Ahoy campers, and welcome to June! We’re spinning through the seasons and approaching the summer equinox, June 21st. That means the sun is tracking higher in the sky, sending its rays down through our atmosphere at a more vertical angle. So the sunlight passes through less air and the filtering affect of earth’s atmosphere is less. Add in longer daylight hours, and it’s cooking time for the next couple months – Total sunburn alert. You too, could be a lobster with a little inatttention.
Perhaps a little Dr. Science background is in order: Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, self-propagating waves that oscillate at a particular frequency. For geekaholics, the electrical and magnetic components of each wave oscillate in phase, perpendicular to each other and the direction that the radiation travels. Since oscillating electrical fields generate a magnetic field, and vice versa, these oscillating components, together, keep the wave self-propagating.
However – energy exhibits both wave-like and particle-like behaviors, (this is called the wave-particle duality). In the particle model of electromagnetic radiation, a wave consists of energy packets (particles) called photons. The wave’s frequency is proportional to the particle’s energy, so more energetic packets operate at a faster vibration and shorter wavelength. Classed by frequency (length) of waves, the electromagnetic spectrum runs the gamut from the very-long-wave radio emissions, through infrared, the visible spectrum, and on to very short wavelength “high photon energy” frequencies like ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma rays. To read the rest of Steve Howe’s story, click HERE.
