THE ELECTROMAGNETIC

SPECTRUM

By Mr. Olandese’s DES Classes 2011

RADIO WAVES

Basics

Radio waves don’t only deal with getting music to our ears, but receiving television signals and talking on cell phones.

In space, large galaxies, stars, comets, planets start to give off light that is turned into long wavelengths, and these waves also fall into the radio wave section of the spectrum.

Radio waves have a special type of telescope called a Radio Telescope

Radio Waves have the least energy of any wave in the electromagnetic spectrum.

Frequency

Radio Waves’ frequency range is 30 kHz to 3 GHz Heinrich Rudolph Hertz did a lot of

experiments with the frequency of Radio Waves Attached an induction coil to a spark gap,

and had a separate spark gap on an antenna

Wavelength

The wavelength range is anything from 1 mm and above

They can be as long as the diameter of the earth to a football field!

They have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum

Learning from Radio Astronomy

Longer the wavelength lower the frequency

Scientists have been able to study the background cosmic radiation, which is related to the birth of out universe

Since celestial object let off radio waves we can find out their structure, motion, and composition Radio waves are also used to find out more about

the sun

Learning from Radio Astronomy

We can also discover the “Dark Ages”, before all the stars and galaxies were discovered by examining the radio waves given off by black holes

There are areas of space that are surrounded with dust, in these places, stars and planets form

Many of the greatest discoveries have been discovered by using radio waves Quasars, Plasma Clouds, Pulsars

Part 2

The Missions

Voyager 1 (1977) Examined the solar system

Plank Mission(May 2009) Measure the remains of the “Big Bang”

Cassini Spacecraft (February 2011) Lands on one of Saturn's moons

measuring magnetic environment

Everyday Objects

Radios Receives waves and turn them into

waves CURE CANCER Make water into fuel Cell Phones Television

Interesting Facts

The first discussed topic on the radio in 1920 was the outcomes of the elections

An AM wave is 100 yards long They can travel 186,000 miles per second They don’t need a medium to travel

through At first when Hertz was discovering them

he thought it was light

Microwaves

Microwaves

Frequency

The frequency is 109Hz. to 1012Hz.

Wavelength

One meter-one millimeter Wavelength= speed/frequency About the width of a

What can we find with Microwaves?

Microwaves can be used to find sea ice from satellite pictures

Sensing the Environment remotely

Everyday Uses

Doppler- Used for determining and predicting the weather.

GPS-Can be used to navigate. Microwave Ovens-Used to heat up

snacks.

Missions by NASA Using Microwaves

Jason-2: to determine sea surface height Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission

(TRMM) WMAP: shows detailed all-sky picture

What can we learn about Earth and the Universe?

That microwaves had something to do with the big bang theory as microwaves have been found in deep space before.

They can also be used to test theories about space. Like the big bang theory.

INFRARED LIGHT

What is the frequency range of infrared light?

1012 Hz/1015 Hz

What is the wavelength of infrared light? How does it compare to everyday objects?

10-4 m As thin as a piece of paper

What info can be gathered by interpreting infrared light?

Some objects’ heat are so strong that you can see the heat (visual light)

Some objects’ heat aren’t strong enough to see so only infrared light can detect it

What can we learn about the Earth/the Universe from infrared?

Infrared radiation gets trapped in the atmosphere

The radiation can emit into space From an infrared telescope, we could see

2300 planet forming disks in the Orion nebula

What are some missions from NASA that have used infrared light?

Aqua Satellite

Terra Satellite

Are there any everyday objects that utilize infrared light?

TV remotes Hunting infrared scopes Night vision goggles Infrared cameras

Near Infrared Light

Frequency and Wavelength

Frequency Range: .7 to 1.0 micrometers

Wavelength: .75 to 1.4 µm

Compared to the diameter of a E.coli bacteria

Interpreting Near Infrared Light

Identify types of rock and soil

Study plant diseases

Helps farmers see where crops are infested, stressed or healthy

Near Infrared and Earth and the Universe

Learn about diseases in plants

Topographies of certain areas

Take pictures of the universe and learn about different planets

Past Current and Future Missions of NASA

No big missions, take pictures of other planets and can see the topography of them, and what they are composed of.

Every Day Objects

VISIBLE LIGHT

Frequency Range of Visible Light

The frequency range of visible light is 1015 HZ.

This is the only form of light we can see.

