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Relationship between wavelength, angular wavelength, and other wave properties. A quantity related to the wavelength is the angular wavelength (also known as reduced wavelength), usually symbolized by ƛ ("lambda-bar" or barred lambda). It is equal to the ordinary wavelength reduced by a factor of 2π (ƛ = λ/2π), with SI units of meter per ...
For periodic waves in nondispersive media (that is, media in which the wave speed is independent of frequency), frequency has an inverse relationship to the wavelength, λ . 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: f = v λ ...
The speed at which a resultant wave packet from a narrow range of frequencies will travel is called the group velocity and is determined from the gradient of the dispersion relation: = In almost all cases, a wave is mainly a movement of energy through a medium.
The refractive index, , can be seen as the factor by which the speed and the wavelength of the radiation are reduced with respect to their vacuum values: the speed of light in a medium is v = c/n, and similarly the wavelength in that medium is λ = λ 0 /n, where λ 0 is the wavelength of that light in vacuum.
Stationary sound source produces sound waves at a constant frequency f, and the wave-fronts propagate symmetrically away from the source at a constant speed c. The distance between wave-fronts is the wavelength. All observers will hear the same frequency, which will be equal to the actual frequency of the source where f = f 0.
The name "dispersion relation" originally comes from optics. It is possible to make the effective speed of light dependent on wavelength by making light pass through a material which has a non-constant index of refraction, or by using light in a non-uniform medium such as a waveguide. In this case, the waveform will spread over time, such that ...
Diagram illustrating the relationship between the wavenumber and the other properties of harmonic waves. In the physical sciences, the wavenumber (or wave number), also known as repetency, [1] is the spatial frequency of a wave, measured in cycles per unit distance (ordinary wavenumber) or radians per unit distance (angular wavenumber).
Another way of understanding the same thing is to consider the change in wavelength at the interface. When the wave goes from one material to another where the wave has a different speed v, the frequency f of the wave will stay the same, but the distance between wavefronts or wavelength λ = v/f will change. If the speed is decreased, such as ...