Here droplets of water act in the same way as a prism, making the light split into its component waves. The regular white light projects an image of colors in the same sequence as they appear in the rainbow.Ī rainbow is formed similarly. This is possible because the wavelengths for each color are different, and when light bends inside the prism, it comes out at different angles, depending on this wavelength. One can split the visible light into its components by using a prism. The shortest wavelength for visible light is 380 nanometers for violet light, and the spectrum continues to indigo and blue, then to green and yellow, orange, and finally - red. Wavelength determines the light’s color, as described below. Light is an electromagnetic wave, and as such has frequency and wavelength. Electromagnetic waves always move at the same speed in a vacuum, known as the speed of light. When the frequency is multiplied by the wavelength, it yields the speed of the wave. This makes sense, because if the wave oscillates a lot (its frequency is high), there have to be more peaks per a given time period, and thus the time between the waves must be shorter. This means that as the wavelength increases, the frequency decreases, and conversely, the lower the wavelength - the higher the frequency. Wavelength and frequency are inversely proportional. This oscilloscope, which measures the voltage of the wall electrical outlet, shows a frequency of 59.7 hertz and a period of approximately 117 milliseconds Relationship Between Wavelength and Frequency Some telescopes are sent above the atmosphere and into space, to allow for better infrared radiation detection. The higher the altitude, the more infrared light can be found, thus many observatories that use infrared devices are built as high as possible, for example, in mountains. They employ it in space observation when using infrared telescopes. On the other hand, the infrared light that passes through the atmosphere is useful to astronomers. The UV light that does get through to the surface of the Earth causes skin damage (sunburns and skin cancer). This is why at high elevations, for example in the higher atmospheric layers or above the Earth’s atmosphere, exposure to harmful radiation is much higher than on the Earth’s surface. The rest of the radiation passes through the atmosphere. Some of the electromagnetic radiation, in particular short-wave radiation, is reflected from the Earth’s ionosphere. More specifically, they are absorbed by the atmosphere. Most of the gamma rays, x-rays, and ultraviolet light, as well as some infrared and some radio waves with long wavelengths, are blocked. The atmosphere of the Earth allows only some electromagnetic radiation to pass through. The atmosphere is transparent for microwaves in the C-band (frequency range 4 to 8 GHz or wavelength 7.5 to 3.75 cm), which is used for satellite communication Electromagnetic Radiation and Atmosphere Some of the cosmic electromagnetic radiation with high frequency is blocked by the ozone layer, but it is still present in the environment. In particular, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma radiation are especially harmful. This is because the higher the frequency, the more energy the photons have and the more they can force the particles to change the molecular composition of tissue and other matter. The higher the frequencies (and the smaller the wavelength), the more damage the photos can inflict on the cells of living organisms. They are more active at higher frequencies. The particles that carry electromagnetic energy are called photons. Its wave component is a composite wave, consisting of the magnetic and the electric waves, which oscillate in space perpendicular to each other. Electromagnetic RadiationĮlectromagnetic radiation is the energy that has the properties of both waves and particles, known as wave-particle duality. This article mainly focuses on electromagnetic radiation and light in particular, and we will mainly consider the spectrum from UV light to infrared light. Finally, radio waves cover wavelengths of 1 meter and up.Microwave radiation follows, at 1 millimeter to 1 meter.
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