ELECTROMAGNETI

C
SPECTRUM

Made by:
Thomas Devasia
XII-B

INDEX
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
CERTIFICATE
BACKGROUND
HISTORY & DISCOVERY
REGIONS OF SPECTRUM
WAVES & THERE USES
BIBILOGRAPHY

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
On the completion of my project work on
ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.I
grateful thank our teacher Mr. Rajesh
Sebastian. For his constant help and
guidance to me without which this
project would not have been a success.
THOMAS DEVASIA

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CERTIFICATE
This to certify that THOMAS DEVASIAof
class XII B of DON BOSCO SCHOOL has
conducted this project entitled
ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM . T
he methods employed were undertaken
by the candidate himself under my
guidance.
.
Signature
( Mr.

Mr. Rajesh Sebastian)

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BACKGROUND:

The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible

frequencies of electromagnetic radiation . The
"electromagnetic spectrum" of an object has a diff erent
meaning, and is instead the characteristic distribution of
electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that
particular object .The electromagnetic spectrum extends
from below the low frequencies used for
modern radio communication to gamma radiation at the
short-wavelength (high-frequency) end, thereby covering
wavelengths from thousands of kilometers down to
a fraction of the size of an atom. The limit for long
wavelengths is the size of the universe itself, while it is
thought that the short wavelength limit is in the vicinity of
the Planck length. Until the middle of last century it was
believed by most physicists that this spectrum
was infi nite and continuous . Most parts of the
electromagnetic spectrum are used in science for
spectroscopic and other probing interactions, as ways to
study and characterize matter. In addition, radiation from
various parts of the spectrum has found many other uses
for communications and manufacturing

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HISTORY & DISCOVERY:

For most of history, visible light was the only known part of the
electromagnetic spectrum. The ancient Greek recognized that
light traveled in straight lines and studied some of its properties,
including reflection and refraction. Over the years the study of
light continued and during the 16th and 17th centuries there were
conflicting theories which regarded light as either a wave or a
particle. The first discovery of electromagnetic radiation other
than visible light came in 1800, when William Herschel
discovered infrared radiation. He was studying the temperature of
different colors by moving a thermometer through light split by a
prism. He noticed that the highest temperature was beyond red.
He theorized that this temperature change was due to "calorific
rays" which would be in fact a type of light ray that could not be
seen. The next year , Johann Ritter worked at the other end of the
spectrum and noticed what he called "chemical rays" (invisible
light rays that induced certain chemical reactions) that behaved
similar to visible violet light rays, but were beyond them in the
spectrum. They were later renamed ultraviolet radiation.
Electromagnetic radiation had been first linked to
electromagnetism in 1845, when Michael Faraday noticed that the
polarization of light traveling through a transparent material
responded to a magnetic field (see Faraday effect). During the
1860s James Maxwell developed four partial
differential equations for the electromagnetic field. Two of these
equations predicted the possibility of, and behavior of, waves in
the field. Analyzing the speed of these theoretical waves, Maxwell
realized that they must travel at a speed that was about the
known speed of light. This startling coincidence in value led
Maxwell to make the inference that light itself is a type of
electromagnetic wave.
Maxwell's equations predicted an infinite number of frequencies
of electromagnetic waves, all traveling at the speed of light. This
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was the first indication of the existence of the entire

electromagnetic spectrum.
Maxwell's predicted waves included waves at very low
frequencies compared to infrared, which in theory might be
created by oscillating charges in an ordinary electrical circuit of a
certain type. Attempting to prove Maxwell's equations and detect
such low frequency electromagnetic radiation, in 1886 the
physicist Heinrich Hertz built an apparatus to generate and detect
what is now called radio waves. Hertz found the waves and was
able to infer (by measuring their wavelength and multiplying it by
their frequency) that they traveled at the speed of light. Hertz
also demonstrated that the new radiation could be both reflected
and refracted by various dielectric media, in the same manner as
light. For example, Hertz was able to focus the waves using a lens
made of tree resin. In a later experiment, Hertz similarly produced
and measured the properties of microwaves. These new types of
waves paved the way for inventions such as the wireless
telegraph and the radio.
In 1895 Wilhelm Rntgen noticed a new type of radiation emitted
during an experiment with an evacuated tube subjected to a high
voltage. He called these radiations x-rays and found that they
were able to travel through parts of the human body but were
reflected or stopped by denser matter such as bones. Before long,
many uses were found for them in the field of medicine.
The last portion of the electromagnetic spectrum was filled in with
the discovery of gamma rays. In 1900 Paul Villard was studying
the radioactive emissions of radium when he identified a new
type of radiation that he first thought consisted of particles similar
to known alpha and beta particles, but with the power of being far
more penetrating than either. However, in 1910, British
physicist William Henry Bragg demonstrated that gamma rays are
electromagnetic radiation, not particles, and in 1914, Ernest
Rutherford (who had named them gamma rays in 1903 when he
realized that they were fundamentally different from charged
alpha and beta rays) and Edward Andrade measured their
wavelengths, and found that gamma rays were similar to X-rays,
but with shorter wavelengths and higher frequencies
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Regions of the spectrum:

