electromagnetic radiation

noun

, Physics.

1. radiation consisting of electromagnetic waves, including radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays.

electromagnetic radiation

noun

1. radiation consisting of self-sustaining oscillating electric and magnetic fields at right angles to each other and to the direction of propagation. It does not require a supporting medium and travels through empty space at the speed of light See also photon

electromagnetic radiation

1. Energy in the form of transverse magnetic and electric waves. In a vacuum, these waves travel at the speed of light (which is itself a form of electromagnetic radiation). The acceleration of electric charges (such as alternating current in a radio transmitter) gives rise to electromagnetic radiation. Other common examples of electromagnetic radiation are x-rays, microwaves, and radio waves. A single unit, or quantum, of electromagnetic radiation is called a photon .
2. See also electromagnetism

electromagnetic radiation

1. Any type of electromagnetic wave .

Word History and Origins

Origin of electromagnetic radiation¹

First recorded in 1950–55

A Closer Look

In the nineteenth century, physicists discovered that a changing electric field creates a magnetic field and vice versa. Thus a variation in an electric field (for example, the changing field created when a charged particle such as an electron moves up and down) will generate a magnetic field, which in turn induces an electric field. Equations formulated by James Clerk Maxwell predicted that these fields could potentially reinforce each other, creating an electromagnetic ripple that propagates through space. In fact, visible light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation consist exactly of such waves of mutually reinforcing electric and magnetic fields, traveling at the speed of light. The frequency of the radiation determines how it interacts with charged particles, especially with the electrons of atoms, which absorb and reemit the radiation. The energy of the electromagnetic radiation is proportional to its frequency: the greater the frequency of the waves, the greater their energy. Electromagnetic radiation can also be conceived of as streams of particles known as photons. The photon is the quantum (the smallest possible unit) of electromagnetic radiation. In quantum mechanics, all phenomena in which charged particles interact with one another, as in the binding of protons and electrons in an atom or the formation of chemical bonds between atoms in a molecule, can be understood as an exchange of photons by the charged particles.

Example Sentences

The Crab Nebula features a neutron star at its center that has formed into a 12-mile-wide pulsar pinwheeling electromagnetic radiation across the cosmos.

From Science Daily

Solar flares are made up of electromagnetic radiation that travel from the Sun at the speed of light and can reach Earth in about eight minutes.

From BBC

Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation with a long history at Columbia.

From Science Daily

Both convert electromagnetic radiation into electricity, but thermophotovoltaics use the lower energy infrared photons rather than the higher energy photons of visible light.

From Science Daily

Noise, as these disturbances are called, can arise, for example, from electromagnetic radiation, which can distort or destroy the quantum states being transmitted.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• microwave