The electric field part of an electromagnetic wave in a medium is represented by \(\begin{aligned} & E_x=0…

The electric field part of an electromagnetic wave in a medium is represented by \(\begin{aligned} & E_x=0 \\ & E_y=2.5 \mathrm{NC}^{-1} \cos \left[\left(2 \pi \times 10^6 \mathrm{rad} \mathrm{s}^{-1}\right) \mathrm{t}-\left(\pi \times 10^{-2} \mathrm{rad} \mathrm{m}^{-1}\right) \mathrm{x}\right] \\ & E_z=0\end{aligned}\)
The wave is
  1. moving along $y$ direction with frequency $2 \pi \times 10^6 \mathrm{~Hz}$ and wavelength $200 \mathrm{~m}$.
  2. moving along $x$ direction with frequency $10^6 \mathrm{~Hz}$ and wavelength $100 \mathrm{~m}$
  3. moving along $x$ direction with frequency $10^6 \mathrm{~Hz}$ and wavelength $200 \mathrm{~m}$
  4. moving along $-x$ direction with frequency $10^6 \mathrm{~Hz}$ and wavelength $200 \mathrm{~m}$

Solution

Comparing the given equation $\begin{aligned} & \mathrm{E}_{\mathrm{y}}=2.5 \frac{\mathrm{N}}{\mathrm{C}} \cos \left[\left(2 \pi \times 10^6 \frac{\mathrm{rad}}{\mathrm{m}}\right) \mathrm{t}\right. \\ &\left.-\left(\pi \times 10^{-2} \frac{\mathrm{rad}}{\mathrm{sec}}\right) \mathrm{x}\right] \end{aligned}$ With the standard equation $\mathrm{E}_{\mathrm{y}}=\mathrm{E}_0 \cos (\omega \mathrm{t}-\mathrm{kx})$ we get $\begin{array}{ll} & \omega=2 \pi \mathrm{f}=2 \pi \times 10^6 \\ \therefore & \mathrm{f}=10^6 \mathrm{~Hz} \end{array}$ Moreover, we know that $\Rightarrow \quad \begin{aligned} \frac{2 \pi}{\lambda} & =\mathrm{k}=\pi \times 10^{-2} \mathrm{~m}^{-1} \\ \Rightarrow \quad \lambda & =200 \mathrm{~m} \end{aligned}$ Hence, the wave is moving along positive $x$-direction with frequency $10^6 \mathrm{~Hz}$ and wavelength $200 \mathrm{~m}$.

Asked in: NEET 2009 (Screening)

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