Frequency, Wavelength, and Speed of Waves in Strings

Most recent answer: 06/04/2014

Q:
In standing waves the relationship between frequency and wavelength (which is inversely proportional) doesn't hold.As written in my SAT book "A piano tuner causes a piano string to vibrate. He then loosens the string a little, decreasing its tension, without changing the length of the string What happens to the fundamental wavelength" although its fundamental frequency changed (v/2L) but not fundamental wavelength I know wavelength is lamda=2L why this happens
- M.adnan (age 20)
Pakistan
A:

Hi M.adnan,

The exact relationship between frequency and wavelength is f = c/λ. When you change the tension on the string, you are changing the wave speed (c) and frequency, but not the wavelength. Specifically, as the frequency goes down, the speed goes down by the same factor, and so the wavelength doesn't change.

David Schmid


(published on 06/04/2014)