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Engineering Physics
G. K. Sahu
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Module-1
Session-1
can occupy the same energy level corresponding to a unique set of quantum numbers
n, l, m or s. The ground state of an atom is therefore obtained by filling each energy
level, starting with the lowest energy, up to the maximum number as allowed by the
Pauli Exclusion Principle.
Helium is the second element of the periodic table. For this and all other atoms one
still uses the same quantum numbers as for the hydrogen atom. This approach is
justified since all atom cores can be treated as a single charged particle, which yields a
potential very similar to that of a proton. While the electron energies are no longer the
same as for the hydrogen atom, the electron wave functions are very similar and can
be classified in the same way. Since helium contains two electrons it can
accommodate two electrons in the 1s orbital, hence the notation 1s2. Since the s
orbitals can only accommodate two electrons, this orbital is now completely filled, so
that all other atoms will have more than one filled or partially filled orbital. The two
electrons in the helium atom also fill all available orbitals associated with the first
principal quantum number, yielding a filled outer shell. Atoms with a filled outer shell
are called noble gases, as they are known to be chemically inert.
Lithium contains three electrons and therefore has a completely filled 1s orbital and
one more electron in the next higher 2s orbital. The electronic configuration is
therefore 1s22s1 or [He]2s1, where [He] refers to the electronic configuration of
helium. Beryllium has four electrons, two in the 1s orbital and two in the 2s orbital.
The next six atoms also have a completely filled 1s and 2s orbital as well as the
remaining number of electrons in the 2p orbitals. Neon has six electrons in the 2p
orbitals, thereby completely filling the outer shell of this noble gas.
The next eight elements follow the same pattern leading to argon, the third noble gas.
After that the pattern changes as the underlying 3d orbitals of the transition metals
(scandium through zinc) are filled before the 4p orbitals, leading eventually to the
fourth noble gas, krypton. Exceptions are chromium and zinc, which have one more
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
electron in the 3d orbital and only one electron in the 4s orbital. A similar pattern
change occurs for the remaining transition metals, where for the lanthanides and
actinides the underlying f orbitals
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Session-2
VI
V = IR..[1.1]
where R is the materials resistance to flow of electrons through it.
V, I, and R respectively have units as volts, amperes, and ohms ().
defined such as it is independent of the geometry.
...[1.2]
where A cross-sectional area perpendicular to the direction of the current, and l
the distance between points between which the voltage is applied. Units for are
ohm-meters (-m).
2.3. Electrical Conductivity: Reciprocal of the electrical resistivity, known as electrical
conductivity (), is used to express the electrical behavior of a material, which is
....[1.3]
indicative of the ease with which a material allows of flow of electrons.
very high electrical conductivity, in the order of 10 . They are used
(ii) Low resistivity materials: The metals and alloys like silver, aluminium have
(iii) High resistivity materials: The material like tungsten, platinum, nichrome, etc.
have high resistivity and low temperature coefficient of resistances. Such
metals and alloys are used in the manufacturing of resistors, heating elements,
resistance thermometers, etc.
1. Bound Electrons:
All the valence electrons in an isolated atom are bound to their
parent nuclei are called as bound electrons.
2. Free electrons:
Electrons which moves freely or randomly in all directions in the
absence of external field.
3. Drift Velocity
If no electric field is applied on a conductor, the free electrons
move in random directions. They collide with each other and also with the
positive ions. Since the motion is completely random, average velocity in any
direction is zero. If a constant electric field is established inside a conductor,
the electrons experience a force F = -eE due to which they move in the
direction opposite to direction of the field. These electrons undergo frequent
collisions with positive ions. In each such collision, direction of motion of
electrons undergoes random changes. As a result, in addition to the random
motion, the electrons are subjected to a very slow directional motion. This
motion is called drift and the average velocity of this motion is called drift
velocity vd.
Session-3
This theory was developed by Drude and Lorentz and hence is also known as
Drude-Lorentz theory. According to this theory, a metal consists of electrons which
are free to move about in the crystal like molecules of a gas in a container. Mutual
repulsion between electrons is ignored and hence potential energy is taken as zero.
Therefore the total energy of the electron is equal to its kinetic energy.
1. All the atoms are composed of atoms. Each atom have central nucleus around
which there are revolving electrons.
2. The electrons are free to move in all possible directions about the whole
volume of metals.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
4. When an external field is applied the free electrons are slowly drifting towards
the positive potential.
5. Since the electrons are assumed to be a perfect gas they obey classical kinetic
theory of gasses.
3.2.2. If no electric field is applied on a conductor, the free electrons move in random
directions. They collide with each other and also with the positive ions. Since the
motion is completely random, average velocity in any direction is zero. If a constant
electric field is established inside a conductor, the electrons experience a force F = -eE
due to which they move in the direction opposite to direction of the field.
Consider a conductor subjected to an electric field E in the x-direction. The force on
the electron due to the electric field = -eE.
, 2.1"
-.
/%0+ 0, 0 # ' . 1.
/, 2.2"
/, monotonically proportional with time. So, current density should increase
indefinitely with time but that does not happen. A constant current flows through the
metal. So, a retarding force must act opposite to drift of electron. This retarding force
is provided scattering of electrons by the vibrating atoms (phonon) and the
imperfection in the lattice.
So, 2 9 2.3"
3456 7 456 7
38 :;<88. =
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
The proportionality constant has the unit of sec-1. So, ? is called relaxation time.
=
In steady state, 2 9 2 9
3456 7 3456 7
38 @ABC 38 :;<88.
?
?
, 2.4"
We know that, Current density E 0 2.5"
0 G ?
E 2.6"
Let L=length
d=width of conductor A
A=area of cross section
Now I L
L
J M N
And K P
O
X S TB U =
Y Z
electrons and the relaxation time.
3.2.5 Electrical Resistivity: [2.9]
3.2.6 Mobility: It is defined as the average drift velocity per unit applied electric field.
So,
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
?
[B 2.10"
0[B . 2.11"
Hence
Session-4
From eq[2.3], 2 9
4.1 Interpretation of Relaxation time
3456 7 456 7
38 :;<88. =
Let the electric field is switched off at t=0, then the drift velocity gradually falls to
zero, due to scattering by phonons. Integrating above equation
\ \
?
Or, *0 = - .
8
[3.1]
eq[3.2]shows that, when electric field is switched off, the drift velocity falls
exponentially to zero. The relaxation time is determined by the electron phonon
interaction in the metal. It is of the order of 10-14 sec.
1 3
From Kinetic theory, the kinetic energy associated with an electron is
]+^G `a b
2 2
When an electric field is applied, the resulting acceleration V . If the mean free
Bc
path is d, then the time between collision is ;. Hench the drift velocity acquired
e
d
before next collision is
f ++*.Q %
+
Thus the average drift velocity is
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
f d
2 2 +
0f 0 G d
If n is the number of electrons per unit volume, then current density is
M
2 2 +
M 0 G d
Or
2 +
Or,
2 3`a b h12`a b
Qg 3.3"
0d G 0 G d
Here it is assumed that d is independent of temperature. Hence b which is
contradictory to the experimental fact that b.
4.3 Drawbacks of Classical free electron theory
1) According to this theory, is proportional to b. But experimentally it was found
that is proportional to T.
2) According to this theory, K/ b= L, a constant (Wiedmann-Franz law) for all
temperatures. But this is not true at low temperatures.
3) The theoretically predicted value of specific heat of a metal does not agree with the
experimentally obtained value.
4) This theory fails to explain ferromagnetism, superconductivity, photoelectric effect,
Compton effect and blackbody radiation.
[Reference: Material Science by M. S. Vijaya and G. Rangarajan, Page-206-208]
Session-5
5.1 Thermal conductivity: The thermal conductivity is defined as the ratio of the
amount of heat energy conducted per unit area of cross section per second to the
temperature gradient.
l
Therefore, the thermal conductivity
k 4.1"
(bn
(m
conducted per unit area of cross section in one second and (bn(m the temperature
Where K is the coefficient of thermal conductivity, Q the amount of heat energy
gradient. The negative sign shows that heat flows from the hot end to cold end.
The thermal conductivity of a material, in general, is due to the presence of lattice
vibrations and electrons. Hence, the thermal conduction can be written as
k8o8< kBB;8poT - kqroToT:
#$ s$00& $ 0', +%& ) *%+ %t%0&
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
In metals, free electron concentration is very high. So, thermal conductivity of metal
is far greater than that for insulator.
5.2 Derivation of expression for thermal conductivity:
Let us consider a copper rod of appreciable length with unit area of cross-section in
the steady state as shown in the figure.
Let us assumes the number of free electrons flowing in a given direction through unit
area in unit time is .
Thus the net energy transported through unit area in unit time from A to B is:
The general expression for the quantity of heat energy transported through unit area
for unit time is . Equating the two equations, one gets
But is the energy required raising the temperature by one degree and hence it
is .
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Now
0+d 0d 3`a b
` ].5 ^B ].5 ^B g
3 3
But ].5 ^B G `a with n=1 electron
u
Thus,
0d 3 3`a b 0d`a 3`a b
` `a g g 4.2"
3 2 2
5.3 Wiedmann-Franz law:
This law states that when the temperature is not too law, the ratio of the thermal
conductivity to the electrical conductivity of a metal is directly proportional to the
v
absolute temperature, i.e., P b
k
Or,
+0&0 L 4.3"
b
Where L is a constant known as Lorentz number.
From the expression for the thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity, the ratio
can be written as,
0d`a w3`a b
k 2 h12`a b `a G
Q 3 b 4.4"
0 G d
v y G
Or,
Px
3 2 Bz 9 which is the Lorentz number.
Session-6
Classical free electron theory could not explain many physical properties. In 1928,
Sommerfeld developed a new theory applying quantum mechanical concepts and
Fermi-Dirac statistics to the free electrons in the metal. This theory is called quantum
free electron theory.
Classical free electron theory permits all electrons to gain energy. But quantum free
electron theory permits only a fraction of electrons to gain energy. In order to
determine the actual number of electrons in a given energy range (dE), it is necessary
to know the number of states (dNs) which have energy in that range. The number of
states per unit energy range is called the density of states g(E).
According to Fermi-Dirac statistics, the probability that a particular energy state with
energy E is occupied by an electron is given by,
where is the energy in the Fermi level. Fermi level is the highest filled energy
level at 0 K. Energy corresponding to Fermi level is known as Fermi energy. Now the
actual number of electrons present in the energy range dE,
dN = f(E) g(E)dE
For T>0K, some of the state below are unoccupied and some states above
are occupied. Only those states close to get affected, and the states far away
from remain unaffected. The energy range over which the change take place is
of the order of .
