ELECTROMAGNETIC

SPECTRUM
QUARTER 2: Week 1 and 2
 “Compare the relative
wavelengths of different
forms of electromagnetic
waves.”
— S10FE-IIa-b-47
 WHAT IS A WAVE?
In physics, a wave is a disturbance that
travels through space and matter
transferring energy from one place to
another.
When studying waves it’s important to
remember that they transfer energy,
not matter.
 ???
TYPES OF
WAVE
 MECHANICAL WAVE
o These are waves that require a medium.
o This means that they have to have some
sort of matter to travel through.
o These waves travel when molecules in the
medium collide with each other passing on
energy.
 MECHANICAL WAVE
o One example of a mechanical wave is sound.
o Sound can travel through air, water, or solids,
but it can't travel through a vacuum. It needs the
medium to help it travel.
o Other examples include water waves, seismic
waves, and waves traveling through a spring.
 ELECTROMAGNETIC
WAVE
o These are waves that can travel through a
vacuum (empty space).
o They don't need a medium or matter.
o They travel through electrical and magnetic
fields that are generated by charged particles.
 ELECTROMAGNETIC
WAVE
o Examples of electromagnetic waves include
light, microwaves, radio waves, and X-rays.
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PARTS OF A
WAVE
 ???
PROPERTIES
OF WAVES
 AMPLITUDE
o The amplitude of a wave is a measure of
the displacement of the wave from its rest
position.
o The amplitude is a measure of the strength
or intensity of the wave.
 AMPLITUDE
o For example, when looking at a sound
wave, the amplitude will measure the
loudness of the sound.
o The energy of the wave also varies in direct
proportion to the amplitude of the wave.
 WAVELENGTH
o The wavelength of a wave is the distance
between two corresponding points on
back-to-back cycles of a wave.
o This can be measured between two crests
of a wave or two troughs of a wave.
o The wavelength is usually represented in
physics by the Greek letter lambda (λ).
 FREQUENCY &
PERIOD
o The FREQUENCY of a wave is the number
of times per second that the wave cycles.
o Frequency is measured in Hertz or cycles
per second. The frequency is often
represented by the lower case “f”.
 FREQUENCY &
PERIOD
o The period of the wave is the time
between wave crests.
o The period is measured in time units such
as seconds.
o The period is usually represented by the
upper case “T”.
 FREQUENCY &
PERIOD
o The period and frequency are closely related
to each other.
o The period equals 1 over the frequency and
the frequency is equal to one over the
period.
FREQUENCY &
PERIOD
 SPEED / VELOCITY
OF A WAVE
o Another important property of a wave is the
speed of propagation.
o This is how fast the disturbance of the wave
is moving.
o The speed of mechanical waves depends on
the medium that the wave is traveling
through.
 SPEED / VELOCITY
OF A WAVE
o For example, sound will travel at a different
speed in water than in air.
o The velocity of a wave is usually represented
by the letter “v”.
o The velocity can be calculated by multiplying
the frequency by the wavelength.
SPEED / VELOCITY
OF A WAVE
 THE
ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
o The electromagnetic (EM) spectrum is the
range of all types of EM radiation.
o Radiation is energy that travels and
spreads out as it goes – the visible light
that comes from a lamp in your house and
the radio waves that come from a radio
station are two types of electromagnetic
radiation.
ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
o The other types of EM radiation that make
up the electromagnetic spectrum are
microwaves, infrared light, ultraviolet light,
X-rays and gamma-rays.
o Electromagnetic radiation can be
described as a stream of photons, each
traveling in a wave-like pattern, carrying
energy and moving at the speed of light.
ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
o This means as you look from right to the
left on a diagram of the spectrum, the
wavelengths get smaller and the frequency
gets larger. An inverse relationship exists
between size of the wave and frequency.
o Remember all EM waves travel at the same
speed: 300,000km/s.
ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
o Electromagnetic waves vary in wavelength
and frequency.
o Longer wavelength electromagnetic waves
have lower frequencies, and shorter
wavelength waves have higher frequencies.
o Higher frequency waves have more energy.
 THE
ELECTROMAGNETIC
WAVES
 ???

1 RADIO
WAVES
 RADIO WAVES
o Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the
electromagnetic spectrum.
o They have frequencies from 300 GHz to as low as
3 kHz, and corresponding wavelengths from 1
millimeter to 100 kilometers.
o Like all other electromagnetic waves, radio waves
travel at the speed of light.
 RADIO WAVES
o Naturally occurring radio waves are made by
lightning or by astronomical objects.
o Artificially generated radio waves are used for
fixed and mobile radio communication,
broadcasting, radar and other navigation systems,
communications satellites, computer networks and
innumerable other applications.
 ???

