Main Page/PHYS 3220/Speed of Light

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Introduction

Light can be described as a periodic electromagnetic plane wave which carries energy in the form of an electromagnetic field. The electric and magnetic components can be written as:

C-eqn1.png

C-eqn1b.png

This represents a monochromatic (single-frequency) beam travelling in the + z direction having a wavelength λ and frequency v (related by λ ν = c). The angle

C-eqn2.png