Reciprocal length or inverse length is a quantity or measurement used in several branches of

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

and mathematics. As the reciprocal of

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Inte ...

, common units used for this measurement include the reciprocal metre or inverse metre (symbol: m⁻¹), the reciprocal centimetre or inverse centimetre (symbol: cm⁻¹). Quantities measured in reciprocal length include: * absorption coefficient or attenuation coefficient, in materials science *

curvature In mathematics, curvature is any of several strongly related concepts in geometry. Intuitively, the curvature is the amount by which a curve deviates from being a straight line, or a surface deviates from being a plane. For curves, the can ...

of a

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Art ...

, in mathematics *

gain Gain or GAIN may refer to: Science and technology * Gain (electronics), an electronics and signal processing term * Antenna gain * Gain (laser), the amplification involved in laser emission * Gain (projection screens) * Information gain in d ...

, in laser physics * magnitude of vectors in reciprocal space, in

crystallography Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in crystalline solids. Crystallography is a fundamental subject in the fields of materials science and solid-state physics (condensed matter physics). The wo ...

*more generally any spatial frequency e.g. in cycles per unit length * optical power of a

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'' ...

, in optics *

rotational constant In rotordynamics, the rigid rotor is a mechanical model of rotating systems. An arbitrary rigid rotor is a 3-dimensional rigid object, such as a top. To orient such an object in space requires three angles, known as Euler angles. A special ri ...

of a

rigid rotor In rotordynamics, the rigid rotor is a mechanical model of rotating systems. An arbitrary rigid rotor is a 3-dimensional rigid object, such as a top. To orient such an object in space requires three angles, known as Euler angles. A special ri ...

, in

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, q ...

* wavenumber, or magnitude of a wavevector, in

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter ...

*density of a linear feature in

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

and other fields; see kilometre per square kilometre In

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultra ...

, the dioptre is a unit equivalent to reciprocal metre.

Measure of energy

In some branches of physics, the universal constants ''c'', the

speed of light The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit fo ...

, and ''ħ'', the

reduced Planck constant The Planck constant, or Planck's constant, is a fundamental physical constant of foundational importance in quantum mechanics. The constant gives the relationship between the energy of a photon and its frequency, and by the mass-energy equivalen ...

, are treated as being unity (i.e. that ''c'' = ''ħ'' = 1), which leads to mass, energy, momentum, frequency and reciprocal length all having the same unit. As a result, reciprocal length is used as a measure of

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

. The

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from '' angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is ...

of a

photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are Massless particle, massless ...

yields a certain photon energy, according to the Planck–Einstein relation, and the frequency of a photon is related to its spatial frequency via the speed of light. Spatial frequency is a reciprocal length, which can thus be used as a measure of energy, usually of a particle. For example, the

reciprocal centimetre Reciprocal length or inverse length is a quantity or measurement used in several branches of science and mathematics. As the reciprocal of length, common units used for this measurement include the reciprocal metre or inverse metre (symbol: m− ...

, , is an energy unit equal to the energy of a photon with a

wavelength In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tr ...

of 1 cm. That energy amounts to approximately or . The energy is inversely proportional to the size of the unit of which the reciprocal is used, and is proportional to the number of reciprocal length units. For example, in terms of energy, one reciprocal metre equals (one hundredth) as much as a reciprocal centimetre. Five reciprocal metres are five times as much energy as one reciprocal metre.

Measure of energy

See also

Further reading