The types of electromagnetic radiation are broadly classified into the following classes: [6]
1. Gamma radiation
2. X-ray radiation
3. Ultraviolet radiation
4. Visible radiation
5. Infrared radiation
6. Terahertz radiation
7. Microwave radiation
8. Radio waves
This classification goes in the increasing order of wavelength, which is characteristic of the type of
radiation.[6] While, in general, the classification scheme is accurate, in reality there is often some
overlap between neighboring types of electromagnetic energy. For example, SLF radio waves at 60 Hz
may be received and studied by astronomers, or may be ducted along wires as electric power,
although the latter is, in the strict sense, not electromagnetic radiation at all (see near and far field).
The distinction between X-rays and gamma rays is partly based on sources: the photons generated
from nuclear decay or other nuclear and subnuclear/particle process, are always termed gamma rays,

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whereas X-rays are generated by electronic transitions involving highly energetic inner atomic
electrons.[12][13][14] In general, nuclear transitions are much more energetic than electronic transitions, so
gamma-rays are more energetic than X-rays, but exceptions exist. By analogy to electronic
transitions, muonic atom transitions are also said to produce X-rays, even though their energy may
exceed 6 megaelectronvolts (0.96 pJ),[15] whereas there are many (77 known to be less than 10 keV
(1.6 fJ)) low-energy nuclear transitions (e.g., the 7.6 eV (1.22 aJ) nuclear transition of thorium-229),
and, despite being one million-fold less energetic than some muonic X-rays, the emitted photons are
still called gamma rays due to their nuclear origin. [16]
The convention that EM radiation that is known to come from the nucleus, is always called "gamma
ray" radiation is the only convention that is universally respected, however. Many astronomical gamma
ray sources (such as gamma ray bursts) are known to be too energetic (in both intensity and
wavelength) to be of nuclear origin. Quite often, in high energy physics and in medical radiotherapy,
very high energy EMR (in the >10 MeV region) which is of higher energy than any nuclear gamma ray,
is not referred to as either X-ray or gamma-ray, but instead by the generic term of "high energy
photons."
The region of the spectrum in which a particular observed electromagnetic radiation falls, is reference
frame-dependent (due to the Doppler shift for light), so EM radiation that one observer would say is in
one region of the spectrum could appear to an observer moving at a substantial fraction of the speed
of light with respect to the first to be in another part of the spectrum. For example, consider
the cosmic microwave background. It was produced, when matter and radiation decoupled, by the deexcitation of hydrogen atoms to the ground state. These photons were from Lyman series transitions,
putting them in the ultraviolet (UV) part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Now this radiation has
undergone enough cosmological red shift to put it into the microwave region of the spectrum for
observers moving slowly (compared to the speed of light) with respect to the cosmos.

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WAVES & THERE USES :

1.radio waves

Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in

the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light. Radio waves
have frequencies from 300 GHz to as low as 3 kHz, and corresponding
wavelengths ranging from 1 millimeter (0.039 in) to 100 kilometers (62 mi).
Like all other electromagnetic waves, they travel at the speed of light.
Naturally occurring radio waves are made by lightning, or by astronomical
objects. Artificially generated radio waves are used for fixed and mobile radio
communication, broadcasting,radar and other navigation
systems, communications satellites, computer networks and innumerable
other applications. Different frequencies of radio waves have different
propagation characteristics in the Earth's atmosphere; long waves may cover
a part of the Earth very consistently, shorter waves can reflect off
the ionosphere and travel around the world, and much shorter wavelengths
bend or reflect very little and travel on a line of sight.
To prevent interference between different users, the artificial generation and
use of radio waves is strictly regulated by law, coordinated by an
international body called the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
The radio spectrum is divided into a number of radio bands on the basis of
frequency, allocated to different uses.
Radio waves travel at the speed of light in a vacuum. When passing through
an object, they are slowed according to that
object's permeability and permittivity.
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The wavelength is the distance from one peak of the wave's electric field to
the next, and is inversely proportional to the frequency of the wave. The
distance a radio wave travels in one second, in a vacuum, is 299,792,458
meters (983,571,056 ft) which is the wavelength of a 1 hertz radio signal. A 1
megahertz radio signal has a wavelength of 299.8 meters (984 ft).

