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A magnetic skin layer is the region penetrated by an oscillating magnetic field in a conducting material. With constant magnetic permeability $\mu$ and electrical conductivity $\sigma$, define the magnetic diffusivityHere $\eta$ has units ${\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$; it is not the electrical resistivity $1/\sigma$. Negligible material motion reduces the resistive induction equation to magnetic diffusion.

Take the conductor to occupy $y>0$ and use time dependence $e^{i\omega t}$ with $\omega >0$. For a tangential magnetic field, the one-dimensional equation isThe solution decaying into the conductor hasThus the skin depth $\delta$ is both the amplitude decay length and the distance for one radian of phase lag. Raising frequency by a factor of four halves $\delta$. ^[ref]

If the boundary amplitude varies slowly as $C(x)$, the solenoidal magnetic-field constraint additionally requires, to leading order,Indeed ${\partial }_x{\hat{B}}_x+{\partial }_y{\hat{B}}_y=0$. This normal component is smaller by the ratio of $\delta$ to the along-boundary variation length; a predominantly tangential field need not be exactly tangential.

A demonstration described by Hermann A. Haus and James R. Melcher drives a winding on a magnetic core passing through a slit in an aluminium block. A magnetometer probe samples the field through a measuring slit. Comparing 60 and 240 Hz tests the predicted factor-of-two change in penetration depth. ^[ref]

Magnetotelluric sounding infers subsurface electrical resistivity from naturally varying electric fields and magnetic fields. Surface electrodes measure potential differences while magnetic sensors record the same fluctuations. In the frequency domain, the relation between horizontal field components defines an electrical impedance that depends on the conducting structure below the station.

Low frequencies generally penetrate farther than high frequencies, as expected from the skin depth of a conductor. A range of frequencies therefore constrains a range of depths. The inferred electrical resistivity depends on connected fluids, composition and temperature; a conductive zone does not uniquely identify molten rock.^[ref]

A coating substantially thinner than the skin depth does not screen the substrate as a bulk conductor would. Thickness of a few skin depths suppresses the field reaching the substrate exponentially. A unique required thickness additionally needs an allowed residual field or loss criterion.

With fields proportional to $e^{i(kz-\omega t)}$, a homogeneous Ohmic medium obeys the displayed relation by combining the two curl Maxwell equations. The physical passive branch has $\mathrm{Im}k\ge 0$. For real positive conductivity much larger than $\omega ϵ$, it reduces to $k=(1+i)/\delta$ with skin depth $\delta =\sqrt{2/(\mu \sigma \omega )}$. Field amplitude and intensity then decay with respective lengths $\delta$ and $\delta /2$. A frequency-dependent conductivity must be retained when charge-carrier inertia matters.

At zero magnetic field the two circular conductivities coincide, so an isotropic material has no magnetically induced circular birefringence. In the collisionless Drude model range the dielectric function is $ϵ={ϵ}_{\infty }-{\omega }_p^2/{\omega }^2$. A high carrier density gives a large plasma frequency, often placing the screened plasma edge ${\omega }_p/\sqrt{{ϵ}_{\infty }}$ in the infrared or visible range.

Below that edge the real dielectric function is negative and a transverse wave is evanescent in the bulk. The material is strongly reflecting, with penetration through a skin depth and losses set by finite $1/\tau$. Above the plasma edge propagation becomes possible, subject to absorption and interband transitions. Carrier density alone does not specify a complete optical spectrum: the statements assume the probe frequency relative to the plasma scale and the validity of the single-band Drude model.

In a low-carrier-density semiconductor use a thin, cold sample in a transmission spectrometer. Direct microwave or far-infrared radiation through it, commonly with propagation parallel to $\mathbf{B}$ and electric field transverse to it. Sweep $B$ at fixed frequency and detect transmitted power. The active circular polarization shows an absorption peak, or transmission dip, near $B_{\mathrm{res}}=m^{\ast }\omega /e$. Resolving it requires a long enough scattering time, ${\omega }_c\tau \gtrsim 1$.