2 MICRO
WAVES
 MICROWAVES

o Microwaves have frequencies ranging from about 1

billion cycles per second, or 1 gigahertz (GHz),
up to about 300 gigahertz and wavelengths of
about 30 centimeters (12 inches) to 1 millimeter
(0.04 inches), according to the Encyclopedia
Britannica.
 MICROWAVES

o Microwaves are shorter than radio waves with

wavelengths measured in centimeters.
o We use microwaves to cook food, transmit
information, and in radar that helps to predict the
weather.
 MICROWAVES
o Microwaves are useful in communication because
they can penetrate clouds, smoke, and light rain.
o The universe is filled with cosmic microwave
background radiation that scientists believe are
clues to the origin of the universe they call the Big
Bang.
 ???

2 INFRARED
RADIATION
 INFRARED RADIATION

o Infrared radiation (IR), sometimes known as

infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR)
with wavelengths longer than those of visible light
have shorter wavelengths, from 0.001 m to 700
nm and higher frequencies (a nm is one billionth
of a meter).
 INFRARED RADIATION
o Between microwaves and visible light are infrared
waves.
o Infrared waves are sometimes classified as "near"
infrared and "far" infrared.
o Near infrared waves are the waves that are closer
to visible light in wavelength.
o These are the infrared waves that are used in your
TV remote to change channels.
 INFRARED RADIATION

o Far infrared waves are further away from visible

light in wavelength.
o Far infrared waves are thermal and give off heat.
o Anything that gives off heat radiates infrared
waves and this includes the human body.
 ???

3 VISIBLE
LIGHT
 VISIBLE LIGHT
o Visible light is what we can see in the EM
spectrum.
o Wavelengths of visible light range from about 700
nm (red light) to 400 nm (violet light).
o Visible light frequencies are higher than the
frequencies of infrared waves.
 ???

4 UV LIGHT
 ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT
o Ultraviolet or UV "light" spans a range of
wavelengths between about 10 and 400
nanometers.
o The wavelength of violet light is around 400
nanometers (or 4,000 Å).
o Ultraviolet radiation oscillates at rates between
about 800 terahertz (THz or 1012 hertz) and
o 30,000 THz.
 ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT
o The short-wavelength UV photons have high
energies, and are very damaging to living
creatures.
o UV-C is sometimes called "Short Wave" UV or
"germicidal" UV; the latter because it is sometimes
used to sterilize laboratory equipment or to purify
water by killing microbes.
 ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT
o Ultraviolet waves have the next shortest
wavelength after visible light.
o It is ultraviolet rays from the Sun that cause
sunburns.
o We are protected from the Sun's ultraviolet rays
by the ozone layer.
 ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT

o Some insects, such as bumblebees, can see

ultraviolet light.
o Ultraviolet light is used by powerful telescopes
like the Hubble Space Telescope to see far away
stars.
 ???

5 X-RAYS
 X-RAYS

o X-rays have wavelengths from 10 nm to 0.001 nm.

o X-rays are types of electromagnetic radiation most
well-known for their ability to see through a
person's skin and reveal images of the bones
beneath it.
 X-RAYS

o X-rays have even shorter wavelengths than

ultraviolet rays.
o At this point in the electromagnetic spectrum,
scientists begin to think of these rays more as
particles than waves.
 X-RAYS

o X-rays were discovered by German scientist

Wilhelm Roentgen.
o They can penetrate soft tissue like skin and muscle
and are used to take X-ray pictures of bones in
medicine.
 ???

6 GAMMA
RAYS
 GAMMA RAYS
o Gamma-rays fall in the range of the EM spectrum
above soft X-rays.
o Gamma-rays have frequencies greater than about
10^19 cycles per second, or hertz (Hz), and
wavelengths of less than 100 picometers (pm), or
4 x 10^9 inches. (A picometer is one trillionth of a
meter.)
 GAMMA RAYS
o Gamma rays have the smallest wavelengths and
the most energy of any wave in the
electromagnetic spectrum.
o They are produced by the hottest and most
energetic objects in the universe, such as neutron
stars and pulsars, supernova explosions, and
regions around black holes.
 GAMMA RAYS

o As the wavelengths of electromagnetic waves get

shorter, their energy increases.
o Gamma rays are the shortest waves in the
spectrum and, as a result, have the most energy.
 GAMMA RAYS

o Gamma rays are sometimes used in treating cancer

and in taking detailed images for diagnostic
medicine.
o Gamma rays are produced in high energy nuclear
explosions and supernovas.