English

Electromagnetic energy-momentum and forces in matter

Classical Physics 2009-11-10 v1 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology General Physics

Abstract

We discuss the electromagnetic energy-momentum distribution and the mechanical forces of the electromagnetic field in material media. There is a long-standing controversy on these notions. The Minkowski and the Abraham energy-momentum tensors are the most well-known ones. We propose a solution of this problem which appears to be natural and self-consistent from both a theoretical and an experimental point of view.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.physics/0303097,
  title  = {Electromagnetic energy-momentum and forces in matter},
  author = {Yuri N. Obukhov and Friedrich W. Hehl},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/0303097},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

Revtex, 17 pages, 1 eps figure

R2 v1 2026-07-22T18:55:45.338Z