Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

wavelength

 
wavelength
(Click to enlarge)
wavelength
(Academy Artworks)
(wāv'lĕngkth', -lĕngth', -lĕnth') pronunciation
n. (Abbr. WL)
The distance between one peak or crest of a wave of light, heat, or other energy and the next corresponding peak or crest.

idiom:

on the same wavelength Informal.

  1. In complete accord; in harmony: "a fluid ... production in which author, director, designer and cast seem to be working on the same wavelength" (James Lardner).


Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
Wiley Book of Astronomy:

wavelength

Top

The length of one complete cycle of a wave: say, between two successive crests. It is determined by the speed of the wave divided by its frequency.

Distance between corresponding points of two consecutive waves. "Corresponding points" refers to two points or particles that have completed identical fractions of their periodic motion. In transverse waves, wavelength is measured from crest to crest or from trough to trough. In longitudinal waves, it is measured from compression to compression or from rarefaction to rarefaction. Wavelength, l, is equal to the speed v of a wave in a medium divided by its frequency f, or l = v/f.

For more information on wavelength, visit Britannica.com.

The distance between two points on a wave which have the same value and the same rate of change of the value of a parameter, for example, electric intensity, characterizing the wave. The wavelength, usually designated by the Greek letter λ, is equal to the speed of propagation c of the wave divided by the frequency of vibration f; that is, λ = c/f (see illustration). See also Wave (physics); Wave motion.

Wavelength <B>λ</B> and related quantities.
Wavelength λ and related quantities.


For light waves or sound waves, the distance between two successive points of a periodic wave in the direction of propagation, in which the oscillation has the same phase; the distance the wave travels in one period. For light waves three common units of wavelength are: micrometer, nanometer, and angstrom.


Electronics Dictionary:

wavelength

Top

(l) Distance between two points of corresponding phase and is equal to waveform velocity divided by frequency.


The distance between crests (or troughs) of a wave.


symbol: λ; the distance between successive points of equal phase of a wave. Wavelength is equal to the velocity of the wave motion divided by its frequency. For electromagnetic radiation, λ = c0/ν, where c0 is the velocity of light in vacuo and ν the frequency of the radiation.

Previous:wave function, watt, waterfall sequence
Next:wavenumber, wax, weak interactions
Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'wavelength'

Top
Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to wavelength, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Wavelength.
Translations:

Wavelength

Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. - bølgelængde

idioms:

  • be on the same wavelength as    være på bølgelængde med

Nederlands (Dutch)
golflengte

Français (French)
n. - (Phys, Radio) longueur d'ondes

idioms:

  • on the same wavelength    être sur la même longueur d'onde que

Deutsch (German)
n. - Wellenlänge

idioms:

  • on the same wavelength    dieselbe Wellenlänge haben

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (τεχνολ.) μήκος κύματος

idioms:

  • be on the same wavelength as    βρίσκομαι στο ίδιο μήκος κύματος με..

Italiano (Italian)
lunghezza d'onda

idioms:

  • be on the same wavelength as    essere sulla stessa lunghezza d'onda

Português (Portuguese)
n. - comprimento de onda (m)

idioms:

  • be on the same wavelength as    estar de total acordo

Русский (Russian)
длина волны

idioms:

  • be on the same wavelength as    понимать друг друга с полуслова

Español (Spanish)
n. - longitud de onda

idioms:

  • on the same wavelength    estar en la misma onda

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - våglängd

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
波长

idioms:

  • be on the same wavelength as    与...想法一致, 与...具有相同观点

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 波長

idioms:

  • be on the same wavelength as    與...想法一致, 與...具有相同觀點

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 파장, 사고 방식

idioms:

  • be on the same wavelength as    ~와 같은 파장으로, ~와 의기 투합하여

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 波長

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مسافه تقطعها الموجه بين قمتين متجاورتين, تفكير يؤدي إلى التفاهم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אורך גל, אופן חשיבה ותקשורת‬


 
 

 

Copyrights:

American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wiley Book of Astronomy. Copyright © 2004 by Wiley-Blackwell. Wiley and the Wiley logo are registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Used here by license.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Encyclopedia. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture & Construction. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Electronics Dictionary. Copyright 2001 by Twysted Pair. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Science. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry. Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology © 1997, 2000, 2006 All rights reserved.  Read more
Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved.  Read more
Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved.  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

Follow us
Facebook Twitter
YouTube

Mentioned in

» More» More