Electromagnetic energy within dielectric spheres

Abstract

We present exact and approximate analytic expressions for the time-averaged electromagnetic energy within dielectric spheres on the basis of rigorous Mie theory. Such information is of importance for the study of photochemical reactions within atmospheric water spheres. Numerical results show that on the average the energy inside a cloud droplet is enlarged by a factor exceeding 2 compared with that of a sphere of the same radius of the surrounding medium. In regions of resonance peaks the electromagnetic energy may be increased by more than 2 orders of magnitude.