I know this is a stupid question but I'm not good at physics. If energy of a wave is only dependent on its frequency, and not amplitude, does this mean low volume sound and high volume sound have the same energy if their frequencies are the same? But doesn't this violate common sense?
2007-02-06 14:13:11 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
you are correct in that when discussing sound waves the volume is the determining factor of energy - louder = more energy.
However when discussing electromagnetic waves, (otherwise known as light) they can be described in terms of particles called photons.
The energy of a photon is only determined by its frequency (and planck's constant)
However a brighter light has more total energy - because it outputs more photons per second. Even though each photon's energy is only related to the frequency
2007-02-06 15:07:35 · answer #1 · answered by elentophanes 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The energy of _electromagnetic_ waves depends only on the frequency of the wave. This is different from a sound wave or an ocean wave because they are transmitted by moving quantities gas or water, where the quantity involved and speed dictates how much energy is transmitted. An electromagnetic wave is different, because it consists of a single photon and moves at a fixed speed (the speed of light). Here's the equation:
Energy = Planck's constant * frequency
The freqency of an electromagnetic wave is proportional to the energy it carries. To get more power (more volume in your description) you would need more waves.
2007-02-06 23:23:15 · answer #2 · answered by somniferous_persiflage 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Whoever told you that was an idiot. The higher the frequency the more energy, and the higher the amplitude the more energy too.
2007-02-06 22:17:03 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