Educator

Standing Waves

• Standing waves are produced on a string if L = nλ/2, where L is the length of the string, λ is the wavelength, and n is a positive integer.
• In an air column open at both ends, standing waves occur if λ = 2L/n; in terms of frequency the condition is f = nv/2L.
• In an air column closed at one end, standing waves occur if λ = 4L/n, where n is an odd positive integer; in terms of frequency, the condition is f = nv/4L.