Waves - Electromagnetic Waves

Question	Answer
Electromagnetic waves can travel through mediums, but they do not require a medium to travel	This means that they can travel through a vacuum!
Electromagnetic waves consist of varying fields	These are electric and magnetic fields
The two fields are perpendicular to each other, and to the direction of motion	The magnetic field is on the horizontal plane, and the electric field is on the vertical plane
Both the magnetic and the electric fields have the same frequency	This is also the frequency of the wave
In a vacuum, electromagnetic waves travel at 2.998 x \(10^8\) \(ms^-1\)	This is the speed of light!
The direction of the waves is unaffected by the magnetic and electric fields	In general, the waves travel in straight lines
Because thy are transverse, electromagnetic waves can be polrised, and can interfere with each other	They can also be diffracted.
The electromagnetic spectrum can be broken up into 8 different categories of waves	Radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays

Resource summary

	Created by leonie.examtime over 10 years ago

	Copied by ed.wilson89 over 10 years ago