Clem Waves Lesson04 Presentation
Clem Waves Lesson04 Presentation
Clem Waves Lesson04 Presentation
Spectrum
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
The EM spectrum is the ENTIRE range of EM waves in
order of increasing frequency and decreasing wavelength.
As you go from left right, the wavelengths get smaller and the
frequencies get higher. This is an inverse relationship between wave
size and frequency. (As one goes up, the other goes down.) This is because the
speed of ALL EM waves is the speed of light (300,000 km/s).
Things to Remember
The higher the frequency, the more energy the
wave has.
EM waves do not require media in which to travel
or move.
EM waves are considered to be transverse waves
because they are made of vibrating electric and
magnetic fields at right angles to each other, and to
the direction the waves are traveling.
Inverse relationship between wave size and
frequency: as wavelengths get smaller, frequencies
get higher.
The Waves (in order…)
Radio waves: Have the longest wavelengths and
the lowest frequencies; wavelengths range
from 1000s of meters to .001 m
Used in: RADAR, cooking food, satellite
transmissions
Infrared waves (heat): Have a shorter wavelength,
from .001 m to 700 nm, and therefore, a higher
frequency.
Used for finding people in the dark and in TV
remote control devices
Visible light: Wavelengths range from 700 nm (red
light) to 30 nm (violet light) with frequencies higher
than infrared waves.
These are the waves in the
EM spectrum that humans
can see.
Visible light waves are a very
small part of the EM spectrum!
Visible Light
Remembering the Order
ROY G. BV
red
orange
yellow
green
blue
violet
Ultraviolet Light: Wavelengths range from 400 nm to
10 nm; the frequency (and therefore the energy) is
high enough with UV rays to penetrate living cells
and cause them damage.
This picture is a
“scintigram”
It shows an asthmatic
person’s lungs.
NASA http://science-
edu.larc.nasa.gov/EDDOCS/Wavelengths_for_Colors.html
NASA http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/blue-sky/
NASA http://missionscience.nasa.gov/ems/11_xrays.html