UV ultraviolet is absorbed by the very outer layer of our skin which causes sunburn and skin cancer• | |
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Example: Which has more energy, red light or blue light? Blue light has higher frequency with shorter wavelengths , so has more energy than red | That is 300 million meters every second, or:• Ranges We like to think of the spectrum as having these ranges:• Speed of Light Electromagnetic waves travel at the "Speed of Light" at almost 300,000,000 meters per second to be exact: 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum |
As Photons Electromagnetic radiation behaves as waves, but also behaves as packets of energy called Photons | Rays X-rays and gamma rays at the high energy end To remember the energy and danger levels, think "Radio is low, but rays are like razors" |
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To his surprise, he found that this region had the highest temperature of all |
We can measure a photon's position and momentum.
some microwaves get absorbed and heat us up• Here is the full electromagnetic spectrum: Higher frequency rate of vibration has more energy and shorter wavelength | Each photon has a wavelength So it is like a particle and also like a wave |
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But how waves interact with matter depends on their energy and the type of matter Example: Our Bodies• Gamma rays mostly pass through, but any that get absorbed may harm our cells by ionization see below So some waves pass right through our bodies, others get reflected or absorbed at different rates | Photons have no mass, but each photon has a specific amount of energy that depends on its frequency number of vibrations per second |
Visible light goes "Roy G Bv": Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet• Einstein wrote about it: "It seems as though we must use sometimes the one theory and sometimes the other, while at times we may use either.
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