| For an oscillating or varying current, frequency is the
number of complete cycles per second in alternating current direction. The
standard unit of frequency is the hertz, abbreviated Hz. If a current completes
one cycle per second, then the frequency is 1 Hz; 60 cycles per second equals
60 Hz (the standard alternating-current utility frequency in some countries).
Larger units of frequency include the kilohertz (kHz) representing thousands
(1,000's) of cycles per second, the megahertz (MHz) representing millions
(1,000,000's) of cycles per second, and the gigahertz (GHz) representing
billions (1,000,000,000's) of cycles per second. Occasionally the terahertz
(THz) is used; 1 THz = 1,000,000,000,000 cycles per second. Note that
these prefixes represent specific powers of 10, in contrast to the prefixes
for multiples of bytes, which represent specific powers of 2
|
