Wave reflection on unconventional mirrors

Abstract

Purpose

To extend to electromagnetism the acoustic wave reflections on time reversal mirrors used in medical imaging, nondestructive testing and underwater acoustics.

Design/methodology/approach

Recent works (1993‐2004) analyse the reflection of acoustic waves on time reversal mirror. To perform the same job in electromagnetism, the behaviour of the electromagnetic field tensor under the space and time inversions of the referential is investigated and also, when in addition an exchange of two coordinates exists. All these reflections are supposed obtained from perfect but unconventional mirrors.

Findings

Electromagnetic reflections on unconventional mirrors have remarquable features since some of them give birth to a real twin source of the incident source with an opposite polarization.

Practical implications

The techniques used in acoustic to manufacture time reversal mirrors can be used in electromagnetism with possible applications of such mirrors for instance in cameras to avoid reversed photographs but no information on practical realizations has appeared in the open literature.

Orginality/value

Extends research on electromagnetism.

Citation

Hillion, P. (2005), "Wave reflection on unconventional mirrors", COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 1428-1438. https://doi.org/10.1108/03321640510615706