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Electromagnetic Radiation ○|Definition|1st|20251119205401-00-⌔
Electromagnetic radiation - Wikipedia
Electromagnetic radiation
In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) or an electromagnetic wave (EMW) is a self-propagating wave of the electromagnetic field that carries momentum and radiant energy through space.12 It encompasses a broad spectrum, classified by frequency (inversely proportional to wavelength), ranging from radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, to gamma rays.3 All forms of EMR travel at the speed of light in a vacuum and exhibit wave–particle duality, behaving both as waves and as discrete particles called photons.
Electromagnetic radiation is produced by accelerating charged particles such as from the Sun and other celestial bodies or artificially generated for various applications. Its interaction with matter depends on wavelength, influencing its uses in communication, medicine, industry, and scientific research. Radio waves enable broadcasting and wireless communication, infrared is used in thermal imaging, visible light is essential for vision, and higher-energy radiation, such as X-rays and gamma rays, is applied in medical imaging, cancer treatment, and industrial inspection. Higher energy EMR, especially in the UV and above, has been associated with negative health effects.
In quantum mechanics, an alternate way of viewing EMR is that it consists of photons, uncharged elementary particles with zero rest mass which are the quanta of the electromagnetic field, responsible for all electromagnetic interactions.4 Quantum electrodynamics is the theory of how EMR interacts with matter on an atomic level.5 Quantum effects provide additional sources of EMR, such as the transition of electrons to lower energy levels in an atom and black-body radiation.6
Printed 2026-06-28.
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Link to original Footnotes
Purcell and Morin, Harvard University. (2013). Electricity and Magnetism (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press, New York. p. 430. ISBN 978-1-107-01402-2. “These waves… require no medium to support their propagation. Traveling electromagnetic waves carry energy,… ↩
“What Is Electromagnetic Radiation?”. ThoughtCo. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024. ↩
﹡ Browne, Michael (2013). Physics for Engineering and Science, p427 (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill/Schaum, New York. ISBN 978-0-07-161399-6.; p319: “For historical reasons, different portions of the EM spectrum are given different names, although they are all the same kind of thing. Visible light constitutes a narrow range of the spectrum, from wavelengths of about 400-800 nm…;p 320 “An electromagnetic wave carries forward momentum… If the radiation is absorbed by a surface, the momentum drops to zero and a force is exerted on the surface… Thus the radiation pressure of an electromagnetic wave is (formula).” ↩
“The Dual Nature of Light as Reflected in the Nobel Archives”. nobelprize.org. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017. ↩
“Electromagnetic Spectrum facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Electromagnetic Spectrum”. encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017. ↩
Tipler, Paul A. (1999). Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Vol. 1: Mechanics, Oscillations and Waves, Thermodynamics. MacMillan. p. 454. ISBN 978-1-57259-491-3. ↩
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