Electromagnetic Waves

Module 1
 Electromagnetic Waves
 Are also called electromagnetic radiations
which are basically defined as the oscillations
produced due to crossing over of an electric
and a magnetic field wherein the electric and
magnetic field vector are always
perpendicular to each other and
perpendicular to the direction of the
propagation
 Oscillations – movement back and forth
 An oscillating charge produces an oscillating
electric field in space which further produces
an oscillating magnetic field
 These oscillating electric and magnetic field
keep on regenerating each other and an
Electromagnetic Wave is produced
Scientists and Their Contributions to the
Development of Electromagnetic Theory

He was a Scottish
scientist who is most
famous for his classical
theory of
electromagnetic
radiation which for the
first time brought
together electricity,
magnetism, and light
 James Clerk Maxwell demonstrated that
electric and magnetic fields travel through
space as waves moving at the speed of light
 Maxwell postulated that electromagnetic
waves travel at a speed of 3.0x10⁸ m/s.
Since light travels at the same speed,
he concluded that light is an
electromagnetic wave.
Hans Christian Oersted
He was a Danish physicist
and chemist, discovered that
a magnetic needle aligns
itself perpendicularly to a
current-carrying wire,
definite experimental
evidence of the relationship
between electricity and
magnetism
• A compass needle with a wire, showing the effect Oersted discovered.
Demonstrated by Prof. Oliver Zajkov, Physics Institute at the Ss. Cyril and
Methodius University of Skopje, North Macedonia (Southeast Europe)
• In 1820, Oersted published his discovery that a compass needle was deflected
from magnetic north by a nearby electric current, confirming a direct
relationship between electricity and magnetism
• Showing that an electric current produces a circular magnetic field as it flows
through a wire
Heinrich Hertz
He was a German
physicist and
experimentalist who
demonstrated that the
electromagnetic
waves predicted by
James Clerk Maxwell
exist
 Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was a German physicist who
first conclusively proved the existence of the
electromagnetic waves predicted by James Clerk
Maxwell
 The unit of frequency was named “Hertz” in his
honor
 A cycle per second is one Hertz
 Discovered radio waves, a milestone widely seen as
confirmation of James Clerk Maxwell’s
electromagnetic theory
Michael Faraday
He was an English scientist
who contributed to the study
of electromagnetism and
electrochemistry. His main
discoveries include the
principles underlying
electromagnetic induction,
diamagnetism, and
electrolysis
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
Electromagnetic induction/Faraday
 Electromagnetic waves (EM waves)
 Are also called “Electromagnetic radiation”
 Are waves that are created because of vibrations
between an electric field and a magnetic field
 Are composed of oscillating magnetic and
electric fields
 Can be created by accelerating charges; moving
charges back and forth will produce oscillating
electric and magnetic fields, and these travel at
the speed of light
 Electromagnetic Radiation
 Can be defined as a form of energy that is
produced by the movement of electrically charged
particles traveling through a matter or vacuum or
by oscillating magnetic and eletric disturbance
 The magnetic and the electric fields come at 90°
to each other and the combined waves
move perpendicular to both electric and
magnetic oscillating fields occurring the
disturbance
Propagation and Transmission of
Electromagnetic Waves