Module 11 Terms Flashcards
waves created by vibrating electric charges; consists of vibrating electric and magnetic fields, and can travel through a vacuum or through matter.
electromagnetic waves
electromagnetic wave with wavelength longer than about 10 cm, used for communications.
radio wave
electromagnetic wave with wavelength between about 0.1 mm and 30 cm.
microwave
electromagnetic wave with a wavelength between about 1 mm and 700 billionths of a meter.
infrared wave
electromagnetic waves with wavelengths of 700 to 400 billionths of a meter that can be detected by human eyes.
visible light
electromagnetic wave with wavelength between about 400 billionths and 10 billionths of a meter.
ultraviolent wave
electromagnetic wave with wavelength between about 10 billionths of a meter and 10 trillionths of a meter, often used for medical imaging.
X-ray
electromagnetic wave with a wavelength less than about 100 trillionths of a meter; usually emitted from a decaying atomic nucleus.
gamma ray
specific frequency that a radio station is assigned and uses to broadcast signals.
carrier wave
process of adding a signal to a carrier wave by altering the carrier wave’s amplitude, frequency, or other properties.
modulation
an electric signal whose value changes smoothly over time.
analog signal
an electric signal with only two possible values: ON and OFF
digital signal
device that transmits radio signals at one frequency and receives radio signals at a different frequency, allowing a user to talk and listen at the same time.
transceiver
a system of satellites and ground monitoring stations that enable a receiver to determine its location at or above Earth’s surface.
global positioning system (gps)
massless, energy-containing particle that electromagnetic waves sometimes behave like; the frequency of the electromagnetic wave increases with the energy of the particle.
photon
