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Given below are two statements: Statement I: Electromagnetic waves carry energy as they travel through space and this energy is equally shared by the electric and magnetic fields. Statement II: When electromagnetic waves strike a surface, a pressure is exerted on the surface. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

Asked in JEE Main 31st Jan 2nd Shift 2024 · Instantaneous and average energy density

• (1) Statement I is incorrect but statement II is correct.
• (2) Both statement I and statement II are correct.
• (3) Statement I is correct but statement II is incorrect.
• (4) Both statement I and statement II are incorrect.

Step-by-step solution

Why the other options are wrong

• (1) comes from you rejected the equal sharing; u_E = u_B = ε₀E₀²/4 is exactly what the algebra gives
• (3) comes from you denied radiation pressure — but p = U/c is non-zero, so a beam does push on a surface
• (4) comes from both statements are standard textbook results; neither is false

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