Lossy, Absorbing, or Conducting Media
See also: Mathematical descriptions of opacityIn a conducting medium, permittivity and index of refraction are complex-valued. Consequently, so are the angle of refraction and the wave-vector. This implies that, while the surfaces of constant real phase are planes whose normals make an angle equal to the angle of refraction with the interface normal, the surfaces of constant amplitude, in contrast, are planes parallel to the interface itself. Since these two planes do not in general coincide with each other, the wave is said to be inhomogeneous. The refracted wave is exponentially attenuated, with exponent proportional to the imaginary component of the index of refraction.
Read more about this topic: Snell's Law
Famous quotes containing the word media:
“Few white citizens are acquainted with blacks other than those projected by the media and the socalled educational system, which is nothing more than a system of rewards and punishments based upon ones ability to pledge loyalty oaths to Anglo culture. The media and the educational system are the prime sources of racism in the United States.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)