OneNote 06/12/20, 2:44 PM

Atomic Structure - Lec 4

Sunday, 6 December 2020

Wave Nature of Electromagnetic Radiation

• Light is the form of radiation known from early days and speculation about its nature dates back to remote ancient
times. In earlier days (Newton) light was supposed to be made of particles (corpuscules). It was only in the 19th
century when wave nature of light was established.

• James Maxwell (1870) was the first to give a comprehensive explanation about the interaction between the charged
bodies and the behaviour of electrical and magnetic fields on macroscopic level (Electric currents create magnetic
fields; changing electric fields create magnetic fields)

• He suggested that when electrically charged particle moves under accelaration, alternating electrical and magnetic
fields are produced and transmitted
transmitted. These fields are transmitted in the forms of waves called electromagnetic
waves or electromagnetic radiation.

Although electromagnetic wave motion is complex in nature, we will consider here only a few simple properties.

(i) The oscillating electric and magnetic fields produced by oscillating charged particles are perpendicular to each other
and both are perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the wave. Simplified picture of electromagnetic wave is
shown in Fig.

The electric and magnetic field

components of an electromagnetic
wave. These components have the
same wavelength, frequency, speed
and amplitude, but they vibrate in
two mutually perpendicular planes.

(ii)  Unlike sound waves or water waves, electromagnetic waves do not require medium and can move in vacuum.

(iii)  It is now well established that there are many types of electromagnetic radiations, which differ from one another in
wavelength (or frequency). These constitute what is called electromagnetic spectrum. All these EM waves travel with
the same speed in vacuum called as the speed of light.

(iv) EM waves are not affected by external electrical or magnetic field

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