is light a scalar or vector

Question

anonymous · Answer

scalar

anonymous · Answer

why

anonymous · Answer

yeah scalar

anonymous · Answer

i am asking why

anonymous · Answer

as it has direction when we use a laser

anonymous · Answer

mmmm light spread in all directions with same speed .if it is a vector it should have different speeds.i think so

anonymous · Answer

like we say speed (scalar) of light.

anonymous · Answer

light is scalar because the unit of light can be expressed only in magnitudes which is intensity.It does not require a direction so it is not a vector.

anonymous · Answer

none of them, light is a form of energy that propagates and therefore can be represented by a vector (Poynting vector).

anonymous · Answer

and I said "can be represented by a vector"

anonymous · Answer

Scalar, because it does not have to be directed, it can be used regardless of direction.

anonymous · Answer

energy work mass all are scalar

fwizbang · Answer

Your question is ill-posed, it's like asking if an apple is a vector.....The apple has some properties, like velocity and acceleration, that are vectors, but others, like mass and temperature, that are scalar. The apple itself is neither vector nor scalar.

Similarly, Light is an electromagnetic wave. It has some properties,like intensity, wavelength, and frequency, which are scalars and others, like velocity, electric and magnetic fields, or the Poynting vector, that are vectors.