ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Electromagnetic radiation

Ok kiddo, electromagnetic radiation is kind of like invisible waves that move through the air and space all around us. They come from things like the sun, light bulbs, and even your own body!

These waves are a lot like the waves you see at the beach, but instead of being made of water, they are made of electricity and magnetism. And just like the waves at the beach, they come in different sizes and strengths.

You might have heard of some types of electromagnetic radiation, like light or radio waves. But there are actually many different kinds, and they all have different sizes and strengths. Some are really big and strong, like X-rays and gamma rays, while others are very small and weak, like radio waves.

The thing about electromagnetic radiation is that it can do a lot of things. For example, light lets you see the world around you, radio waves let you listen to music on the radio, and X-rays can help doctors see inside your body to find out if anything is wrong.

But even though all of these different types of electromagnetic radiation can do different things, they are all made up of the same kinds of waves, just in different sizes and strengths. And they all move really fast, at something called the speed of light, which is almost 300,000,000 meters per second!

So there you have it, electromagnetic radiation is kind of like invisible waves that travel through the air and space, and they can do lots of different things depending on their size and strength.