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Confidential Iniormation - This is for officlal consumption sical Sciences (P1) NSC-Grade \( 10 \quad \) Limpopo/Mid-ye JESTION 4 (Start on a new page). Electromagnetic radiation has a wave-particle duality. What does this mean? List TWO properties of electromagnetic waves.

Ask by Hall Bowers. in South Africa
Mar 17,2025

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Electromagnetic radiation behaves both as a wave and as a particle. As a wave, it moves through space with oscillating electric and magnetic fields, showing properties like interference and diffraction. As a particle, it consists of photons with energy related to their frequency. Two key properties are that it travels at the speed of light and has a wavelength and frequency related by \( c = \lambda f \).

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The Deep Dive

Electromagnetic radiation exhibiting wave-particle duality means that it can be described both as a wave and as a stream of particles called photons. This strange behavior challenges traditional ideas about the nature of light and emphasizes its dual characteristics, where in certain experiments, light behaves like a wave, displaying interference and diffraction, while in others, it shows particle-like traits, such as when photons knock electrons from a surface. Two properties of electromagnetic waves include their ability to travel through a vacuum—meaning they don’t require a medium, allowing sunlight to reach us from the Sun—and their ability to exhibit polarization, which refers to the orientation of the oscillations of the electric field in relation to the direction of wave travel. These delightful traits are why electromagnetic waves play a critical role in everything from communication technologies to medical imaging!

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