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VI: Electricity and magnetism

  • Page ID
    164578
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    • Chapter 23: Electric circuits
      This page covers fundamental concepts of electric circuits, focusing on voltage, resistance, current, and power. It explains the efficiency of LEDs over incandescent bulbs, the structure of series and parallel circuits, and introduces circuit components such as voltage sources, resistors, and diodes.
    • Chapter 24: Magnetism
      This page covers magnetism, explaining magnetic materials, properties of permanent magnets, and electromagnets. It details how magnetic fields are created by electric currents, the enhancement of electromagnets with iron cores, and the magnetic deflecting force in motors. The Earth's magnetic field is also discussed, highlighting its protective role against solar winds and its importance in navigation, alongside the phenomenon of auroras.
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      This page provides an overview of the electromagnetic spectrum, detailing the nature and significance of electromagnetic waves, including light, in everyday life. It covers communication technologies like AM and FM radio, the applications of infrared and microwaves, and the roles of x-rays and gamma rays in security and medical imaging, along with their potential hazards.
    • Chapter 27: Color
      This page explains Rayleigh scattering, highlighting that shorter wavelengths, like blue light, scatter more than longer wavelengths, causing the blue sky. During sunrise and sunset, the thicker atmosphere scatters blue light, revealing reds and oranges. Clouds appear white due to equal scattering of all wavelengths. The Moon's lack of atmosphere results in a black sky, while Mars has a brownish-pink sky due to its unique atmospheric composition.
    • Chapter 28: Reflection and refraction
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    • Chapter 29: Light waves
      This page covers models of light, including ray, wave, electromagnetic, and quantum optics, detailing phenomena like reflection, refraction, diffraction, and polarization. It introduces Huygens’ principle and explains diffraction through single/double slits and gratings for light separation. The pages delve into thin-film interference, showcasing color patterns, and the effects of polarization through filters and Brewster's angle, with applications such as polarized sunglasses.
    • Chapter 30: Light emission
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    Thumbnail: Close up shot of ferrofluid. Ferrofluids were invented in 1963 by NASA to create liquid rocket fuel that could be drawn toward a fuel pump in a weightless environment by applying a magnetic field. (Unsplash License; Etienne Desclides via Unsplash)


    This page titled VI: Electricity and magnetism was last modified on Wed, 14 Oct 2026 21:07:22 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Alyssa J. Pasquale, David R. Fazzini, and Carley Bennett via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.