A metal's large plasma frequency usually prevents that radiation from sampling its bulk directly. In surface cyclotron resonance in a metal, put $\mathbf{B}$ approximately parallel to a clean metal surface and excite an rf electric field in the skin depth, transverse to $\mathbf{B}$. Electron orbits extend into the bulk and repeatedly return to that layer. Coherent energy absorption occurs when the rf phase repeats on a return, including harmonics $\omega =n{\omega }_c$. Measure cavity loss, reflected power, or surface impedance rather than attempting ordinary bulk transmission. The characteristic regime has cyclotron radius larger than the skin depth and sufficiently specular, long-lived orbits.

For the spherical parabolic band the metal harmonic fields areThey are evenly spaced in $1/B$, with amplitudes and widths determined by surface geometry and scattering. A semiconductor generally gives the simple bulk fundamental, whereas the metal can show this harmonic series in a surface-loss signal. For an anisotropic real Fermi surface the measured mass is the appropriate cyclotron effective mass rather than necessarily every component of a transport effective-mass tensor. These classical resonance harmonics are distinct from the Landau-level quantum oscillations in c.

A closed conducting enclosure redistributes surface charge so that an empty interior is protected from an external static electric field. Grounding fixes a reference and drains deposited charge, but an ideal isolated closed conductor also provides inward electrostatic shielding. Real seams, apertures and cables need careful bonding, shielding and feedthrough filtering. For time-varying fields the relevant wavelength, conductivity, geometry and penetration depth matter; a static argument alone is insufficient. Differential wiring and small pickup-loop areas can complement shielding, while careless multiple ground connections create unwanted current loops.

Ordinary copper or aluminium does not generally exclude a static magnetic field. High-permeability shells instead guide magnetic flux around the protected volume. Their effectiveness depends on shape, continuity, openings and saturation; magnetic history and mechanical stress can worsen performance. Nested shields and degaussing can reduce residual fields. Superconducting shielding can exploit the Meissner effect, but trapped flux, openings and critical-field limits require attention.

At nonzero frequency, eddy currents in conducting shields oppose changing magnetic flux. The skin depth isfor a good conductor in the usual diffusion approximation. Thickness of several skin depths suppresses penetration, but the very-low-frequency limit is weak for a normal metal. High-permeability and conducting layers can therefore complement each other. Active compensation coils are an additional method, not passive shielding. Test performance by applying known fields along relevant axes and measuring the residual field or induced signal over the apparatus bandwidth; room-temperature shielding materials and electronics can themselves add noise.

A wave propagates an organized disturbance through space. What oscillates depends on the medium: displacement in a string or solid, pressure and density in a fluid, electric fields and magnetic fields in an electromagnetic wave, or a quantum wavefunction. The propagation law follows from the restoring mechanism, inertia and relevant boundary conditions. A common linear equation is $u_{tt}=c^2{\nabla }^{2}u$, whose plane waves obey $\omega =c|\mathbf{k}|$. The resulting phase velocity and group velocity coincide, so a narrow wave packet can travel without dispersive spreading. More generally the material supplies a dispersion relation $\omega (\mathbf{k})$; the envelope velocity is ${\nabla }_{\mathbf{k}}\omega$, while constant phase surfaces move at the corresponding phase velocity.

Mechanical waves make the balance of restoring force and inertia particularly visible. A flexible stretched string has $c=\sqrt{T/\mu }$: greater tension stiffens the string, whereas greater linear mass density slows its transverse motion. Small-amplitude acoustic waves in a uniform fluid are longitudinal, with $c_s=\sqrt{K_s/\rho }$, where $K_s$ is the adiabatic bulk modulus. For an ideal gas, $c_s=\sqrt{\gamma p/\rho }$. Pressure changes in rapid sound oscillations are approximately adiabatic because little heat crosses a wavelength in one period. Fluids do not support ordinary bulk shear waves, whereas an elastic solid supports both longitudinal and transverse waves. In an isotropic solid their speeds are $c_L=\sqrt{(K+4G/3)/\rho }$ and $c_T=\sqrt{G/\rho }$, where $G$ is the shear modulus.

