Sinusoidal plane waves are one type of electromagnetic waves. Not all EM waves are sinusoidal plane waves, but all electromagnetic waves can be viewed as a linear superposition of sinusoidal plane waves traveling in arbitrary directions. E is the electric field vector and B is the magnetic field vector of the EM wave. For electromagnetic waves E and B are always perpendicular to each other, and perpendicular to the direction of propagation. The direction of propagation is the direction of E B .
Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves .
The speed of any sinusoidal wave is the product of its wavelength and frequency. When electromagnetic waves travel through a medium. For air n is nearly equal to 1. Visible light makes up just a small part of the full electromagnetic spectrum. Electromagnetic waves with shorter wavelengths and higher frequencies include ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays.