The transverse acceleration a of an element of a string under the influence of sinusoidal traveling wave is the rate of change of the element transverse velocity. Let the wave propagate to the right, the transverse acceleration of an element located at position x is then
Transverse acceleration of an element of a string
We can see that the transverse acceleration a of an element is proportional and
opposite in direction to its displacement. At the maximum
displacement, the magnitude of the transverse acceleration is maximum and
pointing downward. At the minimum displacement, the magnitude of the
transverse acceleration is maximum, but pointing upward. At zero
displacement, the transverse acceleration is zero.