6.2 Elementary Treatment of Quantum Free Electron Theory of Metals:
The general expression for the drift velocity is
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
it is obvious at a given temperature the only factor which varies from one metal to the
other is densities of free electron. One must also note that the energy kT (where T is
of the order of 300 k) can activate only the free electrons near the Fermi level to move
to unoccupied states and contribute to specific heat. We may therefore require an
energy EF called (very high compared with kT = 0.025 eV at 300 k) Fermi energy to
make all the electrons to move to the unoccupied states corresponding to a
temperature TF called Fermi temperature. The unique relation connecting the various
1
parameters in quantum theory of free electron is
{ I{ G `a b{
2
[Reference: Material Science by M. S. Vijaya and G. Rangarajan, Page-212-226]
Session-7
solid is the conduction band. The electrons occupying this band are known as
conduction electrons.
Conduction band valence band are separated by a gap known as forbidden energy gap.
No electrons can occupy energy levels in this band. When an electrons in the valence
band absorbs enough energy, it jumps across the forbidden energy gap and enters the
conduction band, creating a positively charged hole in the valence band. the hole is
basically the deficiency of an electron.
7.2 Energy Band Diagram
Electrical properties of materials are best understood in terms of their electronic
structure. We know that the energy levels of isolated atoms are discrete. When atoms
are brought together to form a solid, these energy levels spread out into bands of
allowed energies. The effect is qualitatively understood as follows by considering
what happens when a collection of atoms, which are initially far apart are brought
closer.
When the spacing between adjacent atoms is large, each atom has sharply defined
energy levels which are denoted by etc. As the atoms are far apart their orbitals do not
overlap. In particular if each atom is in its ground state, the electrons in each atom
occupy identical quantum states. As the distance starts decreasing, the orbitals
overlap. The electrons of different atoms cannot remain in the same state because of
Pauli Exclusion Principle. Pauli principle states that a particular state can at most
accommodate two electrons of opposite spins. Thus when atoms are brought together,
the levels must split to accommodate electrons in different states. Though they appear
continuous, a band is actually a very large number of closely spaced discrete levels
Session-8
For an insulator there is a wide gap (eV) between the lower occupied band, known as
the valence band, and the higher unoccupied band, called the conduction band. No
electron can exist in this forbidden gap. To promote electrons from lower levels to
higher levels would require a great amount of energy. It is incorrect to say that
electrons in an insulator are not free to move around. In fact, they do. However, as
there are as many electrons as there are states, the electrons only trade places resulting
in no net movement of charges.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Semiconductors, like insulator have band gaps. However, the gap between the top of
the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band is much narrower than in an
Semiconductors
Valence band
Conductors
Figure 2
Insulators
insulator. For comparison, the gap in case of Silicon is 1.1 eV while that for diamond,
which is an insulator, is about 6 eV.
Session-9
9.1 Semiconductors
Elemental are semiconductors where each atom is of the same type such as Ge, Si.
These atoms are bound together by covalent bonds, so that each atom shares an
electron with its nearest neighbour, forming strong bonds. Compound semiconductors
are made of two or more elements. Common examples are GaAs or InP. These
compound semiconductors belong to the III-V semiconductors so called because first
and second elements can be found in group III and group V of the periodic table
respectively. In compound semiconductors, the difference in electro-negativity leads
to a combination of covalent and ionic bonding. Ternary semiconductors are formed
by the addition of a small quantity of a third element to the mixture, for example Al x
Ga 1-x As. The subscript x refers to the alloy content of the material, what proportion
of the material is added and what proportion is replaced by the alloy material. The
addition of alloys to semiconductors can be extended to include quaternary materials
such as Ga x In (1-x) As y P (1-y) or GaInNAs and even quinternary materials such as
GaInNAsSb. Once again, the subscripts denote the proportion elements that constitute
the mixture of elements. Alloying semiconductors in this way allows the energy gap
and lattice spacing of the crystal to be chosen to suit the application.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Semiconductors are of two types and are classified on the basis of the concentration of
electrons and holes in the material.
The most common examples of the intrinsic semiconductors are silicon and
germanium. Both these semi conductors are used frequently in manufacturing of
transistors and electronic products manufacturing. The electronic configuration of
both these semiconductors is shown below:
In the electronic configuration of both the semiconductor crystals there are four
valence electrons. These four electrons will form covalent bonds, with the
neighbouring electrons of the germanium atoms. Each covalent bond is formed by
sharing each electron from the each atom. After bond formation, no free electron will
remain in the outermost shell of the germanium semiconductor.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
If the temperature will be maintained at zero Kelvin, then the valence band
will be full of electrons. Energy gap is nearly 0.72 eV for germanium. So, at such a
low temperature range it is impossible to cross the energy barrier. It will act as an
insulator at zero Kelvin. Electrical conduction starts only if there is breakage in the
covalent bonds and some of the electrons become free to jump from valence band to
the conduction band. The minimum energy required to the break the covalent bond in
germanium crystal is 0.72 eV and for silicon its value is 1.1 eV.
But if these semi conductors are placed at room temperature then the thermal
energy generated at room temperature will help to excite some electrons present in
valence electrons to shift to the conduction band. So, the semi conductor will be able
to show some electrical conductivity. As the temperature increases, the shifting of the
electrons from the valence band to the conduction band will also increase. The holes
will be left behind in the valence band in place of electrons. This vacancy created by
the electron after the breakage of the covalent bonding is known as hole. Holes are
shown in the figure given below. Hollow circles in the figure are representing the
holes.
When this semi conductor is placed under the influence of electric field then
the holes movement and the electron movement will be opposite to each other. During
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
this whole process the no of holes and the free electrons in the circuit of the intrinsic
semi conductor will be same.
Session-10
Those semiconductors in which some impurity atoms are embedded are known as
extrinsic semiconductors. The process of adding impurity to the intrinsic
semiconductor is known as doping.
10.2 N-type Semi conductors: Lets take an example of the silicon crystal to understand
the concept of N-type semi conductor. We have studied the electronic configuration
of the silicon atom. It has four electrons in its outermost shell. In N-type semi
conductors, the silicon atoms are replaced with the pentavalent atoms like
phosphorous, bismuth, antimony etc. So, as a result the four of the electrons of the
pentavalent atoms will form the covalent bonds with the silicon atoms and the one
electron will revolve around the nucleus of the impurity atoms with less binding
energy. These electrons are almost free to move. In other words we can say that these
electrons are donated by the impure atoms. So, these are also known as donor atoms.
So, the conduction inside the conductor will take place with the help of the negatively
charged electrons. Electrons are negatively charged. Due to this negative charge these
semiconductors are known as N-type semiconductors.
Each donor atom has denoted an electron from its valence shell. So, as a result due to
loss of the negative charge these atoms will become positively charged. The single
valence electron revolves around the nucleus of the impure atom. The extra valance
electron not needed for the sp3 tetrahedral bonding is only loosely bound to the P
atom in a donor energy level, Ed. The energy of this donor energy level is close to the
lowest energy level of the conduction band (in Si it is 0.4 eV) and so it is easy to
promote an electron from the donor level to the conduction band. These promoted
electrons become charge carriers that contribute to the material's conductivity. Since
they are negative, the result is called an n-type semiconductor.
When the semi conductors are placed at room temperature then the covalent bond
breakage will take place. So, more free electrons will be generated. As a result, same
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
no of holes generation will take place. But as compared to the free electrons the no of
holes are comparatively less due to the presence of donor electrons.
We can say that major conduction of n-type semi conductors is due to electrons. So,
electrons are known as majority carriers and the holes are known as the minority
carriers.
Session-11
11.1 P-type semi conductors: In a p-type semi conductor doping is done with trivalent
atoms. Trivalent atoms are those which have three valence electrons in their valence
shell. Some examples of trivalent atoms are Aluminium, boron etc. So, the three
valence electrons of the doped impure atoms will form the covalent bonds between
silicon atoms. But silicon atoms have four electrons in its valence shell. So, one
covalent bond will be improper. So, one more electron is needed for the proper
covalent bonding. This need of one electron is fulfilled from any of the bond between
two silicon atoms. So, the bond between the silicon and indium atom will be
completed. After bond formation the indium will get ionized. As we know that ions
are negatively charged. So, indium will also get negative charge. A hole was created
when the electron come from silicon-silicon bond to complete the bond between
indium and silicon. Now, an electron will move from any one of the covalent bond to
fill the empty hole. This will result in a new holes formation. So, in p-type semi
conductor the holes movement results in the formation of the current. Holes are
positively charged. Hence these conductors are known as p-type semiconductors or
acceptor type semi conductors.
P-type semiconductors have dopants from the IIIA group such as B+3 . These donor
impurity atoms in substitutional solid solution. The lack of an electron needed for sp3
tetrahedral bonding is easily filled by a neighbouring Si atom into an acceptor energy
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
level, Ea of the dopant atom. The energy of this acceptor level is only slightly above
the valance band and so it is easy to promote an electron from the valance band into it.
For each promotion of an electron into one of these acceptor levels, a hole is left in
the valance band. It is these holes that become the charge carriers and contribute to
the conductivity of the semiconductor. Since these holes are positive, the result is
called a p-type semiconductor.
Note that the temperatures needed to promote the dopant electrons into the conduction
band are lower than the temperatures required to promote the intrinsic electrons into
the conduction band.
When these conductors are placed at room temperature then the covalent bond
breakage will take place. In this type of semi conductors the electrons are very less as
compared to the holes. So, in p-type semi conductors holes are the majority carriers
and electrons are the minority carriers.
Session-12
Assuming that the material is n-type semiconductor, the current flow consists almost
entirely of electrons moving from right to left. This corresponds to the direction of
conventional current from left to right.
Let v=velocity of electrons at right angle to magnetic field B. So, there is a downward
force on each electron of magnitude
Since v and B are perpendicular. This causes the electron current to be deflected in a
downward direction and causes a negative charge to accumulate on the bottom face of
the slab. A potential difference is therefore established from top to bottom of the
specimen with bottom face negative. The potential difference causes a field EH in the
negative y-direction, and so there is a force e EH acting in the upward direction on the
electron. Equilibrium occurs when
Or,
The Hall effect is described by means of the Hall coefficient RH, defined in terms of
the current density by the relation
or,
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
~
K~ 12.3"
E
1
i.e.,
K~ 12.4"
0
1
In this case
K~ 12.5"
0
Negative sign is used because the electric field developed is in the negative y-
~ 1
direction.
K~ 12.6"
E 0
All the three quantities ~ , B and E cab be measured, and so the Hall coefficient and
carrier density can be found out.
~ 1
For a p-type specimen, the current is due to holes. In this case
K~ 12.7"
E s
Where p is positive hole density.
