In telecommunications, the term critical frequency has the following meanings: [1]
Critical Frequency changes with time of day, atmospheric conditions and angle of fire of the radio waves by antenna.
The existence of the critical frequency is the result of electron limitation, i.e., the inadequacy of the existing number of free electrons to support reflection at higher frequencies.
In signal processing the critical frequency it is also another name for the Nyquist frequency.
Critical frequency is the highest magnitude of frequency above which the waves penetrate the ionosphere and below which the waves are reflected back from the ionosphere. It is denoted by "fc". Its value is not fixed and it depends upon the electron density of the ionosphere.
Critical frequency can be computed with the electron density given by:
where Nmax is maximum electron density per m3 and fc is in Hz. [2]
Critical frequency can be computed by:
where MUF is maximum usable frequency and is the angle of incidence [2]
The dependence of critical frequency with respect with electron density can be related through plasma oscillation concept particularly the 'Cold' Electrons mechanism.
Using the electron charge , electron mass and permittivity of free space gives,
and solving for the frequency,
The index of refraction has the formula which shows dependence in wavelength. [3] The result that the force due to the polarization field in an ionized gas of low concentration is canceled by the effect of collisions between ions and electrons is re‐established in a simple manner that clearly displays the physical basis for the effect. Because of this cancellation the Sellmeyer formula, determines the relation between the electron number density, N, and the index of refraction, n, in the ionosphere when collisions are neglected. [4]
.
Using the default values for electron charge , permittivity of free space and electron mass , and changing angular velocity with respect to frequency this yields to
and solving for the refraction index n,
In optics, the refractive index of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium.
In physics and electrical engineering, a cutoff frequency, corner frequency, or break frequency is a boundary in a system's frequency response at which energy flowing through the system begins to be reduced rather than passing through.
In radio transmission, maximum usable frequency (MUF) is the highest radio frequency that can be used for transmission between two points on Earth by reflection from the ionosphere at a specified time, independent of transmitter power. This index is especially useful for shortwave transmissions.
In particle physics, bremsstrahlung is electromagnetic radiation produced by the deceleration of a charged particle when deflected by another charged particle, typically an electron by an atomic nucleus. The moving particle loses kinetic energy, which is converted into radiation, thus satisfying the law of conservation of energy. The term is also used to refer to the process of producing the radiation. Bremsstrahlung has a continuous spectrum, which becomes more intense and whose peak intensity shifts toward higher frequencies as the change of the energy of the decelerated particles increases.
In the physical sciences, the wavenumber, also known as repetency, is the spatial frequency of a wave, measured in cycles per unit distance or radians per unit distance. It is analogous to temporal frequency, which is defined as the number of wave cycles per unit time or radians per unit time.
In optics and in wave propagation in general, dispersion is the phenomenon in which the phase velocity of a wave depends on its frequency; sometimes the term chromatic dispersion is used for specificity to optics in particular. A medium having this common property may be termed a dispersive medium.
In electromagnetism, skin effect is the tendency of an alternating electric current (AC) to become distributed within a conductor such that the current density is largest near the surface of the conductor and decreases exponentially with greater depths in the conductor. It is caused by opposing eddy currents induced by the changing magnetic field resulting from the alternating current. The electric current flows mainly at the skin of the conductor, between the outer surface and a level called the skin depth.
In physics, a wave vector is a vector used in describing a wave, with a typical unit being cycle per metre. It has a magnitude and direction. Its magnitude is the wavenumber of the wave, and its direction is perpendicular to the wavefront. In isotropic media, this is also the direction of wave propagation.
Plasma oscillations, also known as Langmuir waves, are rapid oscillations of the electron density in conducting media such as plasmas or metals in the ultraviolet region. The oscillations can be described as an instability in the dielectric function of a free electron gas. The frequency depends only weakly on the wavelength of the oscillation. The quasiparticle resulting from the quantization of these oscillations is the plasmon.
