Article
Article
Frequency (wave motion)
Article By:
Galloway, William J. Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Inc., Canoga Park, California.
Marston, Philip L. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington.
Last reviewed:June 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.271700
The number of times that sound pressure, electric field, or other quantities specifying a wave vary (or oscillate) from their equilibrium value through a complete cycle in a specified time. The most common unit of frequency is the hertz; 1 Hz is equal to 1 cycle per second. In one cycle there is a positive variation from equilibrium, a return to equilibrium, then a negative variation, and return to equilibrium. This relationship is often described in terms of the sine wave, and the frequency referred to is that of an equivalent sine-wave variation in the parameter under discussion. See also: Sine wave
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