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The Electromagnetic Spectrum of Radiation

The EM spectrum explained.
Bandwidths, wavelenghts, frequencies. Measuring units. Use in analytical spectroscopy. Commercial and wireless
applications.

The EM spectrum of Radiation Bands, Wavelenghts and Frequencies

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The EM spectrum explained
Waves of increasing frequency
Bands of the electromagnetic spectrum
The EM spectrum and analytical spectroscopy
The EM spectrum in radio and wireless technology

The Electromagnetic Spectrum of Radiation

All of these waves are electric and magnetic forces - forces which vary with time in direction and intensity. All have
speed 186,000 miles per second = c = speed of light ! They move through vacuum,and do not need a ' carrier'. Speed
1

decreases after entering materials.

Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Other forms of electromagnetic radiation include radio waves,
microwaves, infrared radiation, ultraviolet rays, X-rays, and gamma rays. All of these, known collectively
as the electromagnetic spectrum, are fundamentally similar in that they move at 186,000 miles per
second, (299,792 km/sec) the speed of light. The only difference between them is their wavelength, which
is directly related to the amount of energy the waves carry. The shorter the wavelength of the radiation,
the higher the energy.
The rainbow of colors that we see in visible light represents only a very small portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum. On one end of the spectrum are radio waves with wavelengths billions of times
longer than those of visible light. On the other end of the spectrum are gamma rays. These have
wavelengths millions of times smaller than those of visible light. The following are the basic categories of
the electromagnetic spectrum, from longest to shortest wavelength:
Radio waves are used to transmit radio and television signals. Radio waves have wavelengths that range
from less than a centimeter to tens or even hundreds of meters. FM radio waves are shorter than AM
radio waves. For example, an FM radio station at 100 on the radio dial (100 megahertz) would have a
wavelength of about three meters. An AM station at 750 on the dial (750 kilohertz) uses a wavelength of
about 400 meters. Radio waves can also be used to create images. Radio waves with wavelengths of a
few centimeters can be transmitted from a satellite or airplane antenna. The reflected waves can be used
to form an image of the ground in complete darkness or through clouds.
Microwave wavelengths range from approximately one millimeter (the thickness of a pencil lead) to thirty
centimeters (about twelve inches). In a microwave oven, the radio waves generated are tuned to
frequencies that can be absorbed by the food. The food absorbs the energy and gets warmer. The dish
holding the food doesn't absorb a significant amount of energy and stays much cooler. Microwaves are
emitted from the Earth, from objects such as cars and planes, and from the atmosphere. These
microwaves can be detected to give information, such as the temperature of the object that emitted the
microwaves
Infrared is the region of the electromagnetic spectrum that extends from the visible region to about one
millimeter (in wavelength). Infrared waves include thermal radiation. For example, burning charcoal may
not give off light, but it does emit infrared radiation which is felt as heat. Infrared radiation can be
measured using electronic detectors and has applications in medicine and in finding heat leaks from
houses. Infrared images obtained by sensors in satellites and airplanes can yield important information on
the health of crops and can help us see forest fires even when they are enveloped in an opaque curtain of

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smoke.
Visible light. The rainbow of colors we know as visible light is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum
with wavelengths between 400 and 700 billionths of a meter (400 to 700 nanometers). It is the part of the
electromagnetic spectrum that we see, and coincides with the wavelength of greatest intensity of sunlight.
Visible waves have great utility for the remote sensing of vegetation and for the identification of different
objects by their visible colors.
Ultraviolet radiation has a range of wavelengths from 400 billionths of a meter to about 10 billionths of a
meter. Sunlight contains ultraviolet waves which can burn your skin. Most of these are blocked by ozone
in the Earth's upper atmosphere. A small dose of ultraviolet radiation is beneficial to humans, but larger
doses cause skin cancer and cataracts. Ultraviolet wavelengths are used extensively in astronomical
observatories. Some remote sensing observations of the Earth are also concerned with the measurement
of ozone.
X-rays are high energy waves which have great penetrating power and are used extensively in medical
applications and in inspecting welds. X-ray images of our Sun can yield important clues to solar flares and
other changes on our Sun that can affect space weather. The wavelength range is from about ten
billionths of a meter to about 10 trillionths of a meter.
Gamma rays have wavelengths of less than about ten trillionths of a meter. They are more penetrating
than X-rays. Gamma rays are generated by radioactive atoms and in nuclear explosions, and are used in
many medical applications. Images of our universe taken in gamma rays have yielded important
information on the life and death of stars, and other violent processes in the universe.
Cosmic Rays. Despite their name, cosmic rays are not a part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Instead of
radiation, cosmic rays are high-energy charged particles that travel through space at nearly the speed of
light. Their extremely high energies are comparable to those of gamma rays at the upper end of the
electromagnetic spectrum. The highest-energy cosmic rays originate outside our galaxy and provide
information on distant objects such as quasars. Cosmic rays are detected when they hit the upper
atmosphere, creating showers of particles in their interaction with atoms. These secondary particles can
then be detected by instruments on the ground.

The Electromagnetic Waves

ELF WAVES

Frequency is 60 Hz, as their sources are any alternating current, especially strong near
high voltage transmission lines .

