In Chapters 3 and 4 we saw that vertical springs and horizontal springs behave the same way and can be described by the same equation. Longitudinal waves are waves where the motion of the material in ...In Chapters 3 and 4 we saw that vertical springs and horizontal springs behave the same way and can be described by the same equation. Longitudinal waves are waves where the motion of the material in the wave is back and forth in the same direction that the wave moves. When a tuning fork or stereo speaker vibrates it moves back and forth creating regions of compression (where the pressure is slightly higher) and regions in between where the air has a lower pressure (called a rarefaction).
