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It equals the spatial frequency. For example, a wavenumber in inverse centimeters can be converted to a frequency expressed in the unit gigahertz by multiplying by 29.979 2458 cm/ns (the speed of light, in centimeters per nanosecond); [5] conversely, an electromagnetic wave at 29.9792458 GHz has a wavelength of 1 cm in free space.
The wavelength of a sine wave, λ, can be measured between any two points with the same phase, such as between crests (on top), or troughs (on bottom), or corresponding zero crossings as shown. In physics and mathematics, wavelength or spatial period of a wave or periodic function is the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.
Even in dispersive media, the frequency f of a sinusoidal wave is equal to the phase velocity v of the wave divided by the wavelength λ of the wave: =. In the special case of electromagnetic waves in vacuum , then v = c , where c is the speed of light in vacuum, and this expression becomes f = c λ . {\displaystyle f={\frac {c}{\lambda }}.}
In frequency (and thus energy), UV rays sit between the violet end of the visible spectrum and the X-ray range. The UV wavelength spectrum ranges from 399 nm to 10 nm and is divided into 3 sections: UVA, UVB, and UVC. UV is the lowest energy range energetic enough to ionize atoms, separating electrons from them, and thus causing chemical reactions.
In a dispersive prism, material dispersion (a wavelength-dependent refractive index) causes different colors to refract at different angles, splitting white light into a spectrum. A compact fluorescent lamp seen through an Amici prism. Dispersion is the phenomenon in which the phase velocity of a wave depends on its frequency. [1]
Formally, the wavelength version of Wien's displacement law states that the spectral radiance of black-body radiation per unit wavelength, peaks at the wavelength given by: = where T is the absolute temperature and b is a constant of proportionality called Wien's displacement constant, equal to 2.897 771 955... × 10 −3 m⋅K, [1] [2] or b ...
In other words, the wave vector points in the normal direction to the surfaces of constant phase, also called wavefronts. In a lossless isotropic medium such as air, any gas, any liquid, amorphous solids (such as glass ), and cubic crystals , the direction of the wavevector is the same as the direction of wave propagation.
In 1900, Max Planck postulated the proportionality between the frequency of a photon and its energy , =, [11] [12] and in 1916 the corresponding relation between a photon's momentum and wavelength, =, [13] where is the Planck constant.