Put Your Hands in the Air! And WAVE Them Like you just Don't Care!

Once upon a time, there were a bunch of scientists who wanted to name a group of types of radiation, and this group came to be known as Electromagnetic Spectrum. Now for all who don't know what radiation is, radiation is energy that spreads out as it is moving. Every electromagnetic wave is a transverse wave, (a transverse wave has amplitude, wavelength, velocity, and frequency.) The Electromagnectic Spectrum consists of X-rays, Gamma-rays, Microwaves, Infrared, Visible-light, Ultra-Violet, and Radiowaves. The size of these waves varies, from longest to shortest it is Radiowaves, Microwaves, Infrared Waves, Visible Waves, Ultra Violet Waves, X-rays, and the longest are the Gamma-rays.

Infrared Waves

Infrared waves are the 3rd shortest waves in the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Infrared waves have a frequency any where from 4 x 10^14 Hz to 1 x 10^13 Hz. Infrared waves are put into three different groups; near, mid, and far. Now we mostly sense Infrared as heat. Infrared Waves can be felt from the sun or a fire. Infrared Waves cannot be seen by the human eye but can be detected and seen with instruements. By using special cameras that are designed for Infrared Waves, we can make a thermal image from the waves. Infrared waves are used throughout the millitary with nightvision goggles and thermal vision so they can see a target that the naked eye would not be able to see. Thermal infrared wavelength is in the region of 8 to 15 microns.



Microwaves



Microwaves are the 2nd shortest waves in the Electromagnetic Spectrum. The wavelength3 meters to .0003 meters. Most microwaves fall into the frequency of 3,000 MHz to 30,000 MHz. The most known use of the Microwave is the device named after the wave, the microwave. What it does is force water and fat molecules in food to rotate and this interaction of these molecules undergoing forced rotation generates heat, which cooks the food. Different wavelengths of microwaves produce different information for scientists to use. C-band microwaves go through clouds, dust, smoke, snow, and rain to reveal the Earth's surface which then can help weather men. L-band microwaves, which are the ones used by a GPS in your car, can also go through the canopy cover of forests to measure the soil moisture of rain forests. Microwaves are used for far more things than to just heat up your food.

http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/sid/IR_cam/pictures/Maggie.jpg 

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/ems2.html