220 Hz Wavelength

How Long Is a 220 Hz Wavelength?

A 220 Hz sound wave has a wavelength of 1.56 meters, 156.01 cm, 5.12 feet (5 feet and 1.42 inches) or 61.42 inches when traveling in air at 20°C (68°F).

The formula for the wavelenght is λ = c/f where:

  • c is the celerity (speed) of sound = 343.21 m/s or 1126.03 ft/s in air at 20°C (68°F).
  • f is the frequency = 220 Hz
which gives a wavelength λ of 1.56 meters, or 5.12 feet.

220 Hz Wavelength Depending on Temperature

The speed of sound in air depends on temperature. Here is how the wavelenght of a 220 Hz sound wave will vary according to temperature:

Temp (°C) Temp (°F) 220 Hz wavelength (m)220 Hz wavelength (ft)
-40-401.39134.5646
-35-311.40614.6133
-30-221.42084.6614
-25-131.43534.7091
-20-41.44974.7563
-1551.46404.8031
-10141.47814.8494
-5231.49214.8952
0321.50594.9406
5411.51964.9857
10501.53325.0303
15591.54675.0745
20681.56015.1183
25771.57335.1618
30861.58655.2049
35951.59955.2476
401041.61245.2900

220 Hz Half Wavelength and Standing Waves

The half wavelength of a 220 Hz sound wave is 0.78 meters, 78 cm, 2.56 feet (2 feet and 6.71 inches) or 30.71 inches when travelling in air at 20°C (68°F).

Modes (or standing waves) will occur at 220 Hz in rooms where two opposing walls (axial mode), edges (tangential mode) or corners (oblique mode) are spaced by a distance d = nλ/2 where:

  • n is a natural (positive integer greater than or equal to 1)
  • λ is the 220 Hz wavelength = 1.56 meters, or 5.12 feet in air at 20°C (68°F).

220 Hz Standing Waves Distances

n Distance (m) Distance (ft)
10.782.56
21.565.12
32.347.68
43.1210.24
53.9012.80
64.6815.35
75.4617.91
86.2420.47
97.0223.03
107.8025.59
118.5828.15
129.3630.71
1310.1433.27
1410.9235.83
1511.7038.39
1612.4840.95
1713.2643.51
1814.0446.06
1914.8248.62
2015.6051.18

Given the relatively large 220 Hz half wavelength, standing waves will occur at that frequency in small listening rooms.

You can try to minimze the room modes at 220 Hz by trying different speaker positions, listening positions or by placing bass traps. These can absorb frequencies as low as 63 Hz.

How To Convert 220 Hz To ms

A Hz (Hertz) is a cycle (or period) per second.

Because a 220 Hz wave will ocillate 220 times per second, we can find the time of a single cycle (or period) with the formula p = 1/f where:

  • f is the frequency of the wave = 220 Hz

The result will be expressed in seconds, so let's multiply by 1000 to get miliseconds:

1 / 220 Hz * 1000 = 4.55 ms.