Electromagnetic waves do not require a medium to propagate and are formed by an oscillating electric field coupled with a magnetic field that vibrate perpendicular to each other and the direction of travel. They are produced when an electric charge vibrates, changing the electric field around it and generating a magnetic field. All electromagnetic waves travel at 3x10^8 m/s in a vacuum and have properties of being transverse waves that can be reflected, refracted, emitted, and absorbed but differ in their wavelengths and frequencies.