12.2 Determination of the Hall coefficient
The Hall coefficient is determined by measuring the Hall voltage that generates the
I~ ~ (
Hall field. If VH is the Hall Voltage across the sample of width d, then
J
and the current density E n(, thus
If t is the thickness along the magnetic field of sample, then its cross section will be dt
K~ J ( K~ J
I~
(
I~
Hence,
K~ 12.9"
J
Session-13
alloys and compounds drops suddenly to zero when they are cooled below a certain
temperature. This phenomenon is known as superconductivity and the materials that
exhibit this behaviour are called as superconductors. However, all the materials
cannot super conduct even at 0 K. The temperature at which a normal material turns
into a superconducting state is called critical temperature Tc. Each superconducting
material has its own critical temperature. Kammerlingh Onnes discovered that the
electrical resistance of highly purified mercury dropped abruptly to zero at 4.15K.
Generally good conductors like Au, Ag, Cu, Li, Na, K, etc. do not show
superconductivity even at absolute zero
Session-14
i.e.,
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Or,
Or,
The magnetic susceptibility is
1 12.2"
It must be noted that superconductivity is not only a strong diamagnetism but
also a new type of diamagnetism.
14.4 Isotope effect: It is also observed that critical temperature varies with mass of the
isotope as per the relation
b; +0&0
where M is the mass of the isotope and 0.15 0.50 . For most materials
0.5 and in some cases 0 i.e. there is no isotope effect.
Example:
The critical temperature for mercury with isotopic mass 199.5 is 4.18K. Calculate its
critical temperature when its isotopic mass changes to 203.4.
Solution: The data given in the question are M1 = 199.5, M2 = 203.4 and Tc1 = 4.18 K.
The critical temperature in terms of its isotopic mass is given by
b; N G
Therefore we have,
b; G G
g
b;G G
Session-15
field Hc the material again acquires superconducting properties and the field is
expelled out. Lead, tin and mercury fall into this category. The highest critical
magnetic field for these materials is of the order of 10-1 Tesla making these materials
unsuitable for use in high field superconducting materials. The type-I superconductors
are called soft superconductors because of their tendency to expel out low magnetic
fields. The Type-1 category of superconductors is mainly comprised of metals and
metalloids that show some conductivity at room temperature. Few examples of type-I
superconductors are Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), Chromium (Cr), Aluminium (Al), Tin
(Sn) etc
Session-16
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
As long as Cooper pair electrons remain in Cooper pair states, they do not suffer
scattering and hence resistivity will be zero. However, the pairs are constantly
breaking and reforming. Because electrons are indistinguishable particles, it is easier
to think of them as permanently paired. By pairing off two by two, the electrons pass
through the superconductor more smoothly.
The BCS theory successfully shows that electrons can be attracted to one another
through interactions with the crystalline lattice. This occurs despite the fact that
electron have the same charge. When the atoms of the lattice oscillate as positive and
negative regions, the electron pair is alternatively pulled together and pushed apart
with out a collision. The electron pairing is favourable because it has the effect of
putting the material into a lower energy state. When electrons are linked together in
pairs, they move through the superconductor in an orderly fashion.
As long as the superconductor is cooled to very low temperatures, the Cooper pairs
stay intact, due to the reduced molecular motion. As the superconductor gains heat
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
energy the vibrations in the lattice become more violent and break the pairs. As they
break, superconductivity diminishes.
Session-17
17 Applications of superconductors:
a. Transportation: Magnetic-levitation is an application where superconductors
perform extremely well, Transport vehicles such as trains can be made to "float"
on strong superconducting magnets, virtually eliminating friction between the
train and its tracks. Not only would conventional electromagnets waste much of
the electrical energy as heat, they would have to be physically much larger than
superconducting magnets. A landmark for the commercial use of MAGLEV
technology occurred in 1990 when it gained the status of a nationally-funded
project in Japan. The Minister of Transport authorized construction of the
Yamanashi Maglev Test Line which opened on April 3, 1997. In December 2003,
the MLX01I test vehicle attained an incredible speed of 361 mph (581 km/hr).
b. Medical:
i. An area where superconductors can perform a life-saving function is in the
field of bio magnetism. Doctors need a non-invasive means of determining
what's going on inside the human body. By impinging a strong
superconductor-derived magnetic field into the body, hydrogen atoms that
exist in the body's water and fat molecules are forced to accept energy
from the magnetic field. They then release this energy at a frequency that
can be detected and displayed graphically by a computer.
ii. The Korean Superconductivity Group has carried bio magnetic technology
a step further with the development of a double-relaxation oscillation
SQUID (Superconducting Quantum. Interference Device) for use in
Magnetoencephalography. SQUID's are capable of sensing a change in a
magnetic field over a billion times weaker than the force that moves the
needle on a compass. With this technology, the body can be probed to
certain depths without the need for the strong magnetic fields associated
with MRl's.
c. Fundamental Research
i. Josephson Effect in superconductivity resulted in an upward revision of
Planck's constant from 6.62559 x 10-34 to 6.626196 X 10-34.
ii. Superconductivity has become an essential tool in research work relating
to elementary particle which will ultimately lead to the door of creation of
the universe. High-energy particle research hinges on being able to
accelerate sub-atomic particles to nearly the speed of light. Superconductor
magnets make this possible. CERN, a consortium of several European
nations, is constructing Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
d. Power systems
i. Electric generators made with superconducting wire are far more efficient
than conventional generators wound with copper wire. In fact, their
efficiency is above 99% and their size about half that of conventional
generators. These facts make them very lucrative ventures for power
utilities. General Electric has estimated the potential worldwide market for
superconducting generators in the next decade at around $20-30 billion
dollars. Late in 2002 GE Power Systems received $12.3 million in funding
from the U.S. Department of Energy to move high-temperature
superconducting generator technology toward full commercialization.
ii. Other commercial power projects in the works that employ superconductor
technology include energy storage to enhance power stability which can
provide instantaneous reactive power support.
iii. Recently, power utilities have also begun to use superconductor-based
transformers and "fault limiters". The Swiss-Swedish company ABB was
the first to connect a superconducting transformer to a utility power
network in March of 1997. ABB also recently announced the development
of a 6.4MVA (mega-volt-ampere) fault current limiter, the most powerful
in the world. This new generation of HTS superconducting fault limiters is
being called upon due to their ability to respond in just thousandths of a
second to limit tens of thousands of amperes of current. Intermagnetics
General recently completed tests on its largest (15kv class) power-utility-
size fault limiter at a Southern California Edison (SCE) substation near
Norwalk, California. And, both the US and Japan have plans to replace
underground copper power cables with superconducting cable-in-conduit
cooled with liquid nitrogen. By doing this, more current can be routed
through existing cable tunnels. In one instance 250 pounds of
superconducting wire replaced 18,000 pounds of vintage copper wire,
making it over 7000% more space-efficient.
iv. An idealized application for superconductors is to employ them in the
transmission of commercial power to cities. However, due to the high cost
and impracticality of cooling miles of superconducting wire to cryogenic
temperatures, this has only happened with short test runs. In May of 2001
some 150,000 residents of Copenhagen, Denmark, began receiving their
electricity through HTS (high-temperature superconducting) material.
e. Computers: The National Science Foundation along with NASA and DARPA
and various universities are currently researching 'petaflop" computers. A
petaflop is a thousand-trillion floating point operations per second. Today's
fastest computing operations have only reached "teraflop" speeds, trillions of
operations per second. Currently the fastest is the IBM Blue Gene running at
70.7 teraflops per second (multiple CPU's). The fastest single processor is a
Lenslet optical DSP running at 8 teraflops. It has been conjectured that devices
on the order of 50 nanometers in size along with unconventional switching
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Session-18
Assignment-1
Module-II
Session-19
Optical Materials:
Electromagnetic spectrum of radiation spans the wide range from -rays with
wavelength as m, through x-rays, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and finally radio
waves with wavelengths as along as 105 m.
Visible light is one form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from
0.39 to 0.77 m.
Light can be considered as having waves and consisting of particles called photons.
Energy E of a photon , where
o h Plancks constant (6.62x10-34 J.sec),
o frequency,
o c speed of light in vacuum (3x108 m/sec), and
o Wavelength.
19.2. Electro-magnetic radiation
Session-20
+
property called the index of refraction (n), and is defined as
0
where c speed of light in vacuum, v speed of light in the concerned material.
If the angle of incidence from a normal to the surface is i, and the angle of refraction
is r, the refractive index of the medium, n, is given by (provided that the incident
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
light is coming from a phase of low refractive index such as vacuum or air)
speed of light in a material can be related to its electrical and magnetic properties as
Thus, for transparent materials, index of refraction and dielectric constant are related
Refractive indices of some materials
0 sin
incident angle, , and refractive angle, , by
0 sin
20.3 Reflection
J
Reflectivity is defined as fraction of light reflected at an interface.
K
J
Where J and J are the incident and reflected bean intensities respectively.
01 G
If the material is in a vacuum or in air then
K
0-1
If the material is in some other medium with an index of refraction of 0A , then
0 0A G
K
0 - 0A
The above equations apply to the reflection from a single surface and assume normal
incidence. The value of R depends upon the angle of incidence.
Materials with a high index of refraction have a higher reflectivity than materials with
a low index. Because the index of refraction varies with the wavelength of the
photons, so does the reflectivity.
In metals, the reflectivity is typically on the order of 0.90-0.95, whereas for glasses it
is close to 0.05. The high reflectivity of metals is one reason that they are opaque.
High reflectivity is desired in many applications including mirrors, coatings on
glasses, etc.
20.4 Absorption
When a light beam in impinged on a material surface, portion of the incident beam
that is not reflected by the material is either absorbed or transmitted through the
material.
Bouguers law: The fraction of beam that is absorbed is related to the thickness of the
materials and the manner in which the photons interact with the materials structure.
J Jo
o where I intensity of the beam coming out of the material,
o Jo intensity of the incident beam,
o x path through which the photons move, and
o linear absorption coefficient, which is characteristic of a particular
material.
20.5 Absorption mechanisms
Absorption occurs by two mechanisms: Rayleigh scattering and Compton scattering.
Rayleigh scattering: where photon interacts with the electrons orbiting an atom and is
deflected without any change in photon energy. This is significant for high atomic
number atoms and low photon energies. Ex.: Blue colour in the sunlight gets scattered
more than other colours in the visible spectrum and thus making sky look blue.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Tyndall effect is where scattering occurs from particles much larger than the
wavelength of light. Ex.: Clouds look white.
Compton scattering: interacting photon knocks out an electron loosing some of its
energy during the process. This is also significant for high atomic number atoms and
low photon energies.
Photoelectric effect occurs when photon energy is consumed to release an electron
from atom nucleus. This effect arises from the fact that the potential energy barrier for
electrons is finite at the surface of the metal. Ex.: Solar cells.
