frequency
Let an agent handle frequency with its unit, its measurement and its many applications, from radio bands to heart rate, and keep the quantity separate from what is oscillating.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Quantity and unit What is measured and in what.
Definition
Cycles per unit time.
Definition used
Ordinary or angular frequency.
- Is this ordinary or angular frequency? definition
- Of what repeating process? definition
Unit
Hertz and multiples, or per minute.
Unit used
The unit and scale.
- In which unit is it given? definition
- How does it convert to hertz? measurement
Measurement How frequency is measured.
Method
Counting, spectrum, timing.
Method used
The instrument and method.
- How was the frequency measured? provenance
- What reference oscillator or standard was used? provenance
Stability
Drift and jitter.
Stability data
How stable the frequency is.
- How stable is the frequency over time? measurement
- What causes it to drift? definition
Spectrum Radio frequencies and their use.
Allocation
Bands and services.
Band allocation
The band and allocated service.
- Which band and service does this frequency belong to? definition
- Is a licence required to transmit on it? boundary
Interference
Harmful interference.
Interference risk
Risks of interference.
- What could this transmission interfere with? boundary
- How is interference reported and resolved? action
Applications Where frequency matters.
Physiological rates
Heart and breathing rates.
Rate context
The rate and its normal range.
- What is this rate, and what is the normal range for this person group? measurement
- When must a clinician interpret it? action
Power and audio
Mains and sound.
Engineering context
The engineering context.
- Which mains frequency applies here? definition
- What frequency range does this audio device handle? measurement
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Cross-cutting context
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- XCT
- Domain
- XCT.QTY
- Other names and narrower kinds
- fetal heart rate, heart rate, respiratory rate, resting heart rate, radio frequency, intermediate frequency, International distress frequency, A band, Earth observation satellite transmission frequency, maritime distress frequency, instruction rate, rotational speed
What it is Filled
The number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time, measured in hertz, where one hertz is one cycle per second.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent handle frequency with its unit, its measurement and its many applications, from radio bands to heart rate, and keep the quantity separate from what is oscillating.
Distinguishing features Filled
- The reciprocal of period
- Distinct from angular frequency, which is 2 pi times frequency
- A property of a repeating process, not the process itself
- Rates in per-minute units are frequencies too
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Transmit on frequencies without a licence where one is required.
- Jam or interfere with frequencies used by others, especially emergency and aviation services.
- Confuse frequency with angular frequency or per-minute with per-second in safety-critical values.
Only with a human decision
- Changing transmission frequencies on licensed equipment.
May
- Measure frequency and report it with its unit.
- Tune equipment it controls to frequencies its licence allows.
Moral aspects Filled
- Radio spectrum is a shared public resource; interference can endanger lives.
Who is affected
- Spectrum users
- Emergency and aviation services
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns the quantity; national spectrum regulators manage radio frequency use.
Master systems
- National spectrum licence registers
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q107715 - registry parent class
- Q141256417 - registry parent class
- Q181175 - registry parent class
- Q98690850 - registry parent class
related
- physical quantity - SI derived quantity
- period - f = 1/T
- radio spectrum - spectrum use is regulated
- wavelength - for waves, speed equals frequency times wavelength
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.frequency
- Wikidata: Q11652 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11652)
- SI unit symbol: Hz hertz
- ITU band designation: VLF to EHF radio bands
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- SI unit: hertz Hz - 1 Hz = 1 per second
- audible sound: 20-20000 Hz
- mains electricity: 50 or 60 Hz - depends on region
Plane XCT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- A value with Hz, kHz, MHz or GHz, or per minute for rates
- Peaks on a spectrum plot
- Rates such as heart rate and respiratory rate are frequencies in per-minute units
- Not visible directly; shown as a number in hertz, as the spacing of peaks on a trace, or as position on a spectrum display.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- measure it, with counters, spectrum analysers or by timing
- convert it to period, as the reciprocal
- allocate it, for radio spectrum, under regulation
- filter or tune to it, in electronics
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Confusing frequency and angular frequency by a factor of 2 pi
- Using a frequency without a licence where one is required
- Misreading per-minute rates as per-second
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- SI Brochure
- ITU Radio Regulations on spectrum allocation
- National spectrum regulators
Context of use required Filled
- Describing how often something repeats: waves, signals, rotations, heartbeats and events.
- temporal frequency of waves and signals
- rotational frequency
- physiological rates: heart rate, respiratory rate
- radio frequency bands
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q11652: frequency - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Frequency - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should physiological rates be linked to this entry or kept separate?
- How should spectrum allocations be represented per country?
- Should angular frequency be its own entry?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q11652/spec.json