The paper proposes that 1=f noise in materials and devices under non-equilibrium conditions is of electromagnetic origin rather than being related to charge carriers. For samples represented by simple resistors the analysis shows that the noise is due to the discrete nature of photons constituting the impinging electromagnetic flux from the source feeding the resistor. The paper presents detailed analysis of the external and internal electromagnetic fields of the resistor environment, with appropriate interpretation in terms of discrete photons. From quantum theory photons are known to retain their energy under interactions in linear environments. This property implies a departure from macroscopic electromagnetics in that photons cannot be partially transmitted and partially reflected, a phenomenon requiring appropriate modifications of boundary conditions at the resistor surface. These special demands call for inclusion of a supplementary internal resistor mode, serving as a lossless idler which is active only for matching purposes. At the resistor terminals the impinging photons give rise to excitation of RF current and voltage noise with an exact 1=f frequency distribution, which is in agreement with all available experimental measurements. The paper presents detailed formulae for noise spectral densities under general drive conditions from DC and RF sources of arbitrary internal resistance. The presented theoretical noise formulae have the same form as earlier empirical formulae for 1=f noise. With an RF source at frequency f 0 the analysis predicts noise with 1=jf ร f 0 j frequency distribution, which is compatible with available experimental observations.