THE

ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
MATTHEW Y ENOCH S

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

TABLE OF CONTENT 2
What is the electromagnetic spectrum? 3
Radio waves 4
Microwave 5
Infrared 6
Visible spectrum 7
Ultraviolet 8
X-ray 9
Gamma-ray 10
Similarities and differences 11
Similarities 11
Differences 11

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 WHAT IS THE
ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM?

The electromagnetic spectrum is the entire distribution of electromagnetic radiation according to

frequency or wavelength, they consist of : radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, visible light
waves, ultraviolet waves, x-rays and gamma-rays.

The electromagnetic spectrum is a visible light or ultraviolet radiation.

range of frequencies, wavelengths The wavelength and the frequency
and photon energies covering of each wave are inversely related,
frequencies from below 1 hertz to one goes up and the other goes
above 1025 Hz corresponding to down.
wavelengths which are a few
kilometres to a fraction of the size
of an atomic nucleus in the
spectrum of electromagnetic
waves. Generally, in a vacuum,
electromagnetic waves tend to
travel at speeds which is similar to
that of light. However, they do so at
a wide range of wavelengths,
frequencies, and photon energies.

The electromagnetic spectrum

consists of a span of all
electromagnetic radiation which
further contains many subranges
which are commonly referred to as
portions. These can be further
classi ed as infra-red radiation,

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 RADIO WAVES
Radio wave transmission is not limited by any physical conductor
or waveguide, they do not interfere with stuff in between. This

Maxwell's predicted waves included waves at very low

frequencies compared to infrared, which in theory might be
created by oscillating charges in an ordinary electrical circuit of
a certain type. Attempting to prove Maxwell's equations and
detect such low frequency electromagnetic radiation, in 1886,
the physicist Heinrich Hertz built an apparatus to generate and
detect what are now called radio waves.

makes radio waves ideal for mobile communications, satellite and

deep-space communications, broadcast communications, and
other applications in which the laying of physical connections may
be impossible or very costly. Radio waves can be generated using
electricity in a form of an alternating current as they are made up
of oscillating charges. To transfer radio waves, we use a device
called a transmitter which is normally connected to an oscilloscope
which allows us to see the frequency of the waves that is shown on
the screen, to detect it we use a receiver which absorbs the energy
and then displays it on another oscilloscope. The frequency of the
of the waves on the oscilloscopes are exactly the same.

There are mainly three types of radio waves used for

communications; long waves, short waves and very short waves.
Long waves can travel through huge distances because the waves
diffract (bend) around the curved surface of the earth. Short waves
(bluetooth) can travel through long distances because they re ect
through the ionosphere which is an electrically charged layer of
the upper atmosphere. Very short waves are used in TVs and FM
radios as they transfer directly from the transmitter to the receiver.

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 MICROWAVE
Microwaves can be separated into two types, those who are
absorbed by water molecules and those why aren’t absorbed by

In1886, Hertz also demonstrated that the new radiation could

be both re ected and refracted by various dielectric media, in
the same manner as light. For example, Hertz was able to focus
the waves using a lens made of tree resin. In a later experiment,
Hertz similarly produced and measured the properties of
microwaves. These new types of waves paved the way for
inventions such as the wireless telegraph and the radio.

water molecules. The microwaves that aren’t absorbed by water

molecules are mainly used by satellite communications as they
have to travel through the earths atmosphere. If they do get
absorbed by water molecules then it wouldn’t pass through the
earths atmosphere as there are many water molecules in the
atmosphere. Once it reaches the satellite, it then gets shot back at
earth to satellite dishes which can be used for satellite TVs. The
microwaves that are absorbed by water are used in microwave
ovens which is used to heat up our food, this is because most of
our food contains water which means that the water molecules
inside of the food gets energy and starts to vibrate more and then
the energy gets passed on to neighboring molecules through
conduction and convection which then heats up the food itself.

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 INFRARED
Infrared radiation gets emitted from all objects that have thermal
energy, the amount of radiation depends on how hot the object is,

In 1800, British astronomer William Herschel was measuring

the effect of various colors of light on a thermometer, using a
prism to disperse light from the sun. Upon putting the
thermometer past the red light, he noted an even larger
increase in temperature than when the thermometer was
bathed in visible light. It was obvious that there was "light"
beyond the color red; this light was eventually termed
"infrared" light — literally, "below red" light.

the hotter the object, the more radiation it gives off. Infrared rays
are used in infrared cameras which helps us see in the dark and
spot living organisms as they give off heat by measuring how
much infrared radiation it gives off. Another use is in cooking, we
can heat up metals and it therefore gives off a lot of infrared
radiation which can be used to heat up our food. An example of
this is in a toaster, the bread doesn’t get warmed up but only gets
toasted as infrared radiation doesn’t penetrate the surface of the
object. Infrared rays are only harmful in high quantities, if you put a
living cell in a microwave then the cell would be boiled and
destroyed and if you put ur hand near or into a toaster then it
would probably get burnt.

