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Data Representation1 Electromagnetic Radiation
Data Representation1 Electromagnetic Radiation
travels
through
space
by
electromagnetic
radiation
(Table
1).
There
are
many
forms
of
radiant
energy,
such
as
sunlight,
microwave
oven
energy,
X-‐rays
and
heat
from
a
fireplace.
All
forms
of
electromagnetic
radiation
exhibit
wavelike
behaviour
and
travel
at
the
speed
of
light
(c)
in
a
vacuum.
Wavelength,
frequency
and
speed
are
the
three
primary
characteristics
of
waves.
Wavelength
(λ)
is
the
distance
between
two
consecutive
peaks
in
a
wave.
Frequency
(ν)
is
the
number
of
waves
(cycles)
per
second
that
pass
a
given
point
in
space.
There
is
an
inverse
relationship
between
wavelength
and
frequency—short
wavelength
radiation
has
a
high
frequency,
whereas
long
wavelength
radiation
has
a
low
frequency.
Table
1:
Classification
of
Electromagnetic
Radiation
Types
of
Radiation
Wavelength
(meters)
in
Increasing
Order
Gamma
rays
1
x
10-‐12
X-‐rays
1
x
10-‐10
Ultraviolet
rays
1
x
10-‐8
Visible
light
spectrum
4
x
10-‐7
–
7
x
10-‐7
Infrared
1
x
10-‐4
Microwaves
1
x
10-‐2
Radio
waves
FM
1
Shortwave
1
x
102
AM
1
x
104
Alfred
and
Gwen
ran
experiments
to
measure
the
wavelengths
of
various
types
of
energy
sources.
Alfred
used
energy
sources
that
emit
microwave
radiation,
whereas
Gwen
used
sources
that
emit
infrared
radiation.
After
determining
the
wavelengths
of
the
energy
sources
used,
they
calculated
the
frequency
of
radiation
for
each
source
using
the
following
formula
for
the
speed
of
light:
c
=
λν,
where
λ
=
wavelength
(meters
(m))
ν
=
frequency
(cycles
per
second
=
1/s
=
Hertz
(Hz))
c
=
speed
of
light
(m/s)
=
2.9979
x
108
m/s
Frequency
can
be
calculated
by
rearranging
this
equation
to
solve
for
frequency,
ν
=
c/λ.
Alfred
and
Gwen
plotted
frequency
as
a
function
of
wavelength
and
the
resulting
graphs
are
shown
in
Figures
1
and
2.
Figure
1:
Alfred’s
Experiment
–
Microwave
Radiation
Figure
2:
Gwen’s
Experiment
–
Infrared
Radiation