The Electromagnetic Spectrum Video Lessons

Concept

Problem: The speed of electromagnetic waves (which include visible light, radio, and x rays) in vacuum is 3.0 x 108 m/s.Wavelengths of visible light waves range from about 400 nm in the violet to about 700 nm in the red. What are the(a) minimum and (b) maximum frequencies of these waves?The range of frequencies for shortwave radio (for example, FM radio and VHF television) is 1.5 to 300 MHz. What are the(c) minimum and (d) maximum wavelengths of these waves?X-ray wavelengths range from about 5.0 nm to about 1.0 x10-2 nm. What are the (e) minimum and(f) maximum frequencies of x rays?

FREE Expert Solution

Frequency is expressed as:

$\overline{){\mathbf{f}}{\mathbf{=}}\frac{\mathbf{c}}{\mathbf{\lambda }}}$, where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and λ is the wavelength.

(a)

Frequency is inversely proportional to wavelength.

Minimum frequency is at a maximum wavelength while maximum frequency is at a minimum wavelength.

Therefore, the frequency is:

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Problem Details

The speed of electromagnetic waves (which include visible light, radio, and x rays) in vacuum is 3.0 x 108 m/s.
Wavelengths of visible light waves range from about 400 nm in the violet to about 700 nm in the red.

What are the

(a) minimum and

(b) maximum frequencies of these waves?
The range of frequencies for shortwave radio (for example, FM radio and VHF television) is 1.5 to 300 MHz.

What are the

(c) minimum and

(d) maximum wavelengths of these waves?
X-ray wavelengths range from about 5.0 nm to about 1.0 x10-2 nm.

What are the

(e) minimum and

(f) maximum frequencies of x rays?