COSMOS - The SAO Encyclopedia of Astronomy › E

Electromagnetic Spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) is the general name given to the known range of
electromagnetic radiation. Wavelengths increase from approximately 10-18 m to 100 km, and this
corresponds to frequencies decreasing from 3 × 1026 Hz to 3 ×103 Hz.

The image below shows the names given to different regions of the EMS. Note that the visible part of
the spectrum, the only type of electromagnetic radiation that we can detect with our eyes, makes up
only a tiny fraction of the EMS.

In a vacuum, all electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light: c = 299,792,458 m/s. An energy
( E ) can be associated with each region of the EMS using the equation:

where f is the frequency and h is Planck’s constant which has the value:
The table below lists typical wavelengths, frequencies and energies for different regions of the EMS.

Region Wavelength Frequency Energy

Hard gamma 1 × 10-9 nm 3 × 1026 Hz 1.2 × 1012 eV

Gamma 1 × 10-6 nm 3 × 1023 Hz 1.2 GeV

Gamma/X-ray 0.001 nm 3 × 1019 Hz 12 MeV

X-ray 1 nm 3 × 1017 Hz 120 keV

X-ray/Ultraviolet 10 nm 3 × 1016 Hz 12 keV

Ultraviolet 100 nm 3 × 1015 Hz 1.2 keV

Visible (blue) 400 nm 7.5 × 1014 Hz 3.1 eV

Visible (red) 700 nm 4.3 × 1014 Hz 1.8 eV

Infrared 10000 nm 3 × 1013 Hz 0.12 eV

Microwave 1 cm 30 GHz 1.2 × 10-4 eV

Microwave/Radio 10 cm 3GHz 1.2 × 10-5 eV

Radio 100 m 3 MHz 1.2 × 10-8 eV

Radio 100 km 3 kHz 1.2 × 10-11 eV

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