Question

Professor C.V Raman surprised his students by suspending freely a tiny light ball in a transparent vacuum chamber by shining a laser beam on it. Which property of EM waves was he exhibiting? Give one more example of this property.

Answer 1

The properties of an electromagnetic wave are the same as other waves. Like another wave, an electromagnetic wave also carries energy and momentum. Since it carries momentum, an electromagnetic wave also exerts pressure called radiation pressure. This property of electromagnetic waves helped professor C V Raman surprise his students by suspending freely a tiny light ball in a transparent vacuum chamber by shining a laser beam on it.