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When the intersecting plane is looked at from front the the following image is
seen:
The animation shows the two intersecting planes from the front. On the left, before
entering the material, on the right, after exiting the material.
When the intersecting planes are looked at from the front then the following images are se
When the intersecting plane is looked at from the front then the following image is seen:
The following animation shows the two intersecting planes from the front. On the left, before the material, on the right, after the material.
The phenomenon seen here is very similar to that presented on the previous page: the wavelength is much smaller in the medium than before and after it
because the light is slower in the medium. The intensity of the light does not decrease: the field vector of the exiting light is of the same length as that of the
entering light because there is no absorption.
But the phase of the wave changes here again. If the piece of material was not present then the field vectors at the two intersecting planes would rotate exactly
in the same phase because their distance is an integral multiple of the wavelength. This situation changes when we put the piece of material in between the two
intersecting planes: the light slows down in the piece of material (whose thickness is 4 times the wavelength), and it makes 8.8 full periods inside the material
instead of 4 full periods. This results in a 72 phase difference between the entering and exiting light waves. This is clearly seen in the animations showing the
intersecting planes.
Based on the presented animations, it is not hard to imagine what happens when the light wave traverses a medium that absorbs AND refracts the light at the
same time. In that case, the length of the field vector (amplitude) of the light exiting the material decreases and its phase changes as well in comparison with
the amplitude and phase of the light entering the material. We do not present these cases on animations but we encourage the reader to imagine them.
The following animation shows the two intersecting planes from the front. On the left, the field vector before the light enters the material;
on the right, after the light exits the material.
When the light beam enters the piece of material, it slows down because the refracting index of the material is greater than 1.0. Its
frequency does not change, therefore its wavelength decreases (the product of the frequency and the wavelength should be equal to the
velocity of light). In these animations, we used a refraction index n=2.2. This means that the velocity of light in the medium is 1/2.2 times
the velocity of light in vacuum, and its wavelength also decreases to 1/2.2 times the original value. When the light exits the material, its
velocity and wavelength are restored to their original (vacuum) values. Since the material does not absorb light, the intensity of the light
does not decrease.
The distance between the intersecting planes in front of and behind the piece of material is exactly 8 times the vacuum wavelength of the
light. Therefore, if the piece of material is not present, the field vectors at the two intersecting planes oscillate in exactly the same way:
they are in phase. But if the piece of material is placed between the two intersecting planes, the light slows down in the material and it has
8.8 full periods inside the material, instead of 4 periods. So there are 12.8 periods between the two intersecting planes (there are 2
periods before the piece of material and 2 periods after it). Because this is not an integral number, the two field vectors at the intersecting
planes do not oscillate in the same phase any longer.
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