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electromagnetic radiation: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As electromagnetic wave

Photos and Videos

Diagram of a tree leaf illustrating photosynthesis, with arrows showing sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide entering the leaf and sugars and oxygen being produced. A person is shown beside the tree to demonstrate the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between plants and animals.
Diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum showing frequency, wavelength, and photon energy scales, with labeled regions for gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, infrared, radar, microwaves, television, and radio waves. The visible light portion is highlighted and enlarged to the right, displaying its color range from violet to red.
Diagram of an electromagnetic wave showing two perpendicular oscillating fields: electric field (E) and magnetic field (B), both at right angles to the direction of wave propagation (c). Wavelength is marked as lambda.
X-ray tube
Balmer series of hydrogen spectral lines
absorption coefficient for liquid water
Rayleigh scattering
Snell's law diagram showing an incident ray striking the boundary between media n1 and n2, reflecting at equal angle theta 1 and refracting toward the normal at angle theta 2.
Diagram of a Michelson interferometer showing a laser beam split by a half-transparent mirror into two paths, reflected by a movable and a fixed mirror, and recombined to create an interference pattern on a screen.
Diagram illustrating the Doppler shift in astronomy, showing how absorption lines in a color spectrum move toward violet for approaching objects and toward red for receding objects, with labeled comparison spectra.
How do microwave ovens work?
Understand how the electromagnetic spectrum helps study the celestial bodies
The photoelectric effect: Light interacting with matter
Learn about Michael Faraday's and James Clerk Maxwell's discovery of the electromagnetic field and waves
The discovery of light's wave-particle duality
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Related Topics and References

Topics
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Key People

James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell
Scottish mathematician and physicist
Christiaan Huygens
Christiaan Huygens
Dutch scientist and mathematician
Thomas Young, engraving
Thomas Young
British physician and physicist
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz
Dutch physicist
François Arago
François Arago
French physicist
Neri Vela, Rodolfo
Rodolfo Neri Vela
Mexican scientist and engineer
Heinrich Hertz
Heinrich Hertz
German physicist
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Walther Bothe
German physicist
Sir Edward Victor Appleton.
Sir Edward Victor Appleton
British physicist
default image
Albert Hoyt Taylor
American physicist and radio engineer
Poynting, John Henry
John Henry Poynting
British physicist
Satyendra Nath Bose
Satyendra Nath Bose
Indian physicist

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