Waves

Waves

1. MECHANICAL

   • All types of sound including music and speaking, ocean waves etc. are mechanical waves. They move through a substance. It propagates from solids as well and example can be vibrations on train tracks. They can't travel through a vacuum-like space.

2. ELECTROMAGNETIC

   • Light waves, come in many forms depending on how the peaks of the wave are spread out. Radio Waves are used to propagate signals on AM Radio, microwaves used to heat food, and propagate waves we need for cell phone service. X-rays are used in medicine and energy intensive gamma rays to sterilize food.
   • Different types: they propagate energy forwards this is why there is light on Earth, If they were mechanical they would not be able to reach the earth and there would not be any life, light or heat .

3. Mechanical waves come in more than one shape while electromagnetic come in only one.

4. Electromagnetic Spectrum

   • Transfer energy and are created by vibrating charged particles.
   • Range
     • Radio, Infrared, Visible light, X-ray, ultraviolet, gamma rays.
   • Infrared Waves
     • This is used mostly in remote controls, night vision cameras, etc.
   • Ultra Violet Waves
     • They can penetrate surfaces like our skin and can cause cancer, they are very dangerous.
   • X-Ray Waves
     • They have additional penetrating power (more dangerous), they get absorbed my more dense objects and go through less dense.
   • Microwaves
     • Shorter than radio waves with a greater frequency, vibrates food molecules heating the,
   • Radio waves
     • Longest wavelength with the lowest frequency, they also have the least energy.
   • Visible Light Waves
     • Your eye can detect a frequency in the visible light spectrum, different frequences of visible light are detected as different colors.
   • Gamma Ray Waves
     • Shortest wavelength and highest frequency and energy. Mostly made by nuclear reactions, the most penetrating because of extreme high frequency and they are used as therapy to kill new cancer cells.