I'm doing a paper on heat and sunlight and I'm trying to understand how electromagnetic radiation plays in all this. I've read some books, but it's just too confusing. Help?

Well visible light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, and heat is usually considered the transfer of energy from one body/system to another. So energy is transferred from the sun in a form of electromagnetic radiation through light and transferred to this planet/us.

This post was edited by JarOfFlies on Apr 5 2009 03:08pm

But what causes electromagnetic radiation?

Usually through some reactions or fields. Different chemical reations give off electromagnetic radiation, like on the sun. Also currents can give off radiation.