Transverse Waves

A few lessons ago we learned that there are two typs of wave: transverse and longitudinal. We are going to look at transverse waves in a little more detail today.
Transverse waves happen when particles move (or oscillate) from side to side. This movement happens at right angles (or perpendicular) to the direction that the energy of the wave takes.
Look at the photograph here for an example. You are standing on the beach and the waves are travelling towards you. However, the surfers (and the water particles) just bob up and down. When they are just floating, the surfers travel at right angles (up and down) to the direction of the waves (straight to the shore).

Waves at sea are examples of transverse waves. In fact, the waves and ripples that you see on any liquid surface are all transverse waves.

Definition

So ... a transverse wave is one where the wave particles oscillate at right angles to the direction of the movement of energy.

How Does it Work?

Look at the animation of a transverse wave shown here.
At first glance you should be able to see a series of wave peaks moving from left to right. But look at the individual particles closely: for example, the red particle is just moving up and down.
In fact, all the particles are only moving up and down ...
... even though the wave seems to be moving from left to right.
So, we can say that the energy carried in the wave does move from left to right. However, the particles that actually make up the wave itself only move up and down.
The amount the particles move is the amplitude of the wave. And this is proportional to the amount of energy that the wave possesses. If the particles move up and down by a long way then the wave has a big amplitude and it has a lot of energy. If the wave is just a ripple, then the water particles only move a short distance up and down and there is much less energy transferred.