# Electromagnetic fields and electromagnetic wave boundaries

I have first learnt the concept of plane electromagnetic waves as a solution to Maxwell's equations in vacuum recently and they are usually depicted them as follows:

Here is my confusion: in the pictures, the electric and magnetic fields are depicted as nonzero just in the axis of propagation, but is this true? I guess not, because for example, when calculating the electric flux through a rectangle in the plane where $$\vec{B}$$ is, it is definately nonzero; furthermore it is assumed that the value of the magnitude of the electric field is exactly the same along a ray in the direction of the magnetic field. So I think that the electric and magnetic fields in EM waves in vacuum extend infinitely towards the direction of the other one, right?

If so, why are these images depicted like this, just showing one portion of the full wave?

• Keep in mind that your sketch is a combination of two mathematical graphs, one representing electric field strengths and the other magnetic field strengths at POINTS ALONG A LINE. The vectors represent the magnitude and direction of the fields, not their physical extent. – R.W. Bird Dec 16 '19 at 19:12
• Alright, I think I got that now. Anyways I think this diagrams are kind of confusing in some sense. Thank you! – Nicolás Maíllo Gómez Dec 16 '19 at 20:34