Abstract
The number of degrees of freedom of a surface S for incoherent radiation (taking into account both polarizations) was established on the basis of Jeans’ thermodynamic considerations (pertaining to a blackbody). This number is n1 = 2πs/ λ2 The number of degrees of freedom of microwave radiation from a surface S (coherent, polarized optics) was also established using two different methods. This number is n = 4πs/η2. One should note that these two methods are related since in incoherent radiation the phase does not enter. The above considerations are applied to beams of limited spatial extent.
© 1965 Optical Society of America
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