For a sinusoidal plane electromagnetic wave in vacuum, write the maximum electric field as . The magnetic field maximum is , so the cycle-averaged Poynting vector magnitude, or light intensity, is
Each photon carries energy , where is the Planck constant. Therefore the photon number flux density, namely the number per unit normal area per unit time, is
Multiplying by an illuminated normal area gives the photon arrival rate. Each absorbed photon transfers momentum at normal incidence, giving the radiation pressure on a perfectly absorbing surface
These are time-averaged quantities. At oblique angle of incidence , the normal radiation pressure is ; the simple displayed expression assumes normal incidence.

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