Ian Baughman said:So I know that EM waves travel perpendicular to the electric and magnetic fields which are also perpendicular to each other. What I'm having difficulty understanding is since light is an EM wave and can travel through the vacuum of space, does that imply that everywhere in the universe there is an electric and magnetic field? It would seem, according to this, if we could find a vacuum where no such fields existed then light would not be able to travel through it.
Electromagnetic waves are a type of energy that is produced by the oscillation of electric and magnetic fields. They are created when charged particles, such as electrons, accelerate.
Electromagnetic waves travel through space at the speed of light. They do not require a medium to travel, unlike mechanical waves which require a medium, such as air or water.
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. It includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays.
Electromagnetic waves have many practical applications in our daily lives. They are used in communication technologies, such as radio and television broadcasting, as well as in medical imaging, such as X-rays and MRI scans. They are also used in cooking, heating, and lighting.
The frequency and wavelength of an electromagnetic wave are inversely proportional to each other. This means that as the frequency increases, the wavelength decreases, and vice versa. This relationship is described by the equation: speed of light = frequency x wavelength.