# Can a flow of current be produced in a wire if its is bombarded with Electromagnetic waves?

If you have a conducting wire and you bombarded it with EM waves, is there a frequency (lower then the threshold frequency to liberate the electrons) that would induce a current within the wire. I understand that given enough energy the electrons themselves can be 'freed' from the metal (Photoelectric Effect), but are there frequencies where instead of being freed, the electrons travel down the length of the wire creating a current? Spare no details if possible, thank you.

• What? Like a radio? Or maybe a wireless internet connection... May 25 '16 at 18:39

Of course. This is how antennas work. The Maxwell equations make this possible. The metal as a conductor has electrons in what is called the conduction band, and these are free from the ions in the metal lattice. The oscillating electric field $\vec E$ or $\vec D = \epsilon \vec E$ given by $$\nabla\times {\vec H} = \frac{4\pi}{c} {\vec J} - \frac{1}{c}\frac{\partial \vec D}{\partial t}$$ plays the dominant role in generating a current $\vec J$ in a conductor or antenna.