HANDOUT: 2

Light as an Electromagnetic Wave

Light is electromagnetic wave that develops in both time and space. Its
development in space is described by a wavelength, which is the distance
between two identical points of two successive cycles of a wave. Its development
in time is quantified by a period, which is the time it takes a waves two identical
points to pass, in sequence, the same location.
The wavelength and the period of the light wave are related through wave
velocity, which is equal to the wavelength divided by the period. This definition
results in an important formula: . f = c
Light is a stream of photons. Its color is determined by the photons frequency
f.
Different wavelength represents different colors. Visible light is in the range
between 400nm and 700nm.
Fiber optics communication technology works with far-infrared light at
wavelength of 850nm, 1300nm sand 1550nm.
Light can be treated as a beam (ray). Light rays propagate within different media
at different velocities, which is quantified by a refractive index, n = c /v
When a light beam passes from one medium to another, it changes its direction.
The refractive indexes of these mediums determine how much the beam is bent.
Snells law gives the rules defining the directions of the incident, reflected and
refracted (transmitted) beams: n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2
When a light beam falls from a medium with a greater refractive index to a
medium with a smaller refractive index we can reflect all light back to the
medium having the greater refractive index by increasing the angle of incidence.
This phenomenon, called total internal reflection, is what keeps light inside an
optical fiber.

2EC 312 / Fiber Optic Communication / B. Tech. / Sem. VI (EC) / DAP-DKK