20.6 Transmission
Fraction of light beam that is not reflected or absorbed is transmitted through the
material.
Session-21
21.1 LASER
The absorption and emission of electromagnetic radiation by materials has been very
ingeniously and skill fully exploited in making a device that amplifies
electromagnetic radiation and generates extremely intense, coherent and mono-
chromatic radiation. This device is called LASER. The term laser is acronym for
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
When light radiation of suitable wavelength to match the energy levels in a material is
incident on the material, the electrons absorb the radiation and get excited to higher
energy levels.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Fig:21.1
i. The atoms in the upper energy level E2 may drop down to the lower level E1,
spontaneously without the need for any external radiation, resulting in
emission of a photon of frequency . This process is called the
decay down to the lower energy level. The atoms in the ground state have the longest
life-time. In any other level, the atoms are short-lived. While the atom drops down to
a lower level, to conserve energy, a photon of energy equal to the difference between
the energy levels may be emitted. This radiative decay process is called spontaneous
emission, because it occurs without any external stimulation.
If there are a large number of atoms in an upper level, the atoms drop down to the
lower level randomly. The photons thus emitted due to spontaneous emission are in
random phase with respect to each other. This is the process that takes place in
ordinary gas discharge luminescent tubes such as mercury lamp or sodium vapour
lamp.
There may be other decay processes that do not involve emission of radiation. The
decay may occur due to collisions with other particles (in gases) or with phonons (in
solids). Such processes are called non-radiative decay.
21.2.2 Absorption
Absorption, obviously, requires an external stimulation. A photon incident on the
system is absorbed by the atom and the atom gets excited to the upper energy level.
This process can also be called stimulated absorption as it is stimulated by an external
radiation.
G
monochromatic and coherent. The frequency of the emitted radiation is given by
G
$
where E2 and E1 are the energies of the upper and lower levels respectively. The
energy levels (except the ground state) are not sharp; they have finite characteristic
width. The cause for the finite width of energy levels is described in the next section.
Because of this finite width, the emitted radiation will have a small range of
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
frequencies. Or in other words the radiation is- not perfectly monochromatic. It will
have a small broadening. This is illustrated in Fig. 22.1.
Session-22
lifetime of the atom in the energy level E. is the inherent or the natural width of
the energy level. If is small, i.e. if the energy level is sharp then the life time is
large from the uncertainty relation. This means that the energy level in which the
lifetime of the atom is large is very sharp and those energy levels in which the life
time is short are broad. Since in the ground state the atom is most stable, the lifetime
in the ground state energy level is large and so it follows that the ground state energy
n . This inherent width ofthe upper energy levels results in finite broadening of the
emitted light as described in Fig.( 22.1). This broadening is called the natural
broadening.
Some of the other broadening mechanisms are:
Collisional broadening
Doppler broadening
22.2 Collisional broadening is due to the collision of the excited atom with the atoms,
molecules or electrons which are in the immediate surrounding of the excited atom.
Due to the collisions the atom may lose energy and decay to the lower energy level.
This causes increase in the uncertainty and hence broadening of the emitted light.
The atom may come to the lower energy state even earlier than its natural life time.
22.3 Doppler broadening is due to the constant motion of the atoms in the laser medium.
This effect is more pronounced in gas lasers. Due to the motion of the atom, while the
atom decays to a lower energy level, there will be shift in the frequency of the emitted
radiation. The shift depends on the velocity. This is the well-known Doppler Effect.
Due to the random motion of the atoms, there will be a small distribution in the
frequency of the emitted radiation about the actual emitted frequency o . This is
called Doppler broadening. The Doppler broadening is normally larger than the
natural broadening.
22.4 Coherence
Laser is a coherent source of radiation. This means that the waves that are
emanating from the laser have the same frequency and they are all in phase with each
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
other; or in other words, all the photons coming out of the laser have zero phase
difference among them.
As the wave travels, the coherence is not maintained throughout because of the
slight difference in frequency between the various photons. The difference in
frequency arises due to the inherent width of energy.
The question arises how far do the waves travel before they go completely out of
step or go out of phase with each other? Or how close the two beams have to be
laterally so that they can maintain zero phase difference? The answers to these
questions give a measure of the coherence of the laser beam. They are called temporal
coherence and spatial coherence respectively and are described below.
22.4.1 Temporal Coherence
Temporal coherence is also called longitudinal coherence. Consider two waves
emanating from the source. Initially at the first location very close to the source they
are in phase. Then as the waves propagate, the zero or near zero phase difference will
be maintained only up to a certain distance and the phase difference increases as the
distance from the first location increases. This is because of the slight difference in
frequency between the waves. Beyond a certain distance lc from the first location the
two waves go completely out of phase. The length Ic is called the temporal coherence
length or the longitudinal coherence length, This is indicated in Fig. 22.2.
where is the mean wavelength. The smaller the greater will be the temporal
coherence length. For example, sodium lamp has a temporal coherence of about
fraction of a meter where as lasers have temporal coherence of several hundred
meters. This is because , for sodium lamp whereas for laser
. A highly monochromatic source will have large temporal coherence.
22.4.2 Spatial Coherence
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Spatial coherence is also called lateral or transverse coherence. This refers to the
lateral distance between two waves coming out of the source. Consider two waves
coming out of the source from the portions P and Q as shown in Fig.
*8
b
P
s a
Q
r
Let the lateral distance between the two portions be s. The two waves will be in
phase as they emanate from the source. As the waves travel away from the source the
Beyond this they go completely out of phase. The distance *8 is called the spatial
d
coherence length and it is related to r and s by
*8
&
Where d is the wavelength of the source.
Session-23
We have seen that an incident photon causes induced absorption and induced
emission. The probability of both absorption and emission are equal. So in the
presence of radiation there will be continuous transitions between the two states, i.e.
continuously the energy (photons) is being absorbed and emitted. The photons that are
emitted due to the transition from upper to the lower level cause further transition
the laser medium. The absorption process for an input radiation of intensity Jo
from the lower to the upper level and thus they tend to get continuously absorbed in
J Jo P ] ^" 23.1"
travelling in the Z-direction in the medium is described by the equation
where Nu and NI are the population of the upper and the lower level respectively,
and a is called the stimulated emission cross section and it is a characteristic
parameter which depends on the transition probability between the two states. Under
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
normal conditions the lower level is more populated than the upper level and the
value of the exponent in the equation is positive, then J Jo , i.e. the radiation will get
exponent in Eq. (23. 1) is negative and this describes the absorption process. But if the
more highly populated than the upper level, i.e. so that we can assume that
Consider a laser system with two energy levels. Initially the lower level is much
J Jo P O"
As lo is increased (i.e. as the input intensity is increased) the energy absorbed in
the medium l increases. The photons absorbed cause transition of atoms from lower
level to the upper level. For very high intensities, there will be large number of
photons, and so it appears that all the atoms in the lower level would get transferred to
the upper level. Thus with very high intensities it appears that population inversion
J Jo P ]G^O"
, J Jo P 2G 9O" 23.2"
1 . As the atoms in
Initially all the atoms are in the lower level so the ratio
the lower level are pumped to the upper level, decreases, so that the ratio
drops
Jo , That is, there can be no more absorption, when the two levels have equal
from unity. As it decreases and reaches the value 0.5, I in Eq. (23.2) becomes equal to
emission there will be a continuous transition from upper level to lower level and this
leads to further absorption. Thus will never decrease to a value less than 0.5. The
conclusion is that population inversion cannot be achieved between two energy levels
by just optical pumping between the same two levels. A minimum of three energy
levels are involved in population inversion and laser action.
Session-24
J Jo P ] ^" .
along its length is given by Eq. (23.1),
( ). So, as the beam passes through the medium i.e. as z increases, the
The exponent is positive because population inversion is achieved in the medium
intensity of the beam should keep increasing exponentially. The maximum value that
z can take is L, the length of the laser, so the beam coming out of the laser will have
very high amplification. It appears that by increasing the length of the laser one can
get higher amplification. This is true because in a longer laser, more atoms are
available for optical pumping and population inversion. But the intensity will not
grow exponentially up to any length of the laser. At a certain length, the intensity will
reach a saturation value, beyond which it will not grow exponentially. The saturation
helps in the selection of photons which are confined to travel close to the axis and
these photons are highly coherent.
Optical resonant cavity and optical modes: The presence of two mirrors at the
ends of a laser makes it act as an optical resonator. These results in the emission of a
selected set of resonant frequencies, within the laser emission width, described as
follows.
For the radiation travelling in the laser medium between the two mirrors the laser
cavity will be resonant to only those radiation which have wavelengths that fit with
integer number of within the cavity (with nodes at the two ends of the cavity). If
L is the length of the cavity
where m takes integral values. Since is in the optical range (400-700 nm) and L
is of the order of few centimetres, it is obvious that m is a very large integer. In terms
of frequency of the radiation the above equation may be written as
where n is the refractive index of the laser medium. From the above equation, it
can be seen that the output radiation from the laser consists of several closely spaced
resonant lines lying within the bandwidth of the radiation as shown in Fig. 13.11.
These lines are equally spaced.
The spacing between any two lines, , may be calculated by putting m = 1 in Eq.
(24.2):
is very small. For example, ruby laser emits radiation of wavelength 694.3 nm
(4.32 x 1014 Hz). The refractive index of ruby is 1.765. Taking the length of the ruby
crystal as 4 cm, we get,
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
The number of modes within the bandwidth can be obtained by dividing the
emission line width of the beam by . Normally the line width of the laser beam is in
the range of to Hz for various types of lasers and so it can be verified that
there will be a few to several equally spaced resonant lines in the laser output.
Session-25
Fig.
The key to laser action is the presence of a broad energy level (with a short life-
time) above the ground state and a third intermediate sharper metastable level with a
longer life time.
The ground state E1 is highly populated and the excited states are sparsely
populated. To cause population inversion the system is irradiated with an intense
radiation so that atoms from the ground state may be pumped to the upper state E2.
This is called optical pumping. Since this energy level is broad, the incident radiation
may be broad band light with a range of frequencies. The lifetime of the atoms in
level E2 is very short (= 10-7 sec) and so the atoms drop down rapidly to the meta-
stable state E3. The transition from E2 to E3 is a non-radiative transition, i.e. it does
not cause emission of radiation. The energy lost is absorbed by the phonons and the
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
system gets heated up. Level E3 has a longer life time of about 10-3 sec. So, with
continuous optical pumping a stage will be reached when the level E3 gets much more
highly populated than the ground state E1. Thus population inversion is achieved
between the levels E3 and E1. What is now required is an incident photon of frequency
] ^n
that matches the difference in energy levels, i.e. photon of frequency given by
u u $
Spontaneous emission from E3 to E1 will generate the required photons. These
photons stimulate or induce transitions between E3 and E1. The photons emitted by the
transition move within the optical cavity and induce further transitions resulting in an
avalanche of photons as described earlier. All the photons travelling along or close to
For laser action to take place continuously, the population inversion between the
two levels must be constantly maintained. As the atoms drop down to the lower state
from the meta-stable state, the difference in population would decrease, if the
pumping rate is not sufficient. So it is essential to maintain a proper pumping rate to
maintain a high population constantly in the meta-stable state. This requires a highly
intense input pumping radiation.
