Frequency

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For other uses, see Frequency (disambiguation).
Sinusoidal waves of various frequencies; the bottom waves have higher frequencies than those above. The horizontal axis represents time.

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency. The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency.

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[edit] Definitions and units

For cyclical processes, such as rotation, oscillations, or waves, frequency is defined as a number of cycles per unit time. In physics and engineering disciplines, such as optics, acoustics, and radio, frequency is usually denoted by a Latin letter f or by a Greek letter ν (nu).

In SI units, the unit of frequency is hertz (Hz), named after the German physicist Heinrich Hertz. For example, 1 Hz means that an event repeats once per second.

A traditional unit of measure used with rotating mechanical devices is revolutions per minute, abbreviated RPM. 60 RPM equals one hertz.[1]

The period is usually denoted as T, and is the reciprocal of the frequency f:

T = \frac{1}{f}.

The SI unit for period is the second.

[edit] Measurement

[edit] By counting

To calculate the frequency of an event, the number of occurrences of the event within a fixed time interval are counted, and then divided by the length of the time interval.

If the frequency is not too high, it is more accurate to measure the time taken for a fixed number of occurrences, rather than the number of occurrences within a fixed time.[2] The latter method introduces a random error into the count of between zero and one count, so on average half a count. This is called gating error and causes an average error in the calculated frequency of Δf = 1/2Tm, or a fractional error of Δf/f = 1/2fTm where Tm is the timing interval and f is the measured frequency. This error decreases with frequency, so it is a problem at low frequencies where the number of counts N is small.

[edit] Frequency counters

Higher frequencies are usually measured with a frequency counter. This is an electronic instrument which measures the frequency of an applied repetitive electronic signal and displays the result in hertz on a digital display. Cyclic processes that are not electrical, such as the rotation rate of a shaft, mechanical vibrations, or sound waves are converted to a repetitive electronic signal by transducers and the signal is applied to a frequency counter. Frequency counters can currently cover the range up to about 100 GHz. This represents the limit of direct counting methods; frequencies above this must be measured by indirect methods.

[edit] Heterodyne methods

Above the range of frequency counters, frequencies of electromagnetic signals are often measured indirectly by means of heterodyning (frequency conversion). A reference signal of a known frequency near the unknown frequency. is mixed with the unknown frequency in a nonlinear mixing device. This creates a heterodyne or "beat" signal at the difference between the two frequencies, which is low enough to be measured by a frequency counter. Of course this process just measures the unknown frequency by its offset from the reference frequency, which must be determined by some other method. To reach higher frequencies, several stages of heterodyning can be used. Current research is extending this method to infrared and light frequencies (optical heterodyne detection).

[edit] Frequency of waves

Frequency has an inverse relationship to the concept of wavelength, simply, frequency is inversely proportional to wavelength λ (lambda). The frequency f is equal to the phase velocity v of the wave divided by the wavelength λ of the wave:

f = \frac{v}{\lambda}.

In the special case of electromagnetic waves moving through a vacuum, then v = c , where c is the speed of light in a vacuum, and this expression becomes:

f = \frac{c}{\lambda}.

When waves from a monochromatic source travel from one medium to another, their frequency remains exactly the same — only their wavelength and speed change.

[edit] Examples

[edit] Physics of light

Radiant energy is energy which is propagated in the form of electromagnetic waves. Most people think of natural sunlight or electrical light, when considering this form of energy. The type of light which we perceive through our optical sensors (eyes) is classified as white light, and is composed of a range of colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) over a range of wavelengths, or frequencies.

Visible (white) light is only a small fraction of the entire spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. At the short end of that wavelength scale is ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun, which cannot be seen. At the longer end of that spectrum is infrared (IR) light, which is used for night vision and other heat-seeking devices. At even shorter wavelengths than UV are X-rays and Gamma-rays. At longer wavelengths than IR are microwaves, radio waves, electromagnetic waves in megahertz and kHz range, as well as natural waves with frequencies in the millihertz and microhertz range. A 2 millihertz wave has a wavelength approximately equal to the distance from the earth to the sun. A microhertz wave would extend 0.0317 light years. A nanohertz wave would extend 31.6881 light years.

