Properties of Microwaves
- 300 MHz to 300 GHz (Frequency) & (3 x 10^8 m/sec)/frequency, which gives you a range from 1 mm to 1 meter. (Wavelength)
- Microwaves have wavelengths that can be measured in centimeters.
- microwave energy can penetrate haze, light rain and snow, clouds, and smoke.
- The prefix "micro-" in "microwave" means "small" compared to waves used in typical radio broadcasting, in that they have shorter wavelengths.
Uses of microwaves
Background:
- Robert Woodrow Wilson, an American astronomer and Arno Allan Penzias discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation.
- The accidental discovery was evidence for an expanding universe (big bang theory).
- The strange thing about the noise was that it was coming from every direction and did not seem to vary in intensity much at all.
- In 1978, Penzias and Wilson were awarded the "Nobel Prize for Physics" for their discovery.