Stretch it, speed it up, flip it sideways.
Use the sliders to change wavelength and amplitude. Drag anywhere on the canvas to rotate the view. Hover a crest, trough, compression or rarefaction to see exactly what you're looking at.
Everything responds to a drag or a click.
No hidden menus — the wave itself is the interface.
Choose a wave type
Switch between transverse and longitudinal to see how the particles move differently — sideways versus back-and-forth along the direction of travel.
Adjust amplitude
Drag the amplitude slider to make the wave taller or flatter. Watch how a bigger amplitude means more energy — visible as a larger vertical displacement.
Change wavelength
Stretch or squeeze the wavelength slider to see more waves packed into the same space. The frequency and period readouts update live to match.
Hover to identify features
Hover a crest, trough, compression, rarefaction, or any particle to see exactly what it is and where it sits on the wave.
What you're actually looking at.
The model is drawn to make three real physical facts easy to see, not just decorative motion.
The centre line
The dashed horizontal line is where the particles would sit if there were no wave. Displacement is measured from this line — up or down for transverse, left or right for longitudinal.
Crests and troughs
Crests are the highest points of a transverse wave, troughs the lowest. The vertical distance between a crest and the adjacent trough is twice the amplitude.
Compressions and rarefactions
In a longitudinal wave, regions where particles bunch together are compressions; regions where they spread apart are rarefactions. Both move along the wave's direction.
Questions people actually ask.
The short answers — with the long ones one tap away.
What is the difference between a transverse and a longitudinal wave?+
In a transverse wave, the particles of the medium vibrate perpendicular to the direction the wave travels — like a wave on a rope. In a longitudinal wave, the particles vibrate parallel to the direction of travel — like a sound wave moving through air. Both carry energy without permanently displacing the medium.
How do you measure wavelength?+
Wavelength is the distance between two identical points on consecutive waves — for example, from one crest to the next crest, or from one compression to the next compression. It is usually represented by the Greek letter lambda (λ) and measured in metres.
What is the relationship between frequency, wavelength and wave speed?+
Wave speed equals frequency multiplied by wavelength (v = f × λ). If the wave speed is fixed — as it is for light in a vacuum or sound in a given medium — increasing the frequency means the wavelength must decrease, and vice versa.
What does amplitude measure?+
Amplitude is the maximum displacement of a particle from its resting position. For a transverse wave it is the height from the centre line to a crest. A larger amplitude means the wave carries more energy, which is why a louder sound or a brighter light has a bigger amplitude.
What is the period of a wave?+
The period is the time it takes for one complete wave cycle to pass a fixed point. It is the reciprocal of frequency (T = 1/f). A wave with a frequency of 2 Hz has a period of 0.5 seconds.
Why are crests and troughs important?+
Crests are the highest points of a transverse wave and troughs are the lowest. The vertical distance between a crest and the adjacent trough is twice the amplitude. They are the easiest features to use when measuring wavelength visually.
Is this wave interactive free, and where does my data go?+
It's completely free and runs entirely in your browser — nothing you drag, click, or build is uploaded, logged, or sent to any server. No account, no sign-up, no limits.