Sound Wavelength Calculator
Calculate the wavelength of a sound wave from its frequency and the speed of sound in air or other media.
Wavelength Result
Sound wavelength is the physical distance between two consecutive peaks (or compressions) of a sound wave. It determines many acoustic properties including how sound interacts with objects and rooms.
The formula:
Wavelength = Speed of Sound / Frequency
lambda = v / f
Speed of sound in different media:
| Medium | Speed |
|---|---|
| Air at 20C (68F) | 343 m/s (1,125 ft/s) |
| Air at 0C (32F) | 331 m/s (1,086 ft/s) |
| Water at 25C (77F) | 1,497 m/s (4,911 ft/s) |
| Steel | 5,960 m/s (19,554 ft/s) |
| Wood (oak) | 3,850 m/s (12,631 ft/s) |
Temperature correction for air:
Speed = 331.3 + (0.606 x Temperature in Celsius) m/s
Example wavelengths in air at 20C:
- 20 Hz (lowest audible): 17.15 m (56.3 ft)
- 440 Hz (concert A note): 0.78 m (2.56 ft)
- 1,000 Hz: 0.343 m (1.13 ft)
- 4,000 Hz (speech clarity range): 0.086 m (3.4 inches)
- 20,000 Hz (highest audible): 0.017 m (0.67 inches)
Why wavelength matters:
- Room acoustics: sound interacts with surfaces based on wavelength vs surface size.
- Speaker design: driver size relates to the wavelengths it can reproduce effectively.
- Noise barriers: must be larger than the wavelength to block sound effectively.