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📚 College Physics 2e
Chapters ▾
1 Introduction: The Nature of Science and Physics2 Kinematics3 Two-Dimensional Kinematics4 Dynamics: Force and Newton's Laws of Motion5 Further Applications of Newton's Laws: Friction, Drag, and Elasticity6 Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation7 Work, Energy, and Energy Resources8 Linear Momentum and Collisions9 Statics and Torque10 Rotational Motion and Angular Momentum11 Fluid Statics12 Fluid Dynamics and Its Biological and Medical Applications13 Temperature, Kinetic Theory, and the Gas Laws14 Heat and Heat Transfer Methods15 Thermodynamics16 Oscillatory Motion and Waves17 Physics of Hearing18 Electric Charge and Electric Field19 Electric Potential and Electric Field20 Electric Current, Resistance, and Ohm's Law21 Circuits and DC Instruments22 Magnetism23 Electromagnetic Induction, AC Circuits, and Electrical Technologies24 Electromagnetic Waves25 Geometric Optics26 Vision and Optical Instruments27 Wave Optics28 Special Relativity29 Quantum Physics30 Atomic Physics31 Radioactivity and Nuclear Physics32 Medical Applications of Nuclear Physics33 Particle Physics34 Frontiers of Physics

Chapter 24: Electromagnetic Waves

A photo showing many orange and pale blue colored fish, swimming over a coral reef in the blue waters of the Gulf of Eilat.
Figure 24.1 Human eyes detect these orange “sea goldie” fish swimming over a coral reef in the blue waters of the Gulf of Eilat (Red Sea) using visible light.Human eyes detect these orange “sea goldie” fish swimming over a coral reef in the blue waters of the Gulf of Eilat (Red Sea) using visible light. (credit: Daviddarom, Wikimedia Commons)

The beauty of a coral reef, the warm radiance of sunshine, the sting of sunburn, the X-ray revealing a broken bone, even microwave popcorn—all are brought to us by electromagnetic waves. The list of the various types of electromagnetic waves, ranging from radio transmission waves to nuclear gamma-ray (γ-ray) emissions, is interesting in itself.

Even more intriguing is that all of these widely varied phenomena are different manifestations of the same thing—electromagnetic waves. (See Figure 24.2.) What are electromagnetic waves? How are they created, and how do they travel? How can we understand and organize their widely varying properties? What is their relationship to electric and magnetic effects? These and other questions will be explored.

Adapted from College Physics 2e by OpenStax (openstax.org), licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Changes were made. License: CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0.