electromagnetic wave

American  

noun

Physics.

1. a wave produced by the acceleration of an electric charge and propagated by the periodic variation of intensities of, usually, perpendicular electric and magnetic fields.

---

electromagnetic wave British  

noun

1. a wave of energy propagated in an electromagnetic field See also electromagnetic radiation

---

electromagnetic wave Scientific  

1. A wave of energy consisting of electric and magnetic fields, oscillating at right angles to each other.

2. See more at electromagnetic radiation

---

Etymology

Origin of electromagnetic wave

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

electromagnetic wave

One consequence is that, in a strong magnetic field, an axion should occasionally turn into an electromagnetic wave, or photon.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2024

"If you have a screen and an electromagnetic wave passes by, the wave doesn't propagate straight through," Medvedev said.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2024

Light is an oscillating, or moving, electromagnetic wave that allows us to see objects.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2024

But there is energy in an electromagnetic wave, whether it is absorbed or not.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

The moment we look upon a wave in the ether as an electromagnetic wave, a molecule which emits light ought to be considered as a kind of excitant.

From The New Physics and Its Evolution by Poincaré, Lucien