Complete spectrum of electromagnetic radiation with the visible portion highlighted

Electromagnetic radiation is classified according to the frequency (or wavelength) of the light wave. This includes (in order of increasing frequency): natural electromagnetic waves, radio waves, microwaves, terahertz radiation, infrared (IR) radiation, visible light, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, X-rays and gamma rays. Of these, natural electromagnetic waves have the longest wavelengths and gamma rays have the shortest. A small window of frequencies, called the visible spectrum or light, is sensed by the eye of various organisms, with variations of the limits of this narrow spectrum.

[edit] Physics of sound

Sound is vibration transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas; particularly, sound means those vibrations composed of frequencies capable of being detected by ears. For humans, hearing is limited to frequencies between about 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz (20 kHz), with the upper limit generally decreasing with age. Other species have a different range of hearing. For example, some dog breeds can perceive vibrations up to 60,000 Hz.[3] As a signal perceived by one of the major senses, sound is used by many species for detecting danger, navigation, predation, and communication.

The mechanical vibrations that can be interpreted as sound are able to travel through all forms of matter: gases, liquids, solids, and plasmas. The matter that supports the sound is called the medium. Sound cannot travel through vacuum.

[edit] Other examples

In Europe, Africa, Australia, Southern South America, most of Asia, and Russia, the frequency of the alternating current in household electrical outlets is 50 Hz (close to the tone G), whereas in North America and Northern South America, the frequency of the alternating current is 60 Hz (between the tones B♭ and B — that is, a minor third above the European frequency). The frequency of the 'hum' in an audio recording can show where the recording was made — in countries utilizing the European, or the American grid frequency.

[edit] Period versus frequency

As a matter of convenience, longer and slower waves, such as ocean surface waves, tend to be described by wave period rather than frequency. Short and fast waves, like audio and radio, are usually described by their frequency instead of period. These commonly used conversions are listed below:

Frequency 1 mHz (10-3) 1 Hz (100) 1 kHz (103) 1 MHz (106) 1 GHz (109) 1 THz (1012)
Period (time) 1 ks (103) 1 s (100) 1 ms (10-3) 1 µs (10-6) 1 ns (10-9) 1 ps (10-12)

[edit] Other types of frequency

  • Angular frequency ω is defined as the rate of change in the orientation angle (during rotation), or in the phase of a sinusoidal waveform (e.g. in oscillations and waves):
\omega=2\pi f\,.
Angular frequency is measured in radians per second (rad/s).
  • Spatial frequency is analogous to temporal frequency, but the time axis is replaced by one or more spatial displacement axes.
  • Wavenumber is the spatial analogue of angular frequency. In case of more than one spacial dimension, wavenumber is a vector quantity.

[edit] See also

Electronics portal

[edit] References

  • Giancoli, D.C. (1988), Physics for Scientists and Engineers (2nd ed.), Prentice Hall, ISBN 013669201X 
  1. ^ Davies, A. (1997). Handbook of Condition Monitoring: Techniques and Methodology. New York: Springer. pp. 275. ISBN 9780412613203. http://books.google.com/books?id=j2mN2aIs2YIC&pg=RA1-PA275. 
  2. ^ Bakshi, K.A.; A.V. Bakshi, U.A. Bakshi (2008). Electronic Measurement Systems. US: Technical Publications. pp. 4-14. ISBN 9788184312065. http://books.google.com/books?id=jvnI3Dar3b4C&pg=PT183. 
  3. ^ Elert, Glenn; Timothy Condon (2003). "Frequency Range of Dog Hearing" (in English). The Physics Factbook. http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/TimCondon.shtml. Retrieved 2008-10-22. 

[edit] External links

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