Why dont electromagnetic waves interact with each other?
$begingroup$
My exact question is that what refers to this phenomenon? I saw also richards feynman video in that he talks about light and says that if we look at something those ligh waves that come from that thing are not disturbed from any other electromagnetic waves and explains this kind of way that if i can see things clearly, in front of me, although if someone stand in the right of me, can also clearly see any thing in the left of me, our light waves cross each other but the are not disturbed by each other. This is a kinda cool explanation but i dont understand that exactly, because i am not convinced that if those two electromagnetic waves would interact then i couldnt see the thing in front of me clearly
electromagnetic-radiation
asked 1 hour ago
Bálint TataiBálint Tatai
23727
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
My exact question is that what refers to this phenomenon? I saw also richards feynman video in that he talks about light and says that if we look at something those ligh waves that come from that thing are not disturbed from any other electromagnetic waves and explains this kind of way that if i can see things clearly, in front of me, although if someone stand in the right of me, can also clearly see any thing in the left of me, our light waves cross each other but the are not disturbed by each other. This is a kinda cool explanation but i dont understand that exactly, because i am not convinced that if those two electromagnetic waves would interact then i couldnt see the thing in front of me clearly
electromagnetic-radiation
asked 1 hour ago
Bálint TataiBálint Tatai
23727
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
My exact question is that what refers to this phenomenon? I saw also richards feynman video in that he talks about light and says that if we look at something those ligh waves that come from that thing are not disturbed from any other electromagnetic waves and explains this kind of way that if i can see things clearly, in front of me, although if someone stand in the right of me, can also clearly see any thing in the left of me, our light waves cross each other but the are not disturbed by each other. This is a kinda cool explanation but i dont understand that exactly, because i am not convinced that if those two electromagnetic waves would interact then i couldnt see the thing in front of me clearly
electromagnetic-radiation
asked 1 hour ago
Bálint TataiBálint Tatai
23727
$endgroup$
My exact question is that what refers to this phenomenon? I saw also richards feynman video in that he talks about light and says that if we look at something those ligh waves that come from that thing are not disturbed from any other electromagnetic waves and explains this kind of way that if i can see things clearly, in front of me, although if someone stand in the right of me, can also clearly see any thing in the left of me, our light waves cross each other but the are not disturbed by each other. This is a kinda cool explanation but i dont understand that exactly, because i am not convinced that if those two electromagnetic waves would interact then i couldnt see the thing in front of me clearly
electromagnetic-radiation
electromagnetic-radiation
asked 1 hour ago
Bálint TataiBálint Tatai
23727
asked 1 hour ago
Bálint TataiBálint Tatai
23727
asked 1 hour ago
Bálint TataiBálint Tatai
23727
asked 1 hour ago
Bálint TataiBálint Tatai
23727
asked 1 hour ago
Bálint TataiBálint Tatai
23727
23727
add a comment |
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
Here are three explanations of how to understand “why” electromagnetic waves don’t directly interact electromagnetically with each other, which are all equivalent to each other:
Maxwell’s equations are linear in the electric and magnetic fields, and in their sources, so the superposition of two solutions is also a solution. (For example, in Coulomb’s Law you can just add up the fields of multiple charges.)
Photons do not carry any electric charge and do not have their own electromagnetic field. (Note: By contrast, gluons do carry color charge and do interact with each other.)
The gauge group for electromagnetism is an abelian (i.e., commutative) group. (Gauge groups are something you learn about in more advanced physics courses.)
Notice that I said photons don’t directly interact with each other. They do indirectly interact via virtual electrons and positrons (or other charged particle-antiparticle pairs). Until you get to extremely intense electric and magnetic fields, this is a very tiny effect and was only recently measured.
An even tinier effect, which we will probably never be able to detect, is the gravitational interaction of electromagnetic waves or photons. Physicists believe there would be a gravitational interaction because electromagnetic waves and photons carry energy and momentum, even though photons are massless.
answered 1 hour ago
G. SmithG. Smith
10.5k11430
$endgroup$
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
});
});
}, "mathjax-editing");
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "151"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fphysics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f471007%2fwhy-dont-electromagnetic-waves-interact-with-each-other%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
Here are three explanations of how to understand “why” electromagnetic waves don’t directly interact electromagnetically with each other, which are all equivalent to each other:
Maxwell’s equations are linear in the electric and magnetic fields, and in their sources, so the superposition of two solutions is also a solution. (For example, in Coulomb’s Law you can just add up the fields of multiple charges.)
