$12.1.22$ The amplitude of the electric field strength of a plane sinusoidal wave is equal to $E_0$. What is the average pressure exerted by this wave on a flat metal wall when it is normally incident on it?
The energy per unit area per unit time striking the metal wall is equal to the Poynting vector:
\begin{equation} \vec{E} = \hat{y} E_0 \cos(\omega t) \quad \text{and} \quad \vec{B} = \hat{z} \frac{E_0}{c} \cos(\omega t) \end{equation} The pressure exerted by the incoming flow on the wall is:
\begin{equation} P = \frac{\left\langle S\right\rangle_T }{c} = c \epsilon_0 \left\langle \vec{E} \times \vec{B}\right\rangle_T = \frac{\epsilon_0 E_0^2}{2} \end{equation} In this equation we have taken the time average of the cross product. This is half of the answer, because there is a pressure exerted by the incoming flow and another equal pressure from the outgoing flow; our answer must be twice that for this reason: