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- In contrast, light waves can travel through a vacuum, and do not require a medium. In empty space, the wave does not dissipate (grow smaller) no matter how far it travels, because the wave is not interacting with anything else.
van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/listing/21368
How can light (or electromagnetic radiation) travel through a vacuum when there is nothing there to act as a medium, and do so forever in all directions? For example the light coming from a star millions of light years away.
May 2, 2014 · Light may seem to be an exception, leading many to say that light is a wave that can travel through a vacuum with no medium. Light doesn't use EM fields as its medium; light IS an EM (electromagnetic) wave.
In contrast, light waves can travel through a vacuum, and do not require a medium. In empty space, the wave does not dissipate (grow smaller) no matter how far it travels, because the wave is not interacting with anything else.
- Theory of Light in The 19th Century
- Double-Slit Experiment
- Electromagnetism and Special Relativity
- Einstein and The Photon
- Wave-Particle Duality
During the Scientific Revolution, scientists began moving away from Aristotelian scientific theories that had been seen as accepted canon for centuries. This included rejecting Aristotle's theory of light, which viewed it as being a disturbance in the air (one of his four "elements" that composed matter), and embracing the more mechanistic view tha...
By the early 19th century, scientists began to break with corpuscular theory. This was due in part to the fact that corpuscular theory failed to adequately explain the diffraction, interference and polarization of light, but was also because of various experiments that seemed to confirm the still-competing view that light behaved as a wave. The mos...
Prior to the 19th and 20th centuries, the speed of light had already been determined. The first recorded measurements were performed by Danish astronomer Ole Rømer, who demonstrated in 1676 using light measurements from Jupiter's moon Io to show that light travels at a finite speed (rather than instantaneously). By the late 19th century, James Cler...
In 1905, Einstein also helped to resolve a great deal of confusion surrounding the behavior of electromagnetic radiation when he proposed that electrons are emitted from atoms when they absorb energy from light. Known as the photoelectric effect, Einstein based his idea on Planck's earlier work with "black bodies" – materials that absorb electromag...
Subsequent theories on the behavior of light would further refine this idea, which included French physicist Louis-Victor de Broglie calculating the wavelength at which light functioned. This was followed by Heisenberg's "uncertainty principle" (which stated that measuring the position of a photon accurately would disturb measurements of it momentu...
Dec 25, 2011 · Electric and magnetic fields can exist in a vacuum. When an electric field changes, it creates a changing magnetic field, and vice versa. Oscillations between those fields travel at the speed of light through the vacuum. That's the classical view, which does not involve photons.
May 13, 2003 · Yes, a vacuum is necessary for light to travel at its maximum speed. In any other medium, such as air or water, light will encounter particles that can slow it down. However, in a vacuum, there are no particles to interact with, allowing light to travel at its maximum speed without any obstructions.
Feb 18, 2024 · Q: Why can light travel through space while other forms of energy cannot? A: Light is an electromagnetic wave that does not require a material medium to propagate. This allows it to travel through the vacuum of space without encountering any resistance.
