Transcript: One hundred years ago studies of the structure of the atom led to a profound shift in our ideas about the fundamental nature of matter. Under the traditional view of Earnest Rutherford, a small solar system module of the atom; the negatively charged electrons orbit or circuit a positively charged nucleus. In the classical picture of the atom using classical physics the electrons should spiral into the nucleus in a tiny fraction of a second implying the collapse of all matter. ...

Transcript: Light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation are transverse waves. This means that the oscillations of the electric and magnetic fields takes place perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wave energy. A familiar example of a transverse wave is a water wave. Note in this example how when a wave occurs in a medium like water the medium itself does not move from one place to another, but wave energy is nonetheless transmitted. The other type of wave is a...

Transcript: Scientists describe the particle nature of light in terms of photons. A photon is like a bullet or a packet of energy carrying electromagnetic radiation from one place to another. The energy of a photon is equal to the Planck’s constant, a tiny fundamental constant of nature, times the frequency. So the energy of a photon is proportional to the frequency. Photons of gamma rays have more energy then photons of x-rays, which have more energy then photons of light. Radio waves...

Transcript: We are familiar with waves in everyday life, water waves, sound waves, but it’s not obvious that light is a wave or that electromagnetic radiation is a wave because the radiation is based on the oscillations of electric and magnetic fields that are invisible to the eye. However, light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation do have the characteristics of waves. The fundamental criteria of waves are wavelength, or the distance from one crest or trough of the radiation to...

Transcript: Wavelength and frequency have an inverse relation for electromagnetic waves. Remember that wavelength is the distance between two peaks or troughs in the radiation and frequency is the number of peaks or troughs that pass every second. Inverse relation is clearer in terms of an analogy. Imagine a set of railroad cars passing by you at a fixed speed. If this length of the railroad cars is cut in half then twice as many cars will pass by per second. The frequency has doubled,...

Transcript: We are familiar with waves in everyday life, water waves, sound waves, but it’s not obvious that light is a wave or that electromagnetic radiation is a wave because the radiation is based on the oscillations of electric and magnetic fields that are invisible to the eye. However, light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation do have the characteristics of waves. The fundamental criteria of waves are wavelength, or the distance from one crest or trough of the radiation to...