A material can be dispersive even when its equilibrium properties are uniform. In a liquid with a free surface, gravity and surface tension act as restoring mechanisms. A simple inviscid capillary-gravity wave haswhere $h$ is depth and ${\gamma }_s$ is surface tension. Long shallow gravity waves have approximately constant speed $\sqrt{gh}$; deep-water gravity waves have $\omega =\sqrt{gk}$ and group velocity half their phase velocity. Short capillary waves have a different dispersion dominated by surface tension. Bending stiffness similarly changes short-wavelength propagation in a string or plate, giving a contribution proportional to $k^4$ in ${\omega }^2$. Different restoring mechanisms can therefore control different wavelength ranges of the same medium.

Electromagnetic waves propagate in vacuum without material displacement, because Maxwell equations couple changing electric and magnetic fields. They are transverse and travel at $c=1/\sqrt{{ϵ}_0{\mu }_0}$. In a simple transparent isotropic material, the phase speed is $1/\sqrt{ϵ\mu }=c/n$, where $n$ is the refractive index. Real material polarization depends on frequency. A Lorentz oscillator model for bound charges explains why permittivity and refractive index become strongly frequency dependent near material resonances, accompanied by absorption. In a birefringent medium, different field polarizations have different propagation constants, permitting wave plates and mode-dependent delays. A electrical conductor additionally supports dissipative currents; its complex wavenumber gives attenuation and, for a good conductor, a skin depth approximately $\sqrt{2/(\mu \sigma \omega )}$. Energy removed from the wave becomes heat rather than disappearing.

At an interface, frequency is conserved for stationary media, and tangential wave phase must match. These conditions give Snell's law for refraction and constrain reflected and transmitted directions. Amplitudes follow from continuity of the appropriate fields or mechanical forces. On strings the relevant mechanical impedance is $\sqrt{T\mu }$; for sound it is related to $\rho c_s$, and for electromagnetic waves to $\sqrt{\mu /ϵ}$. A mismatch gives wave reflection, and a lossless boundary conserves the total incident, reflected and transmitted power. Multiple reflections can reinforce or cancel, as in a Fabry–Pérot etalon. Total internal reflection and other boundary conditions confine waves in waveguides. Transverse modes then become discrete, and even an otherwise nondispersive material develops longitudinal cutoffs and wave dispersion. A membrane strip, for example, obeys ${\omega }_n^2=c_m^2[k^2+(n\pi /a{)}^2]$.

Propagation also involves transport and loss. The Poynting vector gives electromagnetic energy flux; mechanical energy transport is force or pressure times velocity, averaged over a cycle. Wave absorption, viscosity, electrical resistance and imperfect boundaries dissipate energy. Scattering redistributes energy into other directions and modes, while geometric spreading reduces local intensity without necessarily dissipating anything. These mechanisms should be distinguished when interpreting a decreasing measured amplitude. In strongly absorbing or rapidly varying dispersive regimes, the derivative called group velocity is not automatically the speed of a sharp signal front; pulse reshaping and the medium's causal response must be considered.

Finally, quantum matter waves illustrate how the same propagation mathematics can describe a different physical quantity. For a free nonrelativistic particle, $\omega =\hslash k^2/(2m)$, so the group velocity $\hslash k/m$ equals its particle velocity and differs from the phase speed $\hslash k/(2m)$. In a periodic crystal, Bloch's theorem replaces the free dispersion by energy bands. Their slope controls wave-packet velocity, $v_g={\hslash }^{-1}dE/dk$, and their curvature gives band effective mass. Thus mechanical confinement, material response and microscopic periodicity all reshape propagation through their allowed modes and dispersion, while the physical interpretation of the wave and its transported quantities remains essential.

