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Electromagnetic Radiation

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

  • 223 Accesses

Definition

The expression electromagnetic radiation designates the energy that is transported in the form of a propagating wave made of two perpendicular components, one an electric field and the other a magnetic field, which oscillate at the same frequency. This description applies to light in all its forms: radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays. It is by far the most important vector of information reaching us that comes from the universe and the objects it contains. Different physical processes give rise to electromagnetic radiation and are generally classified as thermal (resulting from the thermal motion in a medium), nonthermal radiation (synchrotron), or quantized (transitions between levels of energy in atoms, molecules, or nuclei).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LESIA, Observatoire Paris-Site de Meudon, 5 Pl Jules Janssen, 92195, Meudon, France

    Daniel Rouan

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  1. Daniel Rouan
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Correspondence to Daniel Rouan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Rouan, D. (2014). Electromagnetic Radiation. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_492-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_492-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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