electromagnetic radiation

The wave theory of electromagnetic radiation was formalized in the 1800s by James Clerk Maxwell, who realized that such energy was a disturbance of time-varying electric and magnetic fields propagating through space, which fit the wave equation. He organized a series of equations (named, oddly enough, Maxwell's equations) to describe this wave motion.

Einstein's later work with the photoelectric effect revealed that electromagnetic waves carry quantized energy in the form of photons, but the wavelike properties remain in most circumstances and therefore a reformulation of Maxwell's equations are still used today to describe electromagnetic waves.

Electromagnetic radiation, the larger family of wave-like phenomena to which visible light belongs (also known as radiant energy), is the primary vehicle transporting energy through the vast reaches of the universe. This interactive tutorial explores the classical representation of an electromagnetic wave as a sine function, and enables the visitor to vary amplitude and wavelength to demonstrate how this function appears in three dimensions.

Electromagnetic radiation (often abbreviated E-M radiation or EMR) is a form of energy exhibiting wave-like behavior as it travels through space. EMR has both electric and magnetic field components, which oscillate in phase perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the direction of energy propagation.