Question

How does wavelength of radio wave compare to the wavelength of a visible light wave?

Answer 1

The wavelength of a visible light wave is shorter than a wavelength of a radio.

Answer 2

The wavelength of radio waves is much longer than the wavelength of visible light waves

Step-by-step explanation:

Electromagnetic waves are periodic oscillations of the electric and the magnetic fields, occuring in a plane perpendicular to the direction of motion the wave.

Electromagnetic waves are the only waves able to travel in a vacuum; they travel at the speed of light:

`c=3.0\cdot 10^8 m/s`

Electromagnetic waves are also classified into 7 different types, according to their wavelength/frequency. From longest to shortest wavelength, we have: (with the corresponding wavelength written in the brackets):

Radio waves (>1 m)

Microwaves (1 mm - 1 m)

Infrared (750 nm - 1 mm)

Visible light (380 nm - 750 nm)

Ultraviolet (10 nm - 380 nm)

X-rays (0.01 nm - 10 nm)

Gamma rays (<0.01 nm)

So from the table, we can see that:

The wavelength of radio waves is much longer than the wavelength of visible light waves.