If you are fairly internalized with the world of physics, you may have some basic notions about waves, what they are, how they work and what their classifications are. But in this particular article we do not want to stop at all of them, but specifically to focus on mechanical waves , to know them in depth and distinguish them from others.
Indeed, if we can define a wave as the transmission of energy that does not necessarily require a displacement of matter, and that leaves the environment in the same state it was in before disturbing or shaking it, mechanical waves have particular characteristics.
What are mechanical waves?
In other words, we call mechanical waves those waves that do not have the ability to transmit energy through a vacuum, but rather require the medium to complete this transportation from one place to another. The most popular example is that of sound waves, but there are many more.
In any case, it should always be clarified that the material or medium that facilitates the movement of energy is not the one that produces it, but rather functions as an intermediary for such purposes.
It is specifically the particles that make up the material or medium that give rise to this transport of energy, to the extent that they move and collide with each other, a phenomenon imperceptible to the human eye and constant, which physics is responsible for investigating .
But again, those particles are not moving, rather waves are moving through them , moving from one particle to the next, provided they find the conditions to do so.
Many times confusion is generated between mechanical waves and electromagnetic waves, although it is enough to take a look at both to discover that they are antagonistic processes to each other.
This means that electromagnetic waves are perfectly capable of transmitting their energy regardless of the medium or material, through a vacuum.
To give you a better idea, the electromagnetics that come out of the sun go through the vacuum of outer space until they reach planet Earth and, without them, there would be no human life here.
Light waves, like sunlight, are a finished sample of electromagnetic waves, since they move through nothingness itself, absolute vacuum, without that material or mechanical medium.
And what are the mechanical waves then? The waves of the water , when we move in that environment, or the seismic waves that make the ground shake, are good examples of mechanical waves.
