Concepts in EM Theory

- Clearing some hazy areas

The Debye Model

(Permittivity)
When we consider molecular dipoles oscillating under
the influence of a time varying field, there is a the delay
in the molecular polarization with respect to the change
in electric field.
This causes a momentary delay (lag) in the dielectric
constant of the material, and is called Dielectric
relaxation.
At low frequencies the field changes slowly enough to
allow dipoles to reach equilibrium before the field has
measurably changed. For frequencies at which dipole
orientations cannot follow the applied field
instantaneously, absorption of the field's energy leads
to energy dissipation.

The Debye Model

(Permittivity)
For
ideal dipoles, the relaxation follows the Debye
model:

is the permittivity in vacuum

is the static, low frequency permittivity
is the permittivity at the high frequency limit
This is what essentially meant by the lag:

Drude Model
The Drude theory of metals tries to explain the transport
properties of electrons in metals by pure classical method,
assuming the electrons to be a kind of gas that follows the
laws of KTG.
He simplifies the problem by assuming a metal conducting a
current to be like constantly jittering electrons bouncing and
re-bouncing off heavier, relatively immobile positive ions.
It successfully provides us with an electronic equation of
motion, and predicts a linear relationship between current
density J and electric field E
In a conventional, simple, real metal the Drude Response
(exponential relaxation with time constant ) is not found
experimentally, because the characteristic frequency 1 is
in the infrared frequency range, where other features that
are not considered in the Drude model (such as band
structure) play an important role.

Currents Flowing in a
Conductor
Conduction current is the current flowing in conductors due
to flow of electrons under applied electric potential.
The displacement current is simply the temporal derivative
of the displacement field. It has nothing to do with moving
charges. It comes into picture because just as a moving
charge, a time-varying electric field can also produce the
magnetic field around it independent and additional to the
field produced by a moving charge.
Convection current is the flow of electrons in an insulating
medium (say, vacuum). Electrons here are accelerated by
some external source (say, electron gun) & do not satisfy
Ohm's law. Electrons here experience an average
acceleration which is why convection current is considered
non uniform along the length of the vacuum tube.

Phase and Group Velocities

The phase velocity of a wave is the rate at which
the phase of the wave propagates in space. This
is the velocity at which the phase of any one
frequency component of the wave travels. For
such a component, any given phase of the wave
(for example, the crest) will appear to travel at
the phase velocity.
The group velocity of a wave is the velocity with
which the overall shape of the waves' amplitudes
known as the modulation or envelope of the
wave propagates through space.

Phase and Group Velocities

The group speed is equal to the phase speed
only when the refractive index is a constant:
dn/dk=0
This is due to the fact that in this case the
phase speed and group speed are independent
of frequency: /k=d/dk=c/n.
Otherwise, both the phase velocity and the
group velocity vary with frequency, and the
medium is called dispersive; the relation
=(k) is known as the dispersion relation of
the medium.

The Velocity Equation

We first take into consideration:
E = h
E = Mc2
Mc = h/c = h/
= h/Mc(for a photon)
And, using the de Broglie wavelength of the electron:
e = h/Meve
This can be expressed as the group velocity of the wave
packet forming the electron:
Vg = h/Me e
Finally, substitute the mass of the electron in terms of its
energy, in the expression for wave packet's group
velocity.

The Velocity Equation

The expression becomes:
Vg = (h/)(c2/h) = c2/ = c2/Vp, i.e.,
VgVp = c2
In the case of light propagating in a vacuum, both Vg and
Vp have the value of c.
In the case of light passing through a dispersive medium,
or the electron, or any other particle of matter, the group
velocity of the wave packet , i.e., the velocity of the
packet's maximum amplitude, (d/dk) is less than the
speed of light.
Therefore, the phase waves associated with the particle's
wave packet, must move faster than light. We disregard
the curious superluminal phase waves as irrelevant, since
it is the envelope which carries meaningful information.

Wave Impedance
The
wave impedance of an electromagnetic
wave is the ratio of the transverse components
of the electric and magnetic fields, i.e., those at
right angles to the direction of propagation.
For a transverse-electric-magnetic (TEM) plane
wave traveling through a homogeneous
medium, the wave impedance is everywhere
equal to the intrinsic impedance of the medium.
If the medium is conducting, the wave
impedance is equal to:

(General); (Non-Conducting)

Wave Impedance in a
Waveguide
For
any waveguide in the form of a hollow metal
tube, (rectangular guide, circular guide, etc.), the
wave impedance of a travelling wave is
dependent on the frequency , but is the same
throughout the guide.
For transverse electric (TE) modes of propagation
the wave impedance is:
where is the cut-off frequency for that mode.
For the TM modes, .

Cut-off Frequencies & their

Utility
The eigenvalues of propagating modes follow the
relation:

To keep the values real, we have a cutoff

frequency:
Above the cut-off (f > fc), the impedance is real
(resistive) and the wave carries energy; below
cut-off the impedance is imaginary (reactive) and
the wave is thus evanescent.