- #1
itsthemac
- 23
- 0
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I just read this in my physics textbook and I'm confused. It said that the frequency of a periodic wave is identical to the oscillating frequency of its source. I don't understand how this can always be true since the velocity of the wave is determined by the medium it's in. It would seem to me that if you had an oscillating source with a frequency f in a medium in which waves traveled very slowly, and then you put that same source with the same frequency f in a medium where waves travel very fast, that the two waves frequencies shouldn't be the same.
I know I'm just thinking about it wrong, but if someone could help me understand how this relationship works, and why the speed of the medium makes no difference, I would be grateful.
Thanks
I know I'm just thinking about it wrong, but if someone could help me understand how this relationship works, and why the speed of the medium makes no difference, I would be grateful.
Thanks