spiralWhat is radiation and

where does it come from?

The Electro-Weak and strong nuclear forces give rise to energy

radiation

We call this emission of energy, radiation.

Hydrogen atom: the proton (+) and the electron (-) exchange a photon, the frequency of which we can read as the hydrogen atoms' spectrum.

What is radiation? Huygens

Dutch natural philosopher, Christian Huygens, disputed Newton's ideas of light as corpuscles or particles.

Christian Huygens thought that light was caused by the movement of waves.

waves of light

Two centuries later radiation was discovered and radiation can be thought of as weaving waves engendering the fabric of the universe because light is a very small slice of the electromagnetic spectrum of radiation.

light

That spectrum distinguishes energy by the frequency (Hz) of the waves generated by atoms of different elements, compounds, and molecules.

radiant energy or light originates from atomic nuclei as energy is absorbed or released.

Neutron decays into Neutron

An atom and its electron shells

spiral

bohr atom

Murray Gell Mann | Albert Einstein | Stephen Hawking | Richard Feynman

t-square

Man is not the measure of all things, just some.


Nature, an Index to other related pages

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