1) Maxwell's equations describe light waves and are used to derive the wave equation. Light waves are transverse electromagnetic waves with perpendicular electric and magnetic fields. 2) Light waves can constructively or destructively interfere depending on their relative phase and polarization. Waves of different frequencies do not interfere. 3) At low light levels, light behaves as particles called photons with energy proportional to frequency. Photon counting reveals the particle nature of light.

1. Maxwell's Equations & Light Waves
Longitudinal vs. transverse waves
Derivation of wave equation from Maxwell's Equations
Why light waves are transverse waves
Why we neglect the magnetic field
Photons and photon statistics

2. The equations of optics are
Maxwell’s equations.
E is the electric field, B is the magnetic field, e is the
permittivity, and m is the permeability of the medium. As
written, they assume no charges (or free space).
 E  0   E  
B
t
 B  0   B  me
E
t

3. Derivation of the Wave Equation
from Maxwell’s Equations
Take of:
Change the order of differentiation on the RHS:
   E  
B
t
 [  E]   [
B
t
]
 [  E]  

t
[  B]

4. Derivation of the Wave Equation
from Maxwell’s Equations (cont’d)
But:
Substituting for , we have:
Or:
 [  E]  

t
[me
E
t
]
 [  E]   me
2
E
t2
[E] 
t
[B] 
assuming that m and
e are constant in
time.
  B  me
E
t
B

5. Derivation of the Wave Equation
from Maxwell’s Equations (cont’d)
Using the identity,
becomes:
If we now assume zero charge density: r = 0, then
and we’re left with the Wave Equation!
[ E]me 2E
t2
(E)2Eme 2E
t2
E  0
2Eme 2E
t2
Identity:
r
 [
r
 
r
f ] 
r
(
r

r
f )  2
r
f
where µe  1/c2

6. Why light waves are transverse
Suppose a wave propagates in the x-direction. Then it’s a function of x and
t (and not y or z), so all y- and z-derivatives are zero:
Now, in a charge-free medium,
that is,
Ey
y
Ez
z

By
y
Bz
z
0
E0 andÊ
Ê
B0
Ex
x

Ey
y
Ez
z
0 Bx
x

By
y
Bz
z
0
Ex
x
0 and
Bx
x
0
Substituting the zero
values, we have:
So the longitudinal fields are at most constant, and not waves.

7. The magnetic-field direction in a light wave
Suppose a wave propagates in the x-direction and has its electric field along
the y-direction [so Ex = Ez= 0, and Ey = Ey(x,t)].
What is the direction of the magnetic field?
Use:
So:
In other words:
And the magnetic field points in the z-direction.
 B
t
 0,0,
Ey
x












Bz
t

Ey
x
 B
t
 E  Ez
y

Ey
z
,Ex
z
Ez
x
,
Ey
x
Ex
y













8. Suppose a wave propagates in the x-direction and has its electric field in
the y-direction. What is the strength of the magnetic field?
The magnetic-field strength in a light wave
We canintegrate: Bz(x,t)  Bz(x,0) 
Ey
x
0
t
 dt
Take Bz(x,0) = 0
Differentiating Ey with
respect to x yields an ik, and
integrating with respect to t
yields a 1/-iw.
Ey r,t





  E0
exp i kxwt


















Start with: Bz
t

Ey
x
and
Bz(x,t) ik
iw
E0
exp i(kxwt)








Bz(x,t)1
cEy(x,t)
So:
But w / k = c:

9. An Electromagnetic Wave
The electric field, the magnetic field, and the k-vector are all perpendicular:
The electric and magnetic fields are in phase.
EBk
snapshot of the wave
at one time

10. The Energy Density of a Light Wave
The energy density of an electric field is:
The energy density of a magnetic field is:
Using B = E/c, and , which together imply that
we have:
Total energy density:
So the electrical and magnetic energy densities in light are equal.
UE

1
2
eE2
UB

1
2
1
m
B2
UB

1
2
1
m
E2
em
 
1
2
eE2
 UE
U UE
UB
 eE2
c 
1
em
B  E em

11. Why we neglect the magnetic field
The force on a charge, q, is:
Taking the ratio of
the magnitudes
of the two forces:
Since B = E/c:
F  qE  qv  B
Fmagnetic
Felectrical

qvB
qE
Fmagnetic
Felectrical

v
c
So as long as a charge’s velocity is much less than the speed of light, we can
neglect the light’s magnetic force compared to its electric force.
where is the
charge velocity
v
Felectrical Fmagnetic
v  B  vBsin
 vB

12. The Poynting Vector: S = c2 e E x B
The power per unit area in a beam.
Justification (but not a proof):
Energy passing through area A in time Dt:
= U V = U A c Dt
So the energy per unit time per unit area:
= U V / ( A Dt ) = U A c Dt / ( A Dt ) = U c = c e E2
= c2 e E B
And the direction is reasonable.
E  B  k
A
c Dt
U = Energy density

