Practice portal › Electromagnetic Waves › Maxwell's Equations and the Production of EM Waves

In the region close to the oscillating charges, the phase difference between E and B fields is ______ and their magnitude quickly decreases as _______ with distance r from the source.

Asked in GSEB Board March 2018 · Sources: the accelerated charge and Hertz

Answer: (2) π/2, r⁻³

Step-by-step solution

Idea: close to an oscillating charge the fields are dominated by induction rather than radiation, and the two zones behave quite differently.

In that near zone E and B are a quarter of a cycle apart, a phase difference of π/2, so the product EB averages to zero over a cycle and no energy streams outwards.

Their magnitudes also fall very steeply there, as 1/(r³).

Only farther out do the radiated parts, in phase and falling as 1/r, take over.

So the phase difference is π/2 and the decrease is as r⁻³.

Why the other options are wrong

More Maxwell's Equations and the Production of EM Waves questionsAll Maxwell's Equations and the Production of EM Waves questions →

Reading this solution needs no sign-in. You only sign in to practise against the clock and keep your progress.

Practise this with a timer