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How do light waves travel?

Yea yet another science question, but this one wasnt in my book so I need some help. How do light waves travel, do they need a medium or do they travel through a vacuum?

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Answer #1

Light waves like from a light bulb? They travel in all directions in pretty much straight lines…

Answer #2

Light waves do not need a medium to travel through. They travel as little packets of electromagnetic energy called “photons”. They move in straight lines at a velocity of 300 x 10^6 m/s in “free space” (i.e. a perfect vacuum) and their direction of motion can be changed by reflection, refraction or diffraction.
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– Best wishes - Majikthise. .

Answer #3

A rather interesting question. The ancients knew that vibrations traveled through air, water, and other substances. When scientists first started researching electromagnetic phenomena they conjectured that there must be some medium they must travel through. This medium was named luminiferous aether, aether, or just ether. Modern scientists no longer model electromagnetic waves as traveling through *ether because it is no longer a useful concept for understanding electromagnetic propagation. The existence of ether has never been disprove but since it is no longer scientifically necessary it is not considered.

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