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There are several equations relating the speed of a wave to other parameters. Let us call the speed of a wave v. The following equations are true for ALL waves, including (but not limited to) sound waves, water waves, electromagnetic (light) waves, and waves on a string like on a guitar:
v = l * f
Here l is the wavelength of the wave and f is the frequency. Imagine a bunch of ripples of water, or the graph of the function sin(x). The distance between two peaks in these cases is the wavelength. The frequency of a wave is the number of wavelengths created per unit time. Another equation which describes the speed of a wave is called, appropriately, the wave equation. This equation is a differential equation, which means that it relates a function F to a "rate of change" of itself. For example, the speed of an object is the rate of change in the object's position. See the Wikipedia article describing the wave equation.
Now light waves are special kinds of waves because they are the only kind of wave that can propagate through empty space (ignoring quantum mechanical waves). In empty space (vacuum), light ALWAYS travels at the speed of light (really?!), or 180,000 miles per second. This is not true for other kinds of waves (sound waves need to propagate through matter like air or metal, water waves need to propagate through water [SURPRISE], and it doesn't take a genius to realize that waves on guitar strings actually need the strings in order to exist).
What else can I help you with?
What is the formula for calculating electromagnetic wave intensity?
The formula for calculating electromagnetic wave intensity is given by the equation: Intensity (Electric field strength)2 / (2 Permittivity of free space Speed of light)
What is the equation between energy and the speed of the light?
The equation that relates energy (E) and the speed of light (c) is E=mc^2, where m is the mass of an object. This equation, proposed by Albert Einstein, demonstrates the equivalence of mass and energy.
What is the value of the speed of light in a vacuum, as represented by the constant "c" in the equation Emc2?
The speed of light in a vacuum, represented by the constant "c" in the equation Emc2, is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second.
What equations tell us how fast a wave travels?
The speed of a wave can be determined by the equation: speed = frequency x wavelength. This equation relates the speed of a wave to its frequency and wavelength. Additionally, the wave equation, c = λf, where c is the speed of light, λ is the wavelength, and f is the frequency, can be used to determine the speed of electromagnetic waves in a vacuum.
What is the equation for relativistic mass in terms of velocity and the speed of light?
The equation for relativistic mass in terms of velocity (v) and the speed of light (c) is: m m0 / (1 - v2/c2) where m is the relativistic mass, m0 is the rest mass, v is the velocity, and c is the speed of light.
What is the equation for calculating wave speed?
wave speed= frequency/wavelenth
What is is the equation for calculating average speed?
Speed= distance over time. :)
What is the equation for calculating an object's kinetic energy for seventh grade?
The equation, for 7th. grade or for any other grade, is KE = (1/2)mv2. This is valid as long as the speed does not approach the speed of light.
What is the equation used for calculating average speed?
Speed= distance over time. :)
What is the formula for calculating electromagnetic wave intensity?
The formula for calculating electromagnetic wave intensity is given by the equation: Intensity (Electric field strength)2 / (2 Permittivity of free space Speed of light)
What is the speed of light equation?
E=mc2
What does the c mean in Einstines Equation?
The speed of light.
What equation represents the velocity of a light?
The speed of light in a vacuum is 300,000 kilometers per second - you don't need an equation for that. Two equations that involve the speed of light are: 1) Speed = wavelength x frequency (this equation applies to any wave, not just light) 2) Snell's law, which relates the speed of light in different substances with the substance's index of refraction. The equation for the speed of light is: c = (299,792,458 meters per second) divided by (refractive index of the medium) The refractive index of vacuum is precisely 1 .
What does Einsteins famous equation e equals mc2 mean?
That equation is the equation that Albert Einstein came up with to describe how to calculate the speed of light. E = energy m = mass c = speed of light
What equation is used to determine speed of light through material?
The equation used to determine the speed of light in a given material is v = c / n, where v is the speed of light in the material, c is the speed of light in a vacuum, and n is the refractive index of the material.
What is the equation calculating speed?
speed = distance/time --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- you calculate speed by the equation m/sec or cm/sec. This means that you would divide the distance by the time it took. Actually to measure the speed of light is an interesting and intelligent task done by the scientists. Because the speed of light is 300,000 km in one second which is actually incredible. Out of all those, Michelson's rotating octagonal mirror method is very important. In his experiment the equation to calculate the speed of light is speed of light = N n D. Here N = 8 as octagonal rotor is used. n - the number of rotations made by the rotor in one second. D - the total distance travelled by light. Michelson did this experiment keeping the observatory on one mountain, Mt.Wilson and a reflector on another mountain, Mt. Antonio separated by some 35 km.
What is the speed of light in a vacuum such as space in equation form?
The Equation is:c = K where'c' = the speed of light'K' = a constant = 299,792,458 meters/second
