Electromagnetic Energy

Electromagnetic Energy

Travels through space as a combination of electric and magnetic field

X-Ray Properties

Highly penetrating

Invisible rays

Electrically neutral

Not affected by either electric or magnetic field

Polyenergetic and heterogenous

Travel at a speed of light in a vacuum

Travel in straight lines

Wave-Particle Duality

EMR has a dual nature

• Behave as both wave and particle

Wave Theory

EMR travels in a form of wave with an associated frequency and wavelength

Particle Theory

EMR acts like a small bundle of energy

Photons

• Smallest quantity of any EME

• Small bundle of energy (quantum)

• Travels at c

• No mass and charge

• Waveform: sinusoidal

Frequency

The rate of rise and fall

Unit: Hertz

1 Hz: 1 cycle/second

Inversely proportional to wavelength

Wavelength

Usually measured from

• Crest to crest

• Valley to valley

• One point to other

Unit: meter or Angstrom

Symbol: λ

Inversely proportional to the frequency

X-rays Wavelength

• 10-10

-10-14 m

• 0.1-0.5 Å

• 1018-1022 Hz

• 10 keV-50 MeV

Amplitude

The intensity of the wave defined by its maximal height

The width of a waveform

not related to wavelength or frequency

Velocity

Constant

• Equals to the speed of light (c)

• 3 x 108 m/s

• 186,400 mi/s