Ectromagnetic radiation is more common than you think. Radio and TV stations emit radio waves when they broadcast their programs; microwaves cook your food in a microwave oven; dentists use X rays to check your teeth. Even though they have different names and different applications, these types of radiation are really all the same thing: electromagnetic (EM) waves, that is, energy that travels in the form of oscillating electric and magnetic fields.

Consider the following:a. radio waves emitted by a weather radar system to detectraindrops and ice crystals in the atmosphere to study weatherpatterns;b. microwaves used in communication satellite transmissions;c. infrared waves that are perceived as heat when you turn on aburner on an electric stove;d. the multicolor light in a rainbow;e. the ultraviolet solar radiation that reaches the surface of theearth and causes unprotected skin to burn; andf. X rays used in medicine for diagnostic imaging