The act or process of rarefying; the state of being rarefied; -- opposed to condensation; as, the rarefaction of air.
An area of high air pressure that acts as the wave trough for sound waves. The spacing between successive rarefactions is the wavelength of sound, and the number of successive areas of rarefaction that arrive at the ear per second is the frequency, or pitch, of the sound.
the region between compressions in a longitudinal wave.
In a compressional (logitudinal) wave, it's the part of the wave that is "stretched out". Click here to see a rarefaction picture. Back to Wave Index
The phenomenon that occurs when the transmitted wave moves in a direction different than that of the incident wave. Image of rarefaction in a spring.
a decrease in the density of something; "a sound wave causes periodic rarefactions in its medium"
a point on a medium through which a longitudinal wave is traveling which has the minimum density
The part of a longitudinal wave which is stretched out, where as a compression is the part which is pushed together. (longitudinal wave)
A momentary pressure reduction as a sound wave passes. See: Compression, Sound Wave.
A pulse of low air pressure (rarefied air) that travels as part of a sound wave
The air particles being spread apart in the formation of a sound pressure wave.
In sound waves, the opposite of compression. An area of decreased air pressure caused by a sound wave. Sound is simply the alternating compression and rarefaction of air at varying and often overlapping frequencies, within a range to which humans are sensitive.
Low pressure region in a compressional wave
1. A decrease in density and pressure in a medium, such as air, caused by the passage of a sound wave. 2. The region in which this occurs.
A state or region of minimum pressure in a medium traversed by compressional waves (sound waves).
Rarefaction is the reduction of a medium's density, or the opposite of compression.