The Question
(Submitted March 07, 1997)
What are the respective wavelength and frequency ranges for
the main six subdivisions of the electromagnetic spectrum
(i.e gamma, x-rays, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, radio)
and what is the name of the quanta of a gamma-ray?
The Answer
There are no "hard" numbers for the wavelengths/frequencies of the
various
parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. For example, what is considered a
high-energy X-ray and what is considered a low-energy gamma-ray is very
blurry. But here is a "ball park" guide:
Frequency Range (Hz)
|
Wavelength Range
|
Type of Radiation
|
10E20-10E24
|
10E-12 - 10E-16 m
|
gamma-rays
|
10E17 - 10E20
|
1 nm - 1 pm
|
x-rays
|
10E15 - 10E17
|
400 - 1 nm
|
ultraviolet light
|
4.3 - 7.5x10E14
|
700-400 nm
|
visible light
|
10E12 - 10E14
|
2.5 um - 700 nm
|
infrared light
|
10E8 - 10E12
|
1 mm - 2.5 um
|
microwaves
|
10E0 - 10E8
|
10e8 - 1 m
|
radio waves
|
All quanta in the electromagnetic spectrum, regardless of its wavelength,
is called a photon.
You can read more about the electromagnetic spectrum at:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/introduction/introduction.html
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html
Regards,
Laura Whitlock
for the Ask an Astrophysicist Team
|