What is the nature of light and electromagnetic waves?

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Light is a transverse, electromagnetic wave that can be seen by humans. The wave nature of light was first illustrated through experiments on diffraction and interference. Like all electromagnetic waves, light can travel through a vacuum. The transverse nature of light can be demonstrated through polarization.

Consequently, what is the nature of the sound waves?

Nature of Sound Waves. Sound is one kind of longitudinal wave, in which the particles oscillate to and fro in the same direction of wave propagation. Sound waves cannot be transmitted through vacuum. The transmission of sound requires at least a medium, which can be solid, liquid, or gas.

Who Discovered wave nature of light?

The mathematical theory of electromagnetism by James Clerk Maxwell, set up in 1864, led to the view that light is of electromagnetic nature, propagating as a wave from the source to the receiver. Heinrich Hertz discovered experimentally the existence of electromagnetic waves at radio-frequencies in the 1880s.

What are the dual nature of light?

Together Max Planck and Albert Einstein explained the photoelectric effect by assuming that light was actually a stream of little particles, or packets of energy known as photons or quanta. Scientists now believe that light is both a wave and a particle – a property which they term the wave-particle duality.

What is the transverse nature of light?

By transverse nature of light waves, what I understand is that the direction of oscillation (of electromagnetic field) in light is perpendicular to the direction of propagation of light. Polarization essentially means that this oscillation can happen with more than one orientation.

How can light be created?

When the electron gains energy it moves to a higher energy level, then drops back to the ground state releasing its excess energy as light.The upper animation shows how blue (higher energy) light and the animation to the left shows how red (lower energy)light is created.

What is meant by particle nature of light?

Now that the dual nature of light as “both a particle and a wave” has been proved, its essential theory was further evolved from electromagnetics into quantum mechanics. Einstein believed light is a particle (photon) and the flow of photons is a wave.

What is the speed of light through a vacuum?

The speed of light in a vacuum is 186,282 miles per second (299,792 kilometers per second), and in theory nothing can travel faster than light. In miles per hour, light speed is, well, a lot: about 670,616,629 mph. If you could travel at the speed of light, you could go around the Earth 7.5 times in one second.

How can a particle behave like a wave?

Quantum mechanics tells us that light can behave simultaneously as a particle or a wave. When UV light hits a metal surface, it causes an emission of electrons. Albert Einstein explained this “photoelectric” effect by proposing that light – thought to only be a wave – is also a stream of particles.

What are the three properties of light waves and what do they determine?

There are three measurable properties of wave motion: amplitude, wavelength, and frequency. A definitive experiment was Young’s double slit experiment, which demonstrated that light shined at two slits in a screen show an interference pattern characteristic of waves of light, rather than particles.

Who discovered that light was a wave?

Indeed, there was, and Ritter discovered ultraviolet light. In 1867, James Clerk Maxwell predicted that there should be light with even longer wavelengths than infrared light. In 1887 Heinrich Hertz demonstrated the existence of the waves predicted by Maxwell by producing radio waves in his laboratory.

What is the Planck’s quantum theory?

Planck’s law describes the spectral density of electromagnetic radiation emitted by a black body in thermal equilibrium at a given temperature T. The law is named after Max Planck, who proposed it in 1900. It is a pioneering result of modern physics and quantum theory.

What kind of a wave is a light wave?

Electromagnetic waves are made of oscillating magnetic and electric fields and, like all waves, they carry energy. There are many types of electromagnetic waves. From lowest energy to highest energy (red to blue) there are radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays.

What type of radiation has the lowest wavelength?

This means that it is correct to talk about the energy of an X-ray or the wavelength of a microwave or the frequency of a radio wave. The electromagnetic spectrum includes, from longest wavelength to shortest: radio waves, microwaves, infrared, optical, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma-rays.

How did Einstein contribute to the photoelectric effect?

In 1905, Albert Einstein published a paper advancing the hypothesis that light energy is carried in discrete quantized packets to explain experimental data from the photoelectric effect.

What is a wave of light?

Like those ripples, each light wave has a series of high points known as crests, where the electric field is highest, and a series of low points known as troughs, where the electric field is lowest. The wavelength is the distance between two wave crests, which is the same as the distance between two troughs.

What is sound in physics?

In physics, sound is a vibration that typically propagates as an audible wave of pressure, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the reception of such waves and their perception by the brain.

What is the science of light?

Light is electromagnetic radiation within a certain portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The word usually refers to visible light, which is the visible spectrum that is visible to the human eye and is responsible for the sense of sight.

How the light is produced?

As the electrons change orbital levels, energy is emitted or absorbed. For example, if we burn a sheet of paper, energy is given off, which we see as a flame. The matter in the filament of a light bulb emits light when it is excited by an electrical current.

What are some of the properties of light?

Light is electromagnetic radiation that has properties of waves. The electromagnetic spectrum can be divided into several bands based on the wavelength. As we have discussed before, visible light represents a narrow group of wavelengths between about 380 nm and 730 nm.

What is the energy of a photon in joules?

The equation for determining the energy of a photon of electromagnetic radiation is E=hν , where E is energy in Joules, h is Planck’s constant, 6.626×10−34J⋅s , and ν (pronounced “noo”) is the frequency. You have been given the wavelength λ (pronounced lambda) in nanometers, but not the frequency.

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