Transmission of Electromagnetic Waves in Media

Transmission Media can be guided or unguided. Guided media are those metals and fiber optics while unguided media is free space. Transmission line is a metallic conductor system used to transfer electrical energy from one point to another using electrical current flow. Electromagnetic waves are classified as a transverse wave because the movement of particles is perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer. Also, electromagnetic waves is produced by acceleration of an electric charge. Electromagnetic Waves travel at the speed of light when propagating through a vaccum and nearly at the speed of light when propagating through air. However, in metallic transmission lines or media, where the conductor is generally copper and the dielectric materials vary considerable with cable type, an electromagnetic wave travels much more slowly. The velocity, of which an electromagnetic wave travels through a transmission line such as metallic media, depends on the dielectric constant of the insulating material separating the two conductors. Where is the dielectric constant

Dielectric constant depends on the type of insulating material used. Inductors store magnetic energy and capacitors store electric energy. It takes a finite amount of time of an inductor or a capacitor to take on or give up energy. Therefore , the velocity at which an electromagnetic wave propagates along a transmission line varies with the inductance and capacitance of the cable. The length of transmission line relative to the length of the wave propagating down it is an important consideration when analysing transmission line behaviour. The velocity of propagation through a metallic transmission line is affected by the cables electrical constants: inductance and capacitance. The velocity of the propagation of a metallic transmission line is somewhat less than the velocity of propagation through free space or the earths atmosphere.

At high frequencies, most of the current flows along the surface (outer skin) of the conductor rather than near its center.

Optical Parameters
Optical radiation

1. Wavelength
The propagation of light can be described using the electromagnetic wave theory. The distance separating one crest of a light wave from the next is the wavelength . The range of optical radiation (100 nm - 1 mm) covers the regions ultraviolet (UV), visible light (VIS) and infrared (IR). The wavelengths of visible light lie between 380 and 780 nm. To describe a certain colour of visible light, the wavelength is specified in air.

Refraction of light at the air / lens interface

2. Refractive index n
The refractive index n of a lens specifies the ratio of the velocity of light in air to the velocity of light in the lens. Due to a reduction in its velocity in the lens, the light undergoes a change of direction if it is obliquely incident on the lens surface. This process is known as refraction. The higher the refractive index of the material, the greater the reduction in the lights velocity and the greater its refraction. Light is more strongly refracted by lenses with a high refractive index.
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Reflection, absorption and transmission

3. Reflection, Absorption and Transmission

When the light incident on the lens actually passes through the lens, it is attenuated by reflection at the interfaces and by absorption in the lens material.

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4. Dispersion
Every colour of light, characterised by its wavelength in air, propagates at a different velocity in the lens. The shorter the wavelength, the lower the velocity of light in the lens. It is for this reason that short-wave blue light is more strongly refracted than long-wave red light. Different refractive indices can therefore be given for red, green and blue light. If white light is refracted at a lens, it is split up into its various colour components, as each colour is refracted differently. This phenomenon is known as dispersion.
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Refractive index and Abbe number

5. Abbe number
The Abbe number is used to describe the dispersion properties of a lens. It is the ratio of the angle of deflection e to the mean dispersion angle FC . A low Abbe number indicates a high level of dispersion. The Abbe number should not be lower than 30 to ensure that colour fringes do not impair peripheral vision.
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6. Equivalent Power F
The equivalent power F is the reciprocal of the focal length measured in metres. Like the equivalent power of an optically effective surface, the equivalent power of a spectacle lens is given in dioptres (D). The surface power is determined by the ratio of the difference between the refractive indices of two media to the radius of curvature of this surface. The two surface powers F1 and F2 yield the equivalent power F of a lens, taking into account the centre thickness t.
Parameters for determining the equivalent power

7. Back vertex power Fn

In ophthalmic optics not only the equivalent power F' n but also the back vertex power Fn is used to denote the power of a lens. It is the reciprocal of the back vertex focal length f n given in metres. A focimeter is used to measure the back vertex power of a lens.

8. Shape factor S
The image on the retina of an eye corrected with spectacles is different in size to the retinal image of an emmetropic (normal) eye of the same length. This difference in image size is dependent on the shape factor of the lens as well as on other factors. The shape factor is the ratio of the back vertex power to the equivalent power. In a lens of finite thickness the equivalent power and the back vertex power differ (F Fn). The shape magnification S is then greater than 1 (S > 1). An imaginary infinitely thin lens has a shape factor of 1 (S = 1), i. e. Fn = F is only the case for an infinitely thin lens.