Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICS
Volume 26, Issue 4, Pages 635-641Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1088/0143-0807/26/4/008
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The angular momentum of a classical electromagnetic plane wave of arbitrary extent is predicted to be, on theoretical grounds, exactly zero. However, finite sections of circularly polarized plane waves are found experimentally to carry angular momentum, and it is known that the contribution to the angular momentum arises from the edges of the beam. A mathematical model is described that gives a quantitative account of this effect and resolves the paradox.
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