what causes objects to emit electromagnetic radiation?

Question

I know that standard stuff that every textbook says about electromagnetic radiation. I know the different categories (x-ray, microwave, visible light, etc). I know the meaning of the words frequency and wavelength. I still don’t really understand what electromagnetic radiation IS or why objects emit it. I know that wavelength is the distance between the crests of the wave, but what ARE the crests?

In: 4

Answer 1

The universe is made of energy. Mass as we commonly think of it is kind of an illusion (emergent property). If you look close enough, you will notice everything is just vibrations in a field, so everything is energy.

You can think of fields as guitar strings covering all the universe, there are multiple different fields.

Vibration in the magnetic field are called magnet.

Vibrations in the electromagnetic field are called electromagnetic waves.

Vibrations in the gravitational field/ space are called gravitational waves.

Note. Massive simplicity in this comment, please dig deeper for the whole picture.

Answer 2

The universe is made of energy. Mass as we commonly think of it is kind of an illusion (emergent property). If you look close enough, you will notice everything is just vibrations in a field, so everything is energy.

You can think of fields as guitar strings covering all the universe, there are multiple different fields.

Vibration in the magnetic field are called magnet.

Vibrations in the electromagnetic field are called electromagnetic waves.

Vibrations in the gravitational field/ space are called gravitational waves.

Note. Massive simplicity in this comment, please dig deeper for the whole picture.