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marlowgs
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If I create an electromagnetic wave with electric and magnetic fields partially out of phase, would it behave the same as a mass with velocity less than the speed of light?
marlowgs said:In pair-production, a light wave (in-phase E&M) comes close to a heavy particle and turns into two masses with momentum, but the light wave needs to have a minimum energy to produce the particles. I’m wondering what happens if less than the minimum is there. Do the electric and magnetic fields go out of phase for a short time as the photon swipes past the heavy particle and does the partially out-of-phase photon act as an intermediate particle.
Interesting question! A quick search about "pair production in classical electrodynamics" yields a paper by A. Carati as well as more recently, a Powerpoint and a youtube presentation by Martin Land. Obviously it's "work-in-progress".PeterDonis said:[..]
I don't know if anyone has even tried to model pair production with the light being treated classically. I suspect it wouldn't work.
The mass of an object does not directly affect the velocity of an electromagnetic wave. The speed of light, which is the speed of an electromagnetic wave in a vacuum, is constant and does not change with the mass of an object.
No, the frequency of an electromagnetic wave is determined by the source of the wave. The mass of an object does not impact the frequency of the wave.
The velocity of an electromagnetic wave does change when passing through a medium, but this change is not directly related to the mass density of the medium. Instead, it is related to the refractive index of the medium, which is a measure of how much the speed of light is reduced while passing through the medium.
The mass of an object does not directly affect the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave. The wavelength is determined by the frequency and velocity of the wave, which are not impacted by the mass of an object.
No, the amplitude of an electromagnetic wave is not affected by the mass or velocity of an object. The amplitude is determined by the energy of the source of the wave and the distance from the source.