Abstract

It has been known since 1946 from the work of Purcell^[1] that non-free space boundary conditions on the electromagnetic field can effect the spontaneous emission rates of atoms. Although this effect is often calculated in the context of QED^[2-5] it has been argued by Morawitz and others^[6-7] that the effect is primarily classical. In essence, the boundaries alter the elctromagnetic mode density, and that is an entirely classical concept.

© 1992 IQEC