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      • Unlike mechanical waves, electromagnetic waves do not need a medium to propagate. They can travel in a vacuum with the speed of light. The heat from a burning fire, the light from the sun, the X-rays used by a doctor, and the energy used for cooking food in a microwave are all examples of electromagnetic waves.
      www.sciencefacts.net/electromagnetic-waves.html
  1. Jan 5, 2015 · How does an electromagnetic wave travel through for example, the vacuum of space? I usually see that waves are explained using analogies with water, pieces of rope, the strings of a guitar, etc, but it seems to me that all those waves need a medium to propagate.

    • Overview
    • Energy Forms
    • Waves Types
    • Maxwell's Equations
    • Light Properties
    • Radiation Descriptions

    This article explains the different forms of energy, including stored or potential energy and kinetic energy. It also describes mechanical waves and electromagnetic waves as two important ways that energy is transported in the world around us. The article goes on to explain how electricity can be static or changing, forming electromagnetic waves wh...

    Energy comes in many forms and can transform from one type to another, including stored or potential energy, kinetic energy, and electromagnetic radiation.

    Mechanical waves are caused by a disturbance or vibration in matter while electromagnetic waves do not require a medium to propagate.

    Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell developed the scientific theory of electromagnetic waves and Heinrich Hertz applied it to radio wave production and reception.

    Light is made of photons that carry momentum, have no mass, travel at speed of light with both particle-like and wave-like properties; polarization measures alignment of electromagnetic field.

    The terms light, electromagnetic waves, radiation all refer to same physical phenomenon described by frequency/wavelength/energy units for convenient use.

  2. Maxwell’s correction shows that self-sustaining electromagnetic waves (light) can travel through empty space even in the absence of moving charges or currents, with the electric field component and magnetic field component each continually changing and each perpetuating the other.

  3. Aug 6, 2015 · How do EM waves travel in a vacuum? Like waves travel through other things. Electromagnetic waves are comprised of photons, which have an energy E=hf or E=hc/λ where f is frequency and λ is wavelength. The frequency and wavelength are there because photons have a wave nature, not a billiard-ball nature.

  4. An electromagnetic wave transports its energy through a vacuum at a speed of 3.00 x 10 8 m/s (a speed value commonly represented by the symbol c). The propagation of an electromagnetic wave through a material medium occurs at a net speed which is less than 3.00 x 10 8 m/s.

  5. Mar 13, 2020 · Unlike mechanical waves, electromagnetic waves do not need a medium to propagate. They can travel in a vacuum with the speed of light. The heat from a burning fire, the light from the sun, the X-rays used by a doctor, and the energy used for cooking food in a microwave are all examples of electromagnetic waves.

  6. Jul 16, 2018 · Here’s why that’s important: It means that an electromagnetic wave can propagate in a vacuum, no medium necessary. It means electromagnetic waves can traverse the great expanse of nothingness between the sun and the earth.