EM Waves

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In integral form, Faraday’s law becomes,
and is one of Maxwell’s Equations:
(Gauss’s Law for Electricity)

(Gauss’s Law for Magnetism)
(Faraday-Lenz’s Law)
(Ampere-Maxwell’s Law)
Physical Significance of Maxwell’s
Equations:
• The electric charge contained within a closed surface is related to the

surrounding electric field.
• The magnetic flux through any closed surface is zero.
• A time-varying magnetic field can create an electric field.
• There are two ways of creating magnetic field: by electric current and by
changing electric field.
In integral form, Faraday’s law becomes,
and is one of Maxwell’s Equations:
(Gauss’s Law for Electricity)

(Gauss’s Law for Magnetism)
(Faraday-Lenz’s Law)
(Ampere-Maxwell’s Law)
Why are they called Maxwell’s Equations?

Because James Clerk Maxwell, a Scottish physicist, used these
equations to predict the existence of EM waves.
A changing magnetic field creates a changing electric field,
which, in turn, creates a changing magnetic field, which in turn…ad infinitum.
This perpetual cycle allows for the generation of an

electromagnetic wave that moves through vacuum with a speed of,
based on Maxwell’s derivation using the four equations:
c = (ε0µ0)-1/2
ε0 = permittivity of vacuum = 8.85419 x 10-12 C²/N.m²
µ0 = permeability of vacuum = 4π x 10-7 T.m/A
c = speed of electromagnetic wave in vacuum = 3 x 108 m/s
Since the computed value of c equals the speed of light in vacuum

(known from earlier experiments), Maxwell concluded that…
Light is an electromagnetic wave.
Electromagnetic (or EM) Wave
• also known as electromagnetic (or EM) radiation
• a transverse wave consisting of oscillating electric and magnetic field
transverse wave
• wave in which the oscillations are perpendicular to the direction of motion
All EM waves move through a vacuum at the same speed, and the
symbol c is used to denote its value. This speed is called the speed
of light in vacuum and is approximately equal to 3 x 108 m/s.
In air, EM waves travel at nearly the same speed as they do in a

vacuum but, in general, they move through a material medium at a
speed that is less than c:
An EM wave, like any periodic wave, has a frequency f and a wavelength
λ that are related to the speed v of the wave by v = fλ.
For EM waves traveling through a vacuum or, to a good approximation,

through air, the speed is v = c, thus c = fλ.
where:
c = 3 x 108 m/s
λ = wavelength of the EM wave in m
f = frequency of the EM wave in Hz or s-1
Although c is considered the fastest speed in the Universe, it is NOT

infinite, which means that light takes time to travel a certain distance.
The longer the distance,

the longer the time it takes for light to travel that distance.
EM waves, like other waves, carry energy.
The energy is carried by electric and magnetic fields that comprise the wave.
Thus, the total energy density u of an EM wave in a vacuum is given by:

u = Total energy/volume = ½ ϵ0E2 + ½ B2/μ0
In an EM wave propagating through a vacuum or air, the electric field and the
magnetic field carry equal amounts of energy per unit volume of space.
The fact that the two energy densities are equal means that the electric field E
is related to the magnetic field B through the relation:
E = cB
where:
E = electric field in N/C
c = 3 x 108 m/s
B = magnetic field in T)
An EM wave may also be considered as consisting of particles called
photons, and each photon carries an energy that is given by:
E = hf
where:
E = energy of the photon in J
h = Planck’s constant = 6.63 x 10-34 J.s
f = frequency of the wave in Hz or s-1
Light considered as photons.
Light considered as wave.

There’s an infinite number of EM waves in the Universe.
To classify these waves, they are grouped in a system called the EM Spectrum:
EM spectrum
• entire range of EM waves that are grouped into seven categories according to wavelength,
frequency or energy:
• Gamma rays have the highest energies, the shortest wavelengths, and the highest
frequencies.
• Radio waves, on the other hand, have the lowest energies, longest wavelengths, and lowest
frequencies.
• Our eyes cover less than one octave of the electromagnetic spectrum (visible light).
• Astronomical observations from radio waves to gamma-rays cover more than 65 octaves.
octave: interval between one frequency and another having twice the frequency of the first

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Make Each Day

and is one of Maxwell’s Equations:

(Gauss’s Law for Electricity)

• The electric charge contained within a closed surface is related to the

• The magnetic flux through any closed surface is zero.

• A time-varying magnetic field can create an electric field.

and is one of Maxwell’s Equations:

(Gauss’s Law for Electricity)

Why are they called Maxwell’s Equations?

This perpetual cycle allows for the generation of an

Since the computed value of c equals the speed of light in vacuum

In air, EM waves travel at nearly the same speed as they do in a

For EM waves traveling through a vacuum or, to a good approximation,

Although c is considered the fastest speed in the Universe, it is NOT

The longer the distance,

Thus, the total energy density u of an EM wave in a vacuum is given by:

Light considered as photons.

Light considered as wave.

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