Question

Does air affect the frequency where the frequency can be of light ,sound etc?

Answer 1

Yes, definitely, both. Light slows down depending on what medium it is going through and sound needs a medium to travel through. I can get more in depth in my explanation if you're looking for something specific, since this is a very general question.

Answer 2

No frequency means energy \[E = h F\]
http://www.chemteam.info/Electrons/LightEquations2.html
and energy is conservative

Answer 3

So it won't affect just wave length change to change the velocity
\[V = f \lambda \]

Answer 4

Thanks for your response Mr. Kainui. My doubt:
for example a sound frequency is going through the air,now my question is about whether the frequency is restricted in its path through the air because of different air density .

Answer 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpboV5Vy-ow

Tell me the frequency doesn't change based on the air after watching a little of this.

Answer 6

You are right though about light, the frequency of light does not change based on the medium. @Catch.me

Answer 7

@Kainui and sound is wave also frequency doesn't affected.
in the video he changed the frequency of his vocal cords by breathing helium . He changed the frequency of the source.

Answer 8

Now according to my thought:
1. Frequency of light is constant through air.
2. Frequency of sound is constant through air.
But frequencies can change through different medium like frequency of sound through the iron.

Am I wrong?

Answer 9

i agree with @Catch.me
he changed the frequency

Answer 10

frequency is constant as its source
If piano produce 1cycle/sec freq. Then it is constant in all mediums.
frequency is independent of anything
frequency depends only on the source which produced it

Answer 11

Thanks @Catch.me
i appreciate your thought

Answer 12

The frequency doesn't change as the wave passes from one medium to the next, but the wavelength does. I can most easily show why this is with light.

When a photon of energy E travels from one medium into another (say, from air into glass), the energy of the photon doesn't change. That is, E' = E, where E' is the energy in the second medium. We also know that E = hf.
\[E = E'\]\[hf = hf'\]\[f=f'\]
And the wavelength changes, keeping the relation between frequency, wavelength, and the speed of the wave:\[V_{Wave} = \lambda f\]

This is true for light and sound, as long as the actual generation of the wave does not depend on the changing speed of the wave. When inhaling helium to make your voice sound higher pitched, you're actually changing the environment used to create those sound waves, not just changing the medium they are propagating through.

Answer 13

Thanks @Vandreigan
i liked that.If you dont mind,could you please tell me whether the environment and medium are similar or not?

Answer 14

I used the term "environment" instead of just "medium" for the helium-voice part because the phenomenon is more complicated than what we're talking about. A human voice doesn't have just a single frequency of sound, for instance. Changing the gas used to create sounds from the vocal cords (i.e. inhaling helium instead of just air) actually has an effect on the generation of the sound, and this effect isn't the same as simply adjusting the wavelength. You've actually changed the source of the sound.

Answer 15

i guess.Thanks