87 Hz Wavelength

How Long Is a 87 Hz Wavelength?

A 87 Hz sound wave has a wavelength of 3.94 meters, 394.5 cm, 12.94 feet (12 feet and 11.31 inches) or 155.31 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 = 87 Hz
which gives a wavelength λ of 3.94 meters, or 12.94 feet.

87 Hz Wavelength Depending on Temperature

The speed of sound in air depends on temperature. Here is how the wavelenght of a 87 Hz sound wave will vary according to temperature:

Temp (°C) Temp (°F) 87 Hz wavelength (m)87 Hz wavelength (ft)
-40-403.518211.5426
-35-313.555711.6657
-30-223.592811.7876
-25-133.629611.9081
-20-43.666012.0275
-1553.702012.1457
-10143.737712.2628
-5233.773012.3787
0323.808012.4936
5413.842712.6074
10503.877112.7202
15593.911212.8320
20683.945012.9429
25773.978513.0528
30864.011713.1618
35954.044713.2699
401044.077313.3771

87 Hz Half Wavelength and Standing Waves

The half wavelength of a 87 Hz sound wave is 1.97 meters, 197.25 cm, 6.47 feet (6 feet and 5.66 inches) or 77.66 inches when travelling in air at 20°C (68°F).

Modes (or standing waves) will occur at 87 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 87 Hz wavelength = 3.94 meters, or 12.94 feet in air at 20°C (68°F).

87 Hz Standing Waves Distances

n Distance (m) Distance (ft)
11.976.47
23.9412.94
35.9219.41
47.8925.89
59.8632.36
611.8338.83
713.8145.30
815.7851.77

Given the relatively large 87 Hz half wavelength, standing waves will occur at that frequency in small listening rooms.

You can try to minimze the room modes at 87 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 87 Hz To ms

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

Because a 87 Hz wave will ocillate 87 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 = 87 Hz

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

1 / 87 Hz * 1000 = 11.49 ms.