25.2 4 Level Laser
Practical lasers are either 3-level or 4- level lasers. In the four level lasers, the
laser action takes place between the meta-stable state and an intermediate state (E4)
above the ground state. The advantage of 4-level laser is that the maintenance of
population inversion between the meta-stable state and the lower energy state is much
easier because the state E4 has short lifetime and the atoms fall to the ground state
quite rapidly from this state. So a modest pumping rate would be sufficient. Practical
lasers are either continuous or pulsed. Some practical laser systems are described in
the following sections.
Session-26
Energy Levels For practical lasers, systems with suitable energy levels must be
selected. Lasers have been made with gases, liquids and solids. The energy levels
involved in laser action may be atomic energy levels (e.g. He-Ne, Ruby, Nd-YAG
lasers), molecular vibrational energy levels (e.g. CO2, Dye lasers) or energy bands
(e.g. semiconductor diode lasers). This section describes the energy levels and the
notation used for the levels, in different types of lasers.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Atomic energy levels: Let us see how the excited states are evaluated for an
atomic system. In order to understand the notation used for the atomic energy levels
let us consider a simple two electron system, viz. He atom.
Ground state
, , l = 0 for both electrons. L = 0; S = 1/2 1/2 = 0; J =0
The term symbol: (singlet ground state)
Excited state (I) I s2 s
Case (i) Anti-parallel spins: l = 0 for both electrons. L = 0;
S= 0; J =0
The term symbol: (singlet excited state).
Case (ii) parallel spins: l = 0 for both electrons. L = 0; S = 1/2
+1/2 = 1, J = 1.
The term symbol: (triplet excited state).
Molecular energy levels: Molecules are formed by strong bonding between two or
more atoms. The electronic energy of molecules depends on the electronic state of the
individual atoms that form the bonds. The separation between the electronic energy
levels is in the optical or ultraviolet range. In addition to the electronic states,
molecules are characterized by their vibrational and rotational energy levels.
The atoms in a molecule vibrate in various normal modes. Assuming the vibration
to be perfectly harmonic, the energy of the vibrating atoms is given by
spaced and the separation is in the range of middle infra-red. In each electronic state
the molecules may exist in one of several vibrational energy states as shown in Fig.
where J, called the angular momentum quantum number takes integer values (J
should not be confused with the atomic angular momentum quantum number; here we
are talking about molecular angular momentum). The rotational energy levels are not
equally spaced. The separation between the rotational states lies in the far infra-red or
in the microwave range. Figure shows the rotational energy levels which lie closely
between vibrational energy levels. Transitions between the energy levels are possible
governing certain rules known as selection rules. Selection rules for rotational energy
levels is for vibrational energy levels .
Session-27
a spiral and the ruby rod is placed along the axis of the spiral lamp. The ruby rod is
enclosed in a tube and is cooled by circulating a coolant through the tube.
Ruby laser is a three-level laser system. Cr3+ ions have three energy levels as
shown in Fig.
An intense radiation of wavelength in the range 5500 emitted from the xenon
flash lamp is used for exciting Cr3+ ions from the ground state to the excited state
which has a short life time. The excited ions soon fall to the metastable state and this
transition is a non-radiative transition. This change in energy is absorbed by the
phonons and the crystal gets heated up. Soon population inversion is achieved
between the meta-stable state and the ground state. Spontaneous emission due to
transition from the meta-stable state generates photons of energy 1.79 eV (6943 ).
These photons are reflected back and forth between the mirrors at the ends of the ruby
rod. The photons stimulate transitions from the metastable state to the ground state.
The photons emitted through stimulation will be in phase with the stimulating
photons.
Session-28
characteristics of laser which make it a highly useful tool in many applications are its
extreme directionality, high coherence, extreme monochromaticity and large intensity.
Very commonly used application is in bar-code reading in libraries and super
markets, in CD players and in laser printers. Semiconductor lasers are used in these
applications. There are other engineering applications which need high power laser's.
Laser welding: Carbon dioxide lasers, pulsed ruby lasers and Nd- Y AG lasers are
used for welding. Laser welding is specially suited for precise welding of extremely
thin wires and thin films in microelectronics. Due to the extremely short time
required, finely focussed welding can be done without affecting the other parts of the
elements that are welded. Welding can be done in normally inaccessible areas like
inside an evacuated glass enclosure.
Laser drilling: Pulsed Nd- Yag lasers are used for drilling. Extremely fine holes can
which conventional drilling is very difficult. Holes as small as 10[ can be made in
be drilled in fairly thick materials. Holes can be drilled in very hard materials in
the hardest substances such as ruby, diamond etc. The main advantage of laser drilling
is the precise size and location.
Laser cutting: Carbon dioxide laser is normally used for laser cutting. The laser
beam is moved across the material so that a series of partially overlapping holes are
produced. Along with the laser beam, a gas jet of oxygen and an inert gas is also made
to fall on the material. The oxygen helps to promote combustion and the inert gas jet
helps to expel the molten material. Laser cutting of stainless steel, nickel alloys and
other high strength materials find applications in aircraft and automobile industries.
In laser surgery, as the laser cuts, it automatically seals the blood vessels so that
bleeding will be minimal. Lasers are used for treatment of cancer. The laser vaporises
the cancerous tissue without affecting the nearby healthy tissues. Other medical fields,
in which lasers find applications, are dental surgery and dermatology. Nd- YAG,
lasers are used for skin treatment.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Session-29
Optical fibres are waveguides that carry optical radiation. They are thin long flexible
fibres made of silica (glass). If a light source is placed close to one end, the light
radiation is transmitted to the other end of the fibre with little loss, even if the fibre is
bent or coiled!
Optical fibres are used in modem optical communication. The fibre can carry light
signals over long distances without much attenuation and distortion. In optical
communication, the electrical signals are encoded into light signals and the modulated
light signal from the transmitter (semiconductor laser) is transmitted through long
optical fibres and at the other end of the fibre a photodiode converts light signals back
to electrical signals.
The optical fibre is a thin long glass wire with a composite structure. The central part
called the core is made of high refractive index glass and the surrounding region
called the cladding is made of lower refractive index material. The light beam that
enters the fibre at one end will be confined to travel within the core region because of
total internal reflection at the interface between the two types of glasses. This can be
understood from Fig.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
When light travels from a higher refractive index medium to a lower refractive index
medium, the beam gets totally internally reflected for incident angles greater than a
certain critical angle which is a characteristic of the two media. The light rays which
enter the fibre at an oblique angle gets totally internally reflected at the core-cladding
interface. The rays undergo multiple reflections as shown in Fig. and arrive at the
other end without much attenuation.
Optical fibres are made of silica glass. The diameter of the core is in the range of a
few m. The diameter of the outer cladding is of the order of 100 - 125 m. A
protective outer covering is used on top for mechanical protection. The structure of
the fibre is shown in Fig.
The core is made of pure silica. The cladding is silica doped with suitable amounts of
germanium and fluorine to control the refractive index. The outer protective covering
is made of polymer of thickness about 60 m.
There are two types of optical fibres depending on the type of variation of refractive
index from the core to the cladding.
In the step index fibre, the refractive index changes abruptly from a high value at the
core to a low value at the cladding. The variation of refractive index in the step index
fibre is shown in Fig. (a).
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
In this type of fibre, the various light beams entering the fibre at different angles will
traverse different total distances before they arrive at the other end of the fibre as
shown in Fig. (a). So they reach the end at slightly different instances of time. As a
result the modulated light pulse which passes through the fibre will get slightly
distorted when it comes out of the fibre.
In graded index fibre, the distortion is minimized by making the variation of the
refractive index gradual from the axis of the core. The refractive index has a parabolic
variation with its maximum at the fibre axis as shown in Fig. (b). In this type of fibre
the velocity of light is greater near the periphery than at the axis. So those beams
which traverse longer paths in the fibre travel faster in the lower index material and
arrive at the output at the same time as the beam that passes nearer to the axis where
the index is higher. This minimizes the distortion of the signal arriving at the end of
the fibre. The path of the light beam in the graded optical fibre is shown in Fig. (b).
Very thin optical fibres (2 - 8 m diameter) which transmit only one mode are called
mono-mode fibres. Thicker fibres (about 50 m diameter) can transmit several modes
and they are called multi-mode fibres.
Session-30
Numerical aperture (NA) is a measure of the ability of the optical fibre to contain the
light within the core. Only those light beams which strike the cladding at the critical
angle can undergo total internal reflection.
Where is the refractive index of air ( 1) and is the angle made by the ray with
the axis of the fibre as shown in Fig.
and
or,
So,
i.e.,
Numerical aperture is determined by the difference between the refractive index of the
core and the cladding.
2 is called the acceptance angle of the fibre. Normally for optical fibres, will be
or the order of 11. This means that only those light beams which make angles less
than 11 with the axis of the fibre can undergo total internal reflection and get
transmitted through the fibre.
The light signal, as it travels through the fibre, there is a loss of optical power, which
is called attenuation. Signal attenuation is defined as the ratio of optical input power
(Pi) to the optical output power (Po). Optical input power is the power transmitted into
the fibre from an optical source. Optical output power is the power received at the
fibre end. So, the signal attenuation or absorption coefficient is defined as:
10 A
log
L o
All the above processes are wavelength dependent. By choosing a proper wavelength
of the light signal where the absorption and scattering is minimum due to the above
processes, attenuation may be minimized. The best suited wave lengths for SiO2-
GeO2 glasses are 1310 nm and 1550 nm.
Session-31
Dispersion is the spreading out of a light pulse in time as it propagates down the fiber.
Dispersion in optical fiber includes model dispersion, material dispersion and
waveguide dispersion. Each type is discussed in detail below.
Multimode fibres can guide many different light modes since they have much larger
core size. This is shown as the 1st illustration in the picture above. Each mode enters
the fibre at a different angle and thus travels at different paths in the fibre.
Since each mode ray travels a different distance as it propagates, the ray arrives at
different times at the fibber output. So the light pulse spreads out in time which can
cause signal overlapping so seriously that you cannot distinguish them any more.
Model dispersion is not a problem in single mode fibres since there is only one mode
that can travel in the fibre.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Material Dispersion
Material dispersion is the result of the finite line width of the light source and the
dependence of refractive index of the material on wavelength. It is shown as the 2nd
illustration in the first picture.
