On Apr 8, 7:11 pm, Timurg...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> Quick question. I understand that you can negate a sound wave by
> sending another wave of inverse form at it. Does the same work for x-
> rays or gamma rays or other electronmagnetic media?
It happens all the time. When an EM wave illuminates a material, the
fields in the wave drives currents and moves charges around at the
same frequency as the wave. These oscillating charges and currents
act as sources of new EM waves with the same frequency as the incident
wave. In effect, the material is giving off waves that can interfere
with the incoming wave. When the wave acts on the moving charges and
currents in the material that are generating the wave to do work, the
result is the absorption of the wave, which can be though of as the
destructive interference of the incident and emitted wave. The
emitted wave can also constructively interfere in some directions and
destructively interfere in others in such a way that the total EM
energy is unchanged. In this case you have scattering and reflection
of the wave.
Luke
|
