Light - Radio and Microwave - 14-16
This collection explores Radio and Microwaves, suitable for ages 14-16.
About Radio and Microwaves: Radio Waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light. Radio waves have frequencies from 300 GHz to as low as 3 kHz, and corresponding wavelengths ranging from 1 millimeter (0.039 in) to 100 kilometers (62 mi). Artificially generated radio waves are used for fixed and mobile radio communication, broadcasting, radar and other navigation systems, communications satellites, computer networks and innumerable other applications. Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter; with frequencies between 300 MHz (100 cm) and 300 GHz (0.1 cm). This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF (millimeter waves), and various sources use different boundaries.
Resources in this collection:
- Wireless 1: This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), introduces students to Wi-Fi, its properties and capabilities, using a real-life scenario as the context.Body centric communications have abundant applications in personal healthcare, smart homes, personal entertainment, identification systems, space exploration and military. This topic investigates the driving technology behind body centric communications, explores current health applications of these devices, possibilities for the future and the ethical issues surrounding these advancements.
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): This resource from the Institute of Physics (IOP), describes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the body. The magnetic resonance imaging video, taken from an IOP Schools and Colleges lecture, uses analogies with sound to describe how the resonant frequencies of protons within the body can be used to produce images. The functional magnetic resonance imaging video, shows an MRI scan of the lecturers brain. He describes how the activity in the brain is linked to different functions, such as exercise, and poses a final question to the students.
- Mobiles and tissues: Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation and they penetrate into human tissue. There is still a significant debate about the safety of holding even a low power microwave transmitter next to your brain or keeping it in a trouser pocket. The possibility of damage to bodies may be particularly significant during early teenage years when there are many changes in human physiology.
- Waves, Radio Waves and Microwaves: This resource from Defence Dynamics looks at waves and the electromagnetic spectrum. The resources are split into two student activity sheets. The Describing waves activity sheet looks at how longitudinal and transverse waves are described (amplitude, wavelength, frequency). It then looks at seismic waves and the effects that these have during an earthquake. The Radio waves and microwaves activity sheet considers the electromagnetic spectrum and the use of radio waves and microwaves in wireless communication.
- Radiation and Communication: Remote controls, mobile phones, televisions and radios are such commonplace devices that it is easy to take for granted how they work. What they have in common is that electromagnetic radiation is used to send messages from a transmitter to a receiver with no physical connection between them. This ‘action-at-a-distance’ has become a familiar part of everyday life. The booklet focuses on the scientific principles underlying the use of electromagnetic radiation in communication devices, from visible light through to radio waves.
