Electricity and Magnetism Please show your work Problem conc

Electricity and Magnetism

Please show your work

Problem (conceptual The electric field for a plane wave traveling through a medium is given by Which of the following statements regarding the vector n is true? A) It is defines the plane in which the magnetic field oscillates. B) It is the direction of the magnetic field vector. C) It is the direction in which the wave is not varying. D) It is the direction the plane wave moves E) It is the polarization vector. Atta-Fynn PHYS 4324 Advanced E & M UT Arlington

Solution

Answer is :

E) It is the polarization vector.

There is no working in it to be shown but some facts needed to be kept in mind is that by convention one uses the direction of E to specify the polarization of an electromagnetic wave and the wave as a whole is said to be polarized in that direction.