Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-symmetry-and-relativity-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2016/3/b/solution
Past exam of the symmetry and relativity course of the University of Oxford 2016 3 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
The phase velocity is the speed of a constant-phase surface, . The group velocity is the envelope speed of a narrow packet, , requiring a local dispersion relation rather than only a single monochromatic wave. In an isotropic transparent medium with ,For a vacuum wave, over the packet bandwidth, so both speeds are and . No superluminal signalling is implied by a phase speed in a dispersive material.
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