The Cosmic Microwave Background is a \"sea\" of millimeter-wavelength electromag

Question

The Cosmic Microwave Background is a "sea" of millimeter-wavelength electromagnetic radiation, which you can picture as plane waves like the ones discussed in class going every which way, left from the creation of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago. The average flux of energy coming from any direction in the sky is approximately the same, 3.2 10-6 Wm-2 (i.e. this is the flux that would be measured by a receiver pointing in any direction). What is the amplitude (i.e. the maximum value) of the electric field, in V/m, associated with this radiation?

Explanation / Answer

The amplitude of the electric field is      E = [ I / oc]    Here I = 3.2x10-6 W/m^2             o =8.85x10-12 C^2 / Nm^2            c= 3x108 m/s on substitution     E = 0.0347 V/m           

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