State a time convention before using complex response: take fields proportional to $e^{i(kz-\omega t)}$, with $k=k_r+i\kappa$ and $\kappa \ge 0$ for a passive wave entering the material. In a homogeneous Ohmic medium, Maxwell equations with $\mathbf{J}=\sigma \mathbf{E}$ giveThe ohmic-conductor complex wavenumber describes both phase advance and amplitude decay. Real constant conductivity is only a low-frequency approximation. In the Drude model, $m\dot{\mathbf{v}}+m\gamma \mathbf{v}=-e\mathbf{E}$ giveswith a fixed positive ionic background and no additional bound-electron contribution in this simple model. The plasma frequency marks the inertial electron-response scale. More elaborate band structure, interband transitions and nonlocal transport limit this scalar treatment.^[ref]

In the collisionless nonmagnetic limit, the dispersion relation is ${\omega }^2={\omega }_p^2+c^2{k}^2$. For $\omega >{\omega }_p$,A crest can move faster than $c$ without carrying a new signal faster than light. Below cutoff the ideal wave is evanescent, with penetration length $c/\sqrt{{\omega }_p^2-{\omega }^2}$; it does not propagate as an ordinary real-$k$ bulk wave. Evanescence in the lossless limit is not Joule dissipation. Nonzero collision rate gives a dissipative conductivity and smooths this ideal cutoff picture.

For a good conductor with approximately real $\sigma \gg \omega ϵ$, the spatial branch becomesA field amplitude falls as $e^{-z/\delta }$, while intensity falls as $e^{-2z/\delta }$. The phase velocity is $\omega \delta$ in this limit. Magnetic and electric amplitudes are not related by the vacuum ratio: $Z_s=E/H=(1-i)\sqrt{\mu \omega /(2\sigma )}$ with the chosen time convention. Its positive real part is the surface resistance. The local mean heating is $\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{Re}\sigma |E{|}^2$, consistent with electromagnetic energy flowing into the metal. skin depth is an amplitude length; interpreting it as an intensity length gives a factor-of-two error.

A transmission-line mode propagates chiefly through the dielectric between conductors, even though finite metal conductivity causes loss at its boundaries. With per-length parameters $R^{\prime },L^{\prime },G^{\prime },C^{\prime }$, the telegrapher's equations give, for the same $e^{-i\omega t}$ convention,Writing a forward wave as $e^{-\Gamma z}$, $\Gamma =\alpha -i\beta$, gives ${\Gamma }^2=(R^{\prime }-i\omega L^{\prime })(G^{\prime }-i\omega C^{\prime })$. In the low-loss regime $R^{\prime }\ll \omega L^{\prime }$ and $G^{\prime }\ll \omega C^{\prime }$, set $Z_0\simeq \sqrt{L^{\prime }/C^{\prime }}$ to obtainThis low-loss transmission-line attenuation separates series conductor loss from dielectric leakage loss. Average forward power falls as $e^{-2\alpha z}$. In the normal skin-effect regime, reduced conducting area makes the AC conductor resistance increase roughly as $\sqrt{\omega }$; dielectric loss can supply a separate frequency dependence. Reflection from a mismatched termination changes delivered power without being, by itself, dissipation in the line.^[ref]

To test loss, compare several lengths of otherwise identical line with matched terminations, calibrate connectors and incident/reflected power, and monitor temperature. Separate amplitude attenuation from phase delay and from standing-wave minima. Bulk penetration, line attenuation and dielectric propagation speed are related electromagnetic quantities but describe different experimental geometries.

Use peak-amplitude phasors with time factor $e^{-i\omega t}$ and $\mu ={\mu }_0$. Faraday's law of induction and the Ampere-Maxwell law giveIn the good-conductor limit $\sigma \gg \omega ϵ$, take the root with positive attenuation into the slab:The real physical field is $\mathrm{Re}[{\tilde{E}}_y{e}^{-i\omega t}]$. A thick slab excludes a returning wave from its rear face. The skin depth is the electric-field amplitude decay length; the intensity decay length is $\delta /2$.

Faraday's law of induction fixes ${\tilde{H}}_z=k{\tilde{E}}_y/({\mu }_0\omega )$. The surface impedance of a good conductor and the complete transmitted magnetic field are consequentlyThe sign of the imaginary part belongs to the stated time convention. Average the Poynting vector using complex conjugation and the factor one half appropriate to peak phasors:As an independent energy check, $-{\partial }_x⟨N_x⟩=\sigma |E_0{|}^2{e}^{-2x/\delta }/2$, the mean Joule heating per unit volume.

