2 what is the oscillation frequency

Water waves and other waves in which their oscillation direction is perpendicular to their travel direction are called transverse , while sound waves and other compression waves in which these directions are the same are called longitudinal. A snapshot of a wave showing its amplitude and wavelength. The vibration caused by a wave, just as a vibration caused by an elastic medium say, a spring , has an amplitude, a period, and a frequency. So, a wave also is characterized by its frequency, or period, and its amplitude.

In addition, a wave is also characterized by its speed of travel. Another way of taking the wave speed into account is to instead refer to the distance that the wave travels to produce a full cycle of its vibration.

This distance is called the wavelength. As the wave moves by, in a time equal to the period one oscillation of the wave occurs and so the wave has moved along a distance equal to the wavelength. The velocity of the wave is then given by. In the case of water waves, for example, the distance from the one peak to the next or one valley to the next is one wavelength see the figure just above.

Notice that this measure, wavelength, then depends not only on the speed of propagation of the wave, but also on the period or frequency of the vibration. Not only do waves behave very differently from material objects in the context of transmission of momentum and energy, but they also interact with each other differently than material objects do.

When two objects meet each other they collide. Two waves, on the other hand, do not interact at all but pass "through" each other as ghosts pass through ghosts. But in the region where the two passing waves overlap the effective disturbance becomes a net sum of the disturbances of the two waves.

So, when a floater happens to be "at the wrong place at the wrong time", i. But were it lucky to be where the peak of one wave meets the valley of another wave of equal amplitude, then it would not move at all; as if there were no waves passing by.

This addition of disturbance, which does not affect the original waves, is purely a wave phenomenon and is called interference. So, waves do not collide, they interfere. Exercise: to see how two waves interfere, work with the applet: Wave Interference Try changing the wavelength of the waves and their amplitudes. One of the interesting results is when the two waves have the same amplitudes and almost the same wavelengths, but not quite. Another wave characteristic that has no analog when it comes to travel of material objects is that when a wave reaches an obstacle or an opening , with dimensions comparable to its wavelength, it bends around the obstacle and about the opening.

This second wave phenomena is called the diffraction effect. Check the applet on Wave Diffraction to see how this works. Try changing the opening size to see how the effects of diffraction sharpen up or get washed out. Questions on Waves. Electrically charged objects attract or repel each other, just as two magnets attract or repel each other. The electric force that acts between charges has significant differences from the magnetic force that results in the interaction of magnets.

But, for the topic at hand, these forces behave very much the same way in that they are both of the " action-at-a-distance " type. That is to say, these forces manifest themselves in the absence of any physical contact between the objects that interact with each other. For example, two magnets exert forces on each other even while they are apart and neither is touching the other. In fact, the reason that a compass works is that its small magnetized needle rotates because of the magnetic force of the earth, as if manipulated by a ghost.

Another way model of explaining this interaction is to state that the earth's magnetic core establishes a magnetic field everywhere in space. It is this field that affects the compass needle. This concept of "field" is useful because once we know the field of the earth, then we know how any magnet would be affected once it enters this field.

The field provides an intermediary to understand how action at a distance can work. With electric charges, each charge produces an electric field which then in turn interacts with other electric charges. Another advantage of the field concept is that it allows for an easier visualization of what happens when one of the charges or magnets begins to move. In this view, when a charge changes position, the field that it produces also changes in space. In fact, as the charge oscillates, so does its field.

This oscillating field is what is called an electromagnetic wave. By making a charge oscillate at one point in space we can cause another charge located further away to undergo oscillatory motion.

Similar to mechanical waves, such as sound and water waves, electromagnetic waves are characterized by their frequency, speed, and amplitude. The above picture shows how both the magnetic and electric fields oscillate as the wave propagates to the right. One interesting aspect of an electromagnetic wave that sets it apart from all other waves we have examined so far is that its propagation requires no medium.

Water waves, which are transverse, of course need water to propagate in. Sound waves, which are longitudinal, also need a matter medium; although almost any type of matter would do for them sound travels in air, all known gases, in fluids, in solids, and in plasma, a gas of charged ions. Identify an event in your life such as receiving a paycheck that occurs regularly. Identify both the period and frequency of this event.

I visit my parents for dinner every other Sunday. The frequency of my visits is 26 per calendar year. The period is two weeks. Skip to main content. Oscillatory Motion and Waves. Search for:.

Period and Frequency in Oscillations Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Observe the vibrations of a guitar string. Determine the frequency of oscillations.

Example 1. Determine the Frequency of Two Oscillations: Medical Ultrasound and the Period of Middle C We can use the formulas presented in this module to determine both the frequency based on known oscillations and the oscillation based on a known frequency.

A medical imaging device produces ultrasound by oscillating with a period of 0. What is the frequency of this oscillation? The frequency of middle C on a typical musical instrument is Hz. What is the time for one complete oscillation? Strategy Both Parts 1 and 2 can be answered using the relationship between period and frequency. Solution for Part 1 Substitute 0. The frequencies above the range of human hearing are called ultrasonic frequencies, while the frequencies which are below the audible range are called infrasonic frequencies.

Frequencies of radiowaves an oscillating electromagnetic wave are expressed in kilohertz or megahertz, while visible light has frequencies in the range of hundreds of terrahertz. She is a science editor of research papers written by Chinese and Korean scientists. She is a science writer of educational content, meant for publication by American companies.

She has a master's degree in analytical chemistry. She has been a freelancer for many companies in the US and China. How to Calculate Oscillation Frequency. It moves to and fro periodically along a straight line. Its acceleration is always directed towards its mean position. The magnitude of its acceleration is proportional to the magnitude of its displacement from the mean position.

The oscillation frequency is measured in cycles per second or Hertz. Related Articles The Types of Velocity. How to Calculate the Period of Motion in Physics.

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