Lecture 11: Electromagnetic spectrum

I/ Read carefully and answer these following questions .

A radio signal is simply a carrier: the process of adding information—that is, complex sounds such as
those of speech or music—is called modulation. The first type of modulation developed was AM which
Canadian-American physicist Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932) demonstrated with the first United States
radio broadcast in 1906. Amplitude modulation varies the instantaneous amplitude of the radio wave, a function
of the radio station’s power, as a means of transmitting information
Throughout this era—indeed, for more than a half-century from the end of the first World War to the
height of the Vietnam Conflict in the mid-1960s—AM held a dominant position in radio. This remained the case
despite a number of limitations inherent in amplitude modulation: AM broadcasts flickered with popping noises
from lightning, for instance, and cars with AM radios tended to lose their signal when going under a bridge. Yet,
another mode of radio transmission was developed in the 1930s, thanks to American inventor and electrical
engineer Edwin H. Armstrong (1890-1954). This was FM, or frequency modulation, which varied the radio
signal’s frequency rather than its amplitude.
AM signals have much longer wavelengths, and smaller frequencies, than do FM signals, and this, in
turn, affects the means by which AM signals are propagated. There are, of course, much longer radio
wavelengths; hence, AM signals are described as intermediate in wavelength. These intermediate wavelength
signals reflect off highly charged layers in the ionosphere between 25 and 200 mi (40-332 km) above Earth’s
surface. Short-wavelength signals, such as those of FM, on the other hand, follow a straight-line path. As a
result, AM broadcasts extend much farther than FM, particularly at night.
At a low level in the ionosphere is the D layer, created by the Sun when it is high in the sky. The D layer
absorbs medium-wavelength signals during the day, and for this reason, AM signals do not travel far during
daytime hours. After the Sun goes down, however, the D layer soon fades, and this makes it possible for AM
signals to reflect off a much higher layer of the ionosphere known as the F layer. (This is also sometimes known
as the Heaviside layer, or the Kennelly- Heaviside layer, after English physicist Oliver Heaviside and British-
American electrical engineer Arthur Edwin Kennelly, who independently discovered the ionosphere in 1902.)
AM signals “bounce” off the F layer as though it were a mirror, making it possible for a listener at night to pick
up a signal from halfway across the country.
The Sun has other effects on long-wave and intermediate-wave radio transmissions. Sunspots, or dark
areas that appear on the Sun in cycles of about 11 years, can result in a heavier buildup of the ionosphere than
normal, thus impeding radio-signal propagation. In addition, occasional bombardment of Earth by charged
particles from the Sun can also disrupt transmissions. Due to the high frequencies of FM signals, these do not
reflect off the ionosphere; instead, they are received as direct waves. For this reason, an FM station has a fairly
short broadcast range, and this varies little with regard to day or night. The limited range of FM stations as
compared to AM means that there is much less interference on the FM dial than for AM.

1/ What do AM and FM stand for?

2/ List the disadvantages of AM.

3/ Which ones, AM or FM signals, have larger frequencies?

4/ Why do AM broadcasts extend much farther than FM?

5/ Why don't AM signals travel far during the daytime hours?

6) Why does a FM station has a fairly short broadcast range?

II/ Fill in each of the gaps to complete the passage. Each word is used once.

For centuries, electricity and magnetism seemed (1)………...forces. In the 1800s, however (2)………
showed many connections between these two (3)………… In 1864 British physicist James Clerk Maxwell
drew together the (4)……………. of many physicists to show that electricity and magnetism are (5)
……………….. different aspects of the (6)…………… electromagnetic force. This force causes (7)
…………….. with similar electric charges to repel one another and particles with opposite charges to (8)
………. one another. Maxwell also showed that (9)………. is traveling form of electromagnetic energy. The
founders of (10)……….. mechanics tool Maxwell 's work one step further. In 1925, German-British
physicist Max Born, and German physicists Ernst Pascal Jordan and Werner Heisenberg showed (11)
……………. that packets of light energy, later called (12)…………, are emitted and (13) ……………..
when charged particles attract or repel each other through the electromagnetic force.

(Distinct light, because, attract, photons, experiments, protons, the, electromotive, work, same,
nevertheless, particles, forces, quantum, mathematically, actually, absorbed, experiences )

III/ Matching each of the words/phrases from column I with its definition from column II

Column I Column II
1. to observe a. precise
2. flame b. to tell the difference
3. sample c. a large amount of something in a small area
4. pattern d. a long and pointed stream of burning gas
5. accurate e. to recognize
6. to identify f. to discover
7. specific g. a small amount of a substance scientifically examined and
analyzed
8. to determine h. a particular way for something to be done or to occur
9. to distinguish I. to watch carefully
10. concentration k. particular

1. transparent a) a dark image or shape cast on a surface by the interception of light rays by an
opaque body
2. appear b) possession of the qualities required to do something; necessary skill,
competence, or power
3. shadow c) permitting the uninterrupted passage of light; clear
4. luminous d) the exterior face of an object or one such face
5. ability e) to turn or cause to turn from a particular direction
6. worms f) to happen; take place; come about
7. bend g) not transmitting light; not transparent or translucent, not reflecting light;
lacking lustre or shine; dull
8. beam h) any of various invertebrates, esp the annelids having a slender elongated body
9. opaque i) to emit or reflect or cause to emit or reflect light suddenly or intermittently
(flash) the central, innermost, or most essential part of something
10. appear j) a ray or column of light, as from a beacon
11. outer surface k) to seem or look
12. occur l) a small piece; fragment

IV/ Choose the most appropriate word or phrase and fill in the blanks

Those early microwave ovens had none of varied power settings to which modern users of the
microwave—found today in (1)…..…... of all American homes—are accustomed. In the first microwaves,
the only settings were “on” and “off,” because there were only two possible (2)………….: either the
magnetron would produce, or not produce, microwaves. Today, it is possible to use a microwave for almost
anything that involves the heating of food that (3)………….. water—from defrosting a steak to popping
popcorn.
As noted much earlier, in the general discussion of electromagnetic radiation, there are three (4)
……….. types of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation. Without going into too much detail
here, conduction generally involves (5)………….. between molecules in a solid; convection takes place in a
fluid (a gas such as air or a liquid such as water); and radiation, of course, requires no medium.
A conventional oven cooks through convection, though conduction also (6) ..…….. heat from the
(7)…………. layers of a solid (for example, a turkey) to the interior. A microwave, on the other hand, uses
(8)…………….. to heat the outer layers of the food; then conduction, as with a conventional oven, does the
rest. The difference is that the microwave heats only the food—or, more specifically, the (9)………., which
then transfers heat throughout the item being (10)……….—and not the dish or plate. Thus, many materials,
as long as they do not contain water, can be placed in a microwave oven (11)...……. being melted or
burned. Metal, though it contains no water, is unsafe because the microwaves (12)………. off the metal
surfaces, creating a microwave buildup that can produce sparks and damage the oven.

Radiation, bounce, heated, adjustments, carries, contains, outer, without, water, two-thirds, heat
transfer, basic

Some sea organisms can make their own .....(1).... This ability is called ......(2)..., which means making light
biologically. Transparent polychaete worms such as this one make yellow light inside their ......(3).... In their
dark seawater .....(4)......, they can glow or flash to scare off predators. Other bioluminescent sea ....(5)......
include shrimps, squid, and ......(6)..…

habitat, light, starfish, bodies, creatures, bioluminescence