13. The Irradiance (often called the Intensity)
A light wave’s average power
per unit area is the irradiance.
Substituting a light wave into the expression for the Poynting vector,
, yields:
The average of cos2 is 1/2:
S  c2
e E  B
S(r,t)  c2
e E0
 B0
cos2
(k r w t )
S(r,t) 
1
T
S(r,t') dt'
tT /2
tT /2

real amplitudes
 I(r,t)  S(r,t) 
 c2
e E0
 B0
(1/ 2)

14. The Irradiance (continued)
Since the electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular and B0 = E0 / c,
I  1
2
c2
e E0
 B0
I  1
2 ce E0
~
2
E0
2
 E0x
E0x
*
 E0 y
E0 y
*
 E0z
E0z
*
Remember: this formula only works when the wave is of the form:
where:
becomes:
E r,t
  Re E0
exp i k r wt
 




that is, when all the fields involved have the same k r wt
because the real amplitude
squared is the same as the mag-
squared complex one.
I  1
2
c e E0
2
or:

15. Sums of fields: Electromagnetism is linear,
so the principle of Superposition holds.
If E1(x,t) and E2(x,t) are solutions to the wave equation,
then E1(x,t) + E2(x,t) is also a solution.
Proof: and
This means that light beams can pass through each other.
It also means that waves can constructively or destructively interfere.
2
(E1
 E2
)
x2

2
E1
x2

2
E2
x2
2
(E1
 E2
)
t2

2
E1
t2

2
E2
t2
2
(E1
 E2
)
x2

1
c2
2
(E1
 E2
)
t2

2
E1
x2

1
c2
2
E1
t2











2
E2
x2

1
c2
2
E2
t2










 0

16. Same polarizations (say ):
The irradiance of the sum of two waves
If they’re both proportional to , then the irradiance is:
I  1
2
ce E0
 E0
*
 1
2
ce E0x
E0x
*
 E0 y
E0 y
*
 E0z
E0z
*




I  1
2
ce E0x
 E0x
*
 E0 y
 E0 y
*



  Ix
 Iy
I  1
2
ce E1
 E1
*
 2Re E1
 E2
*
  E2
 E2
*




I  I1
 ce Re E1
 E2
*
  I2
Different polarizations (say x and y):
The cross term is the origin of interference!
Interference only occurs for beams with the same polarization.
Therefore:
Note the
cross term!
Intensities
add.
exp i(k r wt)

 

E0x
 E1
 E2

17. The irradiance of the sum of two waves of
different color
Waves of different color (frequency) do not interfere!
I  I1
 I2
Different colors: Intensities add.
E10
cos(k1
r w1
t 1
)  B20
cos(k2
r w2
t 2
)
We can’t use the formula because the k’s and w’s are different.
So we need to go back to the Poynting vector, S(r,t)  c2
e E  B
S(r,t)  c2
e E1
 E2

 
  B1
 B2

 

 c2
e E1
 B1
 E1
 B2
 E2
 B1
 E2
 B2
 
This product averages to zero, as does E2
 B1

18. Irradiance of a sum of two waves
I  I1
 I2

ce Re E1
 E2
*
 
Different
colors
Different polarizations
Same
colors
Same polarizations
I  I1
 I2
I  I1
 I2
I  I1
 I2
Interference only occurs when the waves have the same color and
polarization.

19. Light is not only a wave, but also a particle.
Photographs taken in dimmer light look grainier.
Very very dim Very dim Dim
Bright Very bright Very very bright
When we detect very weak light, we find that it’s made up of particles.
We call them photons.

20. Photons
The energy of a single photon is: hn or = (h/2p)w
where h is Planck's constant, 6.626 x 10-34 Joule-seconds
One photon of visible light contains about 10-19 Joules, not much!
F is the photon flux, or
the number of photons/sec
in a beam.
F = P / hn
where P is the beam power.
w

21. Counting photons tells us a lot about
the light source. Random (incoherent) light sources,
such as stars and light bulbs, emit
photons with random arrival times
and a Bose-Einstein distribution.
Laser (coherent) light sources, on
the other hand, have a more
uniform (but still random)
distribution: Poisson.
Bose-Einstein
Poisson

22. Photons have momentum
If an atom emits a photon, it recoils in the opposite direction.
If the atoms are excited and then emit light, the atomic beam spreads much
more than if the atoms are not excited and do not emit.

23. Photons—Radiation Pressure
Photons have no mass and always travel at the speed of light.
The momentum of a single photon is: h/l, or
Radiation pressure = Energy Density (Force/Area = Energy/Volume)
When radiation pressure cannot be neglected:
Comet tails (other forces are small)
Viking space craft (would've missed
Mars by 15,000 km)
Stellar interiors (resists gravity)
PetaWatt laser (1015 Watts!)
k

24. Photons
"What is known of [photons] comes from observing the
results of their being created or annihilated."
Eugene Hecht
What is known of nearly everything comes from observing the
results of photons being created or annihilated.