Ohm's law gives ${\tilde{J}}_y=\sigma {\tilde{E}}_y$ and ${\tilde{B}}_z={\mu }_0{\tilde{H}}_z$. Hence the averaged Lorentz force per unit volume isIntegrating through the illuminated half-space gives the positive inward radiation pressureFinally let $Z_0=\sqrt{{\mu }_0/{ϵ}_0}$ be the vacuum wave impedance. Tangential-field boundary conditions at normal incidence give the electric-amplitude reflection coefficient $r=(Z-Z_0)/(Z+Z_0)$. Since $|Z|\ll Z_0$,Here $N_0=(1-R)I_{\mathrm{inc}}$ by surface energy balance. Combining the leading formulas gives $p\simeq 2I_{\mathrm{inc}}/c$, the nearly perfect-reflector limit. The displayed reflection expansion also assumes a good conductor relative to the incident vacuum wave, $\omega {ϵ}_0/\sigma \ll 1$.

For a thick good conductor in the normal skin effect regime, the skin-effect surface resistance is determined byIdentical guide geometry then giveswhere the numerical ratio assumes both coatings are nonmagnetic, with $\mu \simeq {\mu }_0$. A magnetic stainless-steel grade would require its magnetic permeability; conductivity alone does not fix that alternative.

Using ${\mu }_0\simeq 4\pi \times 10^{-7}\mathrm{H}{\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$, the gold skin depth at the stated frequency isThe metal coating thickness relative to skin depth sets the useful scale. Thus a layer of order $1\mu \mathrm{m}$ begins to be useful, and a few skin depths, roughly $2$–$3\mu \mathrm{m}$, substantially screen the poorer substrate. This is a thickness scale, not a specified attenuation threshold. It assumes a continuous coating thicker than the relevant microscopic surface scale.^[ref][ref]

Displacement current makes Ampère's law compatible with charge conservation. The macroscopic Maxwell equations areTaking the divergence of the last equation and using Gauss's law gives $\nabla \cdot {\mathbf{J}}_f+{\partial }_t{\rho }_f=0$. Omitting ${\partial }_t\mathbf{D}$ would wrongly require the conduction current to be divergence free during charging. The displacement-current density ${\partial }_t\mathbf{D}$ has current-density units, but need not represent free charges crossing a region.

The surface independence of Ampère circulation during capacitor charging illustrates the need directly. A surface spanning the circuit can cut the wire or pass between the plates. For ideal parallel plates, $Q={ϵ}_{0}AE$ andThe corrected circulation of $\mathbf{H}$ is independent of that surface choice. Free conduction current stops at a plate; displacement current supplies the gap contribution.

In vacuum the two time-dependent curl equations support waves. Taking a curl of Faraday's law in a source-free region yieldsThe corresponding magnetic equation is identical. For a plane wave, $\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{E}=\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{B}=0$ and $\mathbf{B}=\mathbf{k}\times \mathbf{E}/\omega$. The fields carry energy through the Poynting flux. Dropping displacement current everywhere would remove these freely propagating solutions.^[ref]

In a metal, conduction and displacement compete. For a uniform ohmic material with ${\mathbf{J}}_f=\sigma \mathbf{E}$, constant $ϵ,\mu$, and transverse waves,Use $e^{i\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{r}-i\omega t}$. The dispersion relation and conduction-to-displacement current ratio areWhen $\sigma \gg \omega ϵ$, $k\simeq (1+i)/\delta$ with $\delta =\sqrt{2/(\mu \sigma \omega )}$: fields are screened within a skin depth and energy is dissipated by Joule heating. This quasistatic limit neglects displacement current locally compared with conduction; it does not invalidate the full Maxwell law. At sufficiently high frequency, conductivity and permittivity are frequency dependent, so a constant-$\sigma$ approximation must be replaced by a material model.

