Through the Spectrum of Electromagnetics

Another story from my Physics life. Since we are now studying waves I must understand the different types of waves in the, ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM? What is that, well I didn't know until I did a little research.

The EM spectrum is the space in which all of the waves that people use travel through. Like gamma rays, X-Rays, Ultraviolet rays, Infrared rays, Microwaves, and Radio waves, ordered from smallest to largest. We use all of these waves every day, from doctors using X-Rays, to regular people popping popcorn.  All of these waves could take hours to explain, so I will focus on two; X-Rays and Radio Waves.

X-Rays are mainly know in the use of them by doctors to discover broken bones and problems inside of a patient.  X-Rays have a frequency of 5E15 Hz and a wavelength of 8E-8 m.  X-Rays are above the frequency of visible light, which makes them impossible to see.  X-Rays occur naturally mainly in outer space.  The X-Ray machines that doctors use send X-Rays into ones body and create a shadow over something that it cannot pass through, such as a bone.  Overexposure to X-Rays can cause serious damage to the cells of the body, because of this doctors use lead to protect the body from overexposure.  Supernovas and black holes also emit X-Rays, and are discovered by NASA in using X-Ray visualizing satellites.  The difference is that medical X-Rays do not occur naturally and are man made.

Radio waves are used by being sent from a transmitter to a reciever. Radio waves are the most used out of any of the waves in the EM spectrum.  They have a low frequency of about 6E2 Hz and a large wavelength of anywhere from 3 to 300 meters.  Radio waves have too low of a frequency to be seen.  Every time someone uses a phone, turns on the radio, or watches TV, they are using radio waves by sending a signal to and from a transmitter and reciever.  Radio waves are also used in the ocean and the air to communicate between crafts to prevent crashes.  Radio waves are mainly used for communication, listening to your favorite music, and watching your favorite show.  They are also used in militaristic ways, for detecting enemy ships and planes, to simple leisurely ways, like popping popcorn.

There you have it.  That is my in depth look into the WWES (Wide World of the Electromagnetic Spectrum). 

Attributions:

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html

https://www.whitbypandemonium.co.uk/images/XRay-Cat-Patch.jpg
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/interact/electromagneticspectrum.html
http://collegehilloh.net/enewsletterarchive/images/graphics/radio%20interference.jpg