A guide to the electromagnetic spectrum and some elementary quantum physics - General

I'm making this thread because people need to be educated on the subject. [B] Part 1: What the fuck is electromagnetic radiation, you asshole[/B] Electromagnetic radiation is a phenomenon that involves magnetic and electric fields oscillating at right-angles to each other. It has both wave and particle natures (we'll get to that later, but for now pretend it's a wave.) In a perfect vacuum, [B]ALL[/B] electromagnetic radiation travels [B]EXACTLY[/B] at the speed of fucking light, [B]c[/B]. This is 299 792 458 ms^-1 (that's metres per second to you). Knowing about the wave nature of electromagnetic radiation is important because of pretty much one wave property - [B]frequency[/B]. Frequency is a measure of how frequently the wave wiggles back and forth, in layman's terms - think of it as being the number of peaks that cross a point in one second. It's measured in Hertz (Hz) and that's the surname of the guy who they're named after, so you don't say "one Hert", you say "one Hertz", fool. Here, a fucking diagram. [img]http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/media/Communications/frequency.gif[/img] Notice how the peaks of the top wave are closer together than the peaks of the lower wave? Now imagine those waves moving from left to right. If you put your finger on a certain point on that image, more peaks from the top wave would cross your finger in a set time than those from the bottom wave. Don't touch your monitor, you'll get greasy fucking fingerprints on it. Here, another fucking diagram. [img]http://www.kollewin.com/EX/09-15-03/electromagnetic-spectrum.jpg[/img] As you can see, the frequency of EM radiation increases from left to right on this diagram. At the low frequency end you have things like radio waves (super long wavelengths, super low frequency), IR radiation and microwaves. In the middle, you have the tiny spectrum of visible light. At the high frequency end, you have ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays. Gamma rays are the most dangerous for reasons which I'll explain in the next section. [B]Part 2: Thanks a lot, douchebag. Now what?[/B] Now it's time to learn some quantum physics. This shit is basic and pretty easy to understand. If you balk at the word "quantum", you are a product of a culture that sees science as peripheral boffinry and you have lost the drive to think for yourself. Now man the fuck up. Max Planck. Have you heard of him? You have now, motherfucker. [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Max_Planck.png[/img] This guy was the father of quantum physics. He basically figured out through a bunch of shenanigans (well, Einstein did - I understand the experiment and I think it's cool but I'm not putting it in this thread - look up the Photoelectric effect experiment) that EM radiation is not a continuous wave, but is made of little bits, "quanta". So light is "quantised", because it's made into little quantities. See where the name comes from now? These "bits" of light are called [B]photons[/B]. Actually I will describe the photoelectric effect because it's vital to understand this. Basically, when you shine ultraviolet light on some zinc metal, electrons on the surface of the metal fly off. Simple as that. OR WAS IT If you use a lower frequency source of EM, for example visible light or microwaves, nothing fucking happens. It doesn't matter how intense you make the source, no matter how much power you pump into it, no electrons fly away here. So Max Planck thought for a god damn age and came up with [B]QUANTUM THEORY[/B]. He related the energy of a single photon of electromagnetic radiation to its frequency. This is the equation [B]E = hf[/B] energy (E) = Planck constant (h) * frequency of wave (f) So the energy of a photon is directly proportional to its frequency. This is the "particle" nature of light, and it's fucking confusing because light is both a wave and a particle depending on how you look at it. He also figured out (I think it was him) that in order for an atom to release an electron, [B]one photon[/B] needs to collide with [B]one atom[/B] for [B]one electron[/B] to be released. So if you hit a zinc atom with a microwave photon, the photon doesn't have enough energy to release it, so the electron just jumps around a bit between energy levels and then settles down again. UV light can release electrons because its discrete energy is high enough. [B]Mystery fucking solved.[/B] [B] Part 3 : So what does this all mean for me, you rude prick?[/B] [B]This is the difference between ionising and non-ionising radiation.[/B] The photons of lower frequency EM radiation such as microwaves and infrared don't have enough energy to ionise (ionise in this sense meaning to strip an atom of an electron) atoms. They won't fucking do it. Radiation starts to become ionising for chemical bonds at around UV light (of course, some chemical bonds are easier to break than others. You need to put energy into a chemical bond to break it. It's all electrons) because the photons of UV light have larger discrete energies. Anything above UV has the power to give you cancer by fucking up the chemical bonds in your DNA. What am I getting to here? What does this all mean? It means that if someone tells you that all the microwaves in the air are going to give you cancer, you kick them in the genitals, tell them to look up Max Planck and learn some fucking physics. Now you know why UV light from sunlight is dangerous. It will ionise the shit out of you and everyone you love. Same with gamma rays but you don't come across gamma rays a whole lot in your day to day lives. I swear to god, if I see another person on this forum complain about microwaves giving you cancer, I will blast off into space and take a shit on your house from low earth orbit. Peace.

i'm pretty sure we all learned this in the 8th grade

I feel smart for knowing this already.

[QUOTE=Meatpuppet;24437642]i'm pretty sure we all learned this in the 8th grade[/QUOTE] Then why do I see people everywhere complaining about microwaves giving them cancer

I already knew this. [editline]12:36[/editline] [QUOTE=BaconDioxide;24437678]Then why do I see people everywhere complaining about microwaves giving them cancer[/QUOTE] Because a lot of people are stupid, and don't want to learn.