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 VISIBLE SPECTRUM
The frequency of all visible light ranges from around 4 hertz (Hz) to
7.5*10^14 hertz (750,000,000,000,000). Visible light is what we

Humans have always been aware of visible light and the

ancient Greeks were aware that they travel in a straight line and
thus studied about its properties such as re ection and
refraction.

see daily as colors, red has lowest frequency with the longest
wavelength while violet/purple has the highest frequency with
the shortest wavelength. The order of the colours go in: red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, ivy, violet. Visible light can also be
used for communications using optical bre. Optical bres are thin
glass or plastic that are able to transfers pulses of light over long
distances because the light will be re ected throughout the
journey. We use this to transfer date really quickly through long
distances. The material used has to be completely re ective in
order for it to travel far and also that the re ection is specular
instead of diffuse so that the light isn’t scattered as much. Visible
light can be seen in the order of the colors in a rainbow which is
formed when the sun ray gets refracted through the water
molecules in the air. A similar effect can be created with a glass
prism where the light ray also gets refracted through the glass
molecules.

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 ULTRAVIOLET
Ultraviolet has a shorter wavelength than visible light, it is mainly
known as the UV rays that are shot out from the sun that can give

Ultraviolet light was discovered by Johann Wilhelm Ritter in

1801 when he noticed that invisible light beyond the optical
region of the electromagnetic spectrum darkened silver
chloride. He split sunlight using a prism and then measured
the relative darkening of the chemical as a function of
wavelength. The region just beyond the optical violet region
produced the most darkening, and hence was eventually
christened ‘ultra’violet.

us sun tans or even sun burns. People use them in many things
such as sun beds which is used to give arti cial tans. Ultraviolet
light is absorbed, then re-emitted as visible light, this is called
uorescence which is a certain property of chemicals. uorescent
paint or glow in the dark paints are emitting light rather than
re ecting it so it tends to be much brighter. It is also used in
uorescent light which generates UV radiation, which is absorbed
by a layer of phosphorus which is coated on the inside of the glass
bulb, as the phosphorus gets a lot of energy, it re-emits the energy
as visible light which we use to see. They are comparatively more
energy ef cient than regular bulbs.

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 X-RAY
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating
form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a

Wilhelm Roentgen, Professor of Physics in Wurzburg, Bavaria,

discovered X-rays in 1895—accidentally—while testing whether
cathode rays (A cathode ray is a stream of electrons that are
seen in vacuum tubes) could pass through glass. His cathode
tube was covered in heavy black paper, so he was surprised
when an incandescent green light nevertheless escaped and
projected onto a nearby uorescent screen. Through
experimentation, he found that the mysterious light would pass
through most substances but leave shadows of solid objects.
Because he did not know what the rays were, he called them ‘X,’
meaning ‘unknown,’ rays.

wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers,

corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30
exahertz (30×1015 Hz to 30×1018 Hz). X-ray photons carry enough
energy to ionize atoms and disrupt molecular bonds. This makes it
a type of ionizing radiation, and
therefore harmful to living tissue. A very
high radiation dose over a short period
of time causes radiation sickness, while
lower doses can give an increased risk
of radiation-induced cancer. The
classi cation of x-ray and gamma-ray is
vague as the two shares similar
properties, and therefore the
applications of the two often overlap.
because of their ability to pass through
relatively thick objects without being
First x-ray, performed by Wilhelim
much absorbed or scattered, x-rays (and Roentgen on his wife on November 9, 1895

gamma-rays) are often used in medical

radiography and airport security scanners and is also important in
industrial elds (industrial CT scanning and industrial radiography,
in example).

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 GAMMA-RAY
Gamma radiation sits at the top of the electromagnetic spectrum
with extremely wavelengths varying from 10^-10 to 10^-15 meter.

Paul Villard, a French chemist and physicist, discovered gamma

radiation in 1900 while studying radiation emitted by radium.
In 1903, Ernest Rutherford named this radiation gamma rays
based on their relatively strong penetration of matter.

With frequencies above 30 exahertz (30×1018 Hz), it imparts the

highest photon energy and has extremely high penetrating power,
damaging to bone marrow and internal organs. and therefore
cannot be re ected by a mirror and their wavelengths are so small
that they will pass between the atoms in a detector. Gamma
radiation is often used to kill living organisms, in a process called
irradiation. Applications of this include the sterilization of medical
equipment, the removal of decay-causing bacteria from many
foods and the prevention of the sprouting of fruit and vegetables
to maintain freshness and avor. Despite their cancer-causing
properties, gamma rays are also used to treat some types of
cancer, since the rays also kill cancer cells. In the procedure called
gamma-knife surgery, multiple concentrated beams of gamma rays
are directed to the growth in order to kill the cancerous cells. The
beams are aimed from different angles to concentrate the
radiation on the growth while minimizing damage to surrounding
tissues. Another application for gamma-ray is object screening and
imaging. gamma rays are more energetic and has a shorter
wavelength than x-rays and can therefore penetrate thicker and
denser material such as steel and metal components, making it
favorable when screening large objects like shipping containers
and trucks.

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 SIMILARITIES AND
DIFFERENCES
There are both similarities and differences in all of the types of
waves, they are listed below

SIMILARITIES
•They all carry some sort of information and energy

•They are all transverse waves (oscillates perpendicular to the

direction of energy transfer)

•When traveling in a vacuum they all travel at the same speed of

3*10^8 m/s, or at the speed of light

DIFFERENCES
• They all have different wavelengths and is what de nes their
properties

•The higher the frequency, the more photon energy it carries

(potentially more damaging)

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