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Lec30 PDF
Lec30 PDF
Objectives
The phase velocity is the velocity of a constant phase point of the wave.
Said differently, it is the velocity of an observer to whom the phase appears constant as a function of time.
. We therefore have
This is the velocity of light in the free-space and is normally denoted by letter ` '.
Module 4 : Uniform Plane Wave
The above eqn. gives the velocity of light in a medium with dielectric constant .We note that the velocity of an
electromagnetic wave in a dielectric medium is always less than that in the vacuum and is independent of the frequency
of the wave.
Therefore, we get
The refractive index of a dielectric material is the square root of its dielectric constant.
Multiplying numerator and denominator within the square root sign by and re-arranging we get
For a good conductor and therefore . The electromagnetic wave therefore slows down
considerably in a conductor. As can be seen from the example, the phase velocity of an electromagnetic wave inside
copper is few hundred meter/s which is of the order of the velocity of sound in copper.
Module 4 : Uniform Plane Wave
Recap