Understanding Electromagnetic Waves

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the understanding of how light waves travel through mediums, specifically the Earth's atmosphere, and the nature of electromagnetic waves. Participants explore concepts related to wave types, propagation, and detection methods.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses confusion about how light waves travel through the atmosphere and questions the nature of transverse versus longitudinal waves.
  • Another participant seeks clarification on the interaction of light with the atmosphere, noting that the atmosphere is mostly empty space for visible light.
  • A participant shares a link to a video demonstrating a device to detect the electric field of a wave, contributing to the discussion on wave detection.
  • Another participant comments on the video, noting its practical details and the challenges posed by the presentation, indicating a mixed reception of the demonstration.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus, as there are varying levels of understanding and differing perspectives on the nature of light waves and their propagation through mediums.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the nature of light and the medium it travels through remain unaddressed, and the discussion includes references to external resources that may not fully clarify the concepts discussed.

FOIWATER
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I am having trouble understanding how a light wave travels through a medium, such as the Earth's atmosphere when emitted from a light bulb...

I have read some topics on the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves, but I am having trouble understanding how they exist.

I can imagine radiation existing as being emitted from a source, in all directions, and the intensity of the radiation over time follows a sine wave, and the period of this sine wave determines the color of the light, IE, how often the radiation peaks and crests in intensity over time. That's kind of how I imagine it, but is it correct.
 
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FOIWATER said:
I am having trouble understanding how a light wave travels through a medium, such as the Earth's atmosphere when emitted from a light bulb...

Can you be more specific, as our atmosphere is mostly empty space to visible light.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_light#In_a_medium
 
empty space, than.
 
nsaspook said:
A simple device to detect the E field of a wave.


A very good demo but marred by the emphasis on practical details and an illegible white board diagram. They must have been very chuffed when they got it working and could 'feel' the wavefronts!
 
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