What are electromagnetic waves ?

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Q. What are electromagnetic waves ?

Tamil Nadu DgeTamil Nadu HSC (DGE) Board 2024Subjective· 2mImportance★★★★★

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Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves made of mutually perpendicular, in-phase oscillating electric and magnetic fields — both also perpendicular to the direction of propagation. They need no material medium, are produced by accelerating charges, and travel through vacuum at the speed of light $c = 3\times10^{8}\ \text{m/s}$ .

Definition. An electromagnetic wave is a wave produced by an accelerating (or oscillating) electric charge, in which a time-varying electric field and a time-varying magnetic field propagate together through space, one regenerating the other.

Key characteristics:

The electric field $\vec E$ and the magnetic field $\vec B$ oscillate in phase and at right angles to each other.
Both fields are also perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels, so an electromagnetic wave is a transverse wave.
They require no material medium and can travel through free space (vacuum).
In vacuum they travel at the speed of light, $c = \dfrac{1}{\sqrt{\mu_0 \varepsilon_0}} = 3\times10^{8}\ \text{m/s}$ . …

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Same / Similar Concept — real previous-year questions on the same or a closely similar concept, not this exact question.

Showing the 12 most recent of 29 on this concept.

CBSE 2026Set A1 markMCQ
$Q. Who first explained electromagnetic waves mathematically? (A) Einstein (B) Faraday (C) Maxwell (D) Hertz$
›Reveal solutionSolution

Maxwell predicted EM waves theoretically (1865); Hertz confirmed them experimentally (1887).

James Clerk Maxwell unified electricity and magnetism into four equations and showed mathematically that a changing electric field produces a changing magnetic field and vice versa, propagating as an electromagnetic wave at speed $c = 1/\sqrt{\mu_0\varepsilon_0}$ — equal to t …

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CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 mark
$Q. Mention any one property of electromagnetic waves.$
›Reveal solutionSolution

One key property: electromagnetic waves are transverse - E and B oscillate perpendicular to each other and to the direction the wave travels.

Electromagnetic waves consist of oscillating electric (E) and magnetic (B) fields that are mutually perpendicular, and both are perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the wave - making them transverse waves. Other valid properties (any one suffices to answer): they do not require a material medium and can travel through vacuum; they all travel at the same speed in vacuum, c = 3 x 10^8 m/s; they carry energy and momentum …

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CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQ
$Q. Electromagnetic waves are produced by:$
(a) Charge at rest
(b) Charge in uniform motion
(c) Accelerated charge
(d) None of the above
›Reveal solutionSolution

Electromagnetic waves are radiated only by charges that are accelerating (changing velocity).

A charge at rest produces only a static electric field; a charge in uniform motion produces steady electric and magnetic fields but radiates no wave. Only when a charge accelerates do its associated electric and magnetic fields change with time in a way that detaches from the charge and propagates outward as a self-sustaining ele …

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CBSE 2025Set IMPROVEMENT1 markMCQ
$Q. Electromagnetic waves are produced:$
(a) By static charge
(b) By uniformly moving charge
(c) By accelerated charge
(d) By neutral particles
›Reveal solutionSolution

Electromagnetic waves are radiated only by charges that are accelerating (oscillating charges being a common example).

A charge at rest produces only a static electric field, and a charge moving with uniform velocity produces steady electric and magnetic fields, but neither radiates energy as an electromagnetic wave. Only an accelerated charge — one whose velocity is changing (e.g. an oscillating charge) — produces a time-varying electric field, which in turn prod …

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CBSE 2025Set D1 markMCQ
$Q. Which of the following is not an electromagnetic wave? (A) Alpha rays (B) Gamma rays (C) Infrared rays (D) X-rays$
›Reveal solutionSolution

Gamma rays, infrared and X-rays are all EM waves; alpha rays are charged particles (He nuclei), so they are not EM waves.

Electromagnetic waves are oscillating electric and magnetic fields that travel at the speed of light and carry no charge or rest mass. Gamma rays, X-rays and infrared rays are all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

…

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CBSE 2025Set D1 markMCQ
$Q. The speed of electromagnetic wave in any material medium does not depend (A) Upon its wavelength (B) Upon its frequency (C) Upon its intensity (D) Upon its permittivity$
›Reveal solutionSolution

Wave speed in a medium is v = 1/√(με); it does not depend on how intense (bright) the wave is.

The speed of an electromagnetic wave in a material medium is

v = 1/√(μ ε) = c/n

where ε is the permittivity and μ the permeability of the medium. Because the refractive index n varies with frequency (dispersion), the speed does depend on frequency and hence wavelength, and clearly on permittivity.

