The three faces of Maxwell's equations

Mukunda, N. ; Sudarshan, E. C. G. (1986) The three faces of Maxwell's equations Pramana - Journal of Physics, 27 (1-2). pp. 1-18. ISSN 0304-4289

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Official URL: http://www.ias.ac.in/j_archive/pramana/27/1-2/1-18...

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02846324

Abstract

In dealing with electromagnetic phenomena and in particular the phenomena of optics, despite the recognition of the quanta of light people tend to talk of the amplitudes and field strengths, as if the electromagnetic field were a classical field. For example we measure the wavelength of light by studying interference fringes. In this paper we study the interrelationship of three ways of looking at the problem: in terms of classical wave fields, wave function of the photon; and the quantized wave field. The comparison and contrasts of these three modes of description are carefully analyzed in this paper. The ways in which these different modes complement our intuition and insight are also discussed.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to Indian Academy of Sciences.
Keywords:Maxwell’s Equations; Photon Wavefunction; Coherent States; Quantized Maxwell Field
ID Code:50981
Deposited On:27 Jul 2011 12:53
Last Modified:18 May 2016 05:05

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