Consider the wave equation for a sinusoidal wave moving in the positive x-direction. The wave equation is a function of both position and time. From the wave equation, two different graphs can be plotted.

Maxwell's equations for electromagnetic fields are related to source charges, either static or moving. These fields act on a test charge, whose trajectory can thus be determined using suitable boundary conditions. The objective of electromagnetism is thus theoretically complete.
However, although electric and magnetic fields were first introduced as mathematical constructs to simplify the description of mutual forces between charges, a natural question emerges from Maxwell's equations:...

A parallel-plate capacitor with capacitance C, whose plates have area A and separation distance d, is connected to a resistor R and a battery of voltage V. The current starts to flow at t = 0. What is the displacement current between the capacitor plates at time t? From the properties of the capacitor, what is the corresponding real current?
To solve the problem, we can use the equations from the analysis of an RC circuit and Maxwell's version of Ampère's law.
For the first part of...

Mathematically, the motion of a wave can be studied using a wavefunction. Consider a string oscillating up and down in simple harmonic motion, having a period T. The wave on the string is sinusoidal and is translated in the positive x-direction as time progresses. Sine is a function of the angle θ, oscillating between +A and −A and repeating every 2π radians. To construct a wave model, the ratio of the angle θ and the position x is considered.

An electric dipole is a system of two equal but opposite charges, separated by a fixed distance. This system is used to model many real-world systems, including atomic and molecular interactions. One of these systems is the water molecule, but only under certain circumstances. These circumstances are met inside a microwave oven, where electric fields with alternating directions make the water molecules change orientation. This vibration is equivalent to heat at the molecular level.
Consider a...

A household microwave and lasers are examples of standing electromagnetic waves in a cavity. When two conducting metal plates are placed parallel at the nodal planes, it creates a cavity where standing waves are formed. The cavity between the two planes is analogous to a stretched string held at the points x = 0 and x = L. Here, the distance 'L' between the two planes must be an integer multiple of half of the wavelength. The wavelengths that satisfy this condition are given by: