491 Hz Wavelength

How Long Is a 491 Hz Wavelength?

A 491 Hz sound wave has a wavelength of 0.7 meters, 69.9 cm, 2.29 feet (2 feet and 3.52 inches) or 27.52 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 = 491 Hz
which gives a wavelength λ of 0.7 meters, or 2.29 feet.

491 Hz Wavelength Depending on Temperature

The speed of sound in air depends on temperature. Here is how the wavelenght of a 491 Hz sound wave will vary according to temperature:

Temp (°C) Temp (°F) 491 Hz wavelength (cm)491 Hz wavelength (in)
-40-4062.338624.5428
-35-3163.003524.8045
-30-2263.661425.0636
-25-1364.312725.3199
-20-464.957425.5738
-15565.595725.8251
-101466.227926.0740
-52366.854126.3205
03267.474526.5648
54168.089326.8068
105068.698627.0467
155969.302527.2844
206869.901127.5201
257770.494727.7538
308671.083427.9856
359571.667228.2154
4010472.246328.4434

491 Hz Half Wavelength and Standing Waves

The half wavelength of a 491 Hz sound wave is 0.35 meters, 34.95 cm, 1.15 feet (1 feet and 1.76 inches) or 13.76 inches when travelling in air at 20°C (68°F).

Modes (or standing waves) will occur at 491 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 491 Hz wavelength = 0.7 meters, or 2.29 feet in air at 20°C (68°F).

491 Hz Standing Waves Distances

n Distance (m) Distance (ft)
10.351.15
20.702.29
31.053.44
41.404.59
51.755.73

We typically don't treat rooms for standing waves above 300 Hz.

Given the relatively small 491 Hz half wavelength, you can treat your room by using thick acoustic foam. This will absorb frequencies as low as 250 Hz, and all the way up to 20,000 Hz.

How To Convert 491 Hz To ms

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

Because a 491 Hz wave will ocillate 491 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 = 491 Hz

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

1 / 491 Hz * 1000 = 2.04 ms.