Uses:
1.

In order to receive radio signals, for instance from AM/FM radio

stations, a radio antenna must be used. However,
since the antenna
will pick up thousands of radio signals at a time, aradio tuner is
necessary to tune in a particular signal.[5] This is typically done via
a resonator (in its simplest form, a circuit with a capacitor, inductor,
or crystal oscillator, but many modern radios use Phase Locked
Loop systems). The resonator is configured to resonate at a particular
frequency, allowing the tuner to amplify sine waves at that radio
frequency and ignore other sine waves. Usually, either the inductor or
the capacitor of the resonator is adjustable, allowing the user to
change the frequency at which it resonates.

2.

A heat ray is a RF harassment device that makes use of microwave

radio frequencies to create an unpleasant heating effect in the upper
layer of the skin. A publically known heat ray weapon called the Active
Denial System was developed by the US military as an experimental
weapon to deny the enemy access to an area. Also, see death
ray which is a heat ray weapon that delivers electromagnetic energy at
levels that injure human tissue. The inventor of the death ray, Harry
Grindell Matthews, claims to have lost sight in his left eye while
developing his death ray weapon based on a primitive
microwave magnetron from the 1920s. (Note that a typical microwave
oven induces a tissue damaging cooking effect inside the oven at
about 2 kV/m.)

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2.MICROWAVES:

Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic

radiation with wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as
one millimeter; withfrequencies between 300 MHz (0.3 GHz) and
300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF (millimeter
waves), and various sources use different boundaries. In all cases,
microwave includes the entire SHF band (3 to 30 GHz, or 10 to 1 cm) at
minimum, with RF engineering often restricting the range between 1 and
100 GHz (300 and 3 mm).
The prefix "micro-" in "microwave" is not meant to suggest a wavelength in
the micrometer range. It indicates that microwaves are "small" compared to
waves used in typical radio broadcasting, in that they have shorter
wavelengths. The boundaries between far infrared, terahertz radiation,
microwaves, and ultra-high-frequency radio waves are fairly arbitrary and are
used variously between different fields of study.
USES:
1. Communication
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Before the advent of fiber-optic transmission, most long-distance telephone

calls were carried via networks of microwave radio relay links run by carriers such
as AT&T Long Lines. Starting in the early 1950s, frequency division multiplex was
used to send up to 5,400 telephone channels on each microwave radio channel,
with as many as ten radio channels combined into one antenna for the hop to the
next site, up to 70 km away.
Wireless LAN protocols, such as Bluetooth and the IEEE 802.11 specifications, also
use microwaves in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, although 802.11a uses ISM band and UNII frequencies in the 5 GHz range. Licensed long-range (up to about 25 km)
Wireless Internet Access services have been used for almost a decade in many
countries in the 3.54.0 GHz range. The FCC recently[when?] carved out spectrum for
carriers that wish to offer services in this range in the U.S. with emphasis on
3.65 GHz. Dozens of service providers across the country are securing or have
already received licenses from the FCC to operate in this band. The WIMAX service
offerings that can be carried on the 3.65 GHz band will give business customers
another option for connectivity.

2.

Navigation

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) including the Chinese Beidou, the
American Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian GLONASS broadcast
navigational signals in various bands between about 1.2 GHz and 1.6 GHz.
3.

Heating and power application

A microwave oven passes (non-ionizing) microwave radiation (at a frequency

near 2.45 GHz) through food, causing dielectric heating primarily by absorption of
the energy in water. Microwave ovens became common kitchen appliances in
Western countries in the late 1970s, following the development of less
expensive cavity magnetrons. Water in the liquid state possesses many molecular
interactions that broaden the absorption peak. In the vapor phase, isolated water
molecules absorb at around 22 GHz, almost ten times the frequency of the
microwave oven.Microwave heating is used in industrial processes for drying and
curing products.Many semiconductor processing techniques use microwaves to
generate plasma for such purposes as reactive ion etching and plasmaenhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD).Microwave frequencies typically
ranging from 110 140 GHz are used in stellarators and more notably
in tokamak experimental fusion reactors to help heat the fuel into a plasma state.
The upcoming ITER thermonuclear reactor[10] is expected to range from 110
170 GHz and will employ electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH).
[11]
Microwaves can be used to transmit power over long distances, and post-World
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War II research was done to examine possibilities. NASA worked in the 1970s and
early 1980s to research the possibilities of using solar power satellite (SPS) systems
with large solar arrays that would beam power down to the Earth's surface via
microwaves.

