Reciprocal length

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(Redirected from
Inverse centimeter
)

Reciprocal length or inverse length is a quantity or measurement used in several branches of science and mathematics, defined as the reciprocal of length.

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). In optics, the dioptre is a unit equivalent to reciprocal metre.

List of quantities

Quantities
measured in reciprocal length include:

Measure of energy

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

reciprocal centimetre, cm−1, is an energy unit equal to the energy of a photon with a wavelength of 1 cm. That energy amounts to approximately 1.24×10−4 eV or 1.986×10−23 J
.

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 10−2 (one hundredth) as much as a reciprocal centimetre. Five reciprocal metres are five times as much energy as one reciprocal metre.

See also

  • Lineic quantity
  • Reciprocal second

Further reading