The following picture shows the refractive index versus wavelength for a typical
fused silica glass.
Waveguide Dispersion
Waveguide dispersion is only important in single mode fibers. It is caused by the fact
that some light travels in the fiber cladding compared to most light travels in the fiber
core. It is shown as the 3rd illustration in the first picture.
Since fiber cladding has lower refractive index than fiber core, light ray that travels in
the cladding travels faster than that in the core. Waveguide dispersion is also a type of
chromatic dispersion. It is a function of fiber core size, V-number, wavelength and
light source linewidth.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
While the difference in refractive indices of single mode fiber core and cladding are
minuscule, they can still become a factor over greater distances. It can also combine
with material dispersion to create a nightmare in single mode chromatic dispersion.
Various tweaks in the design of single mode fiber can be used to overcome waveguide
dispersion, and manufacturers are constantly refining their processes to reduce its
effects.
Session-32
When light signals are transmitted through optical fibres over long distances, there
will be attenuation due to absorption in the path. The signal needs to be amplified for
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
further transmission, for which repeaters are used. Repeaters are systems in which the
light signal is converted back to electrical signal, amplified using conventional
amplifiers and again converted back to light signal for transmission. To circumvent
this laborious process, optical fibre amplifiers have been developed.
32.2.1 Fibre-optic communication: Optical communication has many advantages over the
conventional electrical transmission. The main advantages are:
In practice, the optical fibres are used in bundles bound together and suitably
positioned in supporting cables. Figure below shows a schematic block diagram of an
optical communication system.
The input analog electrical signal which is the information to be carried is converted
to digital signal in a A/D converter. The digital data is converted into suitable optical
signal in the form of light pulses using the laser source. Normally a semiconductor
infra-red laser is used as the source. The light pulses are transmitted through long
optical fibres.
Session-33
33.1 Medical applications: Optical fibres are used in endoscopes to get the image of the
particular part of the body.
An endoscope consists of a bunch of optical fibres which carries light to the inside of
body and then transfers an image of the minor parts of the body to be viewed on the
screen by the doctor. Endoscopy can be better being done using laser beams because
of the coherence characteristics.
Endoscope can be inserted in the body through the mouth or rectum and moved along
any part of the body, where a particular defect has to be studied by a doctor.
In laser surgery, optical fibres are used to transmit the laser beam to the point of
interest where surgery is to be done.
In dental surgery, the dentists drill often incorporates a fiber optic cable that lights up
the insides of patients mouths.
33.2 Industrial applications: In laser processing of materials like drilling, welding and
cutting, the high power laser is located at one place and the laser radiation will be
transmitted to different locations in the shop floor through optical fibre cables.
33.3 As sensors: Optical fibers are used in a wide variety of sensing devices, ranging from
thermometers to gyroscopes. The potential in this field is nearly unlimited because
transmitted light is sensitive to many environmental parameters, including pressure,
sound waves, structural strain, heat and motion. The fibers are especially useful where
electrical effects made ordinary sensors useless, less accurate or even hazardous.
[Reference: Engineering Physics-II, Md. Khan]
Session-35
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
The steeper the gradient, the larger the vectors. The gradient vectors point along the
direction of steepest ascent.
The force vectors (negative of the gradient) point along the direction of steepest
descent, which is also perpendicular to the lines of constant potential energy.
Imagine rain on the mountain. The vectors are also streamlines. Water running
down the mountain will follow these streamlines.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Suppose we have a scalar function that depends on three space coordinates, x, y and z.
Let's call it T. For example it could be the temperature in the room you're in now.
Since T depends on those three variables we can ask the question: how does T change
when we change one or more of those variables?
And as always, the answer is found by differentiating the function. In this case,
because the function depends on more than one variable, we're talking partial
differentiation.
You can see that there is going to be three components of the gradient of T, in the i, j
and k directions, which we find by differentiating with respect to x, y and z
respectively. So this quantity "the gradient of T" must be a vector quantity. Indeed it
is a vector field.
This vector field is called "grad T" and written like this:
The gradient of a scalar field is a vector field and whose magnitude is the rate of
change and which points in the direction of the greatest rate of increase of the scalar
field. If the vector is resolved, its components represent the rate of change of the
scalar field with respect to each directional component.
3 - 3 - ` 3"
3 3 3
Or, -----------eq[35.1]
3 - 3 - ` 3 "
3 3 3
Where ----------
eq[35.2]
The gradient of a scalar field is the derivative of the scalar function in each direction.
Note that the gradient of a scalar field is a vector field. An alternative notation is to
use the del or nabla operator, f = grad .
35.4 Physical significance of the gradient. At any point the gradient of a function points
in the direction corresponding to that for which the function varies most rapidly. The
magnitude of the gradient vector gives the size of this maximum variation.
In the scalar field consider two level surfaces S1 and S2 very close to each other
characterized by scalar function and - ( respectively. Consider two points
]m, ,, ^ and K]m - (m, , - (,, - (^ on S1 and S2 with position vectors and
-
(, respectively, with respect to any arbitrary origin O.
Q
- (
R
(0
( /G
P
/
Then
K ( (m - (, - `( -----------
eq[35.3]
3 3 3
Since ]m, ,, ^, we have ( 3 (m - 3 (, - 3 ( -----------eq[35.4]
(
( -----------eq[35.5]
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
The eq[5] expresses change of scalar field with position in terms of its gradient. If (0
denotes the distance along the normal from the point P to the surface S2, we may write
(0 l ( +& 0
( -----------eq[35.6]
( 0
3 3
(0 (
3T 3T
-----------eq[35.7]
0
( (
3
(
3T
-----------eq[35.8]
3 0
3T
-----------eq[35.9]
3 0
Therefore, '(
3T
Thus '( is a vector whose magnitude at any point is equal to the rate of change
of with distance along the normal to the level surface and whose direction is normal
to the level surface at that point.
3
As
3T
0 gives the greatest rate of increase of with respect to space variable, we may
define gradient in general as follow:
1. ]^ ]
^ - ]
^
29
2.
U
Example:
Solution:
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
2m, 2t,, +
3 3 3
3 3 3
- - ` 2m - 2t, - `+
m ,
I]^
2. Show that
3|
where is an unit vector along the position vector .
3p
Solution:
I I I
I]^
- - `
m ,
I I I
- - `
m ,
I
] - - ` ^
m ,
Since m - , - ` , ]m G - , G - G ^
n
G
So, 3 G ]m G - , G - G ^ G ]2m^ p,
3p n
Simillarly, 3 p and 3 p .
3p 3p
I m , I I
I]^
2 - - ` 9
[Reference: Physics-I by B.B. swain and P. K. Jena, Pages: 211-216]
Session-36
(% N
N - - ` N - N - `N
m ,
N
Or,
36
-
3
-
3
3 3 3
N=6xyz+2z
e.g. if A=3x2yzi+x2z2j+z2k then
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
36.2 Physical significance: When the divergence of a vector is positive at a given point
then there is a source of the vector field at that point. A negative divergence implies a
sink for the vector field. We can hence think of the divergence of a vector as telling us
how much of the vector field starts (or terminates) at a given point.
In (a) the vector has a constant magnitude so its divergence is zero. In (b) the x-
component increases along the x-direction. This vector hence has a non-zero, positive
divergence.
Properties:
Example:1
Solution:
Position vector
So,
Example: 2
Solution: K
K -
K
K 3 and
Since 3
3p
So, K 3 - K 3 - K
3 3
3p 3p
In Cartesian
`
+f* N
Q N
m ,
N N N
N N N N N N
- - `
, m m ,
Q N -
Q N -
Q
Q N
Q N - ] Q N^
i.
ii.
The physical significance of the curl of a vector field is the amount of "rotation" or
angular momentum of the contents of given region of space.
Example:
`
+f* Q
m ,
m ,
, m , m
- - ` 0
, m m ,
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Session-37
The gradient of a scalar field is - - `
3 3 3
3 3 3
`
3 3 3
So, Q
3 3 2 9 - 2 9 - ` 2 9
3U 3U 3U 3U 3 U 3U
3
33 33 33 33 33 33
3 3 3
3 3 3
0
- - ` - - `
m , m ,
- -
m m , ,
G G G
- -
m G , G G
G G G
- -
m G , G G
G
N N N N N N
Q N
- -
m , , m m ,
G N G N G N G N G N G N
- - 0
m, m , ,m m ,
Q N
Q N G N
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Q
A Q N N
Q
37.1.5 Divergence of cross product of two vectors:
37.2.1 Line integral of vectors: The line integral of a vector field N, between two points a
37.2 Line, Surface and Volume integral of vector field
and b, along a given path is
JO \ N (*
<
Where
(* is a vector length element along the given path between a and b. The line
integral of a vector field is a scalar quantity. In terms of the Cartesian components, the
line integral can be written as
JO \N - N - ` N ] (m - (, - `(^
<
\]N (m - N (, - N (^
<
If the integral is independent of the path of integration and depends only on the initial
A (* 0
;
is the small displacement along the path of the particle, the line
If is a force and (*
37.2.2 Physical Significance of line integral:
J: \ N (/
<
where
dS is a vector area element on the surface. The direction of
(/ is along the
outward normal to the surface. The surface integration may be open or closed. If 0 is
a unit vector normal to the surface at the given point,
(/=0(/. So, the surface integral
can be written as
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
J: \ N 0(/ \ NT (/
: :
where NT NT 0 is the normal component of the vector at the area element.
For a closed surface the surface integral is written as : A (/
field passing through the surface.
|
dV is the differential volume element. The volume integral of a vector is a vector
field.
Session-38
The theorem states that the volume integral of divergence of a vector N over a given
volume V is equal to the surface integral of a vector field over any closed surface
enclosing the volume.
\ N (I A
(/
5 :
Example:
Using Gauss divergence theorem, Show that the volume of a sphere is u K u , where R
Proof: Let K m - , - `
(/
\ K (I R
5 :
And
K - - ` m - , - `
m ,
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
(m (, (
- - 1-1-1 3
(m (, (
So,
\ 3 (I K(/ K \ (/ K Q / K Q 4K G
5 : :
3I 4K u
Or,
4K u
, I
3
38.2 Stokes theorem
According to this theorem, the surface integral of the curl of a vector field N over a
given area S is equal to the line integral of the vector along the boundary C of the
area.
Q N^ (/ A (*
\ ]
: ;
Here the closed curve C encloses the area S. For closed surface, there is no boundary,
so C=0. Hence the surface integral of the curl of a vector over a closed surface
vanishes.
