wave

In electromagnetic radiation, the energy of the wave is related to both the frequency (nu) and wavelength (lambda) of the wave, in the following forms:
E = h nu = hc / lambda

The table below shows the approximate wavelength, frequency, and energy ranges for different types of electromagnetic waves. An illustration of the spectrum is in the image to the right, which can be examined closer by clicking on it.

Notice that there is some overlap. For example, the terahertz waves (which are just now being studied and found to have intriguing properties) really lie just on the border of the microwave and infrared waves. Also, some depictions show an overlap between infrared & microwave, ultraviolet & x-ray, and x-ray & gamma rays, so these ranges are somewhat flexible at the boundaries. These values (except for the terahertz, which I calculated from other sources) came from NASA, so I figure they're close enough.



A wave is a disturbance traveling through space, transferring energy from one point to the next without permanently changing space itself. Physicists have depicted a wave graphically as the passage of such a disturbance over time.