UNIT II.

ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

Lesson 1: Electromagnetic Waves

A. OBJECTIVES:
1. Describe an Electromagnetic wave
2. Enumerate the various forms of EM waves
3. Compare and contrast the different EM waves

B. LIST OF CONCEPTS:
1. An electromagnetic wave is a disturbance with an electrical and magnetic component that
moves through space at the speed of light (3 x 108 m/s). The two components move as
transverse waves that are perpendicular to each other (if one goes up and down, the other
goes left to right as the whole wave goes forward). The trough of the electrical
component coincides with the crest of the magnetic component.
2. A transmitter is an electronic device which with the aid of an antenna produces radio and
microwaves.

3. Stages in the formation of an EM wave:

a. An electrically charged particle vibrates (in the figure above, the electrically charged
particle vibrates or up and down.
b. The vibrating electrically charged particle produces a changing electric field. (In the
figure above, it is colored red and the changing electric field goes up and down, the

1
 same as the direction of the moving charged particle that generated it.) An electric
field is a region around a charged particle or object within which an electric force
would be exerted on other charged particles or objects.
c. The changing electric field produces a changing magnetic field. (In the figure above, it
is colored blue and the changing magnetic field goes right and left, perpendicular to
the direction of the changing electric field that generated it.) A magnetic field is a
region around a magnet within which a magnetic force would be exerted on other
magnets.
d. The changing electric field generates a changing magnetic field, which generates a
changing electric field and so on.
e. The EM wave composed of the changing electric field and magnetic field moves
forward.
4. The various forms of Electromagnetic waves are Radio waves, Microwaves, Infrared Light
waves, visible light waves, ultraviolet light waves, X-rays, and Gamma rays.
5. The mnemonics (memory guide – first letter of every word is the first letter of every EM
wave) for EM waves is “Raul’s mother is visiting uncle Xavier’s Garden”.
6. Similarities among EM waves: All EM waves
a. move at the speed of light. This is at 299,792,458 m/s. For all our computation, we
will use 3 x 108 m/s.
b. consist of moving changing electric and magnetic fields
c. do not need a medium to propagate unlike a mechanical wave
7. Differences among EM waves: The electromagnetic waves differ from each other in
a. frequency – the number of waves per unit of time measured in Hertz (Hz) which equal
1
to one (1) wave per second. 1Hz =
𝑠
b. wavelength – distance between succeeding crests measured in meters.
c. energy – the ability to be active

𝑐
8. In a vacuum, the wavelength of any EM wave can be computed using the formula, λ=
𝑓
, where:
λ = represents wavelength measured in meters, m
c = represents the speed of light (or any EM wave) in a vacuum and is equal to
3 x 108 m/s
f = is the frequency of the wave measured in hertz, Hz

C. SAMPLE PROBLEMS

1: How long is the wavelength of the radio wave transmitted by a radio station whose
frequency is 101.9 MHz?

2
Solution:
λ=?
f = 101.9 MHz = 101.9 x 106 = 1.019 x 108
𝑐
λ=
𝑓

λ = 2.944 m
The wavelength is 2.944 m long.

2: It takes 8 minutes for sunlight to reach the earth. How far is the sun from the earth?
Solution:

d=?
d=ct

d = 1.44 x 1011 m
The sun is 1.44 x 1011 m from the earth.