EMANIM Classic

EMANIM is an application for visualizing electromagnetic waves. Its main features are:

Live, three-dimensional presentation Interactive rotation and zooming with the mouse Continuous animation of wave propagation Any or both of two waves and optionally their superposition can be displayed Vectors of the electric field are shown at two planes intersecting the path of the light Wave parameters such as type of polarization, wavelength, amplitude and phase difference can be interactively varied NEW: The direction of one wave can be reversed To visualize the interaction of light and matter, a piece of material can be placed into the path of the light Properties of this piece of material such as length, extinction coefficients and indices of refraction can be interactively varied User-configurable colors

EMANIM can help the user understand a wide range of phenomena related to electromagnetic waves, from the simplest such as a single wave in vacuum to the most complex such as circular dichroism. Its features that promote learning are:

19 predefined parameter sets representing important physical phenomena A brief explanation of each phenomenon is displayed whenever the user selects a phenomenon from the menu Phenomena from the following basic categories: Types of polarization (linear, circular) Superposition of waves Interference of waves, including standing waves (NEW) Interaction of light and matter (absorption, refraction) Light in anisotropic materials (dichroism and birefringence) Light in optically active materials (circular dichroism and birefringence) Hints are displayed to suggest parameters to vary in order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon at hand Five predefined views to show the phenomena from the most optimal "camera angles"