In the May 2017 issue, Mishra argues that the same function s /(1+s)2 of an appropriate dimensionless parameter s describes the transfer of energy from one system to another in four different physical situations.1 His third and fourth examples are of a classical and a quantum mechanical plane wave, respectively, incident on a boundary separating one homogeneous semi-infinite medium from another. Both are described by a wave equation and so it is not surprising that one gets the same functional form for their transmittances. Even Mishra’s second example of a head-on elastic collision between two masses could be thought of as part of a Newton’s cradle in which energy is transferred by direct collisions. That could then be described as a mechanical wave pulse propagating along a line of mechanical oscillators.
However, I think the analogy is imperfect for his first case of an emf ε...