Electric and Magnetic Fields of Light
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Electric and Magnetic Fields of Light
In lecture, Professor Lavelle talked about light waves as being made of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that are perpendicular to each other. I understand that we model light as a wave in order for us to better understand its properties, but can someone explain conceptionally what these "fields" mean and how they interact to make light?
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Re: Electric and Magnetic Fields of Light
This is more of a physics concept, so I don't think that we need to know why and how they interact, but just that light is electromagnetic radiation.
Electric fields are made from opposing charges, whereas magnetic fields are made from opposing poles. The waves in the field move together creating electromagnetic radiation. From my understanding, electromagnetic radiation doesn't make light, but light is electromagnetic radiation through the combined forces from poles and charged particles. I hope this helps.
Electric fields are made from opposing charges, whereas magnetic fields are made from opposing poles. The waves in the field move together creating electromagnetic radiation. From my understanding, electromagnetic radiation doesn't make light, but light is electromagnetic radiation through the combined forces from poles and charged particles. I hope this helps.
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Re: Electric and Magnetic Fields of Light
I believe it is just important to note that light acts as a wave but also has particle properties, which is why increasing the intensity of the wave did not eject electrons in the photoelectric experiment (that's what someone said in a step up session and it helped me understand the model better).
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