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Electromagnetic Waves
Electromagnetic Waves
Skills to develop
Explain what electromagnetic waves are Calculate frequencies and wavelengths of light Explain Planck's hypothesis of photons or quanta Explain Einstein's photoelectric experiment Calculate photon energy, E = h v (read as h nu)
Electromagnetic Waves
Transmission of energy through a vacuum or using no medium is accomplished by electromagnetic waves, caused by the osscilation of electric and magnetic fields. They move at a constant speed of 3x108 m/s. Often, they are called electromagnetic radiation, light, or photons. Did you ever wonder what is electromagnetic radiation? The word is somewhat complicated, but you are in contact with electromagnetic radiation all the time. Here is a diagram of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum that has appeared in many text books and websites. Electromagnetic radiation is caused by the disturbance of an electromagnetic field.
The last line of numbers in power of 10 gives the wavelength in m. The regions sometimes do not have a clear cut, because there is considerable overlap. For example, radio waves and microwaves bondary is very vague, but public regulation for their application (usage) is strict. Electromagnetic waves are used to transmit long/short/FM wavelength radio waves, and TV/telephone/wireless signals or energies. They are also responsible for transmiting energy in the form of microwaves, infrared radiation (IR), visible light (VIS), ultraviolet light (UV), X-rays, and gamma rays. Each region of this spectrum plays an important part in our lives, and in the business involving communication technology. The list given above are in increasing frequency (or decreasing wavelength) order. Here again is the list of regions and the approximate wavelengths in them. For simplicity, we choose to give only the magnitudes of frequencies. That is we give log (frequency) (log(f)).
www.science.uwaterloo.ca//emwave.html
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Electromagnetic Waves
Region: Radio, FM, TV, microwave, IR, VIS, UV, X-rays, Gamma rays. Wavelength: 600 m 20 m 1 mc 1 mm 0.1 mm 1e-9 m 1e-12 m 1e-15 m log (f): 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 20 23
Electromagnetic radiations are usually treated as wave motions. The electronic and magnetic fields oscillate in directions perpendicular to each other and to the direction of motion of the wave. The wavelength, the frequency, and the speed of light obey the following relationship: wavelength * frequency = speed of light. The speed of light is usually represented by c, the wavelength by the lower case Greek letter lambda, and the frequency by lower case Greek letter nu . In these symbols, the above formula is: = c The electromagnetic radiation is the fundation for radar, which is used for guidance and remote sensing for the study of the planet Earth.
There is no need to memorize these numbers, but knowing that the visible region has such a narrow range of 400-700 nm is handy at times when referring to certain light.
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Electromagnetic Waves
Discussion: The limiting speed is 3e8 m/s. Nothing moves faster than the speed of light, which is 800 million (0.8 billion) meters per second. Radiation with a frequency 1e14 Hz is in what region of the electromagnetic spectrum? a. ultraviolet b. violet c. yellow
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Electromagnetic Waves
d. red e. infrared
Hint . . .
Discussion: Ultraviolet light has higher frequencies than violet light has. UV light has frequency greater than 8E14 Hz, IR frequencies are less than 4e14 Hz. Thus, radiation with frequency of 1e14 is in the IR region. (3E8 m/s)/(400E-9 m) = 8E14 Hz; (3E8 m/s)/(720E-9 m) = 4E14 Hz Visiable light are in the 4E14 to 8E14 Hz region. A typical yellow light has a wavelength of 550 nm. Calculate the corresponging frequency. (speed of light 3.0E8 m/s)
Hint . . .
Discussion: The visible radiation range lies between 8E14 and 4E14 Hz. Yellow light lies in the middle of the visible radiation range. The visible radiation zone are between 8E14 and 4E14 Hz. A typical X-ray has a frequency of 3E19 Hz. Calculate its wavelength in picometer, pm. (1 pm = 1E-12 m)
Hint . . .
Discussion: X-rays wavelengths are 3 orders of magnitude shorter than those of visible light. Calculate the photon energy of yellow light whose wavelength is 550 nm. (h = 6.626E-34 J s)
Hint . . .
Discussion: E = h c / wavelength This corresponds to 2.18E8 J or 2.18E5 kJ per mole of photons. A mole of photons is called an einstein. The photon with minimum frequency that disloge an electron from Ag surface has 7.58e-19 J. Calculate its frequency. (h = 6.626E-34 J s)
Hint . . .
Discussion: The minimum frequency is called threshold frequency. The photon with minimum frequency of 1.14e15 /s disloge an electron from Ag surface. Calculate its wavelength in nm. (c = 3e8 m/s)
Hint . . .
Discussion: lambda = c/v = 2.62e-7 m or 262 nm. Minimum freuency imply longest wavelength. The light is in the UV region.
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Electromagnetic Waves
The kinetic energy of photons from Ag surface by 150 nm photons is 6.6e-19 J. Calculate the threshold energy. (h = 6.626E-34 J s)
Hint . . .
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