On the propagation of waves in an electromagnetic elastic solid

The coupling of electromagnetic and elastic waves is considered from the standpoint of linear elasticity and a linearized electromagnetic theory. The problem of plane waves traveling through a uniform magnetostatic field is considered and couplings of the waves are studied. An investigation of the same problem for a uniform electrostatic field shows that the usual plane waves propagate without any change in their phase velocities but that the mechanical waves are accompanied by small fluctuating electromagnetic fields. The problem of the vibration of a free infinite elastic plate in a large magnetostatic field is examined under the assumption that the resulting electromagnetic fields are quasistationary. Frequency equations are obtained for both symmetric and antisymmetric vibrations and the damping caused by the field for both the first two symmetric and antisymmetric modes is obtained as a linear correction to the usual free plate frequencies.