2.1.4 The Electromagnetic Spectrum

• The electromagnetic spectrum is a range of frequencies that covers all electromagnetic radiation and their respective wavelengths and energy
• It is divided into bands or regions, and is very important in analytical chemistry
• The spectrum shows the relationship between frequency, wavelength and energy
• Frequency is how many waves pass per second, and wavelength is the distance between two consecutive peaks on the wave
• Gamma rays, X-rays and UV radiation are all dangerous - you can see from that end of the spectrum that it is high frequency and high energy, which can be very damaging to your health

• All light waves travel at the same speed; what distinguishes them is their different frequencies
• The speed of light (symbol ‘c’) is constant and has a value of 3.00 x 10⁸ ms^-1
• As you can see from the spectrum, frequency (symbol ‘ν') is inversely proportional to wavelength (symbol ‘λ')
  • In other words, the higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength

• The equation that links them is c = νλ 
• Since c is constant you can use the formula to calculate the frequency of radiation given the wavelength, and vice versa

Continuous versus line spectrum

• A continuous spectrum in the visible region contains all the colours of the spectrum
• This is what you are seeing in a rainbow, which is formed by the refraction of white light through a prism or water droplets in rain

A continuous spectrum shows all frequencies of light

• However, a line spectrum only shows certain frequencies

The line spectrum of helium which shows only certain frequencies of light

• This tells us that the emitted light from atoms can only be certain fixed frequencies - it is quantised (quanta means 'little packet')
• Electrons can only possess certain amounts of energy - they cannot have any energy value