The Electromagnetic Spectrum Flashcards
Why is the EM spectrum continuous?
All 7 types of EM waves merge together.
What is the electromagnetic spectrum?
The entire frequency range if electromagnetic waves.
Name all 7 types of EM wave in order.
Radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x rays, gamma rays.
What wave has the longest wave length and lowest frequency?
Radio waves
What wave has the shortest wave length and highest frequency?
Gamma rays
What do EM waves do?
Transfer energy from place to place.
Why are all EM waves transverse?
EM vibrations are at right angles to the direction in which the energy is being transferred by the wave.
Why can’t sound waves travel through space?
Sound waves need particles to vibrate in order to transfer energy. Sound cannot travel through space because there are no particles.
Why can EM waves travel through space?
They can travel without any particles to vibrate.
At what speed do all EM waves travel through a vacuum?
At the same speed of 300,000,000 metres per second.
What do the properties of EM waves depend on?
Frequency
The shorter the wavelength, the ….
Higher the frequency
What does the colour of visible light depend on?
It’s wavelength
What happens when the wavelength of a light wave is longer than that of red light?
Humans cannot see it. Eg infrared, microwaves and radio waves.
As the frequency of EM waves change …
It’s interactions with matter changes too: the way a wave is absorbed, reflected or transmitted by any substance depends on it’s frequency.
