What is Mechanical wave?
[[File:Longitudinal wave jp.svg|thumb|A wave in a spring]] A '''mechanical wave''' requires a medium. Sound waves, waves in a [[Slinky]], and pressure waves are all examples of this [[phenomenon]]. Sound waves need a physical medium in order to exist; the Slinky waves need the Slinky, and the waves in the ocean need the water. Like all waves, they have a frequency, period, [[wavelength]] and amplitude. Mechanical waves are a local [[oscillation]] of material. Only the energy propagates; the oscillating material does not move far from its initial equilibrium position; the wave travels by jumping from one particle of the [[transmission medium]] to another. Therefore, mechanical waves transport energy and not material. [[Category:Physics]] {{science-stub}}