Fields inside dispersive matter

Analyze polarization, susceptibility, dispersion, absorption, and energy accounting in materials while distinguishing microscopic and effective descriptions.

10 published lessons1 module350 min of guided study
  1. 01
    Fields inside dispersive matteradvanced · 10 lessons

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Fields inside dispersive matter

Analyze polarization, susceptibility, dispersion, absorption, and energy accounting in materials while distinguishing microscopic and effective descriptions.

  1. 01

    Macroscopic fields and spatial averaging

    Separate averaged electromagnetic fields from microscopic fields and close Maxwell equations with material response.

    35 min
  2. 02

    Lorentz oscillator susceptibility

    Derive dispersive electric response from a damped bound charge and audit resonance signs.

    35 min
  3. 03

    Drude conductivity and the plasma edge

    Treat mobile carriers as damped inertial charges and separate conductivity from screened plasma response.

    35 min
  4. 04

    Complex permittivity and attenuation

    Choose the passive propagation branch and distinguish amplitude attenuation from intensity absorption.

    35 min
  5. 05

    Kramers–Kronig dispersion relations

    Connect causal memory to linked real and imaginary response, with explicit convergence assumptions.

    35 min
  6. 06

    Dielectric tensor and birefringence

    Resolve material principal axes, polarization eigenmodes and phase retardation in an anisotropic dielectric.

    35 min
  7. 07

    Skin depth and conducting boundaries

    Derive good-conductor penetration and surface impedance while checking the regime of the approximation.

    35 min
  8. 08

    Magnetic permeability and resonance

    Distinguish static magnetization, linear dynamic permeability and a passive resonant magnetic response.

    35 min
  9. 09

    Energy density in dispersive media

    Account for material energy and state the narrowband weak-loss limits of the dispersive energy formula.

    35 min
  10. 10

    Metamaterials and effective-medium limits

    Test when structured matter admits local parameters and interpret a negative-index branch without overgeneralizing.

    35 min
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