Electromagnetic Spectrum

Light surrounds us. Our eyes can only see the Visible light waves, which isn’t much on the spectrum, but it seems like a lot to us. The size of the waves are from gamma rays, the size of an atom, to radio waves, the diameter of our earth.

The electromagnetic spectrum is a range of the kinds of light in the universe The other waves that there are which we can’t see, they are:

• Gamma rays
• X-rays 
• Ultra violet waves (UV)
• Infrared waves
• Microwaves
• Radio waves

Gamma Rays:
They carry a huge amount of energy and are very dangerous. They are hard to stop once the have started. They are very small, around the same size as an atom.

X-rays: 
everyone knows about X-rays and they are good for:

•  looking at teeth
• Looking at other  bones.

 X-rays waves are quite small, but a lot bigger than gamma rays.

Ultra violet waves (UV):
UV is quite close to the visible light on the spectrum, it can be used for:

• studying space
• Airport security
• Crime investigations
• It can turn photo paper black, which works similar to a pinhole camera. 

UV rays come from the sun and causes us to get sunburn. UV A isn't  very bad for our skin, and a lot of it gets through our atmosphere. UV B is quite bad for our skin, and little of it comes through our atmosphere. UV C is very bad for our skin! But lucky for us, just about none of it comes through our atmosphere.

Infrared waves: 
Infrared waves can be used for:

• Remotes (Such as TV remotes) 
• Reading things in space
• Night vision 
• Keeping us warm 

On the spectrum, Infrared is opposite UV, and is next to the the visible light waves.

Microwaves: 
You probably think of a microwave as a machine to heat up your food, but microwaves are actually a wave on the electromagnetic spectrum. They can Be used for:

• Catching the speed of something (Such as a car)  
• Making phone calls
• A GPS 
• Weather forecasting 
• Microwaves (The ones to heat up food)

Microwaves are next to Infrared on the electromagnetic spectrum.

Radio Waves: 
Radio waves has the largest wavelength, the size of a mountain range.Radio waves are what make the radio work. When you sometimes turn on the radio you can hear a buzzing noise. This happens because the radio station isn't sending out any music, so all you are hearing is the echo of what is in between the two nearest radio channels.

Visible light waves:
Visible light waves are in the middle of the spectrum. Visible light is what the human eyes can see. The way it works is, the colours get absorbed into a leaf, for example, but the colour green is reflected, making us see the leaf as green.

So this is the electromagnetic spectrum. Before I had learnt about the electromagnetic spectrum, I never knew that we could only see a tiny bit of what there actually is. It’s kind of weird thinking that it was there but I never even knew!

Here is some  photos and videos of the electromagnetic spectrum: