- #1
forcefield
- 141
- 3
I've been reading Feynman's (classical) derivation of the refractive index and I wonder if there is a more quantum mechanical description in terms of complex number field vectors - one vector for that part of light that goes straight through and another for that part of light that goes through accelerated charges - so that those component vectors are exactly at 90 degree angle with respect to each other so that total field vector is the sum of those component field vectors and if energy is proportional to square of field then total energy is also simply the sum of the energies of those component fields ?
(To clarify, I'm not asking about the refractive index but about the way that the field is divided between the part that goes straight through and the part that goes through accelerated charges).
(To clarify, I'm not asking about the refractive index but about the way that the field is divided between the part that goes straight through and the part that goes through accelerated charges).