Electromagnetic energy what is

Mar 1, Explanation: Electromagnetic energy is a form of energy that is reflected or emitted from objects in the form of electrical and magnetic waves that can travel through space.

Related questions Does gravitational force get weaker with distance? How strong is gravitational force? How does cosmic background radiation change the universe? Sunlight is also a form of EM energy, but visible light is only a small portion of the EM spectrum, which contains a broad range of electromagnetic wavelengths. Electricity and magnetism were once thought to be separate forces.

However, in , Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell developed a unified theory of electromagnetism. The study of electromagnetism deals with how electrically charged particles interact with each other and with magnetic fields. Maxwell also developed a set of formulas, called Maxwell's equations, to describe these phenomena.

EM radiation is created when an atomic particle, such as an electron, is accelerated by an electric field, causing it to move. The movement produces oscillating electric and magnetic fields, which travel at right angles to each other in a bundle of light energy called a photon.

Photons travel in harmonic waves at the fastest speed possible in the universe: , miles per second ,, meters per second in a vacuum, also known as the speed of light. The waves have certain characteristics, given as frequency, wavelength or energy. A wavelength is the distance between two consecutive peaks of a wave. Partners in Cancer Research. What Are Cancer Research Studies. Research Studies.

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Research Grants. Research Funding Opportunities. Cancer Grand Challenges. Research Program Contacts. Funding Strategy. Grants Policies and Process. A radio detects a different portion of the spectrum, and an x-ray machine uses yet another portion.

NASA's scientific instruments use the full range of the electromagnetic spectrum to study the Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. When you tune your radio, watch TV, send a text message, or pop popcorn in a microwave oven, you are using electromagnetic energy. You depend on this energy every hour of every day. Without it, the world you know could not exist. Our Sun is a source of energy across the full spectrum, and its electromagnetic radiation bombards our atmosphere constantly.

However, the Earth's atmosphere protects us from exposure to a range of higher energy waves that can be harmful to life. Gamma rays, x-rays, and some ultraviolet waves are "ionizing," meaning these waves have such a high energy that they can knock electrons out of atoms.

Exposure to these high-energy waves can alter atoms and molecules and cause damage to cells in organic matter.