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Electromagnetic Radiation
Electromagnetic Radiation
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by Ed O'Sullivan, Brookfield Academy
I. Photons
All forms of electromagnetic radiation (gamma, x-ray, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, microwave, radio/TV) are made up of tiny packets of energy called photons.
Consider this showerhead. It makes a steady stream of water droplets. Note that it is NOT a continuous stream of water.
The droplets are like photons. A flashlight, for instance, creates a shower of visible light photons. Although it looks like a continuous stream of light, it's really many tiny packets of light (photons) one after another.
We will represent a photon with a wiggly line, with a small arrow at its head to indicate the direction it is traveling. For example, four photons of a stream of electromagnetic radiation moving to the left are represented here:
Electromagnetic radiation is said to exhibit wave-particle duality. Each individual photon represents the particles. Go to the next page to learn more about the waves.
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