Light waves traveling through air

AI Thread Summary
Light waves are transverse electromagnetic waves that can propagate through air, but they do not require air for their transmission. Unlike mechanical waves, which depend on shear stress in a medium, light waves can travel through a vacuum. Air can hinder the propagation of light rather than facilitate it. The discussion emphasizes that light's ability to travel through air is due to its nature as an electromagnetic wave, not because of the air itself. Understanding this distinction clarifies the mechanics of light propagation in different mediums.
Ajay.makhecha
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Even though light is a transverse wave it travels through air . Why?
 
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Hi,

It propagates. Just like a wave in the water is transverse and still propagates.
 
Light is not a mechanical wave through air. Indeed you cannot have transverse mechanical waves in a gas because these (the mechanical waves) rely on shear stress in the medium. But light does not need the air to propagate, air is more "in the way" rather than an element necessary for propagation of EM waves.
 
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