[Math] Prove electric and magnetic waves are perpendicular

physicsvectors

So I have $2$ electric waves and $2$ magnetic waves, and I need to prove mathematically that the total electric and total magnetic waves are perpendicular. $E_1$ is in the $x$-direction and $E_2$ is in the $y$-direction. $B_1$ is in the $y$-direction and $B_2$ is in the $-x$-direction. The two waves are are cosines but have different phases – represented by $\phi_1$ and $\phi_2$:

\begin{align*}
E_1 &= x (E)\cos(kz-wt-\phi_1)\\
E_2 &= y (E)\cos(kz-wt-\phi_2)\\
B_1 &= y (B)\cos(kz-wt-\phi_1)\\
B_2 &= -x(B)\cos(kz-wt-\phi_2)
\end{align*}

The letters in front indicate the unit vector direction.

Total $E$ field is $E_t = E_1+E_2$, total magnetic field is $B_t = B_1+B_2$.

I need to show that $E_t$ and $B_t$ are perpendicular. I think to do this I need to show that their dot product is zero, but how do I take the dot product of $E_t$ and $B$?

Best Answer

Note: This answer is based on the actual problem as provided in a comment by the OP above.

To simplify notation, let $c_1(z,t) = \cos(kz-wt-\phi_1), c_2(z,t) = \cos(kz-wt-\phi_2)$.

The $E$ field is given by $E_0(c_1(z,t), c_2(z,t))$, or, $E_0c_1(z,t)i + E_0 c_2(z,t)) j$.

The $B$ field is given by $B_0(-c_2(z,t), c_1(z,t))$, or, $-B_0 c_2(z,t)i + B_0 c_1(z,t)) j$.

The dot or inner product is given by $E \cdot B = E_0 B_0 c_1(z,t) c_2(z,t) + E_0 B_0 (-c_2(z,t)) c_1(z,t) = 0$.

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