Just Realized that my answer is for 3D Longitudinal Wave and not for 3D Transverse Wave. (3D Longitudinal Wave are a good first step to be able visualize 3D Transverse Wave)
This is how I have been able to visualized Sperical Wave in hope it help others.
I started visualizing Sperical Wave when I have realised how sound work as our brain is naturally able to interpret sound which is propagating in sperical wave.
We know by instinct that if someone talk while being far away from us and not facing us :
- We will still hear this person. (This mean we know that sound don't go only straight forward but instead propagate in all direction like a sphere)
- The air going out of this person mouth is not dirrectly going into our ear, it is actually our Tympanic Membrane that vibrate and our brain that interpret this stimulus. (This mean that we know that Sound is pushing and pulling air to make our Tympanic Membrane vibrate)
- It will take time before we hear that sound. (This mean that we know that when you pull or push any material there is a delay before this mouvement reach the end "Phonon/propagation of a movement in any material is caused by the fact the you move only a group of atom that will propagate this mouvement to the following group". This mean that we know that mouvement of any material actually act like a wave)
From those 3 instinctive knowledge, we are now able to imaginate how the sound is Propagated as Sperical Wave that make our Tympanic Membrane vibrate.
Have an awesome day.
Daniel Girard Bolduc