propertieswavelength

Propertieswavelength refers to the set of characteristics that describe a wave’s wavelength and how it behaves across media and conditions. Wavelength (lambda) is the spatial period of a wave—the distance over which the wave’s form repeats. In optics, it is connected to frequency f and speed v by lambda = v / f. In vacuum, v equals the speed of light c, so lambda = c / f. In a material medium, the speed is reduced to v = c / n, where n is the refractive index, yielding lambda = lambda0 / n, with lambda0 the vacuum wavelength. Consequently, the same light changes wavelength when entering a different medium while its frequency remains fixed.

Key properties include medium dependence (dispersion), where n varies with wavelength; temperature and pressure effects in some substances; and the relation to energy via E = h f. Wavelength dictates color for visible light and sets spacings in interference and diffraction patterns. It also governs the angular positions of diffracted beams and is central to spectroscopic resolution and to the operation of devices such as gratings and interferometers.

Measurement and use: Wavelengths are measured with spectrometers, interferometers, and diffraction gratings. In technology, specific bands are allocated for communications (for example around 1.3–1.55 micrometers in fiber optics). Crystalline solids obey Bragg’s law, nλ = 2d sin θ, linking wavelength to lattice spacing. Limitations include absorption and scattering, which attenuate certain wavelengths and complicate detection.