Defning Electromagnetic Waves and Their Properties

Electromagnetic waves

- are transverse waves - can travel through a vacuum and do not require a medium

Transverse waves

a wave in which the oscillations of the electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular to the direction of the wave propagation

Mechanical waves

waves that require a medium to travel

3x10^8 m/s

In a vacuum, all EM waves travel at the speed of light of...

The 6 Parts of Transverse Waves

- Crest

- Trough

- Amplitude

- Wavelength

- Frequency

- Node

Crest

- the highest point of the wave above the equilibrium (rest) position

- the peak of the wave where the energy is concentrated

Trough

- the lowest point of the wave below the equilibrium position.

- the lowest point where the particles of the medium are displaced the most in the opposite direction to the crest

Amplitude

- the maximum displacement of a point from its equilibrium (rest) position

- it measures how far the particles of the medium move from their equilibrium position during the wave's oscillation

the more energy the wave carries

the larger the amplitude...

Wavelength

- represented by a lambda (»)

- referred to as the length of one complete wave cycle

- measured in meters

Frequency

- represented by (f)

- refers to how many complete wave cycles pass a given point per unit of time, typically measured in hertz (Hz).

- is inversely related to wavelength

Node

a point where the wave has zero amplitude

Equilibrium line

- the level of the wave flattened out

- the "rest position" or the normal state of the medium

Oscillation

repeated action back and forth or up and down

Period

- the time it takes for one complete wave to pass

- measured in seconds

inversely proportional

the relationship between frequency and wavelengths is...

directly proportional

the relationship between frequency and energy is…

Wiliam Gilbert

he coined the term "electricus"

Hans Christian Ørsted

he notices that an electric current is surrounded by a magnetic field

Michael Faraday

he discovered electromagnetic induction and is known as the "Father of Electromagnetism"

Joseph Henry

He discovered the induced current

James Clark Maxwell

- he discovered a scientific theory

- noticed that electrical fields and magnetic fields couple together to create electromagnetic waves

- described how electrical and magnetic fields interact

- inferred that EM waves travel at the speed of light

- said that light is an EM wave

Heinrich Hertz

discovered radio waves and said that 1 cycle/second (Hertz) is the unit of frequency of a radio wave