What is the electromagnetic spectrum?
Quick Answer
The electromagnetic spectrum is the full range of electromagnetic waves, from long-wavelength radio waves to short-wavelength gamma rays, with visible light making up only a tiny portion in the middle.
The Full Story
The electromagnetic spectrum is the complete range of all electromagnetic radiation, ordered by wavelength and frequency. At the long-wavelength, low-energy end are radio waves, followed by microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and finally the short-wavelength, high-energy gamma rays. All of these are the same kind of wave, made of oscillating electric and magnetic fields travelling through space at the speed of light, and they differ only in wavelength and energy. Visible light, the part our eyes can see, occupies just a narrow band between infrared and ultraviolet. Different parts of the spectrum have countless uses: radio waves carry broadcasts and Wi-Fi, microwaves cook food and enable radar, infrared is felt as heat, and X-rays and gamma rays are used in medicine. Astronomers observe the universe across the whole spectrum to reveal things invisible to the eye.
Key Facts
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Suggested video title for this topic:
"The Electromagnetic Spectrum — The Invisible Rainbow Around You"