Linear frequency of a travelling wave – Rankers Physics
Topic: Waves
Subtopic: Waves and its Characteristics

Linear frequency of a travelling wave

The displacement of a travelling wave is given by \(y = P \sin \frac{2\pi}{\lambda} (Qt - x)\), where t is time and x is distance and \(\lambda\) is wavelength. The linear frequency of the wave is
\(\frac{Q}{\lambda}\)
\(\frac{2\pi Q}{\lambda}\)
\(\frac{\lambda}{Q}\)
\(\frac{2Q}{\lambda}\)

Solution:

The expression can be written as \(y = P \sin \left( \frac{2\pi Q}{\lambda}t - \frac{2\pi}{\lambda}x \right)\). The angular frequency is \(\omega = \frac{2\pi Q}{\lambda}\). Thus, the frequency is \(f = \frac{\omega}{2\pi} = \frac{Q}{\lambda}\).

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