Pretty much debunks the whole "cell phones give you cancer" thing.

[QUOTE=BaconDioxide;24437678]Then why do I see people everywhere complaining about microwaves giving them cancer[/QUOTE] Anything that can harm your cells in any way has a chance of giving you cancer. No matter how minute it may be.

[QUOTE=JoeyZ;24437738]Anything that can harm your cells in any way has a chance of giving you cancer.[/QUOTE] Are you saying that microwaves increase your chance of getting cancer? because you'd better hope your house is shit proof, just saying~

Already knew this, informative thread tho.

[QUOTE=BaconDioxide;24437776]Are you saying that microwaves increase your chance of getting cancer?[/QUOTE] To give you a yes or no answer, Yes. Am I worried? No.

OP: hi, i haz cool phyzic nowledge dat i took frm wikipedia, i am physician..

[QUOTE=First 10'er;24437860]OP: hi, i haz cool phyzic nowledge dat i took frm wikipedia, i am physician..[/QUOTE] :frog:

[QUOTE=JoeyZ;24437835]To give you a yes or no answer, Yes.[/quote] Actually, you're right. Environmental heat allegedly increases the likelihood of cancer (random errors in transcription) a tiny bit. But it's nothing to worry about. Just like oxygen free radicals eventually kill you.

wait what

[img]http://i33.tinypic.com/23wo4g6.png[/img] EDIT basically I think OP's point is that microwaves are less harmful in general than basic light, he is mad that people confuse this.

[QUOTE=First 10'er;24437860]OP: hi, i haz cool phyzic nowledge dat i took frm wikipedia, i am physician..[/QUOTE] The only thing I got from wikipedia was the picture of Max Planck, I'll have you know the I wrote the rest from memory.

Rate funny or informative...FUNNY OR INFORMATIVE?! Fuck it, advice is given to kick tinfoil hatmakers in the nads, informative it is.

Yep, this is pretty cool science. By the by, does the minimum Hertz for ionizaton vary depending on the complexity of the atom, or does the minimum requirement stay standard for all atoms? (basically do different elements get ionised by different levels of radiation, or is there a constant frequency at which all elements suffer ionization?) Also, Nekrietns, just because microwaves don't affect the subatomic level of matter, doesn't mean they don't affect the atomic level. Microwave ovens are evidence of this. Sure, microwaves don't ionise brain cells, but they probably still heat them up a little.

Vodka for all!

[QUOTE=ironman17;24438080]Yep, this is pretty cool science. By the by, does the minimum Hertz for ionizaton vary depending on the complexity of the atom, or does the minimum requirement stay standard for all atoms? (basically do different elements get ionised by different levels of radiation, or is there a constant frequency at which all elements suffer ionization?)[/QUOTE] No, the ionisation energy for every element is different. Thanks for asking, it shows you read the thread. [editline]07:03PM[/editline] [QUOTE=ironman17;24438080]Also, Nekrietns, just because microwaves don't affect the subatomic level of matter, doesn't mean they don't affect the atomic level. Microwave ovens are evidence of this. Sure, microwaves don't ionise brain cells, but they probably still heat them up a little.[/QUOTE] This is true, but the actual heating effect you get from these microwaves is tiny.

[QUOTE=BaconDioxide;24438127]No, the ionisation energy for every element is different. Thanks for asking, it shows you read the thread.[/QUOTE] No problem. Say, is there a chart detailing the minimum Hertz required to ionise each element? (or at least some of them) Also, good to know mobile phones only cause minor, if not negligable, brain heating.

[QUOTE=ironman17;24438188]No problem. Say, is there a chart detailing the minimum Hertz required to ionise each element? (or at least some of them)[/QUOTE] look up the ionisation energy for the element apply it to e=hv

Brilliant. Kick ass guide, man. Fills in a lot of unanswered questions.

[QUOTE=ironman17;24438188]No problem. Say, is there a chart detailing the minimum Hertz required to ionise each element? (or at least some of them) Also, good to know it only causes minor, if not negligable, brain heating.[/QUOTE] The term is "threshold frequency" if you're interested, but I can't find any charts with them, unfortunately. [editline]07:06PM[/editline] [QUOTE=mike;24438224]look up the ionisation energy for the element apply it to e=hv[/QUOTE] this too

You suck at making a scientific thread.

The value of the Planck constant (h) is 6.63*10^-34, btw [editline]07:07PM[/editline] [QUOTE=DrLuke;24438266]You suck at making a scientific thread.[/QUOTE] thanks for telling me how to make a better one

My scanner decided to shit out on me. So where is the best I could do. [IMG]http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg290/GenOmega/microcancerz.png[/IMG]

[QUOTE=BaconDioxide;24437617][img]http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/media/Communications/frequency.gif[/img][/QUOTE] Doesn't look like a sine wave to me

[QUOTE=ThePuska;24438832]Doesn't look like a sine wave to me[/QUOTE] Never said it was a perfect sine wave, it's purely to illustrate the idea of frequency. I can't draw sine waves for shit in real life anyway.

I am a scientist after reading this thread. :science: