Lecture IX: Electromagnetic Waves in Conducting Medium

Saumen Acharjee
Department of Physics, Dibrugarh University

Lecture Notes on Electrodynamics

 Outline

• Highlights
• Maxwell’s equations and EM Wave Equation for Conductors
• EM Wave Equation and its Plane Wave Solutions
• Good and Poor Conductor Limit
• Assignments
Highlights of this lecture:

 In a conducting medium, there exist free charges which contribute to both charge
density and current densities.

 In this lecture we will discuss about electromagnetic waves and its propagation in linear
conducting medium.

 We will derive the wave equation for conducting medium and thereby calculate the
general solution of this equation.

 We also discuss the good conductor and poor conductor limits from this solution.
We can start our analysis from the Maxwell’s equations

…… (9.1)

…… (9.2)

…… (9.3)

…… (9.4)

…… (9.5)
Incorporating in continuity equation, …… (9.6)

…… (9.7)

…… (9.8)
Taking Curl of the last two equations we obtain the EM wave equations for a conducting medium

…… (9.9)

…… (9.10)

The solutions of 9.9 and 9.10 are plane wave solutions similar to what we obtain for a free space

…… (9.11)
…… (9.12)

…… (9.13)

…… (9.14)
…… (9.15)

…… (9.16)
…… (9.17)
…… (9.18)
…… (9.19)

…… (9.20)
Assignment:

• Find the wavelength and propagation speed in copper for radio waves at 1 MHz.
Compare the corresponding values in air (or vacuum).

• Next lecture will be a continuation of this class on Electromagnetic Waves.

• For any queries please feel free to write me on the classroom.