1 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Two questions about light waves
nothing is moving.
Nothing? The electromagnetic energy is moving, isn't it? Do you need to qualify "nothing"? Or maybe qualify "moving"? Like, "nothing is moving longitudinally". Or even "nothing is moving either longitudinally or transversely relative to (something)"? Actually, I think I can visualize the latter interpretation and hope it is correct because it might be exactly the way I have understood it to work for years: A photon is like a wave drawn on a piece of paper, and the paper moves through space. The drawing doesn't change in any way as it moves. No part of the drawing moves or changes relative to any other part. Totally different from water waves, that move up and down, and the water itself moves in something close to a circle or ellipse as the wave moves along.
Comment by Irrasible at 28/12/2023 at 12:51 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Yes, energy is propagating down the waveguide.
When I said that "nothing is moving" I meant that the field is not moving. The fact that the field has a longitudinal component does not mean that the speed of light changes. The magnetic field having a longitudinal component means that if you could place an infinitesimally small magnetic monopole there, then it would feel some longitudinal force.