The EM Spectrum

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The visible light that has been the focus of this unit so far is only actually a very small section of a much larger spectrum - the electromagnetic spectrum.

Like light, all sections of the Electromagnetic Spectrum :-

• • • Made up of changing electric and magnetic fields

    • Travel at the same speed ( 3x10⁸ ms^-1 )

    • Can travel through a vacuum

    • Can be reflected

    • Can be refracted

    • Can be diffracted

The only difference between visible light and the rest of the EM Spectrum is the energy of each section ( which varies proportionally with Frequency ).

The video below gives a short introduction to the EM Spectrum.

The video below gives a much more in-depth overview of the EM Spectrum.

The table below gives key information about each individual section of the EM Spectrum.