electromagnetic wave

noun

|Updated on: 26 May 2018

Definition of electromagnetic wave

: one of the waves that are propagated by simultaneous periodic variations of electric and magnetic field intensity and that include radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays

See electromagnetic wave defined for kids

Recent Examples of electromagnetic wave from the Web

Previous claims have linked electromagnetic waves and other environmental factors to the disease, but Greaves dismissed this link in his paper.

— meera senthilingam and jessie yeung, CNN, "A germ-free childhood could trigger leukemia, scientist suggests," 22 May 2018
Time crystals behave in strange ways when they’re hit with electromagnetic waves.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Discover 'Time Crystals' Growing Right Under Their Noses," 4 May 2018
According to a press release, NASA and The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) collected the radar data by sending electromagnetic waves through the ice and then watching what bounced back.

— julissa treviño, Smithsonian, "Super Salty Lakes Found Deep Below Canadian Ice Cap," 16 Apr. 2018
Physicists have also observed topological protection in electromagnetic waves.

— davide castelvecchi, Scientific American, "Physicists Harness Twisted Mathematics to Make Powerful Laser," 5 Feb. 2018
The scheme depends on the fact that light can be polarized, so that the electromagnetic waves oscillate either in a horizontal or a vertical plane.

— davide castelvecchi, Scientific American, "The Quantum Internet Has Arrived (and It Hasn’t)," 16 Feb. 2018
By changing the phase of the light’s electromagnetic wave — shifting where the troughs and peaks of the wave fell — the researchers encoded the photon with a 0 or 1 at each station.

— sophie weiner, Popular Mechanics, "How One Quantum Particle Can Send Messages to Itself," 23 Feb. 2018
China has also built a 500 foot-long solar road — not quite a highway — in the eastern province Zhejiang designed to transfer solar energy into electromagnetic waves which can wirelessly charge electric vehicles.

— jonathan kaiman, latimes.com, "China’s heralded 'solar highway' closed after thieves stole one of the panels," 9 Jan. 2018
The Cubans also analyzed air and soil samples, looked into whether insects could be the culprit and considered a range of toxic chemicals and the possibility of electromagnetic waves, the officials said.

— andrea mitchell, NBC News, "Cubans Forcefully Reject Blame for U.S. Diplomats’ Mystery Ailments," 24 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'electromagnetic wave.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.