electromagnetic wave

noun

Updated on: 1 Apr 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

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Recent Examples of electromagnetic wave from the Web

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
Gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves are both carried by particles: the graviton and the photon.

— chris lee, Ars Technica, "Colliding neutron stars apply kiss of death to theories of gravity," 25 Oct. 2017
If the transmitters all emit electromagnetic waves in sync, the beam will be sent out straight ahead—that is, perpendicular to the array.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "How the lidar-on-a-chip technology GM just bought probably works," 11 Oct. 2017
Objects emit electromagnetic waves across a broad spectrum, some visible to the human eye as light, but all detectable by the telescopes currently in use on Earth or in orbit.

— eva botkin-kowacki, The Christian Science Monitor, "Nobel Prize for LIGO: How a new era of astronomy will ride on gravitational waves," 3 Oct. 2017
Instead, electromagnetic waves from the nuclear explosion would generate pulses to overwhelm the electric grid and electronic devices in the same way a lightning surge can destroy equipment.

— peter landers, WSJ, "Electromagnetic Pulse: North Korea’s Latest Threat Against U.S.," 3 Sep. 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.

First Known Use of electromagnetic wave

1882

ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE Defined for Kids

electromagnetic wave

noun

Definition of electromagnetic wave for Students

: a wave (as a radio wave or wave of light) that travels at the speed of light and consists of a combined electric and magnetic effect

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electromagnetic wave

noun

medical Definition of electromagnetic wave

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electromagnetic wave

Definition of electromagnetic wave

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First Known Use of electromagnetic wave

ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE Defined for Kids

electromagnetic wave

Definition of electromagnetic wave for Students

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electromagnetic wave

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