AM frequency given by stations: 550 1600 kHz (= 1.6 MHz)

RADIOWAVES FM frequency given by stations: 88 108 MHz
AM = amplitude modulated , FM = frequency modulated
TV WAVES

TV stations use higher Fr waves to get better resolution = reception. 54 806 MHz ,
many channels

CELLULAR PHONE WAVES: frequency 880 MHz =0.88 GHz , 'cell ' is the area
covered by the antenna of( receiving or sending) company - therefore 'hand-off'.
MICROWAVE OVEN heat water ( in food ) ; 2.45 GHz = 2,450 MHz
MICROWAVES
RADAR: used ( in conjunction with the Doppler Effect ) in speed traps by police, in
missiles to find airplanes, tanks, etc.; used by airports to guide airplanes, most 1 100
GHz ( G = giga )
INFRARED

Just below visible red, also called heat radiation . With special cameras used to find heat
losses from houses; by army to detect heat radiation from engines, people.

VISIBLE
LIGHT

RED, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, VIOLET - no white or black !!! White is the sensation for
our brain when primary colors ( red, blue and green) fall onto the retina at the same time .
Black is the absence of any light .

ULTRAVIOLET

ALPHA- UV is energetic enough to cuase chemical reaction BETA UV causes damage to

cell structure (tanning) and can cause genetic damage to cell DNA => possible cancer .

X-RAYS

SOFT - X rays = lower Fr range; used for taking x-ray pictures.

HARD - X - rays = higher Fr range; used in cancer treatments to kill cancer cells.

Frequency range overlaps with hard X-rays. Gamma rays originate though in the nucleus
GAMMA RAYS of atoms, not by electron jumps between energy levels as frequencies higher than
infraded do .
COSMIC
RAYS

Very high frequency, comes from sun, outer space = universe to us.

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EM Spectrum and Analytical Spectroscopy

Radiation
Type

Radiation
Source

FrequencyRange
(Hz)

Wavelength
Range

Type of
Transitions

gamma rays

10

20

- 1024

<10-12 m

nuclear

X-rays

10

17

- 1020

1nm - 1 pm

inner electron

ultraviolet

deuterium lamp

1015 - 1017

400 nm - 1 nm

visible

Tungsten lamp

4 - 7.5 x 1014

750 nm - 400 nm

near-infrared

Tungsten, dye
laser

14

1 x 10

- 4 x 1014

2500 nm - 750 nm
(2.5 um - 750 nm)

outer electron.
Electronic
transitions,
vibrational fine
structure
outer electron
molecular vibrations.
Vibrational
transitions,
rotational fine
structure

1013 - 1014

outer electron,
molecular vibrations.
250,000 - 2,500 nm Vibrational
(25um - 2.5 um)
transitions,
rotational fine
structure

microwaves

3 x 1011 - 1013

250,000 1,000,000,000 nm
(1 mm - 25 um)

molecular
rotations,electron
spin flips*,
Rotational
transitions

radio waves

<3 x 10

>1 mm

nuclear spin flips*

nerst glower,
globar, Xe,Ar,
discharge lamp

infrared

11

* energy levels split by a magnetic field.

The Bands of the Electromegnetic Spectrum

Band

Wavelength

Frequency

MF medium frequency

300-3000 kHz

HF high frequency

3-30 MHz

Radio
FM
ShortWave

20 cm - 20 m
2.5-3.5 m
20 cm - 2.5 m

15 MHz - 1.5 GHz

85-120 MHz
120 MHz - 1.5 GHz

Microwave

0.01-20 cm

1.5-3000 GHz

EHF extremely high frequency

30-300 GHz

Far Infrared

20,000-100,000 nm

3000-15000 GHz

Near Infrared

700-20,000 nm

15000-430,000 GHz

Visible
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Violet

400-700 nm
620-760 nm
570-620 nm
550-570 nm
470-550 nm
440-470 nm
380-440 nm

430,000-750,000 GHz

Ultraviolet

50-190-400 nm

1015 - 1017 Hz

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Soft XRay

1-20 nm

Hard XRay

0.1-1 nm

Gamma ray

0.1 - 0.000001 nm

1017 - 1020 Hz

Highest 1020 - 1024 Hz

EM Specrtum used in Broadcasting and Wirelass

Some common frequency bands
AM radio

535 kilohertz to 1.7 megahertz

Short wave radio

5.9 megahertz to 26.1 megahertz

Citizens band (CB) radio

26.96 megahertz to 27.41 megahertz

Television stations, channels 2 through 6

54 to 88megahertz

FM radio

88 megahertz to 108 megahertz

Television stations, channels 7 through 13

174 to 220 megahertz

Some Wireless Technology Bands

Garage door openers, alarm systems

Around 40 megahertz

Standard cordless phones

40 to 50 megahertz

Baby monitors

49 megahertz

Radio controlled airplains

Around 72 megahertz

Radio controlled cars (different from above)

Around 75 megahertz

Wildlife tracking collars

215 to 220 megahertz

MIR space station

145 to 437 megahertz

Cell phones

824 to 849 megahertz

New 900 MHz cordless phones

Around 900 megahertz (obviously)z

Air traffic control radar

960 to 1,215 megahertz

Global Positioning System

1,227 and 1,575 megahertz

Deep space radio communications

2,290 megahertz to 2,300 megahertz

1. Reference: http://howstuffworks.com
(a) Nature of EM radiation (S.H. Neaves, M. W. Davidson)
(b) The Radio Spectrum (Marshall Brain)

delloyd.50megs.com

Signature: Dhanlal De Lloyd, Chem. Dept, The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine campus
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Copyright: delloyd2000 All rights reserved.

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