Name: THARUNYA BALA S Reg.No.

:21BCE0076

Phase And Group Velocity Of EM Waves

Aim:
To understand the nature of EM waves travelling in a medium with the help of phase and
group velocities.

Apparatus Required:
Online demonstration software

Theory:
Any real signal consists of travelling-waves of many different frequencies, which travel
together as a group, at a speed that will always be less than or equal to the speed of light in
vacuum.
To gain some insight into what may happen when a real signal travels through a dispersive
medium, we consider adding two waves of equalamplitude. When two travelling waves with
unit amplitude
𝑓1(𝑧, 𝑡) = 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝑘1𝑧 − 𝜔𝑡1) and 𝑓2(𝑧, 𝑡) = 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝑘2𝑧 − 𝜔𝑡2) are added, we get:

Where, , , and

The result is a fast oscillating wave that travels with a phase velocity
and the amplitude of this wave is being modulated in space and time by

. This modulated wave travels at the group velocity given by

Observation table:

S. No Δω Δk Wave pattern of the resultant Vg

waves
1 0.02 0.02 1

2 0.04 0.04 1

3 0.06 0.06 1

4 0.08 0.08 1

5 0.1 0.1 1

6 0.2 0.2 1

7 0.3 0.3 1

8 0.4 0.4 1

9 0.5 0.5 1
Questions:
1. Are the wave patterns for various values of Δω and Δk same? If not, why?
2. Comment on the Phase velocity (Vp) of the waves for increased values of Δω and
Δk.
3. When do we see Vp and Vg being the same?
4. Draw a typical dispersion relation curve (ω-k curve) for Vp = Vg and Vp ≠ Vg cases.

Answers:
1. No, the wave patterns are not the same as for various values of Δω and Δk because
the phase velocity is a function of wavelength. As the values of ω and k change, the
wave pattern changes accordingly.
2. If both Δω and Δk are changed proportionally then it won’t affect the
velocity. If Δω is increased more than Δk, then vp increases, if Δk is
increased more than Δω, then vp decreases.
3. When dVp / dλ = 0, then Vg = Vp (when the phase velocity becomes independent
of the wavelength or in other words if the medium is non-dispersive)

4.