John, it's all relative...

You need to do some basic reading...
First for antenna knowledge:
Walter Maxwell's book, Reflections II - most highly recommended by me -
and will clear up why you can't just 'fold' half of the dipole EM
around the arc of a circle to get more gain...

The ARRL antenna Handbook - pay particular attention to the Smith Chart
instructional..
John Krause, W8JK's, college text on antennas called, 'Antennas'

For basic physics of EM waves
'Dummy' series on physics
Start with Richard Feynman's public lecture series of popular books,
especially his QED...
Any college level text on physics and optics..

For that special moment with a loved one:
Any popular level book on the Special Theory of Relativity...

Unfortunately for non speakers, like the language of Spanish is
spanish, the language of all science is mathematics... Get the 'Dummy"
series book on algebra and do enough of the problems so that basic
equations don't panic you... This alone will make most of the
university level science books accessible...

I'll leave the Calculus to your discretion

I use the 'Dummy' series of books for skimming any topic that I lack
the basics in... Well done for the most part - or maybe I just don't
'get' the ones I thought weren't well done, eh?..

cheers ... denny / k8do


Roy Lewallen wrote:
jawod wrote:
. . .
I do not understand how EMR can travel in any medium "faster" than in a
vacuum.