Power of EM Wave Absorbed by Circular Disk of Radius 2m

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around calculating the power transmitted to a circular disk with a radius of 2m from a plane polarized electromagnetic wave with an Erms of 30 V/m. The relevant equations include intensity (I = Erms^2/(cμ0)) and the relationship between intensity and power (I = P/A). A participant initially calculated the power by incorrectly multiplying by the area of the disk (πr^2) and obtained 94.2, while the answer key indicates the correct power is 30, suggesting a misunderstanding of the area calculation. Clarification is needed on whether to include π in the area calculation and the importance of units in the equations. Understanding the problem's context is essential for accurate application of the formulas.
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Homework Statement


A plane polarized electromagnetic wave propagates
with Erms = 30 V/m. What is the power transmitted to
a circular disk of radius r = 2m, if all of the light is
absorbed by the disk and S is perpendicular to the
disk?


Homework Equations


There is a passage that goes along with this that states that I =Erms^2/(cμ0), and that I = P/A. u0 = 4 × 10–7 N•s^2/C^2.



The Attempt at a Solution


Basically, I plugged in the values of Erms and μ0 into the Intensity equation and then multiplied by A (pi*4) to get 94.2.

But the answer key says the answer is 30 and that instead of multiplying by pi*r^2, you multiply by r^2. Please help!
 
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Where is the other pi?
 
You'll just have to try to understand the problem to see.
 
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