Remote Sensing Fundamentals EM Radiation 2.1 W.D
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Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals EM Radiation 2.1 W.D. Philpot, Cornell University 2. ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION Electromagnetic (EM) radiation and its transfer from sources to objects or from objects to sensors is fundamental to remote sensing, and it is important that certain characteristics of this phenomenon be understood. For most of the passive systems that we consider, the sun is the primary source of EM radiation, but we will also consider emitted (thermal) radiation and active systems that provide their on radiation. In any case, EM radiation is energy and that energy might be in wave or particulate (i.e., photon or quantum) form. All electromagnetic radiation has wave properties; at all levels, radiation shows interference and diffraction. But studies also indicate that the energy carried by electromagnetic waves may, under certain conditions, be regarded as discontinuous rather than the continuously graded energy that would be expected from a wave. 2.1 Maxwell's Equations The fundamental description of Electromagnetic radiation begins with Maxwell's equations which describe propagating plane waves. Maxwell's equations are written: In the presence of charge In vacuum (free space) ρ ∇⋅E = ∇⋅E =0 (2.1) ε0 ∇⋅B =0 ∇⋅B =0 (2.2) ∇ ×EB = −∂/ ∂t ∇ ×EB = −∂/ ∂t (2.3) ∇×B =µ0 J+ ε 00 µ ∂ E/ ∂t ∇×BE =ε00 µ ∂/ ∂t (2.4) where: E = electric field B = magnetic-induction field ρe = electric charge density -12 2 2 ε0 = electrical permittivity of free space = 8.85x10 coulomb /Newton-meter -7 µ0 = magnetic permeability of free space = 12.57x10 weber/ampere-meter t = time ∇· = divergence (a spatial vector derivative operator) ∇ = curl (a spatial vector derivative operator) For our purposes, the key point to be gleaned from these equations is the symmetry between the electric and magnetic fields and the fact that they are always coupled. Electric fields are generated by time varying magnetic fields and magnetic fields are generated by time varying electric fields. By convention we usually only treat electric fields knowing that there will be an associated magnetic field. 2.2 Wave Properties The general concept of remote sensing using EM radiation involves a source or transmitter, the medium through which the wave propagates, and a receiver. As implied in Eq, (2.5), one property of a wave is its frequency, f, the number of vibrations, oscillations or cycles that the wave makes each second (one cycle/second = one Hertz, abbreviated Hz). A wave's frequency is determined by the source. The time of one vibration, the temporal period or period, T, is related to the frequency by f = 1/T. A propagating wave will have a characteristic velocity Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals EM Radiation 2.2 W.D. Philpot, Cornell University that is dependent on the medium. If a source is emitting a frequency, f, and if the velocity of wave propagation is v, at the end of one second there will be f waves spread over a distance v × (1s) (i.e., distance = velocity × time). One wave will occupy a distance λ where λ = v / f. (Note that λ = vT.) This distance, the spatial period or wavelength, is the shortest distance between consecutive similar points on the wave (e.g., between consecutive crests or troughs). As an example, c = 2.99792458 × 108 m/s is the speed of light in a vacuum, and this is essentially the speed of light in the atmosphere. (We will use the approximation, c = 3 × 108 m/s.) At a wavelength of 0.5 µm (blue-green light), the frequency of the radiation is: f = v/λ = (3 * 108 m/s) / (0.5 * 10-6 m) = 6 x 1014 Hz = 600 THz (2.5) Similarly, for microwave radiation with a wavelength of 1 cm, the frequency of the radiation is: f = v/λ = (3 * 108 m/s) / (1 * 10-2 m) = 3 x 1010 Hz = 30 GHz (2.6) Figure 2.1: Electromagnetic waves consisting of transverse, oscillating electric (E) and Magnetic (B) fields. The case shown is plane polarized radiation with the E and B fields both oscillating within a plane. 