Radio waves

Are the lowest-frequency waves in the EM spectrum. Radio waves can be used to carry
other signals to receivers that subsequently translate these signals into usable
information. Many objects, both natural and man-made, emit radio waves. Anything
that emits heat emits radiation across the entire spectrum, but in different amounts.
Stars, planets and other cosmic bodies emit radio waves. Radio and television stations
and cellphone companies all produce radio waves that carry signals to be received by
the antennae in your television, radio or cellphone.
Are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic
spectrum longer than infrared light. Radio waveshave frequencies from 300 GHz to as
low as 3 kHz, and corresponding wavelengths ranging from 1 millimeter (0.039 in) to
100 kilometers (62 mi).
Radio waves are made by various types of transmitter, depending on the
wavelength. They are also given off by stars, sparks and lightning, which is why you
hear interference on your radio in a thunderstorm .

Microwaves

Microwaves are the second-lowest frequency waves in the EM spectrum. Whereas radio waves can
be up to a mile in length, microwaves measure from a few centimeters up to a foot. Due to their
higher frequency, microwaves can carry information through obstacles that interfere with radio
waves such as clouds, smoke and rain. Microwaves are used for radar, landline phone calls and the
transmission of computer data. Microwave remnants of the "Big Bang" radiate from all directions

throughout the universe.

Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from as long as one
meter to as short as one millimeter; withfrequencies between 300 MHz (100 cm) and 300 GHz
(0.1 cm).[1][2] This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF (millimeter waves), and various
sources use different boundaries. In all cases, microwave includes the entire SHF band (3 to 30 GHz,
or 10 to 1 cm) at minimum, withRF engineering often restricting the range between 1 and 100 GHz

(300 and 3 mm).

Microwaves are a type of electromagnetic radiation, as are radio waves, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays
and gamma-rays. Microwaves have a range of applications, including communications, radar and,
perhaps best known by most people, cooking. Microwaves have frequencies ranging from about 3

billion cycles per second, or 3 gigahertz (GHz), up to about 30 trillion hertz (terahertz or THz) and
wavelengths of about 30 centimeters (12 inches) to 3 millimeters (0.12 inches), although these
values are not definitive. This region is further divided into a number of bands, designated as L, S,
C, X and K.

Infrared Waves

Infrared waves are in the lower-middle range of frequencies in the EM spectrum, between
microwaves and visible light. The size of infrared waves ranges from a few millimeters down to
microscopic lengths. The longer-wavelength infrared waves produce heat and include radiation

emitted by fire, the sun and other heat-producing objects; shorter-wavelength infrared rays do not
produce much heat and are used in remote controls and imaging technologies.
Infrared radiation is a type of electromagneticradiation, as are radio waves,
ultravioletradiation, X-rays and microwaves. Infrared(IR) light is the part of the EM spectrum that
people encounter most in everyday life, although much of it goes unnoticed. It is invisible to human
eyes, but people can feel it as heat.Mar 26, 2015

Infrared light lies between the visible and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Infrared
light has a range of wavelengths, just like visible light has wavelengths that range from red light to violet.
"Near infrared" light is closest in wavelength to visible light and "far infrared" is closer to the microwave
region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The longer, far infrared wavelengths are about the size of a pin
head and the shorter, near infrared ones are the size of cells, or are microscopic

Visible Light Rays

Visible light waves are radiation that you can see with your naked eye. The different frequencies of
visible light are experienced by people as the colors of the rainbow. The frequencies move from the
lower wavelengths, detected as reds, up to the higher visible wavelengths, detected as violet hues.
The most noticeable natural source of visible light is, of course, the sun. Objects are perceived as
different colors based on which wavelengths of light an object absorbs and which it reflects.

Visible light waves are the only electromagnetic waves we can see. We see these waves as the
colors of the rainbow. Each color has a different wavelength. Red has the longest wavelength and
violet has the shortest wavelength. When all the waves are seen together, they make white
light.When white light shines through a prism, the white light is broken apart into the colors of the
visible light spectrum. Water vapor in the atmosphere can also break apart wavelengths creating a
rainbow.

Visible light is a form of electromagnetic (EM) radiation, as are radio waves, infrared radiation,
ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and microwaves. Generally, visible light is defined as the wavelengths
that are visible to most human eyes.EM radiation is transmitted in waves or particles at different
wavelengths and frequencies. This broad range of wavelengths is known as the electromagnetic
spectrum. That spectrum is typically divided into seven regions in order of decreasing wavelength
and increasing energy and frequency. The common designations are radio waves, microwaves,
infrared (IR), visible light, ultraviolet (UV), X-rays and gamma-rays. Visible light falls in the range of
the EM spectrum between infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV). It has frequencies of about 4 10 14 to 8
1014 cycles per second, or hertz (Hz) and wavelengths of about 740 nanometers (nm) or 2.9
105 inches, to 380 nm (1.5 105 inches).

