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What Is Electromagnetic Wave?

Electromagnetic waves are composed of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that are perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. They are created by vibrations between electric and magnetic fields. Electric fields are generated by electric charges or changing magnetic fields, while magnetic fields are generated by moving electric charges or electric currents. Reflection, refraction, and diffraction are ways that waves can change direction when encountering an interface between different media or an obstacle. Radio waves can propagate in three main ways: line-of-sight, ground wave which follows the contour of the Earth, and skywave which is reflected by the ionosphere back to Earth over longer distances than line-of-sight.

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Lance Aaron Lapuz
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61 views3 pages

What Is Electromagnetic Wave?

Electromagnetic waves are composed of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that are perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. They are created by vibrations between electric and magnetic fields. Electric fields are generated by electric charges or changing magnetic fields, while magnetic fields are generated by moving electric charges or electric currents. Reflection, refraction, and diffraction are ways that waves can change direction when encountering an interface between different media or an obstacle. Radio waves can propagate in three main ways: line-of-sight, ground wave which follows the contour of the Earth, and skywave which is reflected by the ionosphere back to Earth over longer distances than line-of-sight.

Uploaded by

Lance Aaron Lapuz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1. What is electromagnetic wave?

- Electromagnetic waves or EM waves are waves that are created as a result of vibrations
between an electric field and a magnetic field. In other words, EM waves are composed of oscillating
magnetic and electric fields.
Electromagnetic waves are formed when an electric field comes in contact with a magnetic
field. They are hence known as ‘electromagnetic’ waves. The electric field and magnetic field of an
electromagnetic wave are perpendicular (at right angles) to each other. They are also perpendicular
to the direction of the EM wave.

2. What is Electric field? Magnetic field?


- An electric field is the physical field that surrounds each electric charge and exerts force on all
other charges in the field, either attracting or repelling them. Electric fields originate from electric
charges, or from time-varying magnetic fields.
- A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges,
electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force
perpendicular to its own velocity and to the magnetic field.

3. What is Permittivity? Permeability?


- Permittivity, constant of proportionality that relates the electric field in a material to the electric
displacement in that material. It characterizes the tendency of the atomic charge in an insulating
material to distort in the presence of an electric field. The larger the tendency for charge distortion
(also called electric polarization), the larger the value of the permittivity.
- Permeability, capacity of a porous material for transmitting a fluid; it is expressed as the velocity
with which a fluid of specified viscosity, under the influence of a given pressure, passes through a
sample having a certain cross section and thickness. Permeability is largely dependent on the size
and shape of the pores in the substance and, in granular materials such as sedimentary rocks, by the
size, shape, and packing arrangement of the grains.

4. What is Reflection? Refraction? Diffraction?


- Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so
that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Common examples include the
reflection of light, sound and water waves.
- Refraction is the change in direction of a wave passing from one medium to another or from a
gradual change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomenon, but
other waves such as sound waves and water waves also experience refraction.
- Diffraction refers to various phenomena that occur when a wave encounters an obstacle or
opening. It is defined as the bending of waves around the corners of an obstacle or through an
aperture into the region of geometrical shadow of the obstacle/aperture.
5. What are the different means of radiowave propagation? Explain each type.
- In Radio communication systems, we use wireless electromagnetic waves as the channel. The
antennas of different specifications can be used for these purposes. The mode of propagation of
electromagnetic waves in the atmosphere and in free space may be divided into the following three
categories:
 The line of sight (LOS) propagation
 Ground wave propagation
 Skywave propagation
The line of Sight (LOS) Propagation
Among the modes of propagation, this line-of-sight propagation is the one, which we would
have commonly noticed. In the line-of-sight communication, as the name implies, the wave travels a
minimum distance of sight. Which means it travels to the distance up to which a naked eye can see.
Then we need to employ an amplifier cum transmitter here to amplify the signal and transmit again.

The line-of-sight propagation will not be smooth if there occurs any obstacle in its transmission
path. As the signal can travel only to lesser distances in this mode, this transmission is used for
infrared or microwave transmissions.
Ground Wave Propagation
Ground wave propagation of the wave follows the contour of the earth. Such a wave is called a
direct wave. The wave sometimes bends due to the Earth’s magnetic field and gets reflected the
receiver. Such a wave can be termed as a reflected wave. The following figure depicts ground wave
propagation.
The wave then propagates through the Earth’s atmosphere is known as a ground wave. The
direct wave and reflected wave together contribute the signal at the receiver station. When the wave
finally reaches the receiver, the lags are cancelled out. In addition, the signal is filtered to avoid
distortion and amplified for clear output.
SkyWave Propagation
Skywave propagation is preferred when the wave has to travel a longer distance. Here the
wave is projected onto the sky and it is again reflected back to the earth.

The sky wave propagation is well depicted in the above picture. Here the waves are shown to
be transmitted from one place and where it is received by many receivers. Hence, it is an example of
broadcasting.
The waves, which are transmitted from the transmitter antenna, are reflected from the
ionosphere. It consists of several layers of charged particles ranging in altitude from 30-250 miles
above the surface of the earth. Such travel of the wave from the transmitter to the ionosphere and
from there to the receiver on Earth is known as Sky Wave Propagation. The ionosphere is the ionized
layer around the Earth’s atmosphere, which is suitable for skywave propagation.

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