| A | B |
|---|
| Electromagnetic waves | transverse waves that have some electrical properties and some magnetic properties |
| electromagnetic wave | consists of changing electric and magnetic fields |
| electromagnetic radiation | The energy that is transferred by electromagnetic waves |
| medium (air, water, wood) | electromagnetic radiation can travel without this--it can travel in empty space |
| speed of light | electromagnetic waves travel this fast |
| frequency | increases as you go from radio waves to gamma rays |
| wavelength | decreases as you go from radio waves to gamma rays |
| energy | increases with increasing frequency and deacreasing wavelength |
| radio waves | used for communication and have the longest wavelenths and lowest frequencies |
| infrared rays | heat |
| visible light | the electromagnetic waves that you can see |
| ultraviolet rays | electromagnetic waves that cause sunburn |
| X-rays | have high energy and are used by doctors to take pictures of bones |
| gamma rays | have the shortest wavelengths and highest frequencies so they have the greatest amount of energy. High energy makes them damaging to living cells. |
