What is the electromagnetic spectrum?
The electromagnetic spectrum consists of all the different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, including light, radio waves, and X-rays. We name regions of the spectrum rather arbitrarily, but the names give us a general sense of the energy of the radiation; for example, ultraviolet light has shorter wavelengths than radio light. The only region in the entire electromagnetic spectrum that our eyes are sensitive to is the visible region.
Much of the information we have from the universe comes from light. Sunlight (and starlight) is made up of many different colors. We can see this by holding a prism up to the sunlight. The prism separates the light into the individual colors of the rainbow – the visible light spectrum. Yet the light we can see represents only a very small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. On one end are gamma rays, with wavelengths millions of times shorter than those of visible light. On the other end of the spectrum are radio waves having wavelengths millions of times longer than those of visible light. In between we have X-ray, ultraviolet, visible and infrared light, and microwaves. The wavelength is directly related to the amount of energy the waves carry per photon. A photon is a fundamental particle of electromagnetic energy. The shorter the radiation’s wavelength, the higher is the energy of each photon. Although the photon energy carried by each wavelength differs, all forms of electrom
The electromagnetic spectrum consists of the totality of all electromagnetic radiation. Made up of photons, everything in the electromagnetic spectrum is sometimes referred to as light, although the word sometimes refers to only the human-visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Photons have some characteristics of a particle and some of a wave. For example, they have a wavelength. The wavelength of a photon ranges from many times smaller than an atomic diameter to the width of the earth. All radiation that is part of the electromagnetic spectrum has three fundamental properties – frequency or wavelength, intensity, and polarization. The last property, which refers to the angle of the electromagnetic wave, cannot be detected by the human eye, although bees can perceive it. All electromagnetic radiation travels at the speed of light, although an intervening material of the right makeup can reflect it, slow it, or absorb it. The primary source of electromagnetic spectrum radiatio
The electromagnetic spectrum is a vast band of energy frequencies extending from radio waves to gamma waves, from the very lowest frequencies to the highest possible frequencies. The spectrum is arranged by the frequency of its waves, from the longest, lowest energy waves to the shortest, highest energy waves. Our ability to tune in the more exotic electromagnetic waves has grown in recent decades. For instance, radio is part of the spectrum, and it was only in the 20th Century that humans began to be able to use any of the electromagnetic spectrum, starting with radio at the long-wave end of the spectrum. Today, living and working in the 21st century, we make great use of the electromagnetic spectrum in all of our vocations and avocations. All of the frequencies we use for transmitting and receiving energy are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. For instance: RADIO. We use the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum for many things, including television and radio broadcasting,
