Radio waves are basis for AM and FM radio and are also used in cell phones.
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) uses radio waves to determine
the carbon and hydrogen skeleton of a molecule (Chapter 17).
Photons have both wave and particle properties, but for our study of spectroscopy it is
more useful to think of the wave properties. Waves have wavelength and frequency.
Wavelength (λ) is the distance between one point on a wave and the same point on the
next wave, and is measured in nanometers (abbreviated nm; 1 nm = 10-9 m = 10 Å) or in
micrometers (abbreviated μm; 1 μm = 10-6 m; also called microns). Frequency (ν) is the
number of wave crests that pass a given point in a given period of time, and is measured
in Hertz (abbreviated Hz; 1 Hz = 1 s-1). These concepts are illustrated in Figure 16.2.