Ultraviolet Waves

Ultraviolet waves have even shorter wavelengths than visible light. UV waves are the cause of
sunburn and can cause cancer in living organisms. High-temperature processes emit UV rays; these

can be detected throughout the universe from every star in the sky. Detecting UV waves assists
astronomers, for example, in learning about the structure of galaxies.
Ultraviolet (UV) light is an electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength from 400 nm to 100 nm,
shorter than that ofvisible light but longer than X-rays. Though usually invisible, under some
conditions children and young adults can see ultraviolet down to wavelengths of about 310 nm,[1]
[2]
and people with aphakia (missing lens) can also see some UV wavelengths. Near-UV is visible to a
number of insects and birds.

Ultraviolet radiation (also known as UV radiation or ultraviolet rays) is a form of energy traveling
through space.Some of the most frequently recognized types of energy are heat and light. These,
along with others, can be classified as a phenomenon known as electromagnetic radiation.
Other types of electromagnetic radiation are gamma rays, X-rays, visible light, infrared rays, and
radio waves. The progression of electromagnetic radiation through space can be visualized in
different ways. Some experiments suggest that these rays travel in the form of waves. A physicist
can actually measure the length of those waves (simply called their wavelength ). It turns out that
a smaller wavelength means more energy. At other times, it is more plausible to describe
electromagnetic radiation as being contained and traveling in little packets, called photons.

X-ray Waves

X-rays are extremely high-energy waves with wavelengths between 0.03 and 3 nanometers -- not
much longer than an atom. X-rays are emitted by sources producing very high temperatures like
the sun's corona, which is much hotter than the surface of the sun. Natural sources of x-rays
include enormously energetic cosmic phenomena such as pulsars, supernovae and black holes. Xrays are commonly used in imaging technology to view bone structures within the body.

As the wavelengths of light decrease, they increase in energy. X-rays have smaller wavelengths and
therefore higher energy than ultraviolet waves. We usually talk about X-rays in terms of their
energy rather than wavelength. This is partially because X-rays have very small wavelengths. It is
also because X-ray light tends to act more like a particle than a wave. X-ray detectors collect actual
photons of X-ray light - which is very different from the radio telescopes that have large dishes
designed to focus radio waves!X-rays were first observed and documented in 1895 by Wilhelm
Conrad Roentgen, a German scientist who found them quite by accident when experimenting with
vacuum tubes.

Radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have

a wavelengthranging from 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range
30 petahertz to 30 exahertz(31016 Hz to 31019 Hz) and energies in the range 100 eV to 100 keV.
X-ray wavelengths are shorter than those of UV rays and typically longer than those of gamma rays.
In many languages, X-radiation is referred to with terms meaning Rntgen radiation,
after Wilhelm Rntgen,[1] who is usually credited as its discoverer, and who had named it Xradiation to signify an unknown type of radiation.[2] Spelling of X-ray(s) in the English language
includes the variants x-ray(s), xray(s) and X ray(s).[3]

Gamma Rays

Gamma waves are the highest-frequency EM waves, and are emitted by only the most energetic
cosmic objects such pulsars, neutron stars, supernova and black holes. Terrestrial sources include
lightning, nuclear explosions and radioactive decay. Gamma wave wavelengths are measured on
the subatomic level and can actually pass through the empty space within an atom. Gamma rays
can destroy living cells; fortunately, the Earth's atmosphere absorbs any gamma rays that reach

the planet
Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays, and denoted by the Greek letter , refers
to electromagnetic radiation of an extremely high frequency and therefore consists of high-

energy photons. Gamma rays are ionizing radiation, and are thus biologically hazardous. They are
classically produced by the decay of atomic nuclei as they transition from a high energy state to a
lower state known asgamma decay, but may also be produced by other processes. Paul Villard, a
French chemist and physicist, discovered gamma radiation in 1900, while studying radiation
emitted from radium. Villard's radiation was named "gamma rays" by Ernest Rutherford in 1903.

Gamma-rays have the smallest wavelengths and the most energy of any other wave in the
electromagnetic spectrum. These waves are generated by radioactive atoms and in nuclear
explosions. Gamma-rays can kill living cells, a fact which medicine uses to its advantage, using
gamma-rays to kill cancerous cells.Gamma-rays travel to us across vast distances of the universe,
only to be absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere. Different wavelengths of light penetrate the Earth's
atmosphere to different depths. Instruments aboard high-altitude balloons and satellites like the
Compton Observatory provide our only view of the gamma-ray sky

7 Types of Electromagnetic
Waves