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Boundaries and Waves Tour

Linear Polarization

Forms can also be useful to represent waves. A linear polarized wave is one whose electric field varies in a line. An electromagnetic wave is made up us coupled electric and magnetic fields. In forms these fields form tubes where the energy of the wave flows. The number of tubes alternates between zero and its maximum, go back to zero and then again to it's maximun number but direction of the tube flow is now reversed. This cycle reverses and continues sinusoidaly in our example. The arrow and yellow line in the animation is the vector representation of the linear polarized wave. Notice that if you were to look down the wave so that it was traveling directly towards you that the yellow sinusoidal line would look like a straight line. Thus the wave is called a linearly polarized wave.