Hertz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the SI unit of frequency. For the radio pioneer after whom this unit is named, see Heinrich Hertz.
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the International System of Units (SI) base unit of frequency. Its base unit is cycle/s or s-1 (also called inverse seconds, reciprocal seconds). In English, hertz is used as both singular and plural. As any SI unit, Hz can be prefixed; commonly used multiples are kHz (kilohertz, 103 Hz), MHz (megahertz, 106 Hz), GHz (gigahertz, 109 Hz) and THz (terahertz, 1012 Hz).
One hertz simply means one cycle per second (typically that which is being counted is a complete cycle); 100 Hz means one hundred cycles per second, and so on. The unit may be applied to any periodic event—for example, a clock might be said to tick at 1 Hz, or a human heart might be said to beat at 1.2 Hz. The frequencies of aperiodic events, such as radioactive decay, are expressed in becquerels.
To avoid confusion, periodically varying angles are typically not expressed in hertz, but rather in an appropriate angular unit such as radians per second. A disc rotating at 1 revolution per minute (RPM) can thus be said to be rotating at 0.105 rad/s or 0.017 Hz, where the latter reflects the number of complete revolutions per second. The conversion between Hz and rad/s is rad/s = 1 Hz × 2 \pi \,.
History
The hertz is named after the German physicist Heinrich Hertz, who made important scientific contributions to electromagnetism. The name was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 1930.[1] It was adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) (Conférence générale des poids et mesures) in 1960, replacing the previous name for the unit, cycles per second (cps), along with its related multiples, primarily kilocycles per second (kc/s) and megacycles per second (Mc/s). The term cycles per second was largely replaced by hertz by the 1970s.
The term "gigahertz", most commonly used in computer processor speed and radio frequency (RF) applications, can be pronounced either /ˈgigaˌhɝts/, with a hard /g/ sound or /ˈʒɪgaˌhɝts/ or /ˈdʒɪgaˌhɝts/, with a soft /ʒ/ sound at the beginning of the word. The prefix "giga-" is derived directly from the Greek "γιγας" and hence the preferred pronunciation is /ˈgɪga/. Some electrical engineers use /ˈdʒɪga/, by analogy with "gigantic".
Vibration
Sound is a traveling wave which is an oscillation of pressure. Humans perceive frequency of sound waves as pitch. Each musical note corresponds to a particular frequency which can be measured in hertz. An infant's ear is able to perceive frequencies ranging from 16 Hz to 20,000 Hz; the average human can hear sounds between 20 Hz and 16,000 Hz.[2] The range of ultrasound and other physical vibrations such as molecular vibrations extends into the megahertz and well beyond.
Electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation is often described by its frequency—the number of oscillations of the perpendicular electric and magnetic fields per second—expressed in hertz.
Radio frequency radiation is usually measured in kilohertz, megahertz, or gigahertz; this is why radio dials are commonly labeled with kHz, MHz, and GHz. Light is electromagnetic radiation that is even higher in frequency, and has frequencies in the range of tens (infrared) to thousands (ultraviolet) of terahertz. Electromagnetic radiation with frequencies in the low terahertz range, intermediate between those of the highest normally-usable radio frequencies and long-wave infrared light, is often called terahertz radiation. Even higher frequencies exist, such as that of gamma rays, which can be measured in exahertz. (For historical reasons, the frequencies of light and higher frequency electromagnetic radiation are more commonly specified in terms of their wavelengths or photon energies: for a more detailed treatment of this and the above frequency ranges, see electromagnetic spectrum.)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the SI unit of frequency. For the radio pioneer after whom this unit is named, see Heinrich Hertz.
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the International System of Units (SI) base unit of frequency. Its base unit is cycle/s or s-1 (also called inverse seconds, reciprocal seconds). In English, hertz is used as both singular and plural. As any SI unit, Hz can be prefixed; commonly used multiples are kHz (kilohertz, 103 Hz), MHz (megahertz, 106 Hz), GHz (gigahertz, 109 Hz) and THz (terahertz, 1012 Hz).
One hertz simply means one cycle per second (typically that which is being counted is a complete cycle); 100 Hz means one hundred cycles per second, and so on. The unit may be applied to any periodic event—for example, a clock might be said to tick at 1 Hz, or a human heart might be said to beat at 1.2 Hz. The frequencies of aperiodic events, such as radioactive decay, are expressed in becquerels.
To avoid confusion, periodically varying angles are typically not expressed in hertz, but rather in an appropriate angular unit such as radians per second. A disc rotating at 1 revolution per minute (RPM) can thus be said to be rotating at 0.105 rad/s or 0.017 Hz, where the latter reflects the number of complete revolutions per second. The conversion between Hz and rad/s is rad/s = 1 Hz × 2 \pi \,.
History
The hertz is named after the German physicist Heinrich Hertz, who made important scientific contributions to electromagnetism. The name was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 1930.[1] It was adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) (Conférence générale des poids et mesures) in 1960, replacing the previous name for the unit, cycles per second (cps), along with its related multiples, primarily kilocycles per second (kc/s) and megacycles per second (Mc/s). The term cycles per second was largely replaced by hertz by the 1970s.
The term "gigahertz", most commonly used in computer processor speed and radio frequency (RF) applications, can be pronounced either /ˈgigaˌhɝts/, with a hard /g/ sound or /ˈʒɪgaˌhɝts/ or /ˈdʒɪgaˌhɝts/, with a soft /ʒ/ sound at the beginning of the word. The prefix "giga-" is derived directly from the Greek "γιγας" and hence the preferred pronunciation is /ˈgɪga/. Some electrical engineers use /ˈdʒɪga/, by analogy with "gigantic".
Vibration
Sound is a traveling wave which is an oscillation of pressure. Humans perceive frequency of sound waves as pitch. Each musical note corresponds to a particular frequency which can be measured in hertz. An infant's ear is able to perceive frequencies ranging from 16 Hz to 20,000 Hz; the average human can hear sounds between 20 Hz and 16,000 Hz.[2] The range of ultrasound and other physical vibrations such as molecular vibrations extends into the megahertz and well beyond.
Electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation is often described by its frequency—the number of oscillations of the perpendicular electric and magnetic fields per second—expressed in hertz.
Radio frequency radiation is usually measured in kilohertz, megahertz, or gigahertz; this is why radio dials are commonly labeled with kHz, MHz, and GHz. Light is electromagnetic radiation that is even higher in frequency, and has frequencies in the range of tens (infrared) to thousands (ultraviolet) of terahertz. Electromagnetic radiation with frequencies in the low terahertz range, intermediate between those of the highest normally-usable radio frequencies and long-wave infrared light, is often called terahertz radiation. Even higher frequencies exist, such as that of gamma rays, which can be measured in exahertz. (For historical reasons, the frequencies of light and higher frequency electromagnetic radiation are more commonly specified in terms of their wavelengths or photon energies: for a more detailed treatment of this and the above frequency ranges, see electromagnetic spectrum.)
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