TOPIC 3 WAVES AND RADIATION
TOPIC 3
WAVES AND RADIATION
3.1 Waves
A wave may be defined as a disturbance that transfers energy from one place to
another. Water waves, seismic waves, shock waves, sound and light are all
examples of wave motion. All these except light require some material to travel
through, while light involves electrical and magnetic disturbances that can travel
most easily in a vacuum (empty space). Water waves, light and some seismic
waves (e.g. S-waves) are transverse waves which means that the displacements
are at right angles to the direction in which the waves are travelling. Sound waves,
shock waves and some seismic waves (P-waves) are longitudinal waves: the
disturbances are to and fro along the direction of wave travel, and involve variations
in pressure and density (rather like stretching and squashing a spring).
The simplest sorts of waves involve a regular repeating displacement that can be
represented as in Figure 3.1. Figure 3.1a shows how the displacement varies with
position at one instant in time, while Figure 3.1b shows how the displacement
varies with time at one position. The distance between two adjacent wave crests is
the wavelength, usually represented by the Greek letter lambda, λ, and the time for
one complete ‘up and down’ cycle is the period, T. The maximum displacement is
the amplitude, A.
The number of complete cycles of the wave per unit time is the frequency, f.
Frequency has SI units of s−1 (number of cycles per second) or hertz, Hz. 1 Hz =
1 s−1. Frequency is the reciprocal of the period:
1
f = (3.1)
T
8 λ
displacement/cm
6 A
4
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
(a) distance/cm
8 T
displacement/cm
6 A
4
0 1 2 3 4 5
(b) time/s
Figure 3.1 A simple wave represented as a graph of (a) displacement against
distance and (b) displacement against time.
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S282/S283 BACKGROUND SCIENCE
The wave speed v is the distance the wave travels divided by the time taken to
travel. Comparing the two parts of Figure 3.1, the disturbance travels a distance λ
in a time interval of T so
λ
v=
T
The wave equation is more usually written
v = fλ (3.2)
EXAMPLE 3.1
The musical note, middle C, has a frequency 256 Hz. What is the period of this
note?
Sound waves travel in air at about 330 m s−1. If you sing middle C, what is the
wavelength of the wave you produce in the air?
Using Equation 3.1
1
T= = 3.9 × 10 −3 s
256 Hz
Rearranging Equation 3.2,
v 330 m s −1
λ= = = 1.30 m
f 256 Hz
EXAMPLE 3.2
BBC Radio 4 long-wave broadcasts on a wavelength 1500 m. The controls on some
radio sets are labelled with frequency, and Radio 4 is found at 200 kHz (2.00 ×
105 Hz). What is the speed of these radio waves in air?
From Equation 3.2, v = 2.00 × 105 Hz × 1500 m = 3.00 × 108 m s−1.
QUESTION 3.1
Seismic P-waves travel through the Earth’s crust at about 6.5 × 103 m s−1. If such a
wave has a period of 2.0 s, what is its wavelength? What is the frequency of this
wave?
3.2 Electromagnetic radiation
Nearly all the information we have about astronomical objects comes from studying
the electromagnetic radiation we receive from them. This radiation includes light,
radio waves and X-rays. When electromagnetic radiation is travelling through space
it can be precisely described and understood in terms of waves (for example, the
wavelength can be measured). All these waves involve electrical and magnetic
disturbances that travel fastest in a vacuum, where they have a speed of 3.00 ×
108 m s−1. This speed is denoted by c and is often referred to simply as the speed of
light. The wave equation (Equation 3.2) for electromagnetic radiation is usually
written
c = fλ (3.3)
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TOPIC 3 WAVES AND RADIATION
4 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
0 1 0 1 0 0 10 1 0 0 0 0 10
3 ×1 3× 3 3× 3 ×1 3× 3× 3 ×1 3 ×1 3 ×1 3 × l /m
v
microwaves i ultraviolet gamma-rays
s
i
b
radio waves infrared l X-rays
e
10 4 10 6 10 8 10 10 10 12 10 14 10 16 10 18 10 20 10 22 10 24 f / Hz
7 6 5 4 l /10 7 m
orange
yellow
violet
green
blue
red
4.3 5.0 6.0 7.5 f /10 14 Hz
Figure 3.2 The electromagnetic spectrum.
As Figure 3.2 shows, electromagnetic waves have a vast range of frequencies and
wavelengths. Visible radiation is that which we can see, and covers only a very
narrow range of wavelengths. Radiation with wavelengths somewhat longer than
those of red light is called infrared, and that with wavelengths shorter than violet
light is ultraviolet. The longest-wavelength, lowest-frequency waves are the radio
waves, and the radiations with the shortest wavelength and highest frequency are
the X-rays and gamma-radiation (represented by the Greek gamma, γ).
