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ltd5241
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If the light move from left to right, what's the vibration direction of light wave? up-down or front-back or some other ways?
maverick_starstrider said:well, in a classical picture, light is an oscillating magnetic wave reinforcing an oscillating electric wave (or vice versa) which is perpendicular to it. However, the polarization of light determines its orientation. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarization
ltd5241 said:If the light move from left to right, what's the vibration direction of light wave? up-down or front-back or some other ways?
haloshade said:I think he means that sunlight appears to come from more than one source spots, so how can it just oscillate in one direction?
Bob S said:The direction of a photon (radio wave, microwave, IR radiation, visible light, UV radiation, x-rays, gamma rays, synchrotron radiation, etc.) is given by the Poynting vector, P = E x H.. Since it is a vector cross product. Both E and H are orthogonal to P.
Precisely. For all unpolarized light, the direction of vibrations of the electric and magnetic fields is random, as long as they are orthogonal to the direction of travel. For individual light "photons", the individual quanta of light, the electric and magnetic vibrations are orthogononal to each other, and both are orthogonal to the direction of travel. But light is composed of billions of photons, and for unpolarized light, they are all randomly oriented.ltd5241 said:Do you mean the direction is random and vibrate in all direction which is orthogonal to the light travel direction?
Bob S said:Precisely. For all unpolarized light, the direction of vibrations of the electric and magnetic fields is random, as long as they are orthogonal to the direction of travel. For individual light "photons", the individual quanta of light, the electric and magnetic vibrations are orthogononal to each other, and both are orthogonal to the direction of travel. But light is composed of billions of photons, and for unpolarized light, they are all randomly oriented.
The vibration direction of a light wave is the direction in which the electric and magnetic fields of the wave oscillate as it travels through space. This direction is perpendicular to the direction of propagation, or the direction in which the wave is moving.
The vibration direction of a light wave is determined by the orientation of the electric and magnetic fields with respect to the direction of propagation. The fields are always perpendicular to each other, and the direction of the electric field is typically used to define the vibration direction.
Yes, the vibration direction of a light wave can change. When light passes through certain materials, such as polarizers or crystals, the direction of the electric field can be altered, resulting in a change in the vibration direction of the light wave.
Polarization refers to the direction in which the electric field of a light wave is oscillating. The vibration direction of a light wave is perpendicular to the polarization direction. For example, if the light wave is horizontally polarized, the vibration direction will be vertical.
The vibration direction of a light wave is important because it affects how the light interacts with other materials and objects. For example, polarized sunglasses take advantage of the fact that certain materials only allow light waves with a specific vibration direction to pass through, reducing glare and improving visibility.