Attenuation increases with frequency.

Attenuation increases with frequency.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only in air
• D. It is independent of frequency

Answer: (A)

Attenuation is the loss of signal strength as it travels through a medium, and in many media the mechanisms that drain energy—viscous and thermal losses, molecular relaxation, and scattering from tiny inhomogeneities—become more effective at higher frequencies. Shorter wavelengths interact more with these loss processes, so more energy is converted to heat or scattered away, leading to greater attenuation. This trend is seen in air and is common in other materials as well, across typical frequency ranges, which is why the attenuation coefficient often increases with frequency. The statement is therefore correct, and the alternatives don’t fit because attenuation is not fixed with frequency, nor is it exclusive to air.

Attenuation is the loss of signal strength as it travels through a medium, and in many media the mechanisms that drain energy—viscous and thermal losses, molecular relaxation, and scattering from tiny inhomogeneities—become more effective at higher frequencies. Shorter wavelengths interact more with these loss processes, so more energy is converted to heat or scattered away, leading to greater attenuation. This trend is seen in air and is common in other materials as well, across typical frequency ranges, which is why the attenuation coefficient often increases with frequency. The statement is therefore correct, and the alternatives don’t fit because attenuation is not fixed with frequency, nor is it exclusive to air.