Microwaves Shake Water
All scenes › Chapter 2 Waves in the Box
One Wave Is 12 cm Long
Each wave is about 12.2 cm long
View in 3DOne wave is 12 cm long
The bouncing waves are shaped like ripples. From one peak of the yellow line to the next is one wave, and it is about 12.2 cm long. Compare it with the ruler above: about the width of your hand. So what happens when a wave bounces back and meets the waves still coming in?
Why?Each second, a wave travels about 300,000 km and wiggles 2.45 billion times. So in one wiggle it moves 300,000 km divided by 2.45 billion, which is about 12.2 cm.
Learn moreThe length of one wave is called the wavelength. FM radio waves are about 3 m long, and visible light is about half a thousandth of a millimeter. The waves on screen move about a billion times slower than real ones.
- Length of one wave
- 12.2 cm
textbook formulas · example oven cavity 31.5 × 21 × 32.5 cm
View this scene in 3D →Read more
More in the series
Wavelength, standing waves and the properties of water are calculated with textbook formulas. The standing-wave pattern is a simplified sum of the metal box’s resonant modes; water’s properties come from the Debye model (water at 20 °C). In the 3D view, waves and molecules move far slower than in real life, and the water molecule is an enlarged model.