Introduction
Wavelength is the way of measuring the size of waves. It is the number of waves that pass by an object in a specific period. Wavelength and frequency are often used together to describe sound wave properties. Let’s discuss the unit of wavelength in detail.
Waves
Waves are a disturbance that travels through a medium. They can be mechanical waves, sound waves, or electromagnetic waves. Waves carry energy because of their wavelength and amplitude.
A wave’s frequency is the number of cycles per second, and its amplitude refers to the maximum displacement above or below a reference level.
Amplitude = Displacement/Wavelength
Any wave with an increased frequency will have a shortened wavelength and vice versa. Several types of properties affect how waves behave on their path through space:
- Reflection (wave reflected off an object)
- Refraction (wave passing through different media)
- Diffraction (wave passing around an obstacle)
Components of a Wave
A wave consists of energy travelling through a medium. For example, when you listen to the radio and hear a song, you hear waves passing through the air, which travels from the speakers to your ear. These waves are made up of electrical energy travelling through space at about 300 million meters per second (approximately one thousand three hundred eighty-five thousand miles per hour). The distance between each crest makes up its wavelength!
The shorter the wavelength of a waveform (the distance between two successive peaks), the greater its frequency. Whereas if we have something with longer wavelengths, this will have less frequent peaks than those with shorter ones.
What is Wavelength?
Wavelength is the distance between the crest and trough of a wave or the distance between two consecutive points on a waveform. For example, if you have waves that oscillate at 1 Hz (one cycle per second), you can easily define the wavelength by counting how many times it takes for them to complete one full cycle.
In this case, it would be 1 m because it takes one second for each complete oscillation. Another way of thinking about what wavelength it would be is as follows: if your “waveform” was an audio signal playing on your loudspeaker or headphones, you could say that there is an audible “loudness” every time your head moved forward and backwards.
The SI Unit of Wavelength
The SI unit of wavelength is the meter (m). The meter (m) is a unit of length.
The SI base unit of length and time, the meter, equals 1,000 millimetres or 39.37 inches.
Since light travels at different speeds depending on its frequency and medium, there are many different ways to measure wavelengths. Some rely on how long it takes for photons to travel through space; others use units of wavelength such as nanometers or microns. In any case, the wavelength of a wave is directly related to its frequency.
The Meter – A Universal Unit of Length
The meter was originally defined as one ten-millionth of the distance between the North Pole and the Equator. This definition was changed in 1960 when it was realized that it had been inaccurate since 1884, leading to an error of about 20 micrometres (about 0.02 inch).
One meter is equal to 39.37 inches or 3 feet 3.946992 inches. This is often rounded up to 3 feet 4 inches when we use it as a human measurement standard for everyday things such as furniture heights, door sizes, etc.
Symbol & Units of Wavelength
The symbol for wavelength is the lowercase Greek letter lambda (λ).
The units of wavelength are meters (m).
Light Waves and Sound Waves
Light waves are electromagnetic waves, which means they consist of a stream of electric and magnetic fields that oscillate at right angles to each other. Light waves travel much faster than sound waves: about 300,000 km/s compared to 340 m/s.
The main difference between light and sound is their wavelength. A typical wavelength for visible light is about 500 nm (nanometres) or 0.5 µm (micrometres). The wavelengths of sounds we can hear range from 20 Hz (cycles per second) up to 20 kHz, or 20 million cycles per second!
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