News tagged with wavelength
ALMA turns its eyes to Centaurus A
(Phys.org) -- A new image of the galaxy Centaurus A, made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), shows how the observatory allows astronomers to see through the opaque dust lanes that ...
May 31, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (10) |
0
|
Researchers fold origami with light
(Phys.org) -- Replacing the need for nimble fingers, researchers have demonstrated how to make origami using light of a specific wavelength. They call the new folding technique photo-origami, and it could ...
May 10, 2012 |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
0
|
'Metamaterials,' quantum dots show promise for new technologies
(Phys.org) -- Researchers are edging toward the creation of new optical technologies using "nanostructured metamaterials" capable of ultra-efficient transmission of light, with potential applications including ...
May 24, 2012 |
5 / 5 (7) |
1
|
Fast photon control brings quantum photonic technologies closer
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using photons instead of electrons to transmit information could lead to faster and more secure ways to communicate, among other advantages. Now a team of physicists has taken another step toward realizing ...
Feb 13, 2012 |
5 / 5 (9) |
2
|
Scientists design solar cells that exceed the conventional light-trapping limit
(PhysOrg.com) -- The best performing solar cells are those that are thick enough to absorb light from the entire solar spectrum, while the cheapest solar cells are thin ones, since they require less, and potentially ...
Jan 20, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (37) |
27
|
Seeing color traced back to genetic mutations
From the inside of our heads, it feels as if colors are intrinsic aspects of the outside world and our eyes are beautifully designed to see them. But we humans are merely sampling the possible ways of sensing the spectrum ...
May 21, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (11) |
4
New way to store light could prove useful for optical communication
(PhysOrg.com) -- Due to its high data carrying capacity and low loss, light can serve as an ideal information carrier. However, due to the high speed at which it travels, light is difficult to store. Because ...
Oct 03, 2011 |
4 / 5 (10) |
3
|
Water waves exhibit negative gravity near a periodic array of buoys
(PhysOrg.com) -- Ocean waves can be incredibly strong and very difficult to block completely. When a wave moving across the ocean interacts with a buoy, the wave can be slightly dampened, but will still pass ...
May 09, 2011 |
3.8 / 5 (21) |
17
|
Single molecule performs multiple logic operations simultaneously
(PhysOrg.com) -- While molecules have already been used to perform individual logic operations, scientists have now shown that a single molecule can perform 13 logic operations, some of them in parallel. The ...
May 23, 2011 |
4.6 / 5 (17) |
9
|
New way to funnel light could have infrared applications
(PhysOrg.com) -- Taking light control to a new level, scientists have proposed a technique for confining light into an area just 1/500th the size of the light's wavelength. Since funneling light through su ...
Oct 25, 2011 |
4.7 / 5 (7) |
1
|
Plasmonic device converts light into electricity
(PhysOrg.com) -- While the most common device for converting light into electricity may be photovoltaic (PV) solar cells, a variety of other devices can perform the same light-to-electricity conversion, such ...
Nov 09, 2011 |
4.6 / 5 (13) |
3
|
White LEDs with super-high luminous efficacy could satisfy all general lighting needs
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the Nichia Corporation in Tokushima, Japan, have set an ambitious goal: to develop a white LED that can replace every interior and exterior light bulb currently used in homes ...
Aug 31, 2010 |
4.8 / 5 (50) |
34
|
Researchers take first steps toward X-ray superfluorescence
(PhysOrg.com) -- While physicist Robert Dicke is probably most famous for his work on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) – and being "scooped" while attempting to be the first to detect it – he ...
Nov 14, 2011 |
4.6 / 5 (11) |
5
|
Light-controlling artificial diamond structures could lead to optical computers
(PhysOrg.com) -- In an effort to make computer chips even faster than those of today, many researchers have recently been investigating the possibility of optical computing. In an optical computer, information ...
Nov 17, 2011 |
4.6 / 5 (10) |
3
|
Scientists propose 'hidden' 3D optical data storage technique
(PhysOrg.com) -- By using a laser to reversibly combine and separate molecules, scientists have demonstrated a new optical data storage technique. Because the data can be read by only one kind of imaging technique ...
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Oct 13, 2010 |
4.8 / 5 (50) |
3
|
Wavelength
In physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave – the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a characteristic of both traveling waves and standing waves. Wavelength is commonly designated by the Greek letter lambda (λ). The concept can also be applied to periodic waves of non-sinusoidal shape. The term wavelength is also sometimes applied to modulated waves, and to the sinusoidal envelopes of modulated waves or waves formed by interference of several sinusoids.
Assuming a sinusoidal wave moving at a fixed wave speed, wavelength is inversely proportional to frequency: waves with higher frequencies have shorter wavelengths, and lower frequencies have longer wavelengths.
Examples of wave-like phenomena are sound waves, light, and water waves. A sound wave is a periodic variation in air pressure, while in light and other electromagnetic radiation the strength of the electric and the magnetic field vary. Water waves are periodic variations in the height of a body of water. In a crystal lattice vibration, atomic positions vary periodically in both lattice position and time.
Wavelength is a measure of the distance between repetitions of a shape feature such as peaks, valleys, or zero-crossings, not a measure of how far any given particle moves. For example, in waves over deep water a particle in the water moves in a circle of the same diameter as the wave height, unrelated to wavelength.
For more information about Wavelength, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
