What does electromagnetic waves cause matter to do?

What does electromagnetic waves cause matter to do?

When electromagnetic waves strike matter, they may be reflected, refracted, or diffracted. Or they may be absorbed by matter and converted to other forms of energy. The most important source of electromagnetic waves on Earth is the sun. Many other sources of electromagnetic waves depend on technology.

How are electromagnetic waves used in everyday life?

Everyday life is pervaded by artificially made electromagnetic radiation: food is heated in microwave ovens, airplanes are guided by radar waves, television sets receive electromagnetic waves transmitted by broadcasting stations, and infrared waves from heaters provide warmth.

What are some harmful effects of radiation on human and the environment?

Exposure to very high levels of radiation, such as being close to an atomic blast, can cause acute health effects such as skin burns and acute radiation syndrome (“radiation sickness”). It can also result in long-term health effects such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Which of the following can be changed while interaction of EM wave with a surface?

Which of the following can be changed while interaction of EM wave with a surface? Explanation: During the interaction of EM waves with the surface of the earth, intensity, direction, wave length, polarization and phase of wave length can be changed.

What are three differences between an electromagnetic wave and a mechanical wave?

A mechanical wave can be of three types, longitudinal, transverse, and surface waves whereas an electromagnetic wave can only be a transverse wave. An example of a mechanical wave is ripples in a water body whereas those of an electromagnetic wave are microwaves, radio waves, and ultraviolet rays.

How does radioactive material affect the environment?

Radioactive materials released into the environment can cause air, water, surfaces, soil, plants, buildings, people, or animals to become contaminated. A contaminated person has radioactive materials on or inside their body.

What happens when an electromagnetic wave hits a material?

First, an electromagnetic wave hits the atoms of a physical material, which absorbs the wave. Vibrations. The absorption of this electromagnetic energy causes the electrons within this atom to start vibrating. Release.

How do light waves behave across the electromagnetic spectrum?

Light waves across the electromagnetic spectrum behave in similar ways. When a light wave encounters an object, they are either transmitted, reflected, absorbed, refracted, polarized, diffracted, or scattered depending on the composition of the object and the wavelength of the light.

How does density affect the speed of an electromagnetic wave?

In a physical medium, this process of an electromagnetic wave getting absorbed and ejected from atom to atom will cause the wave to travel slightly slower than it does through a vacuum. The denser the physical material, the more delayed the electromagnetic wave will move.

What happens when electromagnetic radiation is absorbed by an atom?

In simple terms what happens is that electromagnetic radiation has energy and when the radiation is absorbed by some atom, the kinetic energy of the atom increases. Heat can be loosely defined as the kinetic energy of atoms, and thus an increase in the kinetic enrgy leads to heating of the material.