Wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a wave and is inversely proportional to frequency. Light and sound waves are examples of energy moving through a medium, with visible light having a wavelength between 400 and 700 nanometers. X-rays have short wavelengths and radio waves have long wavelengths. Sound waves are defined in terms of frequency, with long wavelengths producing low frequency sounds and short wavelengths producing high-pitched sounds.
A wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a wave, measured from a point on one wave to the corresponding point in the next unit. For example, the distance from the top – called the crest – of one unit of wave to the crest of the next is one wavelength. In physics notation, wavelength is often denoted by the Greek letter lambda. Wavelength is inversely proportional to the frequency of a wave. In other words, the shorter the wavelength, the more wave units will pass in a given period of time.
A wave is simply energy moving through a medium. Outside the context of physics, ocean waves are an excellent example of how waves work. Except where the wave breaks, it is not so much the water that moves as the energy in the water, which produces an up and down motion that is evident a short distance from shore. Physicists study light and sound waves, as well as waves of other types of energy, and in this context, wavelength is an important factor to define and consider.
Light waves are present all around us, in a very wide range of wavelengths. This range is known as the electromagnetic spectrum, a small portion of which is perceived by our eyes as visible light. Sunlight is actually made up of the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Whether a given type of light is visible to us depends on its wavelength. If a light wave has a wavelength between 400 and 700 nanometers, it will be visible to the human eye.
On either side of this range are increasingly shorter and increasingly longer wavelengths, respectively. X-rays have wavelengths so short that they can pass through solid objects. At the other end, some radio waves have wavelengths of 1 mile (1.6 km) or more.
Sound is another form of energy that travels in waves. Sound waves are similar to light waves in at least two ways: how we perceive them depends on their wavelength, and there are many wavelengths that are either too short or too long to be perceived. The difference is that we usually define sound in terms of wave frequency, rather than wavelength, but these two are closely related, as already discussed. A sound wave with a long wavelength will have a low frequency and we hear these waves as low frequency sounds. High-pitched sounds come from waves with a short wavelength, and therefore a high frequency.
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