In an unmagnetized cold plasma, electron inertia gives a cutoff. With immobile ions and negligible collisions, $m_e\dot{\mathbf{v}}=-e\mathbf{E}$ and $\mathbf{J}=-n_{e}e\mathbf{v}$ give $\sigma (\omega )=i{n}_e{e}^2/(m_e\omega )$. For the transverse wave cutoff in a cold unmagnetized plasma, combining this carrier current with vacuum displacement current givesTransverse waves propagate above ${\omega }_p$ and are evanescent below it. The group velocity is $c\sqrt{1-{\omega }_p^2/{\omega }^2}<c$ even though the phase velocity exceeds $c$. The cold model also has longitudinal charge-density oscillations at ${\omega }_p$, distinct from transverse light waves. Collisions add damping, and pressure or magnetic fields modify these simple dispersions. To avoid carrier-current double counting in effective permittivity, once the carrier response is included in ${ϵ}_{\mathrm{eff}}$ it must not be counted a second time as a separate conductivity. Displacement current therefore connects circuit continuity, vacuum radiation, conductor screening and plasma propagation within one consistent field theory.^[ref]

Effective permittivity. Use peak phasors with time dependence $e^{-i\omega t}$. The Ampere-Maxwell law isThe conductive contribution to complex permittivity is thereforeHere ${ϵ}^{\prime }$ is the source's effective relative permittivity, not just the real part of a complex response. The positive imaginary term is the loss sign appropriate to this time convention.

The penetrating electric wave. Combine this equation with Faraday's law of induction. In a uniform source-free medium the transverse phasor satisfiesFor a good conductor of electrical conductivity $\sigma$, $\sigma \gg \omega ϵ{\epsilon }_0$, so $k^2\simeq i{\mu }_0\sigma \omega$. The root which decays into $z>0$ isChoose the surface phasor amplitude $E_0$ real. Taking the real part of ${\tilde{E}}_x=E_0{e}^{ikz}$ givesThe skin depth $\delta$ is an amplitude-decay distance in metres.

The magnetic wave and phase. The curl of an $x$-polarized field varying in $z$ is in the $y$ direction. Since $\nabla \times \tilde{\mathbf{E}}=i\omega {\mu }_0\tilde{\mathbf{H}}$,ThusThe phase sign follows the specified convention. Equivalently the surface impedance of a good conductor is $E_x/H_y=(1-i)/(\sigma \delta )$.

How the fields differ from those in vacuum. The two metal fields have the same exponential envelope and spatial period $2\pi \delta$, but their phase arguments differ by $\pi /4$.

An individual travelling wave in the lossless exterior has no attenuation, real wave impedance and in-phase electric and magnetic fields. The exterior total field also includes the reflected wave and may show interference, so it need not share that simple phase relation everywhere. At the interface the tangential fields match; $E_0$ is the field just inside the metal, not necessarily the incident amplitude. A good conductor reflects strongly and its wave impedance is much smaller than the vacuum impedance.

Average inward energy flux. For peak phasors, the Poynting vector averaged over a cycle is $⟨\mathbf{S}⟩=\mathrm{Re}(\tilde{\mathbf{E}}\times {\tilde{\mathbf{H}}}^{\ast })/2$. The fields giveConsequently the constant in the question isThe flux is in the $+z$ direction and has units $\mathrm{W}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$.

Local energy conservation. The Poynting flux and local heating in a skin layer satisfyThe decrease becomes Joule heating in each layer. The Poynting theorem includes this transfer from field energy to the metal; averaged electromagnetic energy storage has zero time derivative in the periodic state, so no energy is lost from the complete balance.

In a homogeneous Ohmic conductor, $\mathbf{J}=\sigma \mathbf{E}$. Combining this with Maxwell's equations givesFor a good conductor, $\sigma \gg \omega ϵ$, so conduction dominates displacement current. With time dependence $e^{-i\omega t}$ and depth $z>0$, take $E\propto e^{ikz}$. ThenThe field is consequently proportional to $e^{-z/\delta }{e}^{iz/\delta }$: it both attenuates and changes phase with depth. The skin depth is the distance for amplitude to fall by $e^{-1}$; power density falls as $e^{-2z/\delta }$, so its attenuation length is $\delta /2$.

