require a medium. This means that they have to have some sort of matter to travel through. These waves travel when molecules in the medium collide with each other passing on energy. One example of a mechanical wave is sound.

Why do mechanical waves require a medium for transmission?

Mechanical waves require a medium because they use the physical touch of particles bouncing off of each other for propagation.

Alexander Ross
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Alexander Ross

Alexander Ross has covered the video game industry for a decade, writing deep dives on game design, esports tournaments, VR developments, and gaming culture.