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3. Infrared radiation:

Infrared (IR) is invisible radiant energy, electromagnetic radiation with

longer wavelengths than those of visible light, extending from the
nominal red edge of the visible spectrum at
700 nanometers (frequency 430 THz) to 1 mm (300 GHz)[1] (although people
can see infrared up to at least 1050 nm in experiments[2][3][4][5]). Most of
the thermal radiation emitted by objects near room temperature is infrared.
Infrared radiation was discovered in 1800 by astronomer Sir William
Herschel, who discovered a type of invisible radiation in the spectrum
beyond red light, by means of its effect upon a thermometer.[6] Slightly more
than half of the total energy from the Sun was eventually found to arrive on
Earth in the form of infrared. The balance between absorbed and emitted
infrared radiation has a critical effect on Earth's climate.
Infrared energy is emitted or absorbed by molecules when they change
their rotational-vibrational movements. Infrared energy
elicits vibrationalmodes in a molecule through a change in the dipole
moment, making it a useful frequency range for study of these energy states
for molecules of the proper symmetry. Infrared spectroscopy examines
absorption and transmission of photons in the infrared energy range.[7]
Infrared radiation is used in industrial, scientific, and medical applications.
Night-vision devices using active near-infrared illumination allow people or
animals to be observed without the observer being detected. Infrared
astronomy uses sensor-equipped telescopes to penetrate dusty regions of
space, such as molecular clouds; detect objects such as planets, and to view
highly red-shifted objects from the early days of theuniverse.[8] Infrared
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thermal-imaging cameras are used to detect heat loss in insulated systems,

to observe changing blood flow in the skin, and to detect overheating of
electrical apparatus.

USES:
1. Night vision

Infrared is used in night vision equipment when there is insufficient visible

light to see. Night vision devices operate through a process involving the conversion
of ambient light photons into electrons that are then amplified by a chemical and
electrical process and then converted back into visible light. Infrared light sources
can be used to augment the available ambient light for conversion by night vision
devices, increasing in-the-dark visibility without actually using a visible light source.
2. Thermography
Infrared radiation can be used to remotely determine the temperature of
objects (if the emissivity is known). This is termed thermography, or in the case of
very hot objects in the NIR or visible it is termed pyrometry. Thermography (thermal
imaging) is mainly used in military and industrial applications but the technology is
reaching the public market in the form of infrared cameras on cars due to the
massively reduced production costs . Thermographic cameras detect radiation in
the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum (roughly 90014,000
nanometers or 0.914 m) and produce images of that radiation. Since infrared
radiation is emitted by all objects based on their temperatures, according to
the black body radiation law, thermography makes it possible to "see" one's
environment with or without visible illumination. The amount of radiation emitted by
an object increases with temperature, therefore thermography allows one to see
variations in temperature (hence the name).

3. Climatology
In the field of climatology, atmospheric infrared radiation is monitored to
detect trends in the energy exchange between the earth and the atmosphere.
These trends provide information on long-term changes in Earth's climate. It is one
of the primary parameters studied in research into global warming, together
with solar radiation.A pyrgeometer is utilized in this field of research to perform
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continuous outdoor measurements. This is a broadband infrared radiometer with

sensitivity for infrared radiation between approximately 4.5 m and 50 m.

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4.Visible radiation (light):

The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that

is visible to (can be detected by) the human eye. Electromagnetic
radiation in this range of wavelengths is called visible light or simply light.
A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 390 to 700 nm.
[1]
In terms of frequency, this corresponds to a band in the vicinity of 430
790 THz.
The spectrum does not, however, contain all the colors that the human eyes
and brain can distinguish. Unsaturated colors such as pink,
or purplevariations such as magenta, are absent, for example, because they
can be made only by a mix of multiple wavelengths. Colors containing only
one wavelength are also called pure colors or spectral colors.
Visible wavelengths pass through the "optical window", the region of the
electromagnetic spectrum that allows wavelengths to pass largely
unattenuated through the Earth's atmosphere. An example of this
phenomenon is that clean air scatters blue light more than red wavelengths,
and so the midday sky appears blue. The optical window is also referred to as
the "visible window" because it overlaps the human visible response
spectrum. The near infrared (NIR) window lies just out of the human vision,
as well as the Medium Wavelength IR (MWIR) window, and the Long
Wavelength or Far Infrared (LWIR or FIR) window, although other animals
may experience them.

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USES:
1. To see the objects .
2. In certain chemical reaction.