Wavelength Range of Visible Light

The range of a wavelength is 320 nanometers.

A Nanometer is so small you cant see it. 1 inch is equal to 25.4 million

nanometers. Your fingernails grow 1 nanometer every

second A human hair is 50,000-100,000

nanometers in diameter.

Information gathered using Visible Light

The heat of celestial objects can be determined based on the color of the visible light they give off.

Cooler stars shine a reddish color, moderate temperature (like our sun) burn yellow, and extremely hot objects burn blue.

What We Can Learn About Our Universe from Visible Light…

From visible light we can determine the size, color, and temperature of a star just by looking at it

NASA Missions using Visible Light

Nasa’s Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) uses visible light in its laser.

GLAS is positioned in an ice cloud. It calculates the elevation of polar ice

sheets. The higher the elevation, the more water

is stored.

When do we see visible light?

Pretty much everything we see is visible light, when you are watching TV or looking into the sky you are looking at visible light.

ULTRAVIOLET WAVES

Frequency Range

What is the frequency range of your section of light/radiation?

10^15 hz – 10^18 hz

Wavelength Range

In between visible light and x-rays, ranges 10 to 400 NM.

Colored laser pointers have wavelengths ranging 488-633 NM.

Current NASA Missions

What are some past current and or future missions run by NASA that utilize your spectrum of light?

AURA-OMI- study the chemistry and dynamics of Earth's atmosphere from the ground through the mesosphere

Current NASA Missions

SDO-AIA - most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun, to examine the sun's magnetic field and also provide a better understanding of the role the sun plays in Earth's atmospheric chemistry and climate.

L.A.M.P. - looks for water-ice on the moon

Information gathered by Ultraviolet Waves

Gas levels of different Planets can be seen by looking at wavelengths of ultraviolent waves.

Scientist can study the galaxies formation using UV radiation from astronomical objects.

What can we Learn From UV Light

The ozone layer protects against harmful UV Radiation from the sun.

Shaded craters on the moon show UV light from Stars

Photos from Hubble Telescope show objects in UV light.

X-RAYS

Frequency Range

3 x 1017 to 3 x 1019 Hz

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Wavelength Range

Between 10-9 and 10-10 meters It’s about the width of a water molecule So small, some x-rays are no bigger than

single atoms

SF

What Information Does it Gather?

Identifies bone structure; since bones are more dense, they leave shadows of the bones on the x-ray

Helps solve medical problems They detect elements in Martian rocks They help detect the hottest parts of the

Sun’s atmosphere

BF

What can we Learn about our Universe by

Interpreting X-rays?

What kinds of energy explosions in our universe use in order to explode; like low energy, high energy, composite energy, etc.

Can provide information about an object’s composition, temperature, density, or magnetic field.

Also, we can know when an object explodes, because hot gases in the universe give off x-rays.

PH

What missions run by NASA use X-rays?

Hinode Satellite- studies the plasma of the sun’s corona

Soho Satellite- produces images of the sun that allow scientists to see and record energy flows within the corona

Orbiting Chandra-detects x-rays created by objects spread far across space

Robotic Rovers- identifies elements in Martian rocks, like zinc and nickel

SF

Are there any Everyday Objects that use X-rays?

Yes, they are used by dentists, to let them know what teeth need to be fixed in a person’s mouth.

Also, doctor’s use them, to help tell them what bones are broken in someone’s body.

They are used in laboratories as well; scientists use x-rays to learn what unknown substances elements contain, and they also detect DNA

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Gamma Rays

1021Hz or higher 10-12M, size of atomic nuclei

Frequency and

wavelength

Understanding the light

By Interpreting gamma rays we would get the brightest lights and the most heat

Gamma rays also stream stars, super novas, pulsars, and black hole accretion dicks to wash our skies with gamma ray

light.

Earth and our Universe

They use the messenger-GRS to measure gamma rays emitted by the nuclei of atoms on planet mercury’s surface that are struck by cosmic rays and the data that it receives can help scientists look for important elements such as hydrogen, magnesium, silicon, oxygen, iron, titanium, sodium, and calcium.

NASA Missions

One amazing thing that we use gamma rays for is cancer radiation therapy. The light goes through our bones and skin to destroy the cells of tumors. Although this is a very helpful for tumors we don’t use it for other treatment because it destroys

and messes up our cells.

Everyday Objects