Frequency vs. Hertz: What's the Difference?
Table of Contents
Main Difference
The main difference between Frequency and Hertz is that the Frequency is a number of occurrences per unit time and Hertz is a SI unit for frequency.
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency, which emphasizes the contrast to spatial frequency and angular frequency. The period is the duration of time of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency. For example: if a newborn baby’s heart beats at a frequency of 120 times a minute, its period—the time interval between beats—is half a second (60 seconds divided by 120 beats). Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio signals (sound), radio waves, and light.
Hertz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the derived unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI) and is defined as one cycle per second. It is named after Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, the first person to provide conclusive proof of the existence of electromagnetic waves. Hertz are commonly expressed in multiples: kilohertz (103 Hz, kHz), megahertz (106 Hz, MHz), gigahertz (109 Hz, GHz), terahertz (1012 Hz, THz), petahertz (1015 Hz, PHz), exahertz (1018 Hz, EHz),
and zettahertz (1021 Hz, ZHz).
Some of the unit’s most common uses are in the description of sine waves and musical tones, particularly those used in radio- and audio-related applications. It is also used to describe the speeds at which computers and other electronics are driven. The units are often also used as a representation of Energy, via the photon energy equation, with one Hertz equivalent to h joules.
Frequency (noun)
The rate of occurrence of anything; the relationship between incidence and time period.
Frequency (noun)
The property of occurring often rather than infrequently.
Frequency (noun)
The quotient of the number of times n a periodic phenomenon occurs over the time t in which it occurs: f = n / t.
Frequency (noun)
number of times an event occurred in an experiment (absolute frequency)
Hertz (noun)
In the International System of Units, the derived unit of frequency; one (period or cycle of any periodic event) per second. Symbol: Hz
Frequency (noun)
the rate at which something occurs over a particular period of time or in a given sample
“an increase in the frequency of accidents due to increased overtime”
Frequency (noun)
the fact or state of being frequent or happening often.
Frequency (noun)
the rate per second of a vibration constituting a wave, either in a material (as in sound waves), or in an electromagnetic field (as in radio waves and light)
“different thicknesses of glass will absorb different frequencies of sound”
Frequency (noun)
the particular waveband at which radio signals are broadcast or transmitted
“a radio station on a single AM radio frequency”
“a coding sequence to ensure that everyone changes frequency in the correct manner”
Hertz (noun)
the SI unit of frequency, equal to one cycle per second.
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