wavelength

wavelength
/wayv"lengkth', -length', -lenth'/, n.
1. Physics. the distance, measured in the direction of propagation of a wave, between two successive points in the wave that are characterized by the same phase of oscillation.
2. on the same wavelength, in sympathy or rapport: We seemed to be on the same wavelength from the moment we met.
Also, wave length.
[1855-60; WAVE + LENGTH]

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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, λ, is equal to the speed v of a wave in a medium divided by its frequency f, or λ = v/f.

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      distance between corresponding points of two consecutive waves. “Corresponding points” refers to two points or particles in the same phase—i.e., points that have completed identical fractions of their periodic motion. Usually, in transverse waves (waves with points oscillating at right angles to the direction of their advance), wavelength is measured from crest to crest or trough to trough; in longitudinal waves (longitudinal wave) (waves with points vibrating in the same direction as their advance), it is measured from compression to compression or rarefaction to rarefaction. Wavelength is usually denoted by the Greek letter lambda (λ); it is equal to the speed (v) of a wave train in a medium divided by its frequency (f): λ = v/f.

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Universalium. 2010.

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