Portal:Radio/Selected article/2

The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible electromagnetic radiation. Also, the "electromagnetic spectrum" (usually just spectrum) of an object is the range of electromagnetic radiation that it emits, reflects, or transmits.

The electromagnetic spectrum, extends from the frequencies used in electric power grids (at the long-wavelength end) to gamma radiation (at the short-wavelength end), covering wavelengths from thousands of kilometres down to fractions of the size of an atom. It is commonly said that EM waves beyond these limits are uncommon, although this is not actually true. The 22-year sunspot cycle, for instance, produces radiation with a period of 22 years, or a frequency of 1.4*10⁻⁹ Hz. At the other extreme, photons of arbitrarily high frequency may be produced by colliding electrons with positrons at appropriate energy. 10²⁴ Hz photons can be produced today with man-made accelerators. In our universe the short wavelength limit is likely to be the Planck length, and the long wavelength limit is the size of the universe itself (see physical cosmology), though in principle the spectrum is infinite.