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The equations simplify slightly when a system of quantities is chosen in the speed of light, c, is used for nondimensionalization, so that, for example, seconds and lightseconds are interchangeable, and c = 1. Further changes are possible by absorbing factors of 4π.
It is possible to make the effective speed of light dependent on wavelength by making light pass through a material which has a non-constant index of refraction, or by using light in a non-uniform medium such as a waveguide. In this case, the waveform will spread over time, such that a narrow pulse will become an extended pulse, i.e., be dispersed.
is the speed of light (i.e. phase velocity) in a medium with permeability μ, and permittivity ε, and ∇ 2 is the Laplace operator. In a vacuum, v ph = c 0 = 299 792 458 m/s, a fundamental physical constant. [1] The electromagnetic wave equation derives from Maxwell's equations.
It is not so difficult to experimentally observe non-uniform deposition of energy when light is absorbed, however this alone is not evidence of "particulate" behavior. Rather, it reflects the quantum nature of matter. [20] Demonstrating that the light itself is quantized, not merely its interaction with matter, is a more subtle affair.
The ratio between the speed of light c and the phase velocity v p is known as the refractive index, n = c / v p = ck / ω. In this way, we can obtain another form for group velocity for electromagnetics. Writing n = n(ω), a quick way to derive this form is to observe
Fermat's principle is most familiar, however, in the case of visible light: it is the link between geometrical optics, which describes certain optical phenomena in terms of rays, and the wave theory of light, which explains the same phenomena on the hypothesis that light consists of waves.
In this context, "speed of light" really refers to the speed supremum of information transmission or of the movement of ordinary (nonnegative mass) matter, locally, as in a classical vacuum. Thus, a more accurate description would refer to c 0 {\displaystyle c_{0}} rather than the speed of light per se.
The magnitude, denoted by S, divided by the speed of light is the density of the linear momentum per unit area (pressure) of the electromagnetic field. So, dimensionally, the Poynting vector is S = power / area = rate of doing work / area = ΔF / Δt Δx / area , which is the speed of light, c = Δx / Δt, times ...