Physically, changing fields induce currents whose magnetic field opposes penetration. Equivalently, after neglecting displacement current, magnetic diffusion obeys ${\partial }_t\mathbf{B}=(\mu \sigma {)}^{-1}{\nabla }^2\mathbf{B}$. Faster changes have less time to diffuse into the metal. Increasing frequency, conductivity or magnetic permeability reduces $\delta$, provided the relevant material parameters remain applicable.

For a thick conductor the tangential surface electrical impedance is $Z_s=(1-i)/(\sigma \delta )$ with the stated time convention and consistent field orientation. Its real part $1/(\sigma \delta )$ represents dissipative resistance per square. Current crowding near the surface raises the AC resistance of a wire when $\delta$ is small compared with its radius; thin strands and laminated magnetic cores reduce suitable eddy-current losses. When $\sigma /\gg \omega ϵ$, the full complex propagation constant must replace the good-conductor approximation. In a magnetic metal the magnetic permeability can itself be nonlinear and frequency dependent.

Electromagnetic waves drive mobile charges in a conducting medium. Their current changes both the phase and attenuation of the wave. A description in terms of a real, frequency-independent refractive index is therefore generally insufficient: the material response and the propagation constant are complex and frequency dependent.

Use phasors proportional to $e^{i(kz-\omega t)}$, with $k=k^{\prime }+i{k}^{\prime \prime }$ and $k^{\prime \prime }\ge 0$ for a passive medium. In a homogeneous, isotropic, linear material, let ${ϵ}_b$ represent the permittivity associated with bound-charge electric polarization, $\mu$ the magnetic permeability and $\sigma (\omega )$ the mobile-charge conductivity. The macroscopic Maxwell equations giveFor a transverse plane wave, taking another curl yieldsThis division of the response avoids counting mobile electrons both in ${ϵ}_b$ and in $\sigma$. Define the complex refractive index $\tilde{n}=ck/\omega =n+i\kappa$. For a nonmagnetic medium, ${\tilde{n}}^2={ϵ}_{\mathrm{eff}}/{ϵ}_0$. Its real part determines the phase variation, while the positive optical extinction coefficient $\kappa$ gives amplitude attenuation $e^{-\omega \kappa z/c}$ and intensity attenuation $e^{-2\omega \kappa z/c}$. The amplitude penetration length is

A simple microscopic explanation comes from the Drude model. Let electrons of charge $-e$, mass $m$ and number density $n_e$ move against an effectively stationary positive background. Collisions relax their mean velocity at rate $\nu$:ConsequentlyWith a vacuum-like bound-charge background, this givesIts imaginary part is positive for positive $\omega ,\nu$, consistent with dissipation under the chosen phasor convention. Real materials can require an effective electron mass, a nontrivial bound-charge response, or additional absorption associated with the electronic band structure.

A plasma is a conducting ionized medium with mobile electrons and ions, approximately neutral on large scales because of plasma screening. For the electron-frequency transverse waves considered here, the heavy ions can often be treated as stationary. In a dilute weakly collisional plasma, $\nu \ll \omega$, soFor $\omega >{\omega }_p$, $k$ is real in this collisionless model and the wave propagates. Its phase velocity is $v_{\mathrm{ph}}=c/n>c$, while its group velocity is $v_g=cn<c$; their product is $c^2$. A phase crest exceeding $c$ does not imply superluminal information transport. For $\omega <{\omega }_p$, the refractive-index square is negative andThe transmitted field is evanescent rather than a traveling bulk wave. A sufficiently thick collisionless plasma reflects such radiation without Ohmic absorption. Collisions make the response complex and permit absorption. This accounts for a plasma cutoff and, qualitatively, the reflection of some radio frequencies by ionized atmospheric layers. The simple model describes transverse waves; plasmas also support longitudinal collective modes.

