National League for Nursing (NLN PAX) Practice Exam

The principles governing electromagnetism are fundamentally tied to the behavior of light waves. Light waves, or electromagnetic waves, consist of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that propagate through space. This dual nature of electric and magnetic fields is encapsulated in Maxwell's equations, which describe how these fields interact and propagate.

Unlike sound waves, which are mechanical waves requiring a medium (like air or water) to travel, light waves can move through a vacuum. This characteristic of electromagnetic waves allows them to travel across vast distances in space, such as from the sun to the Earth. The properties of light waves, including reflection, refraction, and diffraction, can all be explained using electromagnetic theory.

In contrast, thermal conduction refers to the transfer of heat through materials, which is a separate phenomenon not described by electromagnetic principles. Similarly, sound waves and mechanical waves are governed by different physical principles, primarily related to the vibration of particles in a medium. Therefore, light waves stand out as the phenomenon best described by the principles of electromagnetism.