Title :
Momentum of photons in dielectrics
Author_Institution :
Bell Telephone Laboratories, Crawford Hill Laboratory, Holmdel, USA
Abstract :
A confusion is sometimes made in the literature between the mass-carrying momentum of a photon, which is inversely proportional to the refractive index of the medium in which it propagates, and the momentum taken up by an absorber located in a fluid, which is directly proportional to the refractive index of the fluid. The distinction between these two momenta is clarified by considering an artificial dielectric.
Keywords :
dielectric properties of substances; electromagnetic wave propagation; photons; dielectric properties; electromagnetic wave propagation; photons momentum;
Journal_Title :
Electronics Letters
DOI :
10.1049/el:19720394
