What are the properties of electromagnetic waves?

1 Answer
Oct 8, 2015
  1. They are transverse in nature.
  2. They consist of oscillating electric (E) and magnetic (B) field vectors at right angles to each other and at right angles to the direction of propagation of the wave.
  3. They can travel through a vacuum.
  4. They travel at the speed of light in vaccuum, #c=3xx10^8m//s#
  5. They may be produced by oscillating electric charges or from transition of electrons between different energy levels in an atom.
  6. The obey the wave equation #c=f lambda#
  7. They may be arranged in an electromagnetic spectrum in terms of increasing frequency and include radio waves, TV waves, microwaves, infra-red, visible light (including the 7 spectral colours), UV, X-rays and gamma rays.