Quarter 2 Module 1

Electromagnetic Waves
 Lesson Nature of Electromagnetic Waves
1

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1.Define electromagnetic waves;
2.Describe how electromagnetic (EM) wave
is produced and propagated.
Prior Knowledge
magnetic field -is created around a wire
that conducts electric current.
Solenoid- a coiled wire acts as a strong
magnet when current flows through it.
A solenoid with a core of acts as a
strong
magnet which is called as electromag-
net.
 Nature of Electromagnetic
Waves
Electromagnetic wave -is a disturbance in a field that
carries energy and does not require a medium to
transfer/travel.
Electromagnetic waves are produced by a charge
that
changes its direction or speed. Electrons are charged
particles that can produce electric and magnetic
fields.
 Nature of Electromagnetic Waves
But in order to create the vibrating electric and
magnetic fields that are the characteristics of an
electromagnetic wave, electrons must move.
A charged particle, such as an electron, moves
back and forth, or vibrate.
A changing magnetic field produces an electric
field and in the same manner, a changing electric
field produces a magnetic field.
An electromagnetic wave is made up of an electric field and a
magnetic field positioned at right angles to each other and to
the
direction of motion of the wave.
Since these fields are located at the right angles to the direc-
tion of
motion of the wave, electromagnetic waves are considered as
transverse waves.
This means that both electric and magnetic fields oscillate
perpendicular to each other and to the direction of the propa-
gating
wave. Figure 1.1 In a transverse wave, the direction of the
wave
energy moves into a right angle to the
electric andFigure
magnetic fields. Wave
1.1 Electromagnetic
Like other waves, such as water waves and
waves on a rope, electromagnetic waves carry
energy from one
place to another.
But unlike other waves, electromagnetic waves
do not
carry energy by causing matter to vibrate. It is
the
electric and magnetic fields that vibrate.
Electromagnetic waves travel in a vacuum
at a speed of 3x108 m/s and denoted as c,
the speed of light. The speed is slightly
slower in air, glass, and any other mate-
rial.
To appreciate just how great this speed is,
consider this:
Light from the sun travels 150 million kilometers
to Earth in about 8 minutes!
Nothing known in the universe travels faster

than the speed of light. Since all EM waves

have the same speed which is equal to the
speed of light, this means that as the
wavelength decreases, the frequency of the
wave increases.
 Generalization
Electromagnetic wave is a disturbance in a field that
carries energy and does not require a medium to
transfer/travel.
Electromagnetic wave considered to be of both elec-
tric and magnetic in nature.
Electromagnetic waves are produced by a charge
that changes its direction or speed.
Electromagnetic waves are considered as transverse
waves. In a transverse wave, the direction of the wave
energy moves into a right angle to the electric and
magnetic fields.
The Proponents of Electromagnetic

Wave Theory
 ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE THEORY

The history of Electromagnetic Wave Theory begins

with ancient measures to understand atmospheric
electricity, in particular, lightning.
People then had little understanding of electricity
and
were unable to explain the phenomena. Scientific
understanding about the nature of electricity grew
throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth cen-
turies through the work of researchers.
Hans Christian Oersted