Collectively, the full range of waves is known as the electromagnetic spectrum. It
is the different wavelengths and frequencies that determine the different properties
of the waves, for example their ability to penetrate matter, or to cause heating or
ionization, or the different ways in which instruments need to be designed to
manipulate and detect them. As the range of values is so large, SI prefixes are
generally used to express the very small and very large numbers required.
EXAMPLE 3.3
Red light emitted from hot interstellar hydrogen atoms has a wavelength 656 nm,
where 1 nm = 1 × 10–9 m. What is the frequency of this radiation?
Wavelength λ = 656 × 10–9 m = 6.56 × 10–7 m (see Topic 1). From Equation 3.3,
c 3.00 × 10 8 m s −1
f = = = 4.57 × 1014 Hz
λ 6.56 × 10 −7 m
QUESTION 3.2
Cold interstellar hydrogen atoms emit radio waves with a frequency 1400 MHz,
where 1 MHz = 1 × 106 Hz. What is their wavelength?
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S282/S283 BACKGROUND SCIENCE
3.3 Photons
When electromagnetic radiation interacts with matter, it can best be understood and
described as a stream of particles. A particle of electromagnetic radiation is called a
photon. Each photon has a distinct energy, and this determines how the photon
behaves (for example, whether it can dislodge an electron from an atom to produce
an ion).
The relationship between the wave and particle pictures of electromagnetic radiation
is given by
Eph = hf (3.4)
where Eph is the energy of the photon and h is the Planck constant 6.63 × 10–34 J s.
EXAMPLE 3.4
The red light from interstellar hydrogen atoms has a frequency 4.57 × 1014 Hz.
What is the energy of one of its photons?
Using Equation 3.4,
Eph = 6.63 × 10–34 J s × 4.57 × 1014 Hz
= 3.03 × 10–19 J
As Example 3.4 shows, single photons have extremely small energy. Rather than
expressing such energies in joules, we often use the non-SI unit of energy, the
electronvolt (eV), where 1 eV = 1.60 × 10–19 J. However, a warning: for many
calculations you need to express energy in SI units, so sometimes you may need to
convert from eV to joules.
EXAMPLE 3.5
Express the photon energy of red hydrogen light (Example 3.4) in eV.
Eph = 3.03 × 10–19 J
= (3.03 × 10–19 /1.60 × 10−19) eV
= 1.89 eV
EXAMPLE 3.6
What is the frequency of electromagnetic radiation that has photons of energy
4.00 keV? Note that 1 keV = 103 eV.
As 1 eV = 1.60 × 10–19 J, then
Eph = 4.00 × 103 eV = (4.00 × 103 × 1.60 × 10–19) J
= 6.40 × 10–16 J
From Equation 3.4,
E ph 6.40 × 10 −16 J
f = = = 9.65 × 1017 Hz
h 6.63 × 10 −34 J s
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TOPIC 3 WAVES AND RADIATION
QUESTION 3.3
Radio astronomers sometimes use telescopes with receivers tuned to a frequency of
2.7 GHz. Note that 1 GHz = 1 × 109 Hz. What is the energy of a single photon of the
radiation they receive? Express your answer in joules and in eV.
QUESTION 3.4
A certain colour of violet light has photons with energy 3.20 eV. What is the
frequency of this light?
3.4 Answers and comments for Topic 3
QUESTION 3.1
From Equations 3.1 and 3.2, λ = v/f = vT = 6.5 × 103 m s−1 × 2.0 s = 1.3 × 104 m.
From Equation 3.1, f = 1/T = 1/2.0 s = 0.50 Hz.
QUESTION 3.2
Frequency f = 1400 × 106 Hz = 1.40 × 109 Hz
From Equation 3.3, λ = c/f = 3.00 × 108 m s−1/1.40 × 109 Hz = 0.21 m.
QUESTION 3.3
Using Equation 3.4,
Eph = hf = 6.63 × 10−34 J s × 2.7 × 109 Hz
= 1.79 × 10–24 J
To convert to units of eV,
Eph = (1.79 × 10–24/1.60 × 10–19) eV
= 1.12 × 10–5 eV
QUESTION 3.4
Following the method of Example 3.6,
Eph = 3.20 eV = 3.20 × 1.60 × 10–19) J
= 5.12 × 10–19 J
From Equation 3.4,
f = Eph/h = 5.12 × 10–19 J/6.63 × 10–34 J s
= 7.72 × 1014 Hz