Task: Question Generation
Input (English): All electromagnetic waves travel at the same speed through empty space. That speed, called the speed of light, is 300 million meters per second (3.0 108 m/s). Nothing else in the universe is known to travel this fast. If you could move that fast, you would be able to travel around Earth 7.5 times in just 1 second! The sun is about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles) from Earth, but it takes electromagnetic radiation only 8 minutes to reach Earth from the sun. Electromagnetic waves travel more slowly through a medium, and their speed may vary from one medium to another. For example, light travels more slowly through water than it does through air (see Figure 21.4). You can learn more about the speed of light at this URL: [Link] Although all electromagnetic waves travel at the same speed, they may differ in their wavelength and frequency. Wavelength and frequency are defined in the same way for electromagnetic waves as they are for mechanical waves. Both properties are illustrated in Figure 21.5. Wavelength is the distance between corresponding points of adjacent waves. Wavelengths of electromagnetic waves range from many kilometers to a tiny fraction of a millimeter. Frequency is the number of waves that pass a fixed point in a given amount of time. Frequencies of electro- magnetic waves range from thousands to trillions of waves per second. Higher frequency waves have greater energy. The speed of a wave is a product of its wavelength and frequency. Because all electromagnetic waves travel at the same speed through space, a wave with a shorter wavelength must have a higher frequency, and vice versa. This relationship is represented by the equation: Speed = Wavelength Frequency The equation for wave speed can be rewritten as: Frequency = Speed Speed or Wavelength = Wavelength Frequency Therefore, if either wavelength or frequency is known, the missing value can be calculated. Consider an electromag- netic wave that has a wavelength of 3 meters. Its speed, like the speed of all electromagnetic waves, is 3.0 108 meters per second. Its frequency can be found by substituting these values into the frequency equation: Frequency = 3.0 108 m/s = 1.0 108 waves/s, or 1.0 108 hertz (Hz) 3.0 m You Try It! Problem: What is the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave that has a frequency of 3.0 108 hertz? For more practice calculating the frequency and wavelength of electromagnetic waves, go to these URLs:
Output (English): Electromagnetic waves with the lowest frequencies may have wavelengths as long as