a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered

that the electric current in a wire can deflect a
magnetized compass needle, a phenomenon, the
importance of which was rapidly recognized and
which inspired the development of
electromagnetic theory.
André-Marie Ampère
-made the revolutionary discovery that a wire
carrying electric current can attract or repel
another wire next to it that’s also carrying
electric current. The attraction is magnetic, but
no magnets are necessary for the effect to be
seen. He went on to formulate Ampere’s Law of
Electromagnetism and produced the best
definition of electric current during his time.
Michael Faraday
is probably best known for his discovery of
electromagnetic induction. His contributions to
electrical engineering and electrochemistry or due
to the fact that he was responsible for introducing
the concept of field in physics to describe electro-
magnetic interaction are enough for him to be
highly recognized. But perhaps, it is not so well
known that he had also made fundamental contri-
butions to the electromagnetic theory of light.
James Clerk Maxwell
an English scientist who developed a scientific theory to better
explain electromagnetic waves. When Maxwell used this
field theory to assume that light was an electromagnetic
wave, and then correctly deduced the finite velocity of light, it
was a powerful logical argument for the existence of the
electromagnetic force field. He noticed that electrical fields
and magnetic fields can couple together to form
electromagnetic waves. Maxwell discovered that a changing
magnetic field will induce a changing electric field and
vice versa.
 Heinrich Hertz
a German physicist who applied Maxwell’s theories to the
production and reception of radio waves. The unit of
frequency of a radio wave - one cycle per second - is
named the hertz, in honor of Heinrich Hertz.
He proved the existence of radio waves in the late 1880s.
He used two rods that served as a receiver and a spark
gap as the receiving antennae. Where the waves were
picked up, a corresponding spark would jump. Hertz
showed in his
experiments that these signals possessed all of the prop-
erties of electromagnetic waves.
Oersted’s discovery which states that
“A changing electric field produces a magnetic
field”.
A changing magnetic field is therefore produced
around the vibrating charge. In turn, this changing
magnetic field produces an electric field.
Faraday’s Law states that changing magnetic and
electric fields are perpendicular to each other and to
their direction of propagation. Therefore, they are
seen as transverse waves.
 The Basic Principles of EM Wave Theory
1. Many natural phenomena exhibit wave-like behav-
iors. All of them – water waves, earthquake waves,
and sound waves require a medium to propagate.
These are examples of mechanical waves.
2. Light can also be described as a wave – a wave of
changing electric and magnetic fields that propagate
outward from their sources. These waves, however, do
not require a medium to propagate.
3. They propagate at 300,000,000 meters per second
through a vacuum.
The Basic Principles of EM Wave Theory

4. Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves. In sim-

pler terms, the changing electric and magnetic fields
oscillate perpendicular to each other and to the direc-
tion of the propagating waves. These changing elec-
tric and magnetic fields generate each other through
Faraday’s Law of Induction and Ampere’s Law
of Electromagnetism.
These changing fields dissociate from the oscillating
charge and propagate out into space at the speed of
light.
5. When the oscillating charge accelerates, the moving
charge’s electric fields change, too.
 Electromagnetic Wave Theory Comic Strip
Directions: Read the comic strip below and answer the ques-
tions that follow on a separate sheet of paper.
Generalization
EM Waves: Frequencies
and Wavelengths
 EM Waves: Frequencies and Wavelengths
The electromagnetic waves (EM) are often
arranged in the order of wavelength and
frequency in what is known as the electro-
magnetic (EM) spectrum. The term fre-
quency describes
how many waves per second a wave-
length produces. On the other hand,
the wavelength measures the length of an
individual wave in meters
All EM waves travel at the same speed, if the
frequency
of a wave changes, then the wavelength must
change aswell. Waves with the longest wave-
lengths have the
lowest frequencies while the waves with the
shortest have the highest frequencies.
The amount of energy carried by an electromag-
netic wave increases with its frequency.
 The EM spectrum displays the following waves,
namely radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light,
ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays at the high-fre-
quency (short wavelength) end. It is important to note
that these waves do not have an exact dividing region.
Since all EM waves travel at the speed of light, then the
spectrum of wavelengths is exactly opposite to the
spectrum of frequencies. In other words, wavelength
and frequency are inversely proportional to each other.
As frequencies increase on the EM spectrum,
wavelengths decrease. So, that means radio
waves have the longest wavelengths and gamma
 The different types of electromagnetic waves are de-
fined by the amount of energy carried by their photons.
Photons are bundles of wave energy. From among the
EM waves, gamma rays carry photons of high ener-
gies while radio waves own photons with the lowest
energies. With regard to the wavelength prop-
erties, radio waves can be likened to the size of a foot-
ball field while gamma rays are as small as the nuclei
of an atom. Gamma rays, X-rays, and high ultraviolet
are classified as ionizing radiation as their photons
have enough energy to ionize atoms, causing chemical
reactions.
 Generalization
• All electromagnetic waves travel at the same speed in a vacuum 3x108 m/s.
• The EM waves are often arranged in the order of wavelength and frequency
in what is known as the electromagnetic spectrum.
• Frequency describes how many waves per second a wavelength produces.
• Wavelength measures the length of individual wave in meters.
• Waves with longest wavelengths have the lowest frequencies.
• Waves with the shortest wavelengths have the highest frequencies.
Waves in the EM spectrum include the following from the longest wavelength to
the shortest wavelength: Radio wave, Microwave, Infrared, Visible light,
Ultraviolet, X-ray, Gamma ray.
THANK
YOU