In quantum physics, Fermi's golden rule is a formula that describes the transition rate from one energy eigenstate of a quantum system to a group of energy eigenstates in a continuum, as a result of a weak perturbation. This transition rate is effectively independent of time and is proportional to the strength of the coupling between the initial and final states of the system as well as the density of states. It is also applicable when the final state is discrete, i.e. it is not part of a continuum, if there is some decoherence in the process, like relaxation or collision of the atoms, or like noise in the perturbation, in which case the density of states is replaced by the reciprocal of the decoherence bandwidth.
Non-line-of-sight (NLOS) radio propagation occurs outside of the typical line-of-sight (LOS) between the transmitter and receiver, such as in ground reflections. Near-line-of-sight conditions refer to partial obstruction by a physical object present in the innermost Fresnel zone.
In plasma physics, an electromagnetic electron wave is a wave in a plasma which has a magnetic field component and in which primarily the electrons oscillate.
In electrical engineering, dielectric loss quantifies a dielectric material's inherent dissipation of electromagnetic energy. It can be parameterized in terms of either the loss angleδ or the corresponding loss tangenttan(δ). Both refer to the phasor in the complex plane whose real and imaginary parts are the resistive (lossy) component of an electromagnetic field and its reactive (lossless) counterpart.
The Appleton–Hartree equation, sometimes also referred to as the Appleton–Lassen equation, is a mathematical expression that describes the refractive index for electromagnetic wave propagation in a cold magnetized plasma. The Appleton–Hartree equation was developed independently by several different scientists, including Edward Victor Appleton, Douglas Hartree and German radio physicist H. K. Lassen. Lassen's work, completed two years prior to Appleton and five years prior to Hartree, included a more thorough treatment of collisional plasma; but, published only in German, it has not been widely read in the English speaking world of radio physics. Further, regarding the derivation by Appleton, it was noted in the historical study by Gillmor that Wilhelm Altar first calculated the dispersion relation in 1926.
When an electromagnetic wave travels through a medium in which it gets attenuated, it undergoes exponential decay as described by the Beer–Lambert law. However, there are many possible ways to characterize the wave and how quickly it is attenuated. This article describes the mathematical relationships among:
Heat transfer physics describes the kinetics of energy storage, transport, and energy transformation by principal energy carriers: phonons, electrons, fluid particles, and photons. Heat is thermal energy stored in temperature-dependent motion of particles including electrons, atomic nuclei, individual atoms, and molecules. Heat is transferred to and from matter by the principal energy carriers. The state of energy stored within matter, or transported by the carriers, is described by a combination of classical and quantum statistical mechanics. The energy is different made (converted) among various carriers. The heat transfer processes are governed by the rates at which various related physical phenomena occur, such as the rate of particle collisions in classical mechanics. These various states and kinetics determine the heat transfer, i.e., the net rate of energy storage or transport. Governing these process from the atomic level to macroscale are the laws of thermodynamics, including conservation of energy.
In quantum optics, a superradiant phase transition is a phase transition that occurs in a collection of fluorescent emitters, between a state containing few electromagnetic excitations and a superradiant state with many electromagnetic excitations trapped inside the emitters. The superradiant state is made thermodynamically favorable by having strong, coherent interactions between the emitters.
In optics, the Ewald–Oseen extinction theorem, sometimes referred to as just the extinction theorem, is a theorem that underlies the common understanding of scattering. It is named after Paul Peter Ewald and Carl Wilhelm Oseen, who proved the theorem in crystalline and isotropic media, respectively, in 1916 and 1915. Originally, the theorem applied to scattering by an isotropic dielectric objects in free space. The scope of the theorem was greatly extended to encompass a wide variety of bianisotropic media.
The Farley–Buneman instability, or FB instability, is a microscopic plasma instability named after Donald T. Farley and Oscar Buneman. It is similar to the ionospheric Rayleigh-Taylor instability.
The Lorentz oscillator model describes the optical response of bound charges. The model is named after the Dutch physicist Hendrik Antoon Lorentz. It is a classical, phenomenological model for materials with characteristic resonance frequencies for optical absorption, e.g. ionic and molecular vibrations, interband transitions (semiconductors), phonons, and collective excitations.
This article incorporates public domain material from Federal Standard 1037C. General Services Administration. Archived from the original on 2022-01-22. (in support of MIL-STD-188).