In a metal, positive ions usually form a crystal lattice. Mobile conduction electrons occupy states described by the electronic band structure and normally form a degenerate Fermi gas. The conduction-electron density is usually much higher than in a dilute gas plasma. Thus its plasma frequency is commonly in the optical or ultraviolet range, rather than the lower radio-frequency values possible in dilute plasmas. Electron scattering from the lattice, defects and other excitations gives a finite relaxation rate. The distinction is not that every plasma is collisionless and every metal collisional: the controlling ratio for either material is $\omega /\nu$, together with its carrier density and bound-charge response.

At sufficiently low frequency, $\omega \ll \nu$, the metal's conductivity is approximately real, ${\sigma }_0=n_e{e}^2/(m\nu )$. In a good conductor the conduction current dominates the displacement current, ${\sigma }_0\gg \omega {ϵ}_b$. The wave equation then givesFor example, a tangential electric field varies asThe current $\mathbf{J}={\sigma }_0\mathbf{E}$ is therefore concentrated within a few skin depths of the surface: this is the skin effect. As frequency increases within this regime, $\delta \propto {\omega }^{-1/2}$. In a wire whose radius greatly exceeds $\delta$, only a thin outer region carries appreciable alternating current, increasing the effective resistance. In a conducting shield, the same penetration suppresses the field transmitted through a sufficiently thick wall.

The Poynting theorem identifies the loss as Joule heating. The cycle-averaged heating density for a complex conductivity isThe wave impedance is $Z=\mu \omega /k$. For incidence from vacuum at normal incidence, the electric reflection amplitude is $r=(Z-Z_0)/(Z+Z_0)$, where $Z_0=\sqrt{{\mu }_0/{ϵ}_0}$. A good conductor has small $|Z|$ and therefore strong reflection, while the part of the incident power entering it is dissipated over the skin depth.

At high enough frequency that $\omega \gg \nu$, a metal's free-electron response also approaches the collisionless plasma form. The low-frequency formula $\delta \propto {\omega }^{-1/2}$ must not simply be extrapolated into that regime. Real optical behavior additionally depends on the electronic band structure and transitions between bands. Both plasmas and metals are therefore described by the same electromagnetic response framework, but their relevant densities, scattering rates and frequency regimes differ.

At normal incidence from vacuum, the Fresnel equations give the reflectanceA good metal has $R$ close to one below its plasma frequency. At very low frequency the electromagnetic field penetrates only a skin depth; the local Drude limit gives $1-R\simeq \sqrt{8{ϵ}_0\omega /{\sigma }_0}$. In the collisionless negative-permittivity range the transmitted field is evanescent and reflection remains strong. Near the plasma edge the reflectance drops sharply; above it ${ϵ}_r^{\prime }>0$ and propagating waves become possible. In the ideal free-electron high-frequency limit,Finite damping rounds the plasma edge, and interband absorption changes the detailed response of actual metals.

The skin depth is the distance over which a field amplitude falls by $e^{-1}$ inside a conductor. In the local good-conductor limit, $\delta =\sqrt{2/(\mu \sigma \omega )}$. Intensity then falls by $e^{-2}$ over one skin depth; amplitude and intensity penetration lengths differ by a factor two.

An alternating electric current and its electromagnetic field concentrate near a conductor's surface. For a local isotropic good conductor with real electrical conductivity $\sigma$, magnetic permeability $\mu$, and $\sigma \gg \omega ϵ$, the field penetrates over the skin depth $\delta =\sqrt{2/(\mu \sigma \omega )}$.

For a wave penetrating a nonmagnetic good conductor in the $+z$ direction with time convention $e^{-i\omega t}$, its wavenumber is $k=(1+i)/\delta$, with skin depth $\delta =\sqrt{2/({\mu }_0\sigma \omega )}$. If $\mathbf{E}\parallel \hat{\mathbf{x}}$, Faraday's law of induction gives $\mathbf{H}=[k/({\mu }_0\omega )]E_x\hat{\mathbf{y}}$. Thus the field ratio is $Z_s=E_x/H_y=(1-i)/(\sigma \delta )$, equal to the displayed expression. Magnetic and electric fields have equal exponential penetration lengths but a phasor phase difference $\pi /4$; $H_y$ has the positive phase relative to $E_x$ in this convention.