- #1
EnchantedEggs
- 27
- 0
Hi all,
I'm struggling with the concept of angular frequency in the context of sinusoidal waves. We describe sinusoidal waves with equations like [itex] y(x,t) = Asin(kx-\omega t) [/itex], where [itex] \omega [/itex] is the angular frequency, yes? But what does this quantity physically represent? The rate at which points on the curve rotate about their positions?
And how is angular frequency related to regular frequency ([itex]f = \frac{1}{T} [/itex]), physically? As in, in intuitive physical terms?? Am I right in saying the angular frequency is the rate of oscillations of points on the curve whereas regular frequency is the rate at which the peaks of the curve ... pass through a given point in a given time period...?
I think I'm confusing myself even more as I type here :(
I'm struggling with the concept of angular frequency in the context of sinusoidal waves. We describe sinusoidal waves with equations like [itex] y(x,t) = Asin(kx-\omega t) [/itex], where [itex] \omega [/itex] is the angular frequency, yes? But what does this quantity physically represent? The rate at which points on the curve rotate about their positions?
And how is angular frequency related to regular frequency ([itex]f = \frac{1}{T} [/itex]), physically? As in, in intuitive physical terms?? Am I right in saying the angular frequency is the rate of oscillations of points on the curve whereas regular frequency is the rate at which the peaks of the curve ... pass through a given point in a given time period...?
I think I'm confusing myself even more as I type here :(