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5. Ultraviolet radiation:

Ultraviolet (UV) light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength from

400 nm to 10 nm, shorter than that of visible light but longer than X-rays.
Though usually invisible, under some conditions children and young adults
can see ultraviolet down to wavelengths of about 310 nm,[1][2] and people
with aphakia (missing lens) can also see some UV wavelengths. Near-UV is
visible to a number of insects and birds.UV radiation is present in sunlight,
and is produced by electric arcs and specialized lights such as mercury-vapor
lamps,tanning lamps, and black lights. Although lacking the energy to ionize
atoms, long-wavelength ultraviolet radiation can causechemical reactions,
and causes many substances to glow or fluoresce. Consequently, biological
effects of UV are greater than simple heating effects, and many practical
applications of UV radiation derive from its interactions with organic
molecules.Suntan and sunburn are familiar effects of over-exposure, along
with higher risk of skin cancer. Living things on dry land would be severely
damaged by ultraviolet radiation from the sun if most of it were not filtered
out by the Earth's atmosphere, particularly the ozone layer.[3] Moreenergetic, shorter-wavelength "extreme" UV below 121 nm ionizes air so
strongly that it is absorbed before it reaches the ground.[4] Ultraviolet is also
responsible for the formation of bone-strengthening vitamin D in most land
vertebrates, including humans. The UV spectrum thus has effects both
beneficial and harmful to human health.

USES:
1.Photography:

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Photographic film responds to ultraviolet radiation but the glass lenses of

cameras usually block radiation shorter than 350 nm. Slightly yellow UV-blocking
filters are often used for outdoor photography to prevent unwanted bluing and
overexposure by UV light. For photography in the near UV, special filters may be
used. Digital cameras sensors may have internal filters that block UV to improve
color rendition accuracy. Sometimes these internal filters can be removed, or they
may be absent, and an external visible-light filter prepares the camera for near-UV
photography. A few cameras are designed for use in the UV.
2.Lamps
3.In treatments (such as cancer)

6. X-rays:

X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Most

X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 0.01 to 10 nanometers,
corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to
30 exahertz (31016 Hz to 31019 Hz) and energies in the range 100 eV to
100 keV. X-ray wavelengths are shorter than those of UV rays and typically
longer than those of gamma rays. In many languages, X-radiation is referred
to with terms meaningRntgen radiation, after Wilhelm Rntgen, who is
usually credited as its discoverer, and who had named it X-radiation to
signify an unknown type of radiation. Spelling of X-ray(s) in the English
language includes the variants x-ray(s), xray(s) and X ray(s).
X-rays with photon energies above 510 keV (below 0.20.1 nm wavelength)
are called hard X-rays, while those with lower energy are called soft X-rays.
[4]
Due to their penetrating ability, hard X-rays are widely used to image the
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inside of objects, e.g., in medical radiography and airport security. As a

result, the term X-ray is metonymicallyused to refer to a radiographic image
produced using this method, in addition to the method itself. Since the
wavelengths of hard X-rays are similar to the size of atoms they are also
useful for determining crystal structures by X-ray crystallography. By
contrast, soft X-rays are easily absorbed in air and the attenuation length of
600 eV (~2 nm) X-rays in water is less than 1 micrometer.[5]
There is no universal consensus for a definition distinguishing between Xrays and gamma rays. One common practice is to distinguish between the
two types of radiation based on their source: X-rays are emitted by electrons,
while gamma rays are emitted by the atomic nucleus.[6][7][8][9] This definition
has several problems; other processes also can generate these high energy
photons, or sometimes the method of generation is not known. One common
alternative is to distinguish X- and gamma radiation on the basis of
wavelength (or equivalently, frequency or photon energy), with radiation
shorter than some arbitrary wavelength, such as 1011 m (0.1 ), defined as
gamma radiation.[10] This criterion assigns a photon to an unambiguous
category, but is only possible if wavelength is known. (Some measurement
techniques do not distinguish between detected wavelengths.) However,
these two definitions often coincide since the electromagnetic radiation
emitted by X-ray tubes generally has a longer wavelength and lower photon
energy than the radiation emitted byradioactive nuclei.[6] Occasionally, one
term or the other is used in specific contexts due to historical precedent,
based on measurement (detection) technique, or based on their intended
use rather than their wavelength or source. Thus, gamma-rays generated for
medical and industrial uses, for example radiotherapy, in the ranges of 6
20 MeV, can in this context also be referred to as X-rays.

USES:
1.Medical uses:
a.Radiograph
b.Radiotherapy
2.Airport security scans

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BIBILOGRAPHY
1.
2.
3.

CBSE physics textbook.

Wikipediya
Google

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