Chapter 2
The Interaction of Electromagnetic
Waves with Water
Abstract Water is the most important substance in our everyday life, and has been
studied as no other medium. While it has a relatively simple atomic composition,
water nevertheless presents an astonishing variety of manifestations of its interaction
with electromagnetic waves of the different wavelengths from radio frequencies to
X-rays, representing its uniqueness compared to other dielectrics. In this chapter, the
response of water to external electromagnetic radiation is considered in an extended
frequency range from 0 to 10
15 Hz. The independent view on the separate parts of the
spectrum, such as the dielectric constant, DC conductivity, radio wave, microwave,
terahertz, and IR absorption, is provided along with a comprehensive view on the
entire spectrum as a whole by means of sum rules, Kramers–Kronig analysis and the
isotope effect. A curious reader will find a complete description of water’s electrodynamic parameters, as well as specific questions regarding the dynamic structure
of water.
2.1 Maxwell’s Equations in the Presence of Water
On the macroscopic level, water is a dielectric which can be considered an ensemble
of charged particles (electrons and atomic nuclei) which interact with each other and
with an external electric field. The interaction of water with electromagnetic waves
has the same nature as that for classic dielectrics, and can be described by Maxwell–
Lorentz equations, which in the most general case have the following form:
⎧
⎪ ⎪ ⎨
⎪ ⎪ ⎩
rot h =
4π
c
ρv +
1
c
∂e
∂t
,
rot e = −
1
c
∂h
∂t
,
div h = 0,
div e = 4πρ,
(2.1)
where ρ and v are the charge density and velocity, c is the speed of light, and e and
h are microscopic rapidly changing electric and magnetic fields, respectively. All
quantities are space and time dependent.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
V. Artemov, The Electrodynamics of Water and Ice, Springer Series
in Chemical Physics 124, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72424-5_2
51
The Interaction of Electromagnetic
Waves with Water
Abstract Water is the most important substance in our everyday life, and has been
studied as no other medium. While it has a relatively simple atomic composition,
water nevertheless presents an astonishing variety of manifestations of its interaction
with electromagnetic waves of the different wavelengths from radio frequencies to
X-rays, representing its uniqueness compared to other dielectrics. In this chapter, the
response of water to external electromagnetic radiation is considered in an extended
frequency range from 0 to 10
15 Hz. The independent view on the separate parts of the
spectrum, such as the dielectric constant, DC conductivity, radio wave, microwave,
terahertz, and IR absorption, is provided along with a comprehensive view on the
entire spectrum as a whole by means of sum rules, Kramers–Kronig analysis and the
isotope effect. A curious reader will find a complete description of water’s electrodynamic parameters, as well as specific questions regarding the dynamic structure
of water.
2.1 Maxwell’s Equations in the Presence of Water
On the macroscopic level, water is a dielectric which can be considered an ensemble
of charged particles (electrons and atomic nuclei) which interact with each other and
with an external electric field. The interaction of water with electromagnetic waves
has the same nature as that for classic dielectrics, and can be described by Maxwell–
Lorentz equations, which in the most general case have the following form:
⎧
⎪ ⎪ ⎨
⎪ ⎪ ⎩
rot h =
4π
c
ρv +
1
c
∂e
∂t
,
rot e = −
1
c
∂h
∂t
,
div h = 0,
div e = 4πρ,
(2.1)
where ρ and v are the charge density and velocity, c is the speed of light, and e and
h are microscopic rapidly changing electric and magnetic fields, respectively. All
quantities are space and time dependent.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
V. Artemov, The Electrodynamics of Water and Ice, Springer Series
in Chemical Physics 124, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72424-5_2
51