If N
, where is a scalar field, then
-
- G 1"
-
- G 2
Subtracting eq[2] from eq[1], we get
G G
\
(I \ ]G G ^ (I 3"
| |
\
(I (/ 4"
|
(/ \ ]G G ^ (I 5"
|
Session-39
1 G
4o G
1 G
4 G
where is the electric permittivity of the medium. p o
force per unit charge, on a test charge as the charge tends to zero.
The electric field E at a point is defined as the limiting value of the net electrostatic
lim
The magnitude of the test charge is infinitely small; otherwise the original electric
field would be changed due to the field of the test charge. The electric field is
represented geometrically by electric lines of force which are continuous curves such
that the tangent to the line of force at a point gives the direction of the electric field at
that point. The SI unit of electric field is volt/meter (V/ m) or newton/ coulomb (N/C).
39.2.2 The electric displacement
o . The SI unit of
where is the electric permittivity of the medium. In vacuum
2
electric displacement D is C/m .
The concept of electric flux was developed by Gauss. The flux of any vector field N
over a given surface S is the surface integral of the field over the area N (/
:
The electric flux c over a surface S is the surface integral of the electric field over
the surface,
c \ (/
:
The electric flux over a closed surface is related to the net electric charge enclosed by
times the net charge
enclosed by the surface.
TB8
c \ (/
o
:
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
The net charge TB8 is the algebraic sum of the charges enclosed by the surface. The
surface S is usually called the Gaussian surface.
(i) The charges enclosed by the surface may be point charges or continuously
The net charge TB8 may be positive, negative or zero. Accordingly, the
distributed charges. They may be positive or negative charges.
(ii)
net electric flux over the area may be outward, inward or zero.
(iii) The net electric flux over a surface does not depend on the relative
position or state of motion of the charges as long as they are within the
surface.
(iv) The electric flux does not depend on the shape or size of the Gaussian
surface as long as the charges are enclosed by it. This feature is extremely
useful in practical application of Gauss' law. The Gaussian surface can be
chosen to have a suitable geometrical shape over which the flux can be
evaluated in a simple way.
This law can be used to find the magnitude of electric field in situations with
spherical, cylindrical or other known symmetries.
TB8
c \ (/
:
in a medium and
Since o in vacuum, we get
TB8
(/
\
:
TB8 \ (I
|
Where is the volume charge density (charge per unit volume). From Gauss
divergence theorem, we can write,
(/ \ (I
: 5
So,
1
\ (I \ (I
o
5 |
Or,
\ ] ^(I 0
o
5
Session-40
The number of magnetic lines of induction crossing unit area at right angles to the
flux is called the magnetic flux density B. Its unit is the tesla which is equal to I
Wb/m2.
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
40.2 )
MAGNETIC FIELD STRENGTH (
[o
[o ]
-
^
Or,
Magnetic field strength at a point in a magnetic field is the magnitude of the force
experienced by a unit pole situated at that point. The SI unit, corresponding to force of
1 Newton, is the A/m. The CGS unit, corresponding to a force of 1 dyne is the
Oersted which is equal to 79.6 A/m.
The magnetic flux over a given area S is the surface integral of magnetic field over
the surface area
(/
a \
The S I unit of magnetic flux is weber (Wb). From the above relation, the magnetic
field B is the magnetic flux density (magnetic flux per unit area) with unit Wb / m2.
The magnetic lines of force due to a current carrying conductor are closed curves
without any beginning or end (i.e., no source or sink). Similarly, the magnetic poles
always occur in pairs; isolated magnetic poles do not exist. So, within any
macroscopic volume, the net magnetic pole is always zero. From analogy with Gauss'
law in electrostatics, the magnetic flux over a closed surface area enclosing the
volume is always zero.
(/ 0 40.1"
(Gauss law in magnetism)
This is the Gauss' law in magnetism. Using Gauss divergence theorem, the above
surface integral can be converted to a volume integral,
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
(/ \
(I
|
0 40.2"
Or,
This is the differential form of Gauss' law in magnetism. This law depicts the non-
existence of isolated magnetic poles. This is like a constraint on the magnetic fields.
All magnetic fields must satisfy Eq.(40.2)
Session-41
Ampere's circuital law (formulated by Andre Marie Ampere) relates the distribution
of magnetic field along a closed loop with the net electric current enclosed by the
loop is equal to [o times the net electric current enclosed by the loop.
closed loop. According to this law, the line integral of magnetic field along a closed
(* [o JTB8 41.1"
where C is a closed path enclosing the current, and JTB8 is the algebraic sum of the
currents enclosed by the loop C . The closed loop C is called the Amperian loop,
which can be of any shape as long as it encloses the currents. The magnetic field can
be evaluated by choosing a convenient shape of the Amperian loop.
(* JTB8 41.2"
J \ (/ 41.3"
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
where is the current density (current per unit area) vector. If C is a closed curve
along the boundary of the surface S, the LHS of Eq.(41.1) can be converted to a
surface integral, using Stokes' theorem.
(* \ ]
^ (/ 41.4"
Q
(/ [o \ (/
Q
\
Or,
[o (/ 0
Q
\
Q
[o 41.5"
The electric current density (current per unit area) and the electric charge density
(charge per unit volume) are related by the equation of continuity, which follows from
the conservation of charge in a given volume.
J (/ \ (I
|
The electric current I is the rate of decrease of electric charge, from the volume
through the surface S
J \ (I \ (I
So,
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
\ (I \ (I
|
Or,
-
\ ] ^(I 0
|
- 0 41.6"
The Gauss' law in electrostatics and magnetostatics, and Ampere's circuital law
describe the steady state behavior of the electric and magnetic fields. However, when
the fields change with time, it is observed that (i) a time varying magnetic field gives
rise to electric field and (ii) a time varying electric field produces a magnetic field.
These are described by Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction and Maxwell's
idea of displacement current, respectively.
Session-42
induction, according to which the e.m.f induced in a conducting loop is equal to the
the flux changes. This is depicted quantitatively in Faraday's law of electromagnetic
negative of the rate of change of magnetic flux through the surface enclosed by the
loop.
a
The induced e.m.f. is the line integral of electric field along the loop
(*
If S is the surface enclosed by the loop, the magnetic flux through the surface area S is
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
(/
a \
So, we have
(* (/ 42.1"
\
Using Stoke's theorem, the line integral in the LHS of Eq.(42.1 ) can be converted to a
surface integral,
(* \ (/
Q E
(/
Q E
\ (/
\
Or,
Q E
\ ] - ^ (/ 0
Q E
- 0 42.2"
This is the differential form of Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction.
Session-43
The conduction current (in metals) and convection current (in electrolytic solutions
and ionized gases) produce observable magnetic fields which can be evaluated by
using Biot-Savart law or Ampere's circuital law. However, when the electric field in a
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
region (vacuum or a medium) changes with time, the time varying electric field also
produces a magnetic field. Although this magnetic field is not produced by any
conventional current, it can be imagined to be produced by some quantity analogous
to current. Maxwell associated a current (the displacement current) with the time-
varying electric field.
Consider a parallel plate capacitor being charged by a cell (Fig). During the charging
process, the electric field between the capacitor plates changes with time. It is
observed that a magnetic field exists between the plates, as long as the electric field
changes, even if there is no current between the plates. In order to resolve this
inconsistency, Maxwell introduced the concept of displacement current associated
with the time varying electric field between the capacitor plates.
If q is the electric charge on the capacitor plates and A is the area of each plate, the
electric field in the gap between the plates is
Or,
Where is the displacement current between the plates. The displacement current
exists as long as the electric field changes with time. When the plates of the capacitor
are fully charged, the electric field attains a constant value, = 0 and hence the
displacement current vanishes.
current I.
(* [o ]J - JC ^
(
Q
[o - o 43.3"
(
(
Q - o
[o (
Or
(
Q
- 43.4"
(
(i) The conduction current originates from the actual flow of charge carriers
in metals or other conducting medium. On the other hand, the
displacement current is a fictitious current, which can exist in vacuum or
any medium (even in the absence of free charge carriers), if there exists a
time varying electric field there.
(ii) The conduction current obeys Ohm's law and depends on the resistance
and potential difference of the conductor. The displacement current, on the
other hand, depends on the electric permittivity of the medium and the rate
at which the electric field changes with time.
depends on the frequency with which the electric field alternates. For a copper
conductor in vacuum, the ratio is of the order . So, for most of the conductors, the
ratio is very large even for reasonably high frequencies. However, if the frequency
exceeds 1020Hz, the displacement current is dominant. So, the normal conductors
behave as dielectric at extremely high frequencies.
Session-44
The various laws of electromagnetism were pulled together and were cast into four
equations involving time and space derivatives of electric and magnetic fields. These
equations are known as Maxwell's electromagnetic equations and are given below.
(Gauss law in electrostatics) [44.1]
0 (Non existence of isolated magnetic pole) [44.2]
Q E
- 3a 0 (Faraday's law of e.m. induction)
38
[44.3]
Q
3 M (Ampere-Maxwell law)
38
[44.4]
The above four are the famous Maxwell's electromagnetic equations in a medium in
the presence of charges and currents. They are the differential forms of (i) Gauss' law
in electrostatics, (ii) Gauss' law in magnetism, (iii) Faraday's law of electromagnetic
induction and (iv) generalized form of Ampere's circuital law respectively.
(i) Eq.(1) and (2) have the same form in vacuum or in a medium. They are
also unaffected by the presence of free charges or currents. They are
usually called the constraint equations for electric and magnetic fields.
(ii) Eq.(1) and (4) depend on the presence or absence of free charges and
currents, and also on the medium.
(iii) The divergence equations given by Eq.(1) and (2) are called the steady
state equations as they do not involve the time dependence of fields.
(iv) The curl equations given by Eq.(3) and (4) are the time varying equations
as they describe the time dependence of the fields.
(v) Eq.(2) and (3) are called the homogeneous Maxwell equations because
their R.H.S. = 0 always. The Eq.(1) and (4) are called the inhomogeneous
Maxwell equation.
44.2 and
Maxwell's equations in terms of
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
n
and
Since [ , the Maxwell's equations Eq(1) to (4) can be written
in terms of and
as
44.5"
0 44.6"
Q E
- 0 44.7"
Q [ [M 44.8"
44.3 Maxwell's equations in vacuum
So, in vacuum in the absence of charges and currents, Maxwell's equations are
0 44.9"
0 44.10"
Q E
- 0 44.11"
Q
o [o 0 44.12"
44.4 Maxwell's equations in integral form
The Maxwell's equations Eq. (1) to (4) and (5) to (8) are in differential form. They
were obtained from different laws of electromagnetism. The Maxwell's equations can
be expressed in integral form by taking volume and surface integrals of both sides,
and using the integral theorems of vector calculus. The integral forms of Maxwell's
equations in vacuum are:
1
(/ \ (I
o
: |
(/ 0
:
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
(* (/
\
(* [o \ M - o
(/
(i) Maxwell's equations incorporate all the laws of electromagnetism, which were
developed from experimental observations and were expressed in the form of
various empirical laws.
