Main topic: What applications do the non-visible waves of the electromagnetic spectrum have in your life and work?

Continue the conversation, do you agree or disagree, what are your thoughts.

This weeks discussion topic made me come to a realisation that we actually use invisible waves and I certainly am around these waves on a everyday work basis. The first non-visible wave I think of is x-rays. Working in the Emergency Room, we see everything, including possible bone fractures. The best way to definitively say if a bone is broken requires imaging. We also use imaging for when we relocate a joint like the shoulder, elbow, or knee to confirm proper placement back in the socket. As a medic I sometimes have to assist some patients with getting their x-rays taken, depending on how the x-ray tech needs them to be positioned. CT is also another form of radiation imaging that uses non-visible waves in order to capture the internal view of a patient.

Now something that has non-visible rays that I use on an every day basis, whether its at work or at home is a microwave! I remember I had a friend back in high school who wasn't allowed to use microwaves because his mother believed that it made the food radioactive. While they do use radiation to help you food become warm, they do not make the food radioactive. If that were the case I feel like we'd see more people with 3 eyes and 4 arms hahaha.

But writing this really makes me thankful honestly that humans have been able to discover and utilise these non-visible rays in many ways that help day to day life. I also have included a very short video that briefly discusses how x-rays work because I have wondered the same thing. This is for any curious mind who asks lots of questions!

Continue the conversation, do you agree or disagree, what are your thoughts.

When thinking about what to write for this post, I realized that we use a lot of non-visible waves all the time. Even in basic items such as tv remotes. Some remotes use Infrared to communicate with the TV. Another form of waves that I use on an every day basis are radio waves. Sometimes in my car I will be listening to music from the radio and other times I will be using my phone connected with Bluetooth. The connection with my phone to my car stereo involve using radio waves to connect with each other. Bluetooth is definitely the most common wave I use on a daily basis. Another technology that involves waves is my phone. Phone networks use radio waves and microwaves to transmit data. Most phones connect to cell towers using radio waves. These towers are part of a network that provides coverage over a wide area.

Almost every piece of modern technology we use today that have some sort of wireless function is using some sort of non-visible wave.