Electromagnetic spectrum

-The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of frequencies (the

spectrum) of electromagnetic radiation and their respective
wavelengths and photon energies.

Electromagnetic waves
Electromagnetic radiation is one of the many ways that energy
travels through space. The heat from a burning fire, the light
from the sun, the X-rays used by your doctor, as well as the
energy used to cook food in a microwave are all forms of
electromagnetic radiation. While these forms of energy might
seem quite different from one another, they are related in that
they all exhibit wavelike properties.

Electromagnetic radiation
In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EM radiation or EMR)
refers to the waves (or their quanta, photons) of
the electromagnetic field, propagating (radiating) through
space, carryingelectromagnetic radiant energy. It includes
radiowaves, microwaves, infrared, (visible) light, ultraviolet, X-
rays, and gamma rays.
Isaac Newton
-Our modern understanding of light and color begins with Isaac
Newton (1642-1726) and a series of experiments that he
publishes in 1672. He is the first to understand the rainbow — he
refracts white light with a prism, resolving it into its component
colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.

Frederick William Herschel

-He directed sunlight through a glass prism to create a
spectrum (the rainbow created when light is divided into its
colors) and then measured the temperature of each color.
Herschel used three thermometers with blackened bulbs (to
better absorb heat) and, for each color of the spectrum,
placed one bulb in a visible color while the other two were
placed beyond the spectrum as control samples. As he
measured the individual temperatures of the violet, blue,
green, yellow, orange, and red light, he noticed that all of the
colors had temperatures higher than the controls.

Johann Wilhelm Ritter

-German physicist who discovered the ultraviolet region of the
spectrum and thus helped broaden man’s view beyond the
narrow region of visible light to encompass the
entire electromagnetic spectrum from the shortest gamma rays
to the longest radio waves.
Heinrich Rudolf Hertz
-He was a German physicist who first conclusively proved the
existence of the electromagnetic waves theorized by James
Clerk Maxwell's electromagnetic theory of light. The unit of
frequency, cycle per second, was named the "Hertz" in his
honor.

Percy Spencer

-Spencer is best known as the inventor of the microwave oven.

During his research into electromagnetic waves in the 1940s,
Spencer noticed that a candy bar in his pocket melted when
he was standing next to a magnetron. He realized that
electromagnetic waves could be used to cook food, and
Spencer subsequently filed a patent with Raytheon for the
RadarRange in 1945. As Vannevar Bush once said, Spencer
“earned the respect of every physicist in the country, not only
for his ingenuity, but for what he has learned about physics by
absorbing it through his skin.”

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen

-The German physicist, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was the first
person to systematically produce and detect electromagnetic
radiation in a wavelength range today known as x-rays or
Röntgen rays. His discovery of x-rays was a great revolution in
the fields ofphysics and medicine and electrified the general
public.
Paul Ulrich Villard
-Villard investigated the radiation from radium salts that
escaped from a narrow aperture in a shielded container onto a
photographic plate, through a thin layer of lead that was
known to stop alpha rays. He was able to show that the
remaining radiation consisted of a second and third type of
rays. One of those was deflected by a magnetic field (as were
the familiar "canal rays") and could be identified
with Rutherford's beta rays. The last type was a very penetrating
kind of radiation which had not been identified before...
-Villard was a modest man and he did not suggest a specific
name for the type of radiation he had discovered. In 1903, it
was Ernest Rutherford who proposed to call Villard's
rays gamma rays because they were far more penetrating
than the alpha rays and beta rays which he himself had
already differentiated and named (in 1899) on the basis of their
respective penetrating powers. The name stuck.
General Properties of all electromagnetic radiation:
1. Electromagnetic radiation can travel through empty
space. Most other types of waves must travel through some sort
of substance. For example, sound waves need either a gas,
solid, or liquid to pass through in order to be heard.
2. The speed of light is always a constant. (Speed of light :
2.99792458 x 108 m s-1)
3. Wavelengths are measured between the distances of either
crests or troughs. It is usually characterized by the Greek
symbol λλ.
4. Electromagnetic waves are propagated by oscillating electric
and magnetic fields oscillating at right angles to each other.
5. Electromagnetic waves travel with a constant velocity of 3 x
108 ms-1 in vacuum.
6. Electromagnetic waves are not deflected by electric or
magnetic field.
7. Electromagnetic waves can show interference or diffraction.
8. Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves.
9. Electromagnetic waves may be polarized.
10. Electromagnetic waves need no medium of propagation.
The energy from the sun is received by the earth through
electromagnetic waves.
Gamma Rays
Advantages

