WHAT IS THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM?

RADIO WAVES

• Radio waves carry signals for your television and phones
• A radio wave can travel 186,000 mile per second through air

MICROWAVES

• We use microwave to heat up our food everyday.
• Microwaves have wavelengths that can be measured in centimeters.
• They can use microwaves to get a good view of the Earth.

Infrared Radiation

• Infrared Radiation waves are found in your remote controls
• We can sense some infrared energy as heat
• We cannot see these infrared waves but instruments that can sense infrared energy such as night-vision goggles

VISIBLE LIGHT

• Visible light is everything we can see, like light bulbs is one use
• Visible light is the only electromagnetic wave that we can see

ULTRA-VIOLET RAYS

• UV rays can be used to sterilize and disinfect medical equipment
• Bees can actually see ultra-violet rays, they use them to direct pollen when the UV radiation is reflected off the flower petals
• UV rays can cause skin cancer if exposed to too much of it .
• UV rays can cause sunburn.

X RAYS

• X rays are used to see your bones without surgery
• X-rays was discovered in the land of Germany in 1895, by physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
• X rays wavelength can get as invisible as 4 billionth of an inch!

GAMMA RAYS

• Gamma rays are used in medicine to kill and treat certain types of cancers and tumors.
• Unlike optical light and X-rays, gamma rays cannot be captured and reflected in mirrors.
• Gamma-rays can kill living cells.