Photons do not carry any electric charge and do not have their own electromagnetic field. (Note: By contrast, gluons do carry color charge and do interact with each other.)
The gauge group for electromagnetism is an abelian (i.e., commutative) group. (Gauge groups are something you learn about in more advanced physics courses.)
Notice that I said photons don’t directly interact with each other. They do indirectly interact via virtual electrons and positrons (or other charged particle-antiparticle pairs). Until you get to extremely intense electric and magnetic fields, this is a very tiny effect and was only recently measured.
An even tinier effect, which we will probably never be able to detect, is the gravitational interaction of electromagnetic waves or photons. Physicists believe there would be a gravitational interaction because electromagnetic waves and photons carry energy and momentum, even though photons are massless.
answered 1 hour ago
G. SmithG. Smith
10.5k11430
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Here are three explanations of how to understand “why” electromagnetic waves don’t directly interact electromagnetically with each other, which are all equivalent to each other:
Maxwell’s equations are linear in the electric and magnetic fields, and in their sources, so the superposition of two solutions is also a solution. (For example, in Coulomb’s Law you can just add up the fields of multiple charges.)
Photons do not carry any electric charge and do not have their own electromagnetic field. (Note: By contrast, gluons do carry color charge and do interact with each other.)
The gauge group for electromagnetism is an abelian (i.e., commutative) group. (Gauge groups are something you learn about in more advanced physics courses.)
Notice that I said photons don’t directly interact with each other. They do indirectly interact via virtual electrons and positrons (or other charged particle-antiparticle pairs). Until you get to extremely intense electric and magnetic fields, this is a very tiny effect and was only recently measured.
An even tinier effect, which we will probably never be able to detect, is the gravitational interaction of electromagnetic waves or photons. Physicists believe there would be a gravitational interaction because electromagnetic waves and photons carry energy and momentum, even though photons are massless.
answered 1 hour ago
G. SmithG. Smith
10.5k11430
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Here are three explanations of how to understand “why” electromagnetic waves don’t directly interact electromagnetically with each other, which are all equivalent to each other:
Maxwell’s equations are linear in the electric and magnetic fields, and in their sources, so the superposition of two solutions is also a solution. (For example, in Coulomb’s Law you can just add up the fields of multiple charges.)
Photons do not carry any electric charge and do not have their own electromagnetic field. (Note: By contrast, gluons do carry color charge and do interact with each other.)
The gauge group for electromagnetism is an abelian (i.e., commutative) group. (Gauge groups are something you learn about in more advanced physics courses.)
Notice that I said photons don’t directly interact with each other. They do indirectly interact via virtual electrons and positrons (or other charged particle-antiparticle pairs). Until you get to extremely intense electric and magnetic fields, this is a very tiny effect and was only recently measured.
An even tinier effect, which we will probably never be able to detect, is the gravitational interaction of electromagnetic waves or photons. Physicists believe there would be a gravitational interaction because electromagnetic waves and photons carry energy and momentum, even though photons are massless.
answered 1 hour ago
G. SmithG. Smith
10.5k11430
$endgroup$
Here are three explanations of how to understand “why” electromagnetic waves don’t directly interact electromagnetically with each other, which are all equivalent to each other:
Maxwell’s equations are linear in the electric and magnetic fields, and in their sources, so the superposition of two solutions is also a solution. (For example, in Coulomb’s Law you can just add up the fields of multiple charges.)
Photons do not carry any electric charge and do not have their own electromagnetic field. (Note: By contrast, gluons do carry color charge and do interact with each other.)
The gauge group for electromagnetism is an abelian (i.e., commutative) group. (Gauge groups are something you learn about in more advanced physics courses.)
Notice that I said photons don’t directly interact with each other. They do indirectly interact via virtual electrons and positrons (or other charged particle-antiparticle pairs). Until you get to extremely intense electric and magnetic fields, this is a very tiny effect and was only recently measured.
An even tinier effect, which we will probably never be able to detect, is the gravitational interaction of electromagnetic waves or photons. Physicists believe there would be a gravitational interaction because electromagnetic waves and photons carry energy and momentum, even though photons are massless.
answered 1 hour ago
G. SmithG. Smith
10.5k11430
edited 45 mins ago
answered 1 hour ago
G. SmithG. Smith
10.5k11430
answered 1 hour ago
G. SmithG. Smith
10.5k11430
answered 1 hour ago
G. SmithG. Smith
10.5k11430
10.5k11430
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Physics Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fphysics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f471007%2fwhy-dont-electromagnetic-waves-interact-with-each-other%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
