Okuzeka
Electrical & Electronics Engineering vocabulary · Signals and Analog Electronics

Frequency

Meaning in electrical & electronics engineering, with examples

/ˈfrikwənsi/nounCore term

In electrical & electronics engineering, frequency means: The number of times a signal repeats its cycle in one second, measured in hertz (Hz). Mains electricity in Turkey has a frequency of 50 Hz.

In Turkish: frekans

How it is used

Used for mains power, clocks, radio and audio. You talk about high and low frequency, switching frequency, cutoff frequency and operating frequency, with values in kHz, MHz and GHz. In power systems, grid frequency has to stay very close to its nominal value.

Example sentences

  1. The converter runs at a switching frequency of 500 kHz.

  2. Equipment designed for 60 Hz may not run properly at our mains frequency of 50 Hz.

Common collocations

  • switching frequency
  • cutoff frequency
  • grid frequency
  • high frequency
  • frequency range
  • waveformThe shape of a signal when its voltage or current is drawn against time, such as a sine, square, triangle or sawtooth wave.
  • ACShort for alternating current: current that changes direction many times per second. Mains electricity is AC, at 50 Hz in Turkey and Europe and 60 Hz in North America.
  • bandwidthThe range of frequencies a circuit, instrument or channel can handle well, usually up to the point where the signal falls by 3 dB. In communications it also means data capacity.
  • filterA circuit that lets some frequencies pass and blocks or weakens others. Common types are low-pass, high-pass, band-pass and notch filters.
  • signalA voltage or current that carries information, such as a sensor reading, a sound or digital data. Signals can be analog, changing smoothly, or digital, switching between fixed levels.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Signals and Analog Electronics

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: