What is electromagnetic radiation? In english that we all can understand.. :P?

Question

What's it's relationship with satellites?
(not asking this for homework, just for a general better understanding)

Answer 1

Electromagnetic radiation is a fancy name for light. It comes in several types, like gamma rays, X-rays, UV rays, visible light, IR light, and radio. All of those are different kinds of the same thing, but with different energies.

When you listen to the radio, for example, your radio is receiving electromagnetic radiation being broadcast from the radio station. It then converts the radio waves into sound.

The connection with satellites depends on what you were reading about. A lot of satellites detect some kind of EM radiation. Sometimes, too much background radio radiation (from the Sun, for example) will make it too difficult for satellites to communicate with Earth.

Answer 2

Electromagnetic radiation is just a fancy science term for any form of light or energy. They call it electromagnetic because the light or energy has electrical and magnetic properties.
Energy comes in waves, and the distance between the crest of each wave is called the wavelength. The shorter the wavelength, the more waves pass a point each second and the more "energy" it has (this is the "frequency" of the radiation).
The EM spectrum includes microwaves, radio waves, visible light, infrared, ultraviolet, xrays, and a bunch of other labels.
Humans break up the full range of EM radiation into manageable chunks to make it easier to talk about it.

Your radio uses radio frequencies to create sound.
Your TV uses higher frequency radio waves to create the picture and sound.
The sun emits light in a lot of the chunks - it produces sunlight (visible), sunburns (infrared), and skin cancer (ultraviolet).
Stars emit light in a lot of the chunks as well - they create starlight (visible), and some really big stars are so energetic that they create xrays and other short wavelength radiation.
Basically the hotter something is, the more energy it radiates in the shorter wavelength/higher frequency chunks.

Satellites use radio frequencies and higher to communicate with Earth stations. Some orbiting telescopes look into the universe in a different frequency range than visible light (such as radio waves or xrays or infrared). These give visible objects a different appearance - something dim in the sky could be very bright in infrared (basically the amount of heat).

Answer 3

Ah, if it were only simple. Electromagnetic radiation is called that because of a fairly easy to examine relationship between electric fields and magnetic fields - one causes the other and they constantly interact. For this reason, they don't need any substance to carry them - they can travel through a vacuum alternating electrical and magnetic form, behaving like waves.
But then life gets interesting because these tight little interactions also behave like particles called photons which have a certain amount of energy and can have only that amount. And the photon energy determines if electrons will be bounced around or damage will be done to molecules.
And most people get weirded out because any given EM source can be treated as waves - interference where peaks and valleys in wave intensity interact - and as particles - discrete steps in energy at the same time.
And now you are into quantum physics - which makes transistors work in everyday stuff.

Answer 4

Electromagnetic radiation (frequently abbreviated E-M radiation or EMR) is a style of power showing wave like habit because it travels via area. EMR has the two electric and magnetic container aspects, which oscillate in section perpendicular to a minimum of one yet another and perpendicular to the process power propagation . Electromagnetic radiation is classed in accordance to the frequency of its wave . so as of increasing frequency and reducing wavelength, those are radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, seen easy, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays (see Electromagnetic spectrum). The eyes of quite a few organisms experience a small and particularly variable window of frequencies referred to as the seen spectrum. Electromagnetism is the stress that motives the interplay between electrically charged debris; the areas wherein this occurs are referred to as electromagnetic fields.Electromagnetism is likewise the stress which holds electrons and protons at the same time interior atoms, that are the development blocks of molecules. This governs the approaches in touch in chemistry, which upward thrust up from interactions between the electrons orbiting atoms.Electromagnetism manifests as the two electric fields and magnetic fields. the two fields are only distinctive components of electromagnetism, and subsequently are intrinsically suitable. hence, a changing electric container generates a magnetic container; conversely a changing magnetic container generates an electric container. This result's named electromagnetic induction, and is the muse of operation for electric turbines, induction automobiles, and transformers. Mathematically speaking, magnetic fields and electric fields are convertible with relative action as a 4 vector.

Answer 5

Electromagnetic radiation is a wave that carries energy across space. These waves carry all types of energy, including visible light, x-rays, radio waves, microwaves and others. The only difference between them is the frequency of each, or how fast the wave moves up and down. So the radiation is the total "bundle" of all the energy given off by stars and lights and people and anything that emits energy and/or heat.

Answer 6

Well--visible light is one form of electromagnetic radiation, so let's start there.

The light we see is composed of "photons"--VERY small bundles of energy. But--it behaves like a wave (like the waves you see at the seashore). Now, there's no way to explain exactly how light is both a particle 9photon) and a wave--nodt unless you want to spend a few years studying physics and mathematics. So please, jsut take my word for it.

The bestway tothink of this (though technically its not quite correct) is like those ocean waves, except remember that the waves are made up of photons like the ocean waves aremade up of water molecules.

Now--the light we see is composed of different wavelengths. The wavelength of light can vary. This is like the waves you see in water. Some waves--like the swells far out to sea--are many feet from wavetop to wave top. Small waves--like the ripples in a pond when you toss a rock into it, may be just inches long.

Our eyes perceive these different wavelengths as the different colors.

That's visible light--but its only one form of electromagnetic enrgy. Visible light covers a limited range of wavelengths. There are other wavelengths that electromagnetic energy comes in. Longer wavengths include "infrared radiation"--we feel this as heat, and radio waves. Shorter wavelengths include ultraviolet light (which is the kind that gives you a sunburn) and X-rays.

One more thing--we are actually more used to describing light in terms of frequency. This is just the invers of wavelength--and tells you how many waves pass a given point in 1 second. Here's what I mean: electromagnetic energy of all kinds travels at the same speed--the speed of light (300,000 kilometers per second). Now--if you have a electromagnetic energy wave with a wavelength of 2 meters (the radio waves we cal "shortwae) you figure out the frequency by dividing 300,000 kilometers (300,000,000 meters per second) by that wavelength (2 meters). That gies you a frequency of 150,000,000 --but for convenience, we use a verbal shorthand and call this 150 megahertz.

So that's what the differnt forms of electromagnetic energy are--photons ofenergy traveling at the same speed but with different frequencies (or wavelengths if you prefer).

Answer 7

Electromagnetic radiation:

Why opposite poles of a magnet attract, and like poles repel.
Also why electrons move thru a wire.

The electromagnetic force controls most everything you do, from turn a light on, to how air and spacecraft navigate, to the Northern (or Southern) Lights.

When electrons migrate from atom to atom and light a light bulb, the electromagnetic force controls their (the electrons) behavoir.

As the Earth's iron-nickel core spins, it generates a magnetic field, the amount of which is determined, again, by the electromagnetic force.

Answer 8

In one word, it is, light. it has no particular relationship with satellites other than that it is what allows you to see one.

Answer 9

think of it as different types of light that arent visible. like radio, x-rays, gamma rays.

satellites? well alot of objects in the universe give off radiation that we wouldn't be able to see without satellites that can detect infrared or x-rays. black holes are like this, we can detect gamma radiation given off at its event horizon.

Answer 10

Electromagnetic radiation is a pattern of waves that eminated from a charged particle emission.

The most visible type is that which comes from a bar magnet in which you put that magnet below a sheet of paper and put iron filings on top and shake it and you will see the wave patters of the electro magnetic radiation.

Another way is by putting a wire across two terminals of ANY battery and holding it near a magnet. It will pull the magnet needle towards the wire when you connect it to the battery.

The principals are not fully understood, yet we make use of it all the time. TV and Radio happen because of willfully controlled and generated electromagnetic radiation.

It is commonly held that a particle (sub atomic particle having virtually no mass) often dubbed a PHOTON is eminated at a frequency (vibration rate) and this virbrating particle can be used to transmit music, picture, light and other radiation.

Radiation is the vibrating frequency (up and down or push and pull movement of the particle) of the Photon or other particle.

At very high frequencies (ups and downs or push and pulls per second) radiation can cause heat, light and cell damage to living tissues, depending on the freqency and intensity.

A microwave oven works on this pricipal.

You can't put metal into a Microwave oven because it reflects these particles and they bounce around and go back to the source and cause an overload or fire.

Plastics don't do that, but some plastics react badly, so you have to use good plastics or glass materials that won't crack from the vibrations.

