Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is the set of waves of an electromagnetic (EM) field, which propagate through space and carry momentum and electromagnetic radiant energy. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Classically , electromagnetic radiation consists of electromagnetic waves , which are synchronized oscillations of electric and magnetic fields .
A diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum, showing various properties across the range of frequencies and wavelengths. The electromagnetic spectrum is the full range of electromagnetic radiation, organized by frequency or wavelength. The spectrum is divided into separate bands, with different names for the electromagnetic waves within each band.
Maxwell's equations may be combined to demonstrate how fluctuations in electromagnetic fields (waves) propagate at a constant speed in vacuum, c (299 792 458 m/s [2]). Known as electromagnetic radiation, these waves occur at various wavelengths to produce a spectrum of radiation from radio waves to gamma rays.
Examples of the dynamic fields of electromagnetic radiation (in order of increasing frequency): radio waves, microwaves, light (infrared, visible light and ultraviolet), x-rays and gamma rays. In the field of particle physics this electromagnetic radiation is the manifestation of the electromagnetic interaction between charged particles.
In physics, the term "light" may refer more broadly to electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength, whether visible or not. [4] [5] In this sense, gamma rays, X-rays, microwaves and radio waves are also light. The primary properties of light are intensity, propagation direction, frequency or wavelength spectrum, and polarization.
An electromagnetic field very far from currents and charges (sources) is called electromagnetic radiation (EMR) since it radiates from the charges and currents in the source. Such radiation can occur across a wide range of frequencies called the electromagnetic spectrum , including radio waves , microwave , infrared , visible light ...
The existence of electromagnetic radiation was proved by Heinrich Hertz in a series of experiments ranging from 1886 to 1889 in which he discovered the existence of radio waves. The full electromagnetic spectrum (in order of increasing frequency) consists of radio waves, microwaves , infrared radiation , visible light , ultraviolet light , X ...
For some materials that have more complex responses to electromagnetic fields, these properties can be represented by tensors, with time-dependence related to the material's ability to respond to rapid field changes (dispersion (optics), Green–Kubo relations), and possibly also field dependencies representing nonlinear and/or nonlocal ...