A question about the electromagnetic spectrum....?

Question

In the electromagnetic spectrum, gamma rays, x rays, ultra violet light, infrared, microwaves, radio frequencies are actually there, or present in the air, but we as humans are unable to see them? am i correct? and they move in waves much like the waves in water or the ocean?
thanks

Answer 1

yes

we can't see them because they either have too short or too long wavelength.

yes, they move like waves in water or in the ocean and is called tranverse wave.

Answer 2

Everything in your list is an example of electromagnetic radiation, as is visible light. But they are electromagnetic waves which propagate by the exchange of energy between the electric and magnetic components of the fields. They require no medium, and propagate fine in a vacuum. Sound waves are compression waves in air. Ocean surface waves are more complex, but they also involve back-and-forth motion of matter.

Answer 3

Yep, they are electromagnetic waves just like visible light that travel through space. Humans simply have not evolved the necessary censory apparatus to detect these waves; we are completely blind to them. But, we can detect them in other ways, i.e. through the machines we build such as antennas, and in fact use them to broadcast information and indeed most of our entertainment.

They are "transverse" waves (meaning that vibration is perpendicular to the direction of propagation), so yeah they do indeed move like waves in the ocean. The only difference is that for ocean waves the direction of vibrating (up-down) is fixed due to the orientation of the surface, whereas light (i.e. all you have mentioned PLUS visible light) can vibrate in any given transverse direction, which is known as "polarization" of light.

Answer 4

Hi Boo, There are two basic classes particles and waves. Everything has its own frequency of energy vibration. And yes there are more things we can't see then things we can. They usually are moving outward away from whatever emitted the wave but they can be reflected or absorbed. When you get down to the quantum level it becomes possible for waves to reflect off of or even be partially absorbed by themselves.