Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge / 2017 / Paper 2 / Section A / A1 / Solution

Assume a hollow square electromagnetic waveguide with perfectly conducting walls, filled with vacuum or air. For side $a$, the waveguide cutoff frequency isA transverse electric mode can have one zero index, but not both. A transverse magnetic mode requires both indices positive. Thus the lowest cutoff belongs to the two degenerate transverse electric modes ${\mathrm{TE}}_{10}$ and ${\mathrm{TE}}_{01}$, withThe corresponding cutoff vacuum wavelength is $2a=2.0\mathrm{cm}$. Strictly, a travelling mode carrying power along the guide needs $f>f_c$: at the cutoff itself, the axial wavenumber and group velocity are zero. The number above is therefore the lower frequency threshold, not a propagating mode with nonzero longitudinal energy flux exactly at that frequency. A dielectric filling would replace $c$ by the wave speed in that medium.