Abstract :
Faraday rotation of the plane of polarization of an electromagnetic wave, propagated through a medium in the direction of an independently applied steady magnetic field, has been interpreted in terms of gyromagnetic action and in certain circumstances as a consequence of Hall effect. The paper calls particular attention to the Hall-effect mechanism, which is shown to lead to different propagation coefficients for the right-handed and left-handed circularly-polarized components of a plane wave. The contention is advanced that a Hall effect can be expected to arise from a displacement current in the material medium and that, as a consequence, the Faraday rotation effect in dielectrics and semiconductors may, in some cases, be significantly modified at frequencies above the microwave part of the spectrum. Some elementary calculations are given in support of this argument.
