In optics, an optical medium is material through which light and other electromagnetic waves propagate. It is a form of transmission medium. The permittivity and permeability of the medium define how electromagnetic waves propagate in it.

Properties

The optical medium has an intrinsic impedance, given by where E_x and H_y are the electric field and magnetic field, respectively. In a region with no electrical conductivity, the expression simplifies to: For example, in free space the intrinsic impedance is called the characteristic impedance of vacuum, denoted Z0, and Waves propagate through a medium with velocity, where \nu is the frequency and \lambda is the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves. This equation also may be put in the form where \omega is the angular frequency of the wave and k is the wavenumber of the wave. In electrical engineering, the symbol \beta, called the phase constant, is often used instead of k. The propagation velocity of electromagnetic waves in free space, an idealized standard reference state (like absolute zero for temperature), is conventionally denoted by c0: For a general introduction, see Serway For a discussion of synthetic media, see Joannopoulus.

Types

Notes and references