Electromagnetic Waves
Spencer Boebel '24
Electromagnetic Waves
The Main Idea
An electromagnetic wave is what happens when we put all four of Maxwell's equations together. A changing electric field creates a magnetic field, which changes and creates an electric field, starting it all over again. This is the basic premise of an electric wave, and we shall derive other properties presently.
A Mathematical Model
The mathematical equations that allow us to model this topic are Maxwell's equations; but a simpler way to figure it out is to consider a notion from General Relativity. According to General Relativity, the speed of information is [math]\displaystyle{ c }[/math]. Now consider an electron moving at a velocity [math]\displaystyle{ \vec{v} }[/math] and acceleration [math]\displaystyle{ \frac{d\vec(v)}{dt} }[/math]. Now consider an observation point a location [math]\displaystyle{ \vec{r} }[/math] from the electron. Let us say the electron is oscillating, so we have that [math]\displaystyle{ \vec{v}=\cos{t}\vec{k} }[/math] and [math]\displaystyle{ \frac{d\vec(v)}{dt} = -\sin{t}\vec{k} }[/math]
A Computational Model
How do we visualize or predict using this topic. Consider embedding some vpython code here Teach hands-on with GlowScript
Examples
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Connectedness
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History
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See also
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References
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