The Electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum

The electromagnetic spectrum is the distribution of electromagnetic radiation

according to energy. EM waves have different wavelengths and behave differently in
some respects. The spectrum is split into seven categories: radio waves, microwaves,
infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays.
Common properties:
8
1. In a vacuum, they travel at a speed of 2.998x 10

ms1 .

2. They are transverse waves consisting of vibrating electric and magnetic

fields. The electric and magnetic fields are at right angles to each other and to
the direction of travel.
3. EM waves can be reflected, refracted and diffracted, and can undergo
interference.
4. EM waves obey v =f .
5. Progressive EM waves carry energy.
6. EM waves can be polarised.

Some properties vary across the spectrum:

1. Energy is directly proportional to frequency. Gamma rays have the highest
energy; radio waves have the lowest energy.
2. The higher the energy, in general the more dangerous the wave.
3. The lower the energy of an EM wave, the further from the nucleus it comes
from. Gamma radiation comes from the inside the nucleus. X-rays to visible
light come from energy-level transitions in atoms. Infrared radiation and
microwaves are associated with molecules. Radio waves come from the
oscillations in electric field.
4. Long radio waves diffract round hills.

Type

Wavelength (m)

Radio
waves

10

- 10

103

1
- 10

10

7x

Infrared (IR)

10

107

4x
Visible light

Ultraviolet
(UV)

-7x

10
108

-4x

107

Uses

Pass through matter.

Microwaves

Penetration

Radio transmissions.

Mostly pass through matter

but cause some heating.
Mostly absorbed by matter,
causing it to heat up.

Radar.
Microwave cooking.
TV transmissions.
Heat detectors.
Night-vision cameras.
Remote controls.
Optical fibres.

Absorbed by matter, causing

some heating effect.
Absorbed by matter. Slight
ionisation.

X-rays

1013

8
- 10

Mostly pass through matter,

but cause ionisation as they
pass.

Gamma
rays

1016

10
- 10

Mostly pass through matter,

but cause ionisation as they
pass.

Human sight.
Optical fibres.
Sunbeds.
Security markings that
show up in UV light.
To see damage to the
bones and teeth.
Airport security
scanners.
To kill cancer cells.
Irradiation of food.
Sterilisation of medical
instruments.
To kill cancer cells.

Different types of EM wave have different effects on the body:

Type
Radio waves
Microwaves
Infrared (IR)
Visible light

Production
Oscillating electrons in an
aerial.
Electron tube oscillators.
Natural and artificial heat
sources.
Natural and artificial heat
sources.

Ultraviolet (UV)

The Sun.

X-rays

Bombarding metal with

electrons.

Effect on human body

No effect.
Absorbed by water. Danger of
cooking human body.
Heating. Excess heat can harm the
bodys systems.
Used for sight. Too bright a light can
damage eyes.
Tans the skin. Can cause skin
cancer and eye damage.
Cancer due to cell damage.

Gamma rays

Radioactive decay of the

nucleus.

Cancer due to cell damage.

Radio waves
Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum.
These waves can be longer than a football field or as short as a football.
Radio waves can bring music to y radio. They also carry signals for your
television and cellular phones.
Radio waves are divided into:
Long Wave, around 1~2 km in wavelength. The radio station "Atlantic
252" broadcasts here.
Medium Wave, around 100m in wavelength, used by BBC Radio 5 and
other "AM" stations.
VHF, which stands for "Very High Frequency" and has wavelengths of
around 2m. This is where you find stereo "FM" radio stations, such as
BBC Radio 1and Further up the VHF band are civilian aircraft and taxis.

 UHF stands for "Ultra High Frequency", and has wavelengths of less than
a metre. It's used for Police radio communications, television
transmissions and military aircraft radios - although military
communications are now mostly digital and encrypted.
Microwaves
Microwaves have wavelengths that can be measured in centimeters.
The longer microwaves, those closer to a foot in length, are the waves which
heat our food in a microwave oven.
Microwaves are good for transmitting information from one place to another
because microwave energy can penetrate haze, light rain and snow, clouds, and
smoke.
Shorter microwaves are used in remote sensing. These microwaves are used for
radar like the Doppler radar used in weather forecasts.
Infrared (IR)
Infrared light has a range of wavelengths.
Near infrared light is closest in wavelength to visible light and far infrared is
closer to the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The longer, far
infrared wavelengths are about the size of a pin head and the shorter, near
infrared ones are the size of cells, or are microscopic.
Far infrared waves are thermal. The heat that we feel from sunlight, a fire, a
radiator or a warm sidewalk is infrared. The temperature-sensitive nerve endings
in our skin can detect the difference between inside body temperature and
outside skin temperature.
Shorter, near infrared waves. These shorter wavelengths are the ones used by
your TV's remote control.
Visible Light
Visible light waves are the only electromagnetic waves that are visible. We see
these waves as the colors of the rainbow.
Each color has a different wavelength.
Red has the longest wavelength and violet has the shortest wavelength.
When all the waves are seen together, they make white light.
When white light shines through a prism, the white light is broken apart into the
colors of the visible light spectrum. Water vapor in the atmosphere can also
break apart wavelengths creating a rainbow.

Ultraviolet (UV)

Split into categories based on frequency UV-A, UV-B and UV-C.

UV-A is the least damaging, although its the major cause of skin aging.
UV-B is more dangerous; responsible for sunburn and can lead to cancer.
UV-C is ionizing; can cause cell mutation and cancer.
Dark skin gives some protection from the UV rays.
Sunscreens provide some protection from UV rays from UV in sunlight.

X-rays
X-rays are very high frequency waves, and carry a lot of energy.
They will pass through most substances, and this makes them useful in medicine
and industry to see inside things.
X-rays are given off by stars, and strongly by some types of nebula.
An X-ray machine works by firing a beam of electrons at a "target". If we fire the
electrons with enough energy, X-rays will be produced.
Gamma rays
Gamma-rays have the smallest wavelengths and the most energy of any other
wave in the electromagnetic spectrum.
These waves are generated by radioactive atoms and in nuclear explosions.
Gamma-rays can kill living cells, a fact which medicine uses to its advantage,
using gamma-rays to kill cancerous cells.
Gamma-rays travel to us across vast distances of the universe, only to be
absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere.