A traveling wave in an elastic medium is a collective disturbance of the particles in the medium (a displacement, or change in pressure or density) that carries energy and momentum from one point of t...A traveling wave in an elastic medium is a collective disturbance of the particles in the medium (a displacement, or change in pressure or density) that carries energy and momentum from one point of the medium to another, over a distance that is typically much larger than the displacement of the individual particles making up the wave. In a longitudinal wave, the displacement of the particles is along the line of motion of the wave; in a transverse wave, it is perpendicular to the wave’s motion.
