All Questions
Tagged with optics electromagnetism
160
questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
6
votes
0
answers
245
views
Are there yet Optical Magnetic Mirrors (OMMs) which reflect via interaction with the magnetic field?
update 2021: As the question has remained unanswered for five years and the field of optical metamaterials has advanced, I think this question can be revisited.
The most familiar mirror relies on ...
- 6,273
4
votes
1
answer
183
views
Amplitude of single-mode field in a cavity
I have two contradictory result about the amplitude of single mode field when it is quantized
In C. Gerry and P. Knight's Introductory quantum optics, the amplitude is given by
$$\sqrt{\frac{2\omega^...
- 153
4
votes
0
answers
99
views
Recommended books that describe emission and absorption of light and light/matter interactions
Hello I am a Chemical Engineer that has ventured into the field of optics and I was wondering if there is any recommended book/books to understand the maths and also some answered exercises or ...
3
votes
0
answers
305
views
Electromagnetic energy density in a nonlinear medium
The energy density associated with the electric field in a linear medium of permitivity $ \epsilon $ is given as
$$
U = \frac{1}{2}\epsilon\left | E \right |^{2}
$$
As Robert Boyd mentions in the ...
- 91
3
votes
0
answers
50
views
Poynting vector flux in a tube (geometrical optics)
Let's consider the following tube (defined as the solid described by two arbitrary surfaces dA1 and dA2, and by all the rays which connect their boundaries):
I read in a textbook that, because of ...
- 1,319
3
votes
0
answers
338
views
Bandgap Spacing in Photonic Crystals
I am doing some self-study on photonics and have encountered the following question:
We know that amorphous electronic crystals such as amorphous silicon have a bandgap. Can amorphous photonic ...
- 283
2
votes
2
answers
55
views
Why is a monochromatic wave temporally coherent for all time delays $\tau$?
I've been learning about coherence of waves and the Wikipedia page on says a monochromatic electromagnetic plane wave is coherent because:
A wave containing only a single frequency (monochromatic) is ...
- 531
2
votes
0
answers
26
views
How can Fresnel's transmission coefficient be nonzero in Total Internal Reflection?
I'm working on a problem in which a wave is moving through a transparent medium of refractive constant $n_i$. It then reaches the interface of said medium with another one of refractive constant $n_t&...
- 1,616
2
votes
1
answer
79
views
Differences in the direction of energy and wave propagation in anisotropic media
I have been studying how light behaves in dielectric and conductive media, and now I was about to study it in anisotropic media. The introduction to the subject is: "From Maxwell's equations it ...
- 67
2
votes
1
answer
59
views
Can the time varying Intensity of an electric field of a wave be measured?
Lets say that we have a detector which we use to measure the intensity. Theoretically, the intensity is a varying function of time (When we calculate the Poynting vector) but often in textbooks they ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
65
views
Analysis of the reflection in metal
In order to solve the reflexion in a material with a complex index the solution I've found on textbooks is to define $\hat{n}\cos{\phi}:=a+bi$ where $\hat{n}=n_r+n_ii$ is the complex index and then ...
- 225
2
votes
0
answers
323
views
Propagation of vectorial electric field with Fourier Optics
In Fourier Optics one can propagate in free space the electric field $E(x,y)$ of a monochromatic light beam along the z-axis by decomposing it into plane waves via the Fourier transform, then ...
- 21
2
votes
0
answers
117
views
Frequency Shift of the Cavity Resonance Due to the Leakage of the Cavity
I have a question regarding planar cavity (or any other cavity) resonance. From my understanding it is true that if the cavity walls are almost perfectly reflective, then the resonance frequencies ...
- 159
2
votes
0
answers
45
views
Calculating the refractive index of water with the Ewald-Oseen formula
The Ewald-Oseen theorem gives the expression
$$n=\sqrt{1+\frac{i\sigma}{\epsilon_0\omega}}$$
for the refractive index of a material of conductivity $\sigma$ for an electromagnetic wave with angular ...
- 193
2
votes
1
answer
37
views
When I use a sinusoidal function to describe a lightwave what do I actually have as units of measurements on the X and the Y curve?
I need some help to understand what would be the standard units of measurements on the Y-axis when representing lightwaves as a sinusoidal function.
I understand how light works in that different ...
