Understanding the energy spectrum

Karthik G Vaithianathan
4 min readJun 24, 2023

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“Anything that moves by itself without any external stimuli contains life energy — karvai”

The unknown origin

The universe is filled with energy whose source of origin is unknown. It is now understood that the matter we observe across the universe such as planets, stars, meteors, and nebulas were created from the same energy that is omnipresent across the universe. One part of this energy spectrum, namely the electromagnetic spectrum is reasonably understood by humans and also has been well exploited for better living. Further, it is theorized that the universe is ever expanding and there are energies that do not fall within the electromagnetic spectrum but are attributed to the universe’s expansion called the dark energy. The matter that is potentially associated with this dark energy spectrum is referred to as dark matter. The hypothesis is that dark matter does not interact with the electromagnetic spectrum but its existence is proposed by the gravitational waves exerted by it (similar to the gravitational force from the earth’s matter). Both dark energy and dark matter are subjects under investigation by modern science.

Energy and Matter

The conversion of electromagnetic energy to visible matter and vice versa is governed by Einstien’s equation E=mc2. When high energy photons are converted to mass, they generally form electron and positron pair (referred to as particle and anti-particle pair) and for this to happen, we need a strong electromagnetic field, or the photons by themselves should have very high energy such as gamma rays.

The frequencies of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

The electromagnetic spectrum encompasses a wide range of frequencies, each corresponding to a specific type of electromagnetic radiation. Here is an overview of the electromagnetic spectrum, listed in order of increasing frequency and decreasing wavelength:

  • Radio Waves: Frequencies range from about 30 hertz (Hz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz).
  • Microwaves: Frequencies range from about 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz).
  • Infrared Waves: Frequencies range from about 300 gigahertz (GHz) to 400 terahertz (THz).
  • Visible Light: Frequencies range from about 400 terahertz (THz) to 800 terahertz (THz). This includes the colors of the rainbow from red to violet.
  • Ultraviolet (UV) Waves: Frequencies range from about 800 terahertz (THz) to 30 petahertz (PHz).
  • X-rays: Frequencies range from about 30 petahertz (PHz) to 30 exahertz (EHz).
  • Gamma Rays: Frequencies range from about 30 exahertz (EHz) to more than 300 exahertz (EHz).

Why Gamma rays are harmful to living organisms?

Gamma rays are harmful to living organisms due to the high intensity (or high energy density — density defined as energy over time) spread on the time axis. That is, exposure to even a few milliseconds of gamma rays can deliver energies that can destroy the body cells. The same is the case with X-rays. X-rays are popularly used in medical diagnosis, but the exposure has to be in milliseconds and prolonged exposure can be lethal. Prolonged exposure to UV rays of large magnitude also can create undesirable mutations in human cells or even damage them. However, the light spectrum is not harmful but exposure to a large magnitude of light energy (high energy photons) for a prolonged period could create issues with the conversion of energy from light to heat.

How to radiate or receive these energies?

It is known that the size of the radiating element is nothing but lambda or the wavelength of the signal. i.e., when you send AC current via a highly conducting element of size equal to the wavelength L (or multiples of the wavelength L) of signal S, we can expect the element to start radiating signal S.

We prefer microwave frequencies for communication even though they cannot travel long distances compared to the lower end of the radio wave spectrum, because it:

a) can be radiated with smaller antenna sizes — both transmitter and receivers (such as handphones).

b) carries more energy in less time (in short duration or pulses) and therefore can be packed with more information (with more zero-level crossings) or in other words, it provides higher information bandwidth.

Brain Waves

What frequency could be the energy radiating from the brain?

In neuroscience and the study of brain waves, there are several different frequency bands associated with different states of consciousness and mental activity. These frequency bands are typically categorized as follows:

  1. Delta Waves (0.5–4 Hz): Delta waves are the slowest brain waves and are usually associated with deep sleep and unconsciousness.
  2. Theta Waves (4–8 Hz): Theta waves are often observed during light sleep, deep relaxation, meditation, and creative states.
  3. Alpha Waves (8–12 Hz): Alpha waves are associated with relaxed wakefulness, daydreaming, and light meditation.
  4. Beta Waves (12–30 Hz): Beta waves are linked to active thinking, problem-solving, focus, and alertness. They are typically present during waking states.
  5. Gamma Waves (30–100+ Hz): Gamma waves are the fastest brain waves and are associated with high-level cognitive processing, concentration, and moments of insight.

As we can see, these frequencies are below 1 KHz, can travel relatively longer distance and emitted with feeble strength.

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Karthik G Vaithianathan

I am just a moment in the universe's time axis, trying to leave a better world behind!