Then these fast vibrating MicroWaves (of Electro Magnetic Radiation) heat organic materials like soups or foods and cook them with safe radiation.

Super ultra fast radiations cook human flesh and organs. These are found in Cosmic Rays and radiation from Nuclear Bombs or excessive exposure to X-Rays.

Exposure to 1/50th of a second of X-Rays now and then is not harmful, but 2 minutes of X-rays is very hazardous.

They way common electro magentic radition works is it goes out at a very specific and regulated frquency (cycles per second).

So you can broadcast 50 TV stations over the air, each at a different frequency.

Then the TV set generates a FREQUENCY for a given station when you set the tuner to say channel 4 and that setting generates an establshied frequency for 4 that is called a BEAT and it nulls the carrier wave and allows your TV set to bring in the frequencies for picture and sound for channel 4.

What it does is CANCELS the wave, the frequency hitting the antenna.

ALL frequencies from ALL sources, such as radio, TV, Cells phones hit the antenna, but ONLY ONE is extraced by using a BEAT frequency the nulls the carrier.

The same with light. Particles (Photons) vibrate at a specific rate and this generates blues, greens, reds, yellows. When all of these are uniform in intensity it melds to WHITE by your eye because your eye can tune in or out specific colors without the use of something like a FILTER (colored glass) which acts as a form of BEAT to cut out all the other colors and just pass one.

This is how 3-D images are made. You look through RED and BLUE filters at images that are made with RED and BLUE lines and the filters removed one of the colors so you see the image slightly different in RED than in BLUE and it looks 3-D

Only people with perfect eye sight in both eyes can see this accurately.

Think of sound. You have a TONE control, if you turn it one way the bass vanishes and you have only highs, if you turn it the other way the bass thickens and you seem to loose the highs.

That is CANCELLATION of part of the WAVE specturm.

It can be done visually as well, by using colored filters.

It can be done for HIGH frequency waves by generating a wave at that same frequency to CANCEL out the carrier.

In Radio and TV we have the wave that holds the audio or visual and it is SENT OUT using a FIXED wave called a CARRIER. It is locked to it. It is crazy glued to it.

You cancell out that carrier wave and what you are left with is audio and video for your TV set.

This process is VERY complex and requires high math and high engineering and physics skills to understrand how it works and how you do it.

But, to simply it, you think of TV stations as SEMI-RIG trucks that CARRY the signal (audio and video) and these trucks each have a color and you use a COLOR FILTER to cancle the color out and what you see is the cargo (the data waves) they carry.

You have to understand this is all an analogy used to try and bring it to simple English.

If four of your friends are talking at once and you are listening YOU have the POWER to concentrate on the ONE PERSON you want to hear and FILTER the rest out as best as you can.

That is done by your mind and brain and ear SELECTIVELY hearing what you want to hear.

TV sets do the same thing with a tuner.

Same with radio.

Same with CELL phones that have a CHIP that ONLY picks up a small frequency which is YOUR cell phone frequency.

This is how YOU hear your friend on your cell phone when 3 million other people are talking on the Electro Magnetic Spectrum at the SAME TIME.

YOUR cell phone filters out 2,999,999 of these people and just picks up one.

This is because your CELL PHONE is TUNED to a specific frequency known only to your phone and the phone company who routes a call to your phone based on the phone number.

What you HEAR on your cell phone is a TUNED Electro Magnetic frequency generated by the person calling you and it is directed at you by the phone company.

That CHIP inside your phone is what allows you to only hear them.

Your cell phone has a precise frequency (vibration rate) on the Electro Magnetic Spectrum and the phone company sends Electro Magnetic waves that are the data of the voice of the person calling you on a tune carrier wave that your phone BEATS and nulls so you can hear the voice.

Our SUN sends out photons of different colors and even hostile radiation like X-Rays and Cosmic Rays.

The Atmosphere of Earth filtersn out the BAD radiation.

Your EYES see the light portion based on the intensity of the amount of RED, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW photons.

When you put a RED maker on WHITE paper that RED maker ONLY reflects RED PHOTONS to your eye.

The blues and greens are cancelled out.

The white paper sends ALL of them to you at equal intensity so you see WHITE because without the pigments of the red paint you can't see the colors without a device like a prism or rainbow.

A rainbow separates the PHOTONS into INDIVIDUAL color elements.

