Electromagnetic Waves

(Lesson 6)
General Physics 2
OUTLINE

❏ Propagation of
Electromagnetic Waves
❏ The Electromagnetic
Spectrum
Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves

As the name implies, oscillating electric and magnetic fields

create electromagnetic waves.

❏ An electromagnetic wave
consists of electric and
magnetic field waves at
right angles to each other.

❏ The wave moves in the

direction perpendicular to
both oscillating waves.

“Transverse Wave”
Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves
In the mid-1800s, Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell created a simple
but sophisticated set of equations to describe the relationship between
electric and magnetic fields.

James Clerk Maxwell

(1831 - 1879)
Maxwell’s Equations
Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves
Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves
❏ Maxwell predicted that light was electromagnetic in nature.
❏ In 1887, a German physicist named Heinrich Hertz generated and
detected electromagnetic waves in his laboratory.

Heinrich Hertz
(1857 - 1894)
Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves

Important Points:
❏ Electric and magnetic forces are aspects of a single force
called the electromagnetic force.

The electromagnetic force obeys the inverse-square law.

Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves

Important Points:
❏ All electromagnetic waves are produced by accelerating
charges. The simplest radiation source is an oscillating
charged particle.
wavelength (m) speed of light (m/s)

frequency (1/s or Hz)

Note: c = 3 x 108 m/s

Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves

Important Points:
❏ Electromagnetic waves transfer energy. The energy
transported by electromagnetic waves is called
electromagnetic radiation.
Planck’s constant:
6.626 x 10-34 Joule-second
Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves

Important Points:
❏ High-energy electromagnetic waves behave like particles.
This notion is called the wave-particle duality of light.

A photon is a particle that carries energy but

has zero mass.

(Energy of a single photon.)

Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves

EXAMPLES:
1. A particular wave of electromagnetic radiation has a
frequency of 1.5 x 1014 Hz. What is the wavelength of this
wave?
2. What would you expect to happen to the frequency of a light
wave if its wavelength were increased by a factor of 10?
3. The wavelength of orange light is about 590−635 nm and the
wavelength of green light is about 520−560 nm. Which color
of light is more energetic, orange or green?
Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves

EXAMPLES:
1. A particular wave of electromagnetic radiation has a
frequency of 1.5 x 1014 Hz. What is the wavelength of this
wave? (2.0 x 10-6 m)
2. What would you expect to happen to the frequency of a light
wave if its wavelength were increased by a factor of 10?
(The frequency will be equal to 1/10 of its initial value.)
3. The wavelength of orange light is about 590−635 nm and the
wavelength of green light is about 520−560 nm. Which color
of light is more energetic, orange or green?
(Green light)
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
All the different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are fundamentally
the same thing. They are all electromagnetic waves.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum

RADIO WAVES
❏ Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the spectrum.
❏ The wavelengths range in size from the diameter of a soccer
ball to the length of a soccer field and beyond.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
The Electromagnetic Spectrum

MICROWAVES
❏ The wavelengths of microwaves range from 30 cm to 1 mm in
length.
❏ Microwaves are used to study the stars, and to heat up your
after-school snack.

Microwave ovens use the

longer-wavelength microwaves to
cook your food quickly.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum

INFRARED
❏ Infrared light lies between the microwave and the visible parts of
the electromagnetic spectrum.
❏ You experience far-infrared radiation every day as heat given off
by anything warm: sunlight, a warm sidewalk, a flame, and even
your own body!
The Electromagnetic Spectrum

VISIBLE LIGHT
The wavelengths that the human eye can see range from about
700 nm (red light) to 400 nm (violet light).

When white light shines through a prism or through water, such as in this
rainbow, you can see the colors of the visible light spectrum.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum

ULTRAVIOLET
Ultraviolet (UV) light has wavelengths that are shorter than
visible light, just beyond the violet.

Ultraviolet waves are the ones

responsible for causing sunburns.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum

X RAYS
❏ X rays have very short wavelengths, about the size of atoms.
❏ The German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen accidentally
discovered X rays.

Roentgen called the phenomenon

X ray to indicate that it was an
unknown type of radiation, and the
name remains in use today.

Wife’s hand
The Electromagnetic Spectrum

GAMMA RAYS
❏ The shortest-wavelength electromagnetic waves are called
gamma rays.
❏ Radioactive atoms and nuclear explosions produce gamma
rays.
❏ Gamma rays can kill living cells and are used in medicine to
destroy cancer cells.