Wavelength & Frequency Calculator

Convert between wavelength, frequency and wave speed for light, radio or sound.

Solve for	Wavelength
Frequency	499,654,096.67 Hz
Wave speed	299,792,458 m/s

Solve for

Frequency

Wave speed

m/s

Wavelength

0.6 m

Frequency 4.9965 × 10^8 Hz, Wave speed 2.9979 × 10^8 m/s. Period 2.001 × 10^-9 s. Photon energy (if light) 2.066 × 10^-6 eV

Wavelength against frequency at this wave speed (m up, Hz across)

0.6 mat (499654000, 0.6)Point at the chart, or Tab to it and use ← →

0.6 m: (500M, 0.6)

About the Wavelength & Frequency Calculator

Choose what to find (wavelength, frequency or wave speed) and enter the other two. For light and radio, the result also shows the period and the photon energy.

For any wave, speed = wavelength × frequency. Light and radio travel at exactly 299,792,458 m/s in a vacuum; sound in air at 20 °C travels about 343 m/s. A photon's energy is Planck's constant × frequency.

The formula

λ = v ÷ f; E = h f

Worked example

A 500 MHz radio wave (the UHF TV band) travelling at the speed of light

λ = 299,792,458 ÷ 499,654,097 Hz
= 0.6 m
Period: 2.0 nanoseconds

Questions people ask

What wavelength is FM radio?

100 MHz has a wavelength of about 3 m.

Why is sound so different?

It travels about a million times slower than light.

What wavelength is visible light?

About 380 nm (violet) to 750 nm (red).