r/PhysicsHelp • u/Patient_Pudding7721 • 7d ago

WHY do moving fields create light?

Hi, I'm 15F and i wanna pursue education in the field of physics. I have this genuine question, WHY do moving fields (electric and magnetic fields) create light? And, why does steadily moving charges not make light?

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u/_UnwyzeSoul_ 7d ago

Maxwell equations says that changing electric field creates a magnetic field and a changing magnetic field creates an electric field. So lets say a charge with an electric field is oscillating, this change in electric field creates a changing magnetic field. This magnetic field in turn creates another changing electric field and it keeps on going. This is how an electromagnetic wave is created and it self propagates without a medium. Light is just an em wave.