Chapter 9: Q9.22P (page 417)
Calculate the reflection coefficient for light at an air-to-silver interface at optical frequencies.
Short Answer
The reflection coefficient for light at an air air-to-silver interface is .
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Chapter 9: Q9.22P (page 417)
Calculate the reflection coefficient for light at an air-to-silver interface at optical frequencies.
The reflection coefficient for light at an air air-to-silver interface is .
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Light from an aquarium (Fig. 9.27) goes from water through a plane of glass into the air . Assuming it’s a monochromatic plane wave and that it strikes the glass at normal incidence, find the minimum and maximum transmission coefficients (Eq. 9.199). You can see the fish clearly; how well can it see you?

Show that the mode cannot occur in a rectangular wave guide. [Hint: In this case , so Eqs. 9.180 are indeterminate, and you must go back to Eq. 9.179. Show that is a constant, and hence—applying Faraday’s law in integral form to a cross section—that , so this would be a TEM mode.]
(a) Suppose you imbedded some free charge in a piece of glass. About how long would it take for the charge to flow to the surface?
(b) Silver is an excellent conductor, but it’s expensive. Suppose you were designing a microwave experiment to operate at a frequency of. How thick would you make the silver coatings?
(c) Find the wavelength and propagation speed in copper for radio waves at role="math" localid="1655716459863" . Compare the corresponding values in air (or vacuum).
[The naive explanation for the pressure of light offered in Section 9.2.3 has its flaws, as you discovered if you worked Problem 9.11. Here’s another account, due originally to Planck.] A plane wave traveling through vacuum in the z direction encounters a perfect conductor occupying the region , and reflects back:
,
(a) Find the accompanying magnetic field (in the region role="math" localid="1657454664985" .
(b) Assuming inside the conductor, find the current K on the surface , by invoking the appropriate boundary condition.
(c) Find the magnetic force per unit area on the surface, and compare its time average with the expected radiation pressure (Eq. 9.64).
Calculate the exact reflection and transmission coefficients, without assuming . Confirm that R + T = 1.
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