The electromagnetic waves reaching us consist of only a portion of the visible light, near-infrared rays and radio waves from space because the earth is surrounded by a layer of gases known as the atmosphere.
What types of light can reach the Earth’s surface?
Most of the solar radiation that reaches Earth is made up of visible and infrared light . Only a small amount of ultraviolet radiation reaches the surface.
Which kind of light gets through the Earth’s atmosphere?
All visible light penetrates the atmosphere, most radio light penetrates the atmosphere, and some IR light passes through the atmosphere.
Which type of rays coming from outer space or galaxies?
Cosmic rays are high-energy protons and atomic nuclei that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own galaxy, and from distant galaxies.
Do gamma rays reach Earth’s surface?
Gamma rays have the shortest wavelength and highest frequency of all EM radiation. Only the very highest energies can reach the surface , the rest are absorbed by Ozone in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Gamma rays are produced in areas of extremely high temperature, density and magnetic fields.
Are cosmic rays gamma rays?
Cosmic rays are easily deflected by galactic magnetic fields, making it difficult to trace them back to their source. However, when cosmic rays collide with other particles in interstellar space, they result in the production of gamma rays, which are not deflected .
Can ultraviolet waves reach Earth?
UVC rays do not reach the Earth’s surface because they are completely absorbed by the atmosphere. Harmful effects from UVC rays are minimal.
What is meant by infrared rays?
infrared radiation, that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that extends from the long wavelength, or red, end of the visible-light range to the microwave range . Invisible to the eye, it can be detected as a sensation of warmth on the skin.
Are gamma rays light?
Gamma-rays are the most energetic form of light and are produced by the hottest regions of the universe. They are also produced by such violent events as supernova explosions or the destruction of atoms, and by less dramatic events, such as the decay of radioactive material in space.
Are radio waves faster than gamma rays?
The radio waves would have a longer wavelength and travel the same speed as gamma rays . The gamma rays would have a lower frequency and travel the same speed as gamma rays. The radio waves would have a shorter wavelength and higher energy than gamma rays.
Is beta rays are electromagnetic waves?
Beta rays are not electromagnetic waves
Beta rays also known as beta radiation is obtained through the emission of an electron. Beta rays are not electromagnetic waves because they are charged particles and are capable of getting deflected by the magnetic field.
What type of radiation are cosmic rays?
Cosmic radiation is an ionizing radiation , as are radiation sources such as X-rays and that from radioactive materials. Ionizing radiation is a natural part of the environment in which we live and is present in the earth, buildings, the food we eat, and even in the bones of our bodies.
Is cosmic rays are electromagnetic waves?
Although the name would suggest that cosmic rays are some form of electromagnetic radiation , they are actually subatomic particles travelling at significant fractions of the speed of light.
What is stronger than gamma rays?
Beyond gamma rays are mega-giga-ultra-death rays that are more and more ionizing. Wavelength could be made arbitrarily short as long as it is larger than 0, but good luck gathering amounts of energy to generate such rays.
What do cosmic rays look like?
A cosmic ray hit on a camera appears as a segmented line in the image. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit.. During the Apollo missions, astronauts saw these flashes after their eyes had become dark-adapted. When it was dark, they reported a flash every 2.9 minutes on average.
How often do cosmic rays hit Earth?
How Many Cosmic Rays Strike The Earth’s Atmosphere Each Second? The rate of cosmic rays reaching us falls off rapidly as the cosmic ray energy increases. For 1 GeV particles, the rate is about 10,000 per square meter per second . At 1000 GeV (or 1012 eV), the rate is only 1 particle per square meter per second.
What UV rays make you tan?
The sun’s rays contain two types of ultraviolet radiation that reach your skin: UVA and UVB. UVB radiation burns the upper layers of skin (the epidermis), causing sunburns. UVA radiation is what makes people tan.
Does Moon reflect UV rays?
The sun is so very bright, that it is by far the brightest natural source of UV on the Earth. The moon is about 400,000 times dimmer than the sun. Ultraviolet reflected off the moon could reach the Earth.
Is there UV rays at night?
During the night, there is no available source of UV rays . But also, the UV rays get reflected by our atmosphere both from inside and outside, it means that some of the UV rays that come from sun get reflected back to the space (by the so called Ozone layer).
What are the uses of IR rays?
Infrared Rays have extensive uses for military and civilian applications, including target acquisition, surveillance, night vision, homing, and tracking . Humans at average body temperature can radiate chiefly at wavelengths around ten μm (micrometres).
How IR rays are produced?
Infrared waves are produced by hot bodies and molecules . They are referred as heat waves because they are readily absorbed by water molecules in most materials, which increase their thermal motion, so they heat up the material. Infrared waves are used for therapeutic purpose and long distance photography.
Which of the following uses infrared rays?
Infrared (IR) light is used by electrical heaters, cookers for cooking food, short-range communications like remote controls, optical fibres, security systems and thermal imaging cameras which detect people in the dark.
