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In the Wikipedia article about electromagnetic radiation one can find the following picture: Electromagnetic relationship

But shouldn't the E and B field be 90$^\circ$ out of phase? In the depicted way the energy isn't conserved. At 0 the energy is 0 and at $\frac{\pi}{2}$ the energy is maximal in both fields.

Weasel
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Stein
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1 Answers1

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You are correct about the energy density going to zero, but is this a problem? Remember that this is a traveling wave. The energy in the crests is being carried along ... it doesn't disappear. Energy is conserved. It's moving along.

garyp
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