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Electromagnetic radiation is commonly referred to as "light", EM, EMR, or electromagnetic waves. [2] The position of an electromagnetic wave within the electromagnetic spectrum can be characterized by either its frequency of oscillation or its wavelength. Electromagnetic waves of different frequency are called by different names since they have ...
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.
A theory of electromagnetism, known as classical electromagnetism, was developed by several physicists during the period between 1820 and 1873, when James Clerk Maxwell's treatise was published, which unified previous developments into a single theory, proposing that light was an electromagnetic wave propagating in the luminiferous ether. [26]
The range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. electromagnetic wave equation A second-order partial differential equation that describes the propagation of electromagnetic waves through a medium or in a vacuum. electromagnetism The science of electric fields, magnetic fields, currents, charges, and forces. electromechanical
In an electromagnetic wave (such as light), coupling between the electric and magnetic fields sustains propagation of waves involving these fields according to Maxwell's equations. Electromagnetic waves can travel through a vacuum and through some dielectric media (at wavelengths where they are considered transparent).
Gamma rays, X-rays, and the higher energy range of ultraviolet light constitute the ionizing part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The word "ionize" refers to the breaking of one or more electrons away from an atom, an action that requires the relatively high energies that these electromagnetic waves supply.
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-rays ...
A linearly polarized electromagnetic plane wave propagating parallel to the z-axis is a possible solution for the electromagnetic wave equations in free space. The electric field, E, and the magnetic field, B, are perpendicular to each other and the direction of propagation. Maxwell's equations can be combined to derive wave equations.