…

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CBSE 2025Set ANNUAL1 markMCQ
$Q. Which of the following rays is not an electromagnetic wave?$
(a) Gamma rays
(b) X-rays
(c) Microwaves
(d) Beta rays.
›Reveal solutionSolution

Beta rays are streams of electrons, not electromagnetic radiation, so they are the odd one out.

Gamma rays, X-rays and microwaves are all electromagnetic waves — oscillating electric and magnetic fields that travel through space/vacuum at the speed of light, differing only in frequency/wavelength. Beta rays, however, are high-speed electrons (or positrons) emitted during radioactive beta decay; they are material particles carrying charge and rest mass, tr …

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CBSE 2025Set ANNUAL1 markMCQ
$Q. The magnetic field in a plane electromagnetic wave is given by : B_y = 2 \times 10⁻⁷ sin(0.5 \times 10³x + 3.14 \times 10¹¹ t) Tesla. What is the frequency of the wave ?$
(a) 50 GHz
(b) 50 MHz
(c) 0.5 GHz
(d) 5 MHz
›Reveal solutionSolution

Reading the angular frequency $\omega$ directly off the wave equation and using $f=\omega/2\pi$ gives 50 GHz.

The given wave is $B_y = 2\times10^{-7}\sin(0.5\times10^3 x + 3.14\times10^{11} t)$ T, of the standard form $B_y = B_0\sin(kx+\omega t)$ .

Comparing, the angular frequency is

$\omega = 3.14\times10^{11}\ \text{rad/s} \approx \pi\times10^{11}\ \text{rad/s}$

…

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CBSE 2024Set A1 mark
$Q. Write True or False: Electromagnetic waves cannot propagate through any physical medium other than vacuum.$
›Reveal solutionSolution

EM waves are the ONE kind of wave that needs no medium — they travel through vacuum, and also through many material media, just at a different (usually slower) speed.

Unlike mechanical waves (sound, water waves), electromagnetic waves consist of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that regenerate each other, so they require no material medium to propagate — they travel through vacuum at speed $c = 3\times10^8$ m/s. However, this does not mean they cannot travel through other media: light (an EM wave) clearly travels …

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CBSE 2024Set A1 mark
$Q. Match Column 'A' with Column 'B' and write the correct pair. Column 'A' item: 'Electromagnetic wave'. Column 'B' options:$
(i) De-Broglie
(ii) Maxwell
(iii) Ohm
(iv) Einstein
(v) Coulomb
(vi) Lenz
(vii) Young.
›Reveal solutionSolution

Electromagnetic waves were theoretically predicted by Maxwell.

James Clerk Maxwell unified electricity, magnetism, and optics into a consistent set of four equations (Maxwell's equations). By adding the displacement-current term, he showed that a changing electric field produces a changing magnetic field and vice versa, self-sustaining a wave that propagates through space at speed $c=1/\sqrt{\mu_0\varepsilon_0}$ …

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CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markMCQ
$Q. The energy in an electromagnetic wave is$
(a) Wholly shared only by electric field vector
(b) Wholly shared only by magnetic field vector
(c) Equally divided between electric and magnetic field
(d) Zero
›Reveal solutionSolution

An electromagnetic wave carries energy in both its electric and magnetic fields, and on time-averaging the two contributions are exactly equal.

The energy density of the electric field part of an EM wave is $u_E = \tfrac12\epsilon_0 E^2$ and of the magnetic field part is $u_B = \tfrac{1}{2}\dfrac{B^2}{\mu_0}$ . Using $E = cB$ and $c = 1/\sqrt{\mu_0\epsilon_0}$ , one finds $u_E = u_B$ at every instant for a plane EM wave in vacuum. So neither field alone carries the wave's en …

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CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markMCQ
$Q. Which of the following statements about electromagnetic waves is true?$
(a) Electromagnetic waves travel slower than the speed of light in vacuum
(b) Electromagnetic waves require a medium to propagate
(c) Electromagnetic waves can only be observed in the radio frequency range
(d) Electromagnetic waves can be polarized.
›Reveal solutionSolution
EM waves are transverse waves that travel at the speed of light in vacuum without needing a medium, and span the full spectrum — only the polarisation statement is true.

(a) False — in vacuum, all EM waves travel at exactly $c = 3\times10^8\text{ m/s}$ , not slower.

(b) False — EM waves are self-sustaining oscillations of E and B fields; they need no material medium and can travel through vacuum.

(c) False — EM waves exist across the entire spectrum (radio, microwave, IR, visible, UV, X-ray, gamma), not just radio frequencies. …
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