EM wave polarized in the time direction?

AI Thread Summary
Polarizing an electromagnetic (EM) wave in the time direction is not feasible as time is not a vector quantity and lacks directional degrees of freedom. While photons can be polarized in four directions, the longitudinal and time-like polarizations only manifest as virtual particles. This limitation highlights the fundamental differences between spatial and temporal dimensions in physics. Consequently, the concept of time-based polarization remains theoretical and not applicable in practical scenarios. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for further exploration in electromagnetic theory.
cuallito
Messages
94
Reaction score
1
Is it possible to polarize an EM wave in the time direction as you would in any of the spatial dimentions?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
cuallito said:
Is it possible to polarize an EM wave in the time direction as you would in any of the spatial dimentions?

Time is not a vector quantity nor does it have degrees of freedom in its direction of progression.
 
Actually photons can be polarised in all 4 directions but the longitudinal and time-like polarisations only exist as virtual particles.
 
This is from Griffiths' Electrodynamics, 3rd edition, page 352. I am trying to calculate the divergence of the Maxwell stress tensor. The tensor is given as ##T_{ij} =\epsilon_0 (E_iE_j-\frac 1 2 \delta_{ij} E^2)+\frac 1 {\mu_0}(B_iB_j-\frac 1 2 \delta_{ij} B^2)##. To make things easier, I just want to focus on the part with the electrical field, i.e. I want to find the divergence of ##E_{ij}=E_iE_j-\frac 1 2 \delta_{ij}E^2##. In matrix form, this tensor should look like this...
Thread 'Applying the Gauss (1835) formula for force between 2 parallel DC currents'
Please can anyone either:- (1) point me to a derivation of the perpendicular force (Fy) between two very long parallel wires carrying steady currents utilising the formula of Gauss for the force F along the line r between 2 charges? Or alternatively (2) point out where I have gone wrong in my method? I am having problems with calculating the direction and magnitude of the force as expected from modern (Biot-Savart-Maxwell-Lorentz) formula. Here is my method and results so far:- This...
Back
Top