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The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Further Research
The electromagnetic spectrum is the complete range of electromagnetic radiation. Within it energy is transferred as a wave form.
For convenience the spectrum is divided into:
GAMMA RAYS
X-RAYS
ULTRAVIOLET
VISIBLE LIGHT
INFRARED
RADIO WAVES
Electromagnetic waves
Energy propagated in an electromagnetic field is transferred as a wave form. Electromagnetic waves have the following properties:
- They are transverse waves
- They can be reflected, refracted and diffracted
- They require no supporting medium and can travel through empty space
- They travel at 300,000 m/s in a vacuum
- Their wavelength varies in the range 10-13m and 10-5m
- Since WAVE SPEED = WAVELENGTH x WAVE FREQUENCY this means that wave frequency also varies inversely with the wavelength.
- The energy transferred is directly proportional to the frequency (or inversely proportional to the wavelength)
- Waves of the shortest wavelength have the highest energies
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