(ii) Maxwell's equations lead to the existence of electromagnetic waves, which has
been amply confirmed by experimental observations. These equations are
consistent with all the observed properties of e.m.waves.
(iii) Maxwell's equations are consistent with the special theory of relativity. (It is
'worth mentioning that many other equations in physics are not consistent with the
requirements of special theory of relativity).
(iv) Maxwell's equations are used to describe the classical e.m. field as well as the
quantum theory of interaction of charged particles with e.m. field.
(v) Maxwell's equations provided a unified description of the electric and magnetic
phenomena which were treated independently.
Session-45
45 ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES
Maxwell's electromagnetic equations lead to the wave equation for electric and
magnetic fields. The electromagnetic waves, characterized by electric and magnetic
field vectors, are usually classified as gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet rays, visible
light, infrared rays, microwaves, radio waves etc. depending on their frequencies.
These waves carry energy and momentum, and travel in vacuum with the same speed.
However, in a medium they travel with different speeds and may undergo dispersion,
absorption etc. They undergo reflection and refraction at boundaries of two media.
Maxwell's electromagnetic equations are a set of four coupled first order partial
differential equations relating space and time derivatives of various components of
electric and magnetic fields. They can be decoupled to obtain the wave equations for
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
0
Q E
- 0
Q
M
and
In an isotropic medium, where and [ are the electric permittivity
a
dependent on position and time, ], ^ and [ [], ^ . The form of wave
and magnetic permeability of the medium, respectively. They may be constant or be
equation in a medium depends on the nature of and [, and also on the presence or
absence of charges and currents.
o and
In vacuum, a . So, Maxwell's equations, in absence of charges and
currents ] 0, E 0^, in vacuum become
0 45.2.1"
0 45.2.2"
Q E
- 0 45.2.3"
Q
o 0 45.2.4"
[o
45.2.1 Wave equation for
Q
Q E
- 0
Or,
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Q
Q - Q
0
since the order of space and time derivatives can be interchanged.
Q N
Q
Using the vector relation, N G N and eq(4), we get
G - o [o 0
G
G o [o 0 45.5"
G
This is the wave equation for . Each component of satisfies the wave equation,
i.e.,
G
o [o
G
0
G
G
G o [o 0
G
G
G o [o 0
G
45.2.2 Wave equation for
Q
Q
o [o Q 0
G
o [o Q 0
Using eq(x) and (x), we obtain the wave equation
G
o [o
G 0 45.6 "
G
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
and
The wave equations for , in vacuum, have the identical form as that for and
.
We know that the general wave equation satisfied by any wave function is given by
3U 3U
3 U 5 U 38 U
, where v is the speed of the wave.
1
45.7"
ho [o
Since o 8.85 Q 10G / and [o 4 Q 10 /, the speed of e.m. waves in
vacuum is + 3 Q 10 /&, which is the speed of light in vacuum. The speed of
e.m. waves in vacuum is independent of frequency.
G
G [ 0 45.8"
G
G
And
[
G 0 45.9"
G
Since o and [o , the speed of e.m. wave in the medium is
1
45.10"
[
which is less than c. If and [ are dependent on position and time, the wave equation
becomes more complicated. In a medium, and [ may, in general, depend on
frequency of the wave. So, the speed of e.m. wave in a medium may be different for
different frequencies. Such a medium is called dispersive medium.
Session-46
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
0 46.1"
0 46.2"
Q E
- 0 46.3"
Q
46.4"
[
Taking the curl of both sides of eq(46.3) and interchanging the order of and
3
38
, we
get,
Q
Q E
- Q
0
Or,
E
G E - Q
0
Using eq[46.1] and [46.2], in the above, we get
G
[
G E [ 46.5"
G
Similarly, taking the curl of both sides of eq[46.4], we get
Q
Q
[
Q Q E
[
Or,
G
[ [
Further, 0, so we get
G
G
[ G [ 46.6"
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Eq. (46.5) and (46.6) are called the telegraph equations. The term [ 38 and [ 38 are
3c
3a
From vector calculus we know that any vector field satisfies the identity
Q F
0
If we express Q F , where G
G is another vector field, then 0 always.
G
Conversely, if a vector field G satisfies the relation G
0, then G can always be
expressed as the curl of another vector field, i.e.,
Q F
.
We extend the above argument to express the magnetic induction as the curl of
another vector field. From Maxwell's equation we know
0 ,So can always
be expressed as the curl of a vector field N.
Q N
The magnetic vector potential N is a vector field whose curl is the magnetic induction
. The SI unit of N is tesla per metre (T/m) or newton per ampere.
The magnetic vector potential N is, however, not unique. If a constant vector . or
gradient of a scalar ) is added to N, we still get the same
. i.e.,
Q N - .
Q N -
Q .
- 0
Q N -
Q N -
) Q
)
- 0
And
Thus the three values of vector potential N, N - . and N - ) give the same
.
So the magnetic vector potential is arbitrary to the extent of addition of a constant
Q N, we get
Using
Q N^
]
Q -
0
N
Q -
0
Q
From vector calculus we know that for any scalar f, ) 0, So, in above
N
-
N
So,
Session-47
In a propagating e.m. wave, the electric field and magnetic field are
2 o Ayp8 9 0
2o Ayp8 9 -
2o Ayp8 9 0
0
Since, is a constant unit vector,
2o Ayp8 9 0
So, we get
o Ayp8 9 0
2%`
0 , `
Since o A]yp8^ 0, we should have ` 0 47.3"
Thus the direction of propagation of the wave is perpendicular to the direction of the
electric field.
47.2.2 Transverse nature of
0, we get t `
Using the Maxwells equation 0 , 0 47.4"
`
This shows the transverse nature of the magnetic field. Thus Eq. (47.3) and (47.4)
show the transverse nature of electromagnetic wave.
Q E
- 0
Q ] o Ayp8 ^ - 2to Ayp8 9 0
But, Q NI I
Q N - ]
I^ Q N. Using this identity, we get
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Q 2 o Ayp8 9
Q o Ayp8 - o A8 2
Ayp 9 Q
Q 0
Since is a constant vector,
Ayp
Further, 2 Ayp 9 %`
Q ^o Ayp8
Q 2 o Ayp8 9 %]`
So,
o
Q
` t 47.5"
o
o o
` +`
o o
o
Or,
+ 47.6"
o
h
Where c is the speed of electromagnetic waves in vacuum= , thus in a
propagating e.m. wave, the electric field is c times larger than the magnetic field.
o [o [o
[o + g o 47.7"
o ho [o o
The unit of o and o are V/m and A/m, respectively. So, the unit of ~ is V/A=ohm.
c
Thus, o has the dimension of electrical resistance (or impedance). It is called the
impedance of vacuum and has the value o =377 ohm.
The electric field and the magnetic field, in the e.m. wave, are in phase. When the
electric field attains the maximum value, the magnetic field also attains the maximum
value. Similarly, they become zero at the same time.
(see 1). However, in a conducting medium, there is a phase .difference between the
electric and magnetic fields.
Since the magnitude and direction of the electric and magnetic fields in e.m. wave are
related, only one of them can be used to describe the e.m. wave. Conventionally, the
electric field is chosen for this purpose, because E is c times larger than B and most of
the instruments used to detect e.m. wave deal with the electric rather than the
magnetic component of the wave. For example, the plane of vibration of the
electromagnetic wave (such as light) is taken as the plane containing the electric field.
The electromagnetic waves carry energy and momentum when they propagate. The
conservation of energy in electromagnetic wave phenomena is described by Poynting
theorem.
In vacuum, is replaced by
In vacuum, is replaced by .
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
1 1
fc
-
] G - [ G ^ 48.3"
2 2
The total electromagnetic energy in a region is obtained by taking the volume integral
of the e.m. energy density over the total volume under consideration.
The rate of energy transport per unit area in electromagnetic wave is described by a
Poynting vector & for electromagnetic wave is defined in terms of the electric and
vector called Poynting vector, named after John Henry Poynting (1852-1914). The
magnetic fields by
Q
/ Q
48.4"
[
The Poynting vector measures the flow of electromagnetic energy per unit time per
unit area normal to the direction of wave propagation. Its S.I. unit is watt / (metre)2,
The direction of Poynting vector is perpendicular to both the electric and magnetic
fields. It is directed along the direction of propagation of the e.m. wave.
48.3Poynting theorem
Q E
1"
Q
- M 2"
, we get
Taking the dot product of eq[1] with
Q E
3"
Q
- M 4"
Subtracting eq[4] from eq[3], we get
Q E
Q
M 5"
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
Q
So, L.H. S. of eq[5]=
[
[
[ G
[
2 2
Similarly,
G
2 2
G [ G
Q
- M
2 2
Using the definitions of electromagnetic energy density and Poynting vector, we can
write this equation as
fc
/ M 6"
This is sometimes called the differential form of Poynting theorem.
Taking the volume integral of both the sides over a given volume,
fc
\ / (I \ (I \ M (I
| | |
Using Gauss divergence theorem, the LHS can be converted to a surface integral over
a closed surface A enclosing the volume V.
So,
fc
/ (N \ (I \ M (I 7"
| |
The LHS is the rate of flow of total e.m. energy through the closed area enclosing the
given volume. The 1st term on the RHS is the rate of change of e.m. energy in the
volume. The 2nd term on the RHS is the rate of work done by the electric field on the
source of current. According to Poynting theorem, the rate of flow of e.m. energy
through the surface of a given closed area is equal to the sum of (i) the rate of
Engineering Physics B.Tech:2012-13
decrease of e.m. energy in the region enclosed by it and (ii) the rate of work done by
the electric field on the source of current present within the enclosed region. Thus
Poynting theorem is a statement of conservation of energy in electromagnetic field.
The Poynting vector plays the role of flux of e.m. field.
fc
/ -
0
This is called the equation of continuity for e.m. wave.
Session-49
In e.m. waves, the electric field E and magnetic field B are time varying fields. So, the
Poynting vector is also a time varying quantity. Since the electric and magnetic fields
are mutually perpendicular, the magnitude of Poynting vector, from Eq. (48.4), is
/
[
This equation is in terms of the instantaneous values of the field components and the
Poynting vector. Since the electric and magnetic fields in e.m. wave are in phase, the
ratio of their maximum values is also equal to the ratio of their instantaneous values.
From Eq.(47.7).
o G
[+ , /
o [+
If o sin , the time average value of the Poynting vector is the intensity of the
e.m. wave which is equal to the average e.m. energy flowing per unit time across unit
area normal to the direction of flow.
Intensity J / +pV: G
Or, J / +fc