Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-2-paper-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/5/solution
Past exam of the physics 2 paper of the University of Oxford 2017 5 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
In source-free vacuum, Maxwell's equations readTake the curl of the third equation and use the curl of the curl identity . ThenThe prescribed plane wave travels in the direction. Its polarization is along , and Faraday's law requires with . The wave's magnetic flux density is thereforeThe direction is also fixed by pointing along the propagation direction. A superposed static uniform magnetic field is not fixed by the oscillatory electric field; the expression above is the magnetic field belonging to the wave itself.
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