 Low cost
 Easily available resources
 Mobile sources
 High resolution
 High sensitivity and specificity
 Possibility of early cancer detection

Disadvantages

 Can kill regular cells

 Unsafe to use on pregnant women
 Can cause nausea, hair loss, skin burns and diminished organ
function
 Exposure to lethal dose will usually result in death within two
months

X-Rays
Advantages
 X-rays are used to treat malign tumors before its spreads
throughout the human body.
 They help radiologists identify cracks, infections, injury, and
abnormal bones.
 They also help in identifying bone cancer.
 X-rays help in locating alien objects inside the bones or around
them.
Disadvantages
 X-rays makes our blood cells to have higher level of hydrogen
peroxide which could cause cell damage.
 A higher risk of getting cancer from X-rays.
 The X-rays are able to change the base of the DNA causing a
mutation.

Visible Light
An advantage is that it allows you to see because the light
reflects off an object and into your eyes. Visible light waves is
the only electromagnetic wave you can see. It allows you to
see colors.

A disadvantage is the amount of light pollution. Can hurt your

eyes if u stare at it.

Infrared Waves
Advantages
➨It provides secured communication due to line of sight or point-to-
point mode of communication.
➨The battery used in infrared devices last for long duration due to
lower power consumption.
➨Infrared motion sensors detect motion in daytime and nighttime
reliably.
➨The sensor does not require any contact with the product to be
sensed. The infrared devices are more appropriate for targets which
are close than 10 mm.
➨Infrared devices can measure distance to soft objects which may
not be easily detected by ultrasound.
➨They are physically smaller in size and are more affordable.
➨It has response time faster than thermocouple.
➨It provides good stability over time.
➨No corrosion or oxidation can affect the accuracy of infrared
sensor.
➨It delivers high repeatability.
Disadvantages
➨Infrared frequencies are affected by hard objects (e.g. walls,
doors) , smoke, dust, fog, sunlight etc. Hence it does not work
through walls or doors.
➨Infrared waves at high power can damage eyes.
➨In monitor & control application, it can control only one device at
one time. Moreover it is difficult to control things which are not in LOS
(Line of Sight). It requires line of sight between transmitter and
receiver to communicate.
➨It supports shorter range and hence it performance degrades with
longer distances.
➨It supports lower data rate transmission compare to wired
transmission.

Microwaves

Advantages:

 No cables needed
 Multiple channels available
 Wide bandwidth

Disadvantages:

 Line-of-sight will be disrupted if any obstacle, such as new

buildings, are in the way
 Signal absorption by the atmosphere. Microwaves suffer from
attenuation due to atmospheric conditions.
 Towers are expensive to build
Radio Waves
-One of the disadvantages of radio waves is that they cannot
transmit a lot of data simultaneously because they're low frequency.
In addition, continued exposure to large amounts of radio waves
can cause health disorders like leukemia and cancer.

Ultraviolet Waves
Advantages:
 It helps in production of Vitamin D.
 It is used in Fluorescent lamps which are used to treat jaundice
and psoriasis.
 UV lamps have been employed to sterilize work in spaces ,
Laboratories and tools etc.
 UV light is used in pest control devices and fly traps.
 UV radiation is used to study various Chemical Structures.
 UV is employed in fine resolution Photolithography.
 It helps in Authentication of Documents.
 It is used to create Suntan, Such as Sun-tan beds.
Disadvantages:
 Exposure to UV rays cause Skin cancer.
 UV rays leads to Melanoma.
 UV radiation may suppress proper functioning of the body’s
immune system.
 It caused cataracts and other eye damages.
 It may even lead to premature aging.