Since our SUN is slightly yellowish we see the RED side darker than the BLUE side.

This is about as simple as it gets and we don't know EVERYTHING about it yet. We guestimate some of it.

A particle. Think of a little dot. It vibrates. Now think of the universe as a whole bunch of billions of dots vibrating but EACH at a different rate.

Those are ALL electromagentic radiation elements.

Slower ones are radio sources. Faster ones are light sources. Even faster ones are X-ray sources. Even Faster ones are Harmful Radioactive sources.

Some you sense, some you see, some will burn you, some will kill you.

Most of the KILL ones are removed by our AIR over the EArth.

The only time they will kill you is with a A-Bomb blast close to you. Those vibrate heavily and they cook your body.

Like a microwave oven.

These are caused by Electron flow, which is the primary source of Electricity. Power that goes into your house.

They generate a field of even smaller particles that go out from the wires into the air and outerspace.

You household electricity moves a 60 cycles per second, not enough to generally harm you.

An X-Ray machine goes at VERY VERY VERY high rates

Over 100,000 cycles per second

What happens is that FAST vibration heats up the cells in your body and cooks them with long exposure.

At 60 cycles nothing fantanstic is known to happen.

But at 200,000 cyles

at 1 million cycles

at 10 million cycles things get more hazardous.

This has to do with friction. With PARTICLES, massless, but none the less particles, hitting your body and vibrating a ultra high rates.

They heat up your cells by rubbing agaisnt them at ULTRA high rates.

Slower rates aren't KNOWN to hurt you (subject to change without notice).

Slower rates are what is used for Radio, TV, Cells phones.

A CRT computer screen generates SOME radiation, but the GLASS removes a lot of it. If you wear GLASSES with UV coating it removes even more.

Some recomend you also have a SCREEN in front of your CRT to removed other radiations as a precaution, but nothing dangerous has yet to be found.

The GLASS on your CRT removes MOST of the electrons hitting the back of the screen.

LCD screens are considered FAR safer.

So

If you have a Electro Magnetic Generator and you point it at your hand and turn the knob to make it vibrate faster you will eventually see some light and then feel heat on your hand and eventually it will burn your skin.

It is caused by the vibration rate and intensity. How fast it moves and how much of it it moves per second.

And it is caused by the movement of electrons (part of the atom) that generate particle waves at a vibration rate and intensity.

This, then, is electro magnetic radiation.

Think of a RAQUET BALL room.

A tennis ball is sent out by a machine first every 30 seconds, then we make it sent out 4 balls every second, then 10 balls every second.

These bounce around that room and you are in that room.

How long before you are hit by those balls every second.

That is the range of ELECTRO MAGNETIC radiation.

At one every 10 seconds you can hit it

At one every 1/10th of a second you are in trouble.

If 200 balls come at you every second you will be knocked unconcious

That is how the process works from slow to fast.

And it has to do with HOW fast we move electrons through a wire.

That rate makes the magnetic field change and that generates other PARTICLES that go off into the AIR and into SPACE if you have enough power.

You and another person have a JUMP rope and you move it up and down as fast as you can.

That is VARIED electro magnetic radiation PARABLE

It's an analogy.

The SUN is the MOST MAJOR source of radiation and it moves from radio waves all the way up to X-rays and Cosmic Rays

It generates ALL of these and our AIR filters out many of the harmful ones and passes only the RADIO and Light rays.

When you TAN it's because of the invisialble UV rays of the sun that aren't filtered out and if you TAN TOO MUCH you can burn and get skin cancer.

Tanning comes from EMR, Electro Magnetic Radiation.

And if you tan under a sheet of glass you filter most of the BURNING rays out and won't get much of a tan.

The thicker the glass, the less TANNING (UV) radiation you will get

Darken that glass with blue and you get even less because it filters it out.

So your beauty tan comes from getting excessive UV radiation caused by the SUN

It cooks your skin and makes it brown.

Sounds nasty, but that's what happens

You are a steak getting BROWNED by the heat of the sun.

Those PHOTONS are simply cooking your skin cells

They are fast moving particles that hit your cells and cook them.

Under low dose controll circumstances this is ok, too much and you face problems such as skin cancer or sun burn.