Light, XRays, and radio waves contain _____________ with different amounts of energy.
Light, X-rays, and radio waves contain electromagnetic radiation with different amounts of energy. In order to understand why they have different amounts of energy, we need to look at the electromagnetic spectrum.
The electromagnetic spectrum is a continuum of all possible wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, ranging from longer wavelengths (such as radio waves) to shorter wavelengths (such as X-rays and gamma rays). At one end of the spectrum, we have radio waves, which have the longest wavelengths and the lowest energy. Moving towards shorter wavelengths, we have microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and finally, gamma rays, which have the shortest wavelengths and the highest energy.
The energy of electromagnetic radiation is directly related to its frequency. Frequency is the number of complete cycles of the wave that pass a given point in one second. According to the wave-particle duality concept in physics, electromagnetic radiation can be thought of as both waves and particles called photons.
The energy of a photon is given by the equation E = hf, where E represents energy, h is Planck's constant (a fundamental constant in quantum physics), and f is the frequency of the radiation. Since energy and frequency are directly proportional, as the frequency increases, the energy of the radiation also increases.
Therefore, light, X-rays, and radio waves have different amounts of energy because they have different frequencies. Light falls within the visible range of the spectrum and has moderate energy, whereas X-rays have much higher frequencies and higher energy levels. On the other hand, radio waves have lower frequencies and lower energy levels compared to both light and X-rays.