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Properties of electromagnetic waves

Answer Text:
Properties of electromagnetic waves
Common properties
i. They do not require a material medium and can travel through a vacuum.
ii. They undergo reflection, refraction and diffraction.
iii. All electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light i.e. 3 × 108 ms-1.
iv. They carry no electric charge
v. They transfer energy from a source to a receiver in the form of oscillating electric and magnetic fields.
vi. They obey the wave equation (v = λ f).



Examples
1. A VHF radio transmitter broadcasts radio waves at a frequency of 30 M Hz. What is their wavelength?
Solution
v = f λ => then λ = v / f =#( 3.0 xx
10^8) / (300 × 10^6)# = 1.00 m.
2. Calculate the frequency of a radio wave of wavelength 150m.
Solution
v = f λ =>f = v / λ = #2.0 × 10^6# =
2 M Hz.