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The theoretical prediction of electromagnetic waves was the work of the Scottish physicist
James Clerk Maxwell (1831-879), who unified, in one magnificent theory, all the phenomena of
electricity and magnetism. [From Giancoli, p. 813.]
! ! Qin A
E = "
E
A dA = 0
#%%%$%%%&
Gausss Law
! !
B = "
B dA = 0
#%%
%A$%%%
&
Ampre-Maxwells Law
! !
d E
tot
B
dl = 0 I through
+ 0 0
C
"#
C%%
dt&
%$%%%& #%$%
Sources of B- fields
(magnetic monopole)
do not exist.
Ampre's Law
Currents create B- fields.
EMF =
d B
dt
Changing E fields
create B fields.
with B =
d
dt
( B dA)
!
or
Faradays Law
!
!
!
dB !
Eind dl =
dA
"#
C%%%
A dt
%$%%%%
&
Changing B fields create E fields
Remember ...
Coulomb constant
Permittivity of free space
Biot-Savart constant
Permeability of free space
k = 9 10 9 Nm
C2
0 = 8.85 10 12
k = 10 7
C2
Nm 2
N
A2
0 = 4 10 7 Tm
A
0 =
1
4 k
0 =
1
4 k
Lorentz Equation
The Lorentz equation gives the force on a particle that is produced by electric and magnetic
fields.
!
! ! !
F =q E+vB
Electromagnetic Waves
From Maxwells equations, one can also deduce the existence and the electromagnetic nature of
light, or of any other electromagnetic wave.
A magnetic field will be produced in empty space if there is a changing electric field. A
changing magnetic field produces an electric field that is itself changing. This changing electric
field will, in turn, produce a magnetic field, which will be changing, and so it too will produce a
changing electric field; and so on. Maxwell found that the net result of these interacting changing
fields was a wave of electric and magnetic fields that can propagate (travel) through
space! [From Giancoli, p. 813.]
Electromagnetic (EM) waves are transverse waves
made of an electric field and a magnetic field
perpendicular to each other that oscillate in
magnitude perpendicular to the direction of motion
of the wave. Because a moving charge generates
time-changing electric and magnetic fields, an EM
wave can be generated by an oscillating electric
charge.
y
E0
E
wave
length
veloc
ity
B
z
B0
B
E
From Maxwells equations one can directly show that the speed of EM waves in empty space is
given by:
c=
E
1
=
= 3 10 8 m s
B
0 0
c= f
In this handout,
the Ampre-Maxwell's Law:
Changing E-fields create B-fields
From The Cartoon Guide to Physics by Larry Gonick & Art Huffman.
y
E0
veloc
ity
plane
o
polar f
izatio
n
Note that it is possible to have a polarized ray with all the superimposed EM-waves building up
the ray sharing the same direction of motion, the same frequency, and the same polarization
direction. See the following ...
Some wave sources, such as lasers and radio antennas, emit polarized electromagnetic waves with a well-defined
plane of polarization. By contrast, most natural sources of electromagnetic radiation are unpolarized. Each atom in
the suns hot atmosphere emits light independently of all other atoms, as does each tiny piece of metal in the
incandescent filament of a light bulb. An electromagnetic wave that you see or measure is a superposition of waves
from each of these tiny emitters. Although the wave from each individual emitter is polarized, it is polarized in a
random direction with respect to the waves from all its neighbors. The net result is what we call an unpolarized
wave, a wave whose electric field oscillates randomly with all possible orientations.
A few natural sources are partially polarized, meaning that one direction of polarization is more prominent than
others. The light of the sky at right angles to the sun is partially polarized, because of how the suns light scatters
from air molecules to create skylight. Bees and other insects make use of this partial polarization to navigate. Light
reflected from a flat, horizontal surface, such as a road or the surface of a lake, has a predominantly horizontal
polarization. This is the rational for using polarizing sunglasses.
The most common way of artificially generating polarized visible light is to send unpolarized light through a
polarizing filter: The first widely used polarizing filter was invented by Edwin Land in 1928, while he was still an
undergraduate student. He developed an improved version, called Polaroid, in 1938. Polaroid (...) is a plastic sheet
containing very long organic molecules known as polymers. The sheets are formed in such a way that the polymers
are all aligned to form a grid, rather like the metal bars in a barbecue grill. The sheet is then chemically treated to
make the polymer molecules somewhat conducting.
As light waves travels through Polaroid, the component of the electric field oscillating parallel to the polymer grid
drives the conduction electrons up and down the molecules. The electrons absorb energy from the light wave, so the
parallel component of E is absorbed in the filter. But the conduction electrons cant oscillate perpendicular to the
molecules, so the component of E perpendicular to the polymer grid passes through without absorption. Thus the
light wave emerging from a polarizing filter is polarized perpendicular to the polymer grid. [From R. Knights
Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 1st ed., p. 1112.]
I=
I0
2
polarizer's axis
unpolarized
light
I0
I0
2
zer
ari
pol
light's
direction
polarized
light
I = I 0 cos 2
Maluss Law
where is the angle between the polarization direction of the incoming light and the axis of the
Polaroid filter.
polarizer's axis
polarized
light
I = I0 cos2
light's
direction
I0
zer
ari
l
o
p
polarized
light
E0 sin
is absorbed
ion
ect t
r
i
d
h
ion lig
zat ming
i
r
a
o
pol f inc
o
x
E0 cos
passes through
E0
incoming polarized light
I0
E2
= 2 02
I E0 cos
I = I 0 cos 2
polarizer's axis
analyzer's axis
light's
direction
unpolarized
light
I0
I0
2
zer
ari
pol
polarized
light
no light is
transmitted
er
lyz
ana
Polarization by reflection:
Another mean of producing polarized light from unpolarized light is by reflection. When light strikes a nonmetallic
surface at any angle other than perpendicular, the reflected beam is polarized preferentially in the plane parallel to
the surface (...). In other words, the component with polarization in the plane perpendicular to the surface is
preferentially transmitted or absorbed. You can check this by rotating Polaroid Sunglasses while looking through
them at a flat surface of a lake or road. Since most outdoor surfaces are horizontal, Polaroid sunglasses are made
with their axes vertical to eliminate the more strongly reflected horizontal component, and thus reduce glare. People
who go fishing wear Polaroids to eliminate reflected glare from the surface of a lake or stream and thus see beneath
the water more clearly. [From Giancolis Physics for Scientists and Engineers, p. 942.]
The amount of polarization in the reflected ray varies from no polarization at normal incidence to
100% polarization at an angle known as the polarizing angle p. The polarizing angle depends
on the index of refraction n1 and n2 of the two materials on either side of the boundary:
tan p =
n2
n1
Brewsters Law
If the incoming beam is traveling through air, n1=1, the polarizing angle is called Brewsters
angle.
incoming
unpolarized
light
incoming
in the page polarized
light
reflected
polarized
light
n1
n1
n2
n2
refracted
partially polarized
light
p
no reflected
light
refracted
in the page polarized
light