Practice portal › Electromagnetic Waves › The Electromagnetic Spectrum

_____ waves are sometimes referred to as heat waves.

Asked in GSEB Board July 2021 · Ranges, production and detection

Answer: (3) Infrared

Step-by-step solution

Idea: the name comes from what the radiation does when ordinary matter absorbs it.

Infrared wavelengths match the vibrational and rotational energies of molecules, so an absorber takes the energy up as molecular motion -- that is, as heat.

Bodies at everyday temperatures radiate mostly in the infrared, which is why a coal fire or a hot iron is felt before it is seen.

So infrared waves are the ones referred to as heat waves.

Why the other options are wrong

More The Electromagnetic Spectrum questionsAll The Electromagnetic Spectrum questions →

Reading this solution needs no sign-in. You only sign in to practise against the clock and keep your progress.

Practise this with a timer