An Elementary Introduction to

Electromagnetic Waves
Professor K.W. Chow
Mechanical Engineering HKU
Electromagnetic (EM) Waves Spectrum

In general moving electric fields generate

magnetic fields and vice versa. James
Maxwell (1831-1879) formulated an elegant
theory for such fields and the governing
principles are generally known as the
Maxwell’s equations.
All electromagnetic waves in vacuum travel at
the same speed of 300,000,000 meter per
second.
Electromagnetic waves
The electric and magnetic fields are
perpendicular to the direction of wave
propagation.
Many waves known to us and employed in daily lives
are electromagnetic waves, e.g.

(1) Radio waves – wavelengths of the range 1m to

1,000m (meters).
Employed in the transmission of signals for radios and
televisions, e.g. Jade Channel of TVB uses signals in
the range of
470 MHz (470 Mega Hertz)
= 470,000,000 cycles per second. With a speed of
300,000,000 meter per second, that means a
wavelength of about 0.6 meter.
(2) Microwaves – wavelengths of the range
0.0001m to 0.1m.

They are used in communications (certain radios

and televisions) but the most familiar form is
probably the microwave oven. The oscillating
electric field causes the water molecules to vibrate
in resonance, thus heating the food. The utensils /
containers do not get hot because they do not
contain water molecules.
(3) Infrared – wavelengths of the range 0.000001m
to 0.0001m.

Warm human bodies and machines emit thermal

radiation waves which are usually in the infrared
regimes. This fact is used for military purposes for
actions in night times.

For peaceful applications, they can be used to

detect ‘hot spots’ like fever in the human body (at
airports), remote fire detection in large forests,
tracking cloud movements, and design of burglar
alarms.
(4) Visible light – wavelengths of the range
0.0000004m to 0.0000007m.

(5) Ultraviolet – wavelengths of the range

0.000000001m to 0.00000001m.

(6) X-rays – wavelengths of the range

0.00000000001m to 0.000000001m.

(7) Gamma rays – Cosmic radiation, of

even shorter wavelengths.
(5) Ultraviolet waves – Ultraviolet waves from the
sun can cause suntan. Certain gas in the
atmosphere, most notably ozone (3 oxygen atoms
coming together) can absorb much of this
ultraviolet radiation. Depletion of the ozone layer is
thus related to global warming and human health as
the shield against ultraviolet rays is damaged.
In daily lives, ultraviolet rays are used in special
lamps for bank tellers. The special ink encoding the
invisible signature will glow upon illumination by
such rays (‘Fluorescence’). Genuine bank notes also
have special marks for this fluorescence effects.
In general the energy of electromagnetic wave
groups or wave packets is proportional to the
frequency, and thus inversely proportional to the
wavelength in vacuum, since the speed is fixed at
300,000,000 meter per second.

Hence X-rays are highly energetic, as their

wavelengths are extremely short and the
frequencies are high. We thus generally do not
take an X-ray examination without a good reason.
In medical applications, X-rays can penetrate flesh,
but not the bones. In general the different degrees
of penetration of X-rays for various body tissues
provide clinical personnel with an enhanced,
noninvasive view of the human body.

A related development is CT (Computed or

Computerized Tomography), where a three
dimensional perspective is constructed from a
sequence of two dimensional images.
Amplitude Modulation (AM) and Frequency
Modulation (FM)
(a) Varying (or mixing) the amplitudes of
the components of the signal (AM).
(b) Varying (or mixing) the frequencies of
the components
of the signal (FM).