Final answer:
The ability to detect small details of an object using electromagnetic waves is greater with shorter wavelengths. Radar, with longer wavelengths, can detect large objects but not small details like rivets, while visible light can show cellular details but not individual atoms due to their small size compared to the light's wavelength.
Therefore, the correct answer is c) Smaller details are observable with shorter wavelengths.
Step-by-step explanation:
When analyzing an object with electromagnetic waves, the size of details that can be discerned is intimately linked to the wavelength of the waves used.
The general principle is that smaller details are discernible with shorter wavelengths.
For instance, radar, which uses radio waves with wavelengths of several centimeters, can identify objects as large as an aircraft but cannot resolve details like its individual rivets.
On the other hand, visible light, which has much shorter wavelengths ranging from 380 to 760 nm, can visualize single biological cells but cannot distinguish individual atoms, which are about 0.1 nm in size.
Microscopy techniques, especially those that seek to observe extremely small details, are limited by the incidental diffraction around tiny objects.
This makes it impossible to make out details significantly smaller than the wavelength of light used in the microscope.
However, by deploying specialized methods, we can slightly circumvent this limitation due to the same wave properties that constraint detail resolution.
In conclusion, the question "Illustrate that the size of details of an object that can be detected with electromagnetic waves is related to their wavelength, by comparing details observable with two different types (for example, radar and visible light or infrared and X-rays)."
illustrates an essential concept from physical or wave optics: that the ability to observe details with electromagnetic waves is generally greater with shorter wavelengths.
Therefore, the correct answer is c) Smaller details are observable with shorter wavelengths.