2.3 The speed of light and the index of refraction Equations (2.7) and (2.8) are solutions to Maxwell's equations (Eqs. 2.1-2.4) provided that the wave speed is given by: −1/2 c =µε( οο) (2.7) where: c = velocity of light in a vacuum µo = permeability of free space εo = permittivity of free space Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals EM Radiation 2.3 W.D. Philpot, Cornell University Similarly, the speed of light in a particular medium (e.g., water, glass, calcite) may be expressed in terms of the magnetic permeability and the electric permittivity of the medium: −1/2 v =( µε) (2.8) where: v = velocity of electromagnetic waves µ = permeability of the medium ε = permittivity of the medium The permeability of the medium, μ, is a measure of how well the medium stores or conducts a magnetic field. Analogously, the permittivity of the medium, ε, is a measure of how well the medium stores or conducts an electric field. For any medium, ε = εr εo and µ = µr µo; where εr = relative permittivity, also called the dielectric constant, and µr = the relative permeability. The index of refraction of a medium (water, glass, air) is a measure of the speed of light in that medium relative to the speed of light in a vacuum: 1/2 c µε 1/2 nn= = = =( εµrr) (2.9) v µεoo Expressing the speed of light in this way emphasizes the role of the electrical and magnetic properties of the medium controlling the way the light interacts with and propagates in the medium. In general, except for ferromagnetic materials, the magnetic properties are usually negligible, µr ≈ 1, and thus µ ≈ µ0. The full effect of the material on light propagation may be expressed in the complex index of refraction: m = n + iκ (2.10) where n is the standard index of refraction and κ represents the effects of absorption. (κ is sometimes called the electrodynamic absorption coefficient.) Both m and κ are strongly dependent on wavelength. In an absorbing medium the dielectric constant is also represented as a complex number: εεεr = ' + i " (2.11) where ε' and ε" are the real and imaginary part of the dielectric constant. For common materials the index of refraction and the dielectric constant are related by: 2 m = εr (2.12) which leads to the relationships: εκ' = m22 - (2.13) εκ" = 2 m (2.14) In analogy to the absorption coefficient, the electrical conductivity of the material is related to the imaginary part of the dielectric constant: Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals EM Radiation 2.4 W.D. Philpot, Cornell University σ = 2 π f εε0r"/ µ (2.15) This quantity is sometimes called the optical conductivity. Except for the case of ferromagnetic materials, µr ≈ 1. 2.4 Polarization Figure 2.1 illustrates a plane polarized wave in which the electric field oscillates in the vertical plane and the magnetic field oscillates in the horizontal plane. As long as the orientation is constant, the wave is said to be plane polarized regardless of the specific orientation. Radiation is frequently split into vertical and horizontal polarization, but this is an arbitrary choice. A wave that is linearly polarized at any intermediate angle can be expressed as the combination of two waves, one horizontally polarized and one vertically polarized, that are exactly in phase (ϕx − ϕy = 0, π, or − π) and of equal amplitude (Ex = Ey). That is, we may express a single wave as a vector combination of two orthogonal waves: Ex0 = E sin(kz+ ωϕt - x) (2.16) Ey0 = E sin(kz+ ωϕt - y) (2.17) If the amplitudes are equal but the phase angles are not equal (ϕx ≠ ϕy) then the electric field will rotate about the z-axis and the radiation is said to be circularly polarized. (Circular polarization can be right-handed or left-handed depending on whether ϕx > ϕy or vice versa.) If the amplitudes are also unequal, the electric field is seen as tracing out an ellipse in time and is therefore said to be elliptically polarized. The state of polarization can be described efficiently using the Stokes Vector: 22 SE0x= + E y Total amplitude (2.18) 22 SE1x= − E y Horizontal linear polarization (2.19) S2 = 2 E 0x E 0y cos(ϕ y −ϕ x ) Linear polarization @ 45° (2.20) S3 = 2 E 0x E 0y sin (ϕ y −ϕ x ) Left-handed circular polarization (2.21) where 〈 . .〉 denotes a time average. Examples of Stokes vectors are given below. In each case, the Stokes vector has been normalized so that S0 = 1. S0 S1 S2 S3 1 0 0 0 Random polarization 1 1 0 0 x-polarized 1 -1 0 0 y-polarized 1 0 1 0 +45° linear 1 0 -1 0 - 45° linear 1 0 0 1 Right-hand circular 1 0 0 -1 Left-hand circular 1 0.6 0 0.8 Right-hand elliptical If a wave is completely polarized the sum of the amplitudes of all the states of polarization must equal to total amplitude, then: Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals EM Radiation 2.5 W.D. Philpot, Cornell University 22 22 S0123 = S + S + S (2.22) For a partially polarized wave, the degree of polarization is then defined as the fraction of the total power that is contained in the polarized components: 222 SSS123++ 2 S0 Polarization is a critical component of radar and passive microwave systems and the detectors for these systems are always polarized. In optical and thermal systems, polarization is frequently not part of the design, however polarization by optical components (beam splitters, diffraction gratings, etc.