What aspect of radiation is measured in Hertz?

Frequency is measured in Hertz, which is a unit that quantifies the number of cycles of a wave that occur in one second. It is a fundamental characteristic of waves, including electromagnetic radiation, and is crucial in determining other properties of waves such as energy and wavelength.

When discussing electromagnetic radiation, the frequency relates directly to the type of radiation: for instance, radio waves have low frequencies, while gamma rays have high frequencies. The relationship between frequency and wavelength is described by the equation:

[ c = \lambda \cdot f ]

where ( c ) is the speed of light, ( \lambda ) is wavelength, and ( f ) is frequency. In this relationship, as frequency increases, wavelength decreases, demonstrating how frequency plays a critical role in understanding the characteristics of radiation.

In contrast, wavelength is typically measured in meters, amplitude is measured in units of distance or intensity depending on the context, and velocity, specifically the speed of light in a vacuum, is approximately ( 3 \times 10^8 ) meters per second. Each of these aspects relates to the behavior of waves but only frequency is quantified in Hertz.