If I wished to produce every frequency of electromagnetic radiation from extra low frequency waves through visible light up to gamma rays, what is the minimum amount of equipment I would need?

peasypod

Well first things on my shopping list would be, a variable frequency radio transmitter, a variable temperature heater, a light bulb and a binary star system where the black hole is acreting the companion..... But of course the answer is probably a pair of rabbit ears from Kmart for $2.99, right? Jul 10 05, 5:27 PM

lanfranco

Buy yourself a spectrophotometer: http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Electromagnetic+spectroscopy&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&linktext=electromagnetic%20spectroscopy Jul 10 05, 6:19 PM

lanfranco

Oh, wait, you said "produce" not "detect." A different issue ... Jul 10 05, 6:32 PM

gmackematix

I don't know the answer to this one so tell me more about those rabbit ears, Peasy! Jul 10 05, 11:38 PM

BillyWhiz

A spectrophotometer only detects UV, visible and infra red radiation anyway Jul 11 05, 12:59 AM

peasypod

I was thinking of a few emitters that would cover the low frequency end of the story, however at the top end many of the sources (such as gamma emitters) tend to be quantised. They emit only one or a few wavelengths. An X-ray tube will emit in the keV range (kilo electron volts) but you are unlikely to get a variable gamma source (MeV) by this method (i.e. firing electrons at the nucleus of the atom). Gamma rays are emitted from nuclear interactions which are by their very nature, discrete. Hence the acreting black hole... Mind you, I am still scouring the Kmart catalogue... Jul 11 05, 6:13 AM