Which has higher energy: FM radio waves or visible green light?
Question:
Which is higher in energy, FM radio waves with a frequency of 1.015 x 10^8 Hz (101.5 MHz) or visible green light with a frequency of 5 x 10^14 Hz?
Answer:
Visible green light with a frequency of 5 x 10^14 Hz has higher energy compared to FM radio waves with a frequency of 1.015 x 10^8 Hz (101.5 MHz).
In the comparison between FM radio waves and visible green light, the energy levels can be determined by their frequency and wavelength. According to the equations e=hv and e=hc/^lambda, energy increases as frequency increases and decreases as wavelength increases.
FM radio waves have a frequency of 1.015 x 10^8 Hz (101.5 MHz) and a longer wavelength of approximately 3 meters. On the other hand, visible green light has a frequency of 5 x 10^14 Hz and a shorter wavelength of approximately 500 nanometers. Since energy is directly proportional to frequency and inversely proportional to wavelength, the higher frequency and shorter wavelength of visible green light result in higher energy levels compared to FM radio waves.
Therefore, visible green light with a frequency of 5 x 10^14 Hz has higher energy due to its higher frequency and shorter wavelength, carrying more energy per photon.