Visualizing Longitudinal Waves

It may be hard to picture how a longitudinal wave actually works. A good way to understand this physics concept is to experiment with a Slinky. The way in which this toy works is very similar to the manner in which a longitudinal wave travels - some of the particles compress, only to

transfer their energy on to newly-compressing particles.

Longitudinal Waves

For longitudinal waves, the direction of energy transfer is the same as the movement of the particles. Particles in such a wave hit one another (compress) in order to transfer energy on to the next particles.