Electromagnetic Waves Research Paper

The Division of Electromagetic Waves

First, we are talking about electromagnetic radiation. In classical physics, the flow of energy at the universal speed of light through free space or through a material medium in the form of the electricand magnetic fields that make up electromagnetic waves such as radio waves, visible light, and gamma rays. In such a wave, time-varying electric and magnetic fields are mutually linked with each other at right angles and perpendicular to the direction of motion. An electromagnetic wave is characterized by its intensity and the frequency ν of the time variation of the electric and magnetic fields.

In terms of the modern quantum theory, electromagnetic radiation is the flow of photons (also called light quanta) through space. Photons are packets of energy hν that always move with the universal speed of light. The symbol h is Planck’s constant, while the value of ν is the same as that of the frequency of the electromagnetic wave of classical theory. Photons having the same energy hν are all alike, and their number

Electromagnetic radiation is, classically speaking, a wave of electricand magnetic fields propagating at the speed of light c through empty space. In this wave the electric and magnetic fields change their magnitude and direction each second. This rate of change is the frequency ν measured in cycles per second—namely, in hertz. The electric and magnetic fields are always perpendicular to each other and at right angles to the direction of propagation, as shown in Figure 2. There is as much energy carried by the electric